I went down with AF three years ago but due to a clot in my heart I could not get any treatment until 2019 when it had dissolved. I went with a pace and ablate on the advise of my EP but still suffered from breathlessness on exertion. I next had a PVI to try and alter this. Although my rate is perfect now my rhythm is not and I have limited improvement, but not a reduction in the breathlessness on exertion. I am getting another ablation to try and return me to sinus as I was so much better. I stayed in sinus for 6 weeks after the PVI before slipping into AF again. My EP is trying very hard for me but I am one of those people who cannot tolerate antiarrhythmic drugs so my chances of getting a good quality of life is not good. Now I am paced with pacemaker I have developed LSHF which although is easily managed with furosemide does not leave me happy. What in other opinion are my chances of ever walking normally or getting beyond 12noon with work before not being any good the rest of the day. Other than Apixiban I take 10mg of Nevibolol which helps my BP and reduces the breathlessness somewhat, but I am far from right. This AF has turned my life upside down, no shopping, gardening, walking or holidays.
another ablation: I went down with AF... - Atrial Fibrillati...
another ablation
So sorry to hear that Cali - unfortunately I think that question is one for your doctors.
May I ask what type of pacing?
I was given ReSynchronisation pacing to hopefully avoid such complications.
Best wishes CD
I have a dual chamber one. I did query a CRT pacer but he said that they were for"big baggy hearts on a ECG," which I did.not have.
I did ask why the failures. He said there were three reasons for Af to affect the heart. One was an irregular rate but that mine was now perfect. The second was irregular rhythm which could be controlled by returning to sinus. The third was that due to the rhythm when.the ventricles fill they have what is known as the atrial kick which makes the heart pump properly. He said I belonged to this third group as I was so much better in sinus and he proposed to try and return me to sinus and hopefully keep me there. This ablation will take between 3 and 5hrs to do under GA. I do not hold a lot of hope having researched the chances of this.
Sorry to hear whats happened. Am new to this game so not much use for advice. Really hope you get sorted out soon.
I presume your ventricles are in rhythm but the atria are not?
I did ask but he told me my heart was structurally sound and that a third lead would not help. I also asked if it was driven by financial pressure but he assured me that this was not the case and it was clinical need and my heart was structurally stable.
Thank you for that. I live over 30miles from the hospital and because of my breathlessness have to travel by ambulance so don`t go very often but do communicate by letter which the EP is very good with answering my questions, but the waiting is very frustrating also the depression following a failure of the procedures to address my breathlessness. There is no support from the local hospital as they are always overwhelmed and so I don`t want to add to their load when what I need is for the EP to do his job. As I understand it I am next on the list but he will not start operating before 8th March because of winter pressures.
Give this a try and see if it improves your quality of life:
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After 9 years of trying different foods and logging EVERYTHING I ate, I found sugar (and to a lesser degree, salt – i.e. dehydration) was triggering my Afib. Doctors don't want to hear this - there is no money in telling patients to eat less sugar. Each person has a different sugar threshold - and it changes as you get older, so you need to count every gram of sugar you eat every day (including natural sugars in fruits, etc.). My tolerance level was 190 grams of sugar per day 8 years ago, 85 grams a year and a half ago, and 60 grams today, so AFIB episodes are more frequent and last longer (this is why all doctors agree that afib gets worse as you get older). If you keep your intake of sugar below your threshold level your AFIB will not happen again (easier said than done of course). It's not the food - it's the sugar (or salt - see below) IN the food that's causing your problems. Try it and you will see - should only take you 1 or 2 months of trial-and-error to find your threshold level. And for the record - ALL sugars are treated the same (honey, refined, agave, natural sugars in fruits, etc.). I successfully triggered AFIB by eating a bunch of plums and peaches one day just to test it out. In addition, I have noticed that moderate (afternoon) exercise (7-mile bike ride or 5-mile hike in the park) often puts my Afib heart back in to normal rhythm a couple hours later. Don’t know why – perhaps you burn off the excess sugars in your blood/muscles or sweat out excess salt?? I also found that strenuous exercise does no good – perhaps you make yourself dehydrated??
I'm pretty sure that Afib is caused by a gland(s) - like the Pancreas, Thyroid (sends signals to the heart to increase speed or strength of beat), Adrenal Gland (sends signals to increase heart rate), Sympathetic Nerve (increases heart rate) or Vagus Nerve (decreases heart rate), Hypothalamus Gland or others - or an organ that, in our old age, is not working well anymore and excess sugar or dehydration is causing them to send mixed signals to the heart - for example telling the heart to beat fast and slow at the same time - which causes it to skip beats, etc. I can't prove that (and neither can my doctors), but I have a very strong suspicion that that is the root cause of our Afib problems. I am working on this with a Nutritionist and hope to get some definitive proof in a few months.
Also, in addition to sugar, if you are dehydrated - this will trigger AFIB as well. It seems (but I have no proof of this) that a little uptick of salt in your blood is being treated the same as an uptick of sugar - both cause AFIB episodes. (I’m not a doctor – it may be the sugar in your muscles/organs and not in your blood, don’t know). In any case you have to keep hydrated, and not eat too much salt. The root problem is that our bodies are not processing sugar/salt properly and no doctor knows why, but the AFIB seems to be a symptom of this and not the primary problem, but medicine is not advanced enough to know the core reason that causes AFIB at this time. You can have a healthy heart and still have Afib – something inside us is triggering it when we eat too much sugar or get (even a little) dehydrated. Find out the core reason for this and you will be a millionaire and make the cover of Time Magazine! Good luck! - Rick Hyer
PS – there is a study backing up this data you can view at:
Thank you for that info. I shall keep it in mind as sugar and food does influence Af.
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