Ablation ( Hot Wire )

[Seventy9]

Think I will finish up and quickly with

Cardio Ablation

Is it any good ?

Does it work ?

Is it Painful

One problem I wish to Dump ASAP is 2.5 mg

Of ACE -Ramerprill ? Think it gives you a cough

Seventy 9

[jeanjeannie50]

The decision as to whether or not an ablation is a good thing is a personal one that only the person having it can decide. You are the only person who knows just how they affect you.

Here's what I think after having had three ablations:

Before my first ablation I was under the impression that I would be cured if I had one and that nothing else could help (It sounded the easy option). That wasn't the case with me. With hindsight I wish that at the very start I'd known about how eating a healthier diet, free from artificial additives can really help prevent attacks. I know that a lot of my PAF attacks were triggered by artificial sweeteners and other additives.

Ablations help some people, but make symptoms worse for others. My first two made mine worse, the last one may have helped but I'd also changed my diet - so who knows! I still have AF.

No, generally ablations aren't painful. The preferred method for me is with a general anaesthetic. My first two were with sedation.

We all had dreams of having an ablation and waking up in normal sinus rhythm and not needing to take pills ever again. It rarely happens.

Just my honest opinion and I hope others will give theirs.

Jean

[Slattery in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Jean,

Did the Ablation help your Afib? It sounds like you are not a fan of Ablation. My concern is the first two procedures made you worse!

I am scheduled for an Ablation next month, I am wondering if this procedure is worth it?

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Slattery]

My first ablation, stopped my heart from banging in my chest when I walked up hills. I'd thought everyone's did that. However, my attacks grew more frequent and a second ablation followed a few years later. That one made my life hell, my heart would stay in Af for months and at times I could barely walk from one room to another. After the third one I felt immediately better, but still had months of constant AF which wasn't quite so debilitating, but by now I was aware of diet and it's effects. After months of quite mild constant AF last winter, I had a cardioversion at the start of January this year. After a week or so I took myself off heart pills which I knew were not helping my AF and have been fine ever since. Still take warfarin.

If you have really tried sticking to a healthy diet and being aware of breathing correctly, then an ablation is an option. I just wish that I had known before my first ablation that those things could have helped, so I try to make people aware of them now. The scarring caused by ablations can sometimes leave the heart working a little stiffly, that's what I was told once when admitted to hospital with an attack of PAF.

We all have different experiences with these procedures and must speak as we find. Others will tell you how successful theirs were.

My search is to find out what the cause of AF is. It's been proved that diet etc can really help, so surely it's about what we eat rather than burning areas of the heart to stop that bit working.

Just my opinion, if my ablations had cured my AF I too would be singing their praises as others do.

Jean

[Goldfish7]

Ramerprill gave me a cough so I came off it. Re. ablations - the hot wire ablation I had last years was no more uncomfortable than my cryo ablation - no real pain with either despite sedation rather than general anaesthetic.

Re. whether ablations are worth going through - I'm unsure - I've felt more 'unwell' since my last ablation in November - seem to have ectopics, runs of high heart rate and god knows what else (hopefully ambulatory harness will shed light on it soon) However, I don't appear to have had one of my old very violent PAF attacks since the last ablation although I'm still not off my AF meds yet to really test it. So I'm currently unsure about whether ablations are worth going through. I'm also losing my very stressful job due to level of absence due to the above so Im unsure how much that and my attempts at living more healthily are impacting on my current situation.

I know that this info may just 'muddy the waters' re making a decision about ablation but unfortunately AF appears to be very different with different people so I think its very difficult giving advice.