Risks of ablation

[Janey1955]

I wrote on here recently about ablations. As a consequence I decided to have an ablation and am now on a waiting list. My Ep wrote to my GP and copied me in these were the list of risks: bleeding, bleeding around the heart, tamponade, stroke, MI, damage to surrounding structure of oesophagus, splenic nerve and narrowing of the pulmonary veins. This has scared me to death and now don’t know whether to go ahead

[pottypete1]

The doctors have to advise you of all the potential side effects.

In reality complications are very rare and ablation is a very safe procedure.

Unusually I have had 7 ablations and I do not regret having them.

Pete

[Janey1955 in reply to pottypete1]

So really just covering their backs

[CDreamer]

And did they also explain the incidence of serious complication? Don’t quote me but last time I looked it was very, very tiny risk 0.01%. If something were to happen - you will be in the safest place. That is a standard letter in which they are obliged to tell you of all of the possible consequences if things go wrong. Possible.

I’ve had 2 ablations, not all went perfectly but that was nothing to do the ablation which did give me 3 years free of very symptomatic AF.

I am taking anti-biotics at present, something I do not do without very good reason. I read the side effects - the first of which is - your lungs may react to this medication and it gets worse as I read down. They were not mild affects, Jaundice, Liver dysfunction, fever etc

Do I need this medication? Undoubtedly - as I know I have an infection which could get worse very quickly and be life threatening. Is is a risk? yes, but a small one to take compared to the benefits. Life is always a risk:benefit decision.

It is natural to be nervous, it is a procedure only for the very, very skilled which is why it takes SO long to train and be competent enough to be able to do this procedure. If you are concerned - talk your concerns through with your EP.

When in a similar position to yourself I asked myself these questions - Will I be better with this procedure? Can I live well as I am? If I don’t have this procedure will I regret not trying?

Everyone may answer differently but my answers were - Don’t know until I try, No, currently life is miserable, I will definitely regret not trying if I scare myself out of trying.

[Janey1955 in reply to CDreamer]

Well they said 3% risk which I felt at 1 in just over 30 was a bit of a risk

[CDreamer in reply to Janey1955]

If that is the case then I would be asking more questions. Is that their individual complication factor, the hospital, the area, the national or worldwide? The competence of the EP varies so make sure to ask how many procedures they perform per year & how many complications?

That figure seems high to me & of all the people on this forum reporting on their ablation the very few who report complications have been phrenic nerve damage which has healed - given time.

Obviously your choice & you need to be clear in your own mind so do some of your own research - plenty of studies. Ask more questions & then weigh up what factors are important to you.

Best wishes

[Janey1955 in reply to CDreamer]

They carry out about 800 ablations a year in the Department in Leeds

[bantam12 in reply to Janey1955]

I was booked in for ablation but chose not to go ahead due to risk of problems but also the risk of it not working and needing it done again and again.

[Janey1955 in reply to bantam12]

Yes I know. Thing is you go through all that and there is a 30% chance of it not working anyway. Hard decision

[Hidden in reply to Janey1955]

I'm going from memory here, but my EP said that the data is out of date but they still have to quote the 3% (or maybe they say the chance is LESS than 3%?)

I asked my EP what his numbers were, and I remember that no one had had a stroke and the other figures were very very low.

Anyway, he has done hundreds if not thousands over his career , technology and procedures have become safer and safer over the years. In the lab I could not believe the number of people needed to do my ablation. two anaesthetists the EP, his two assistants and then sitting behind a glass screen were three other people who I was told were there to monitor what the EP was doing and warn if he was going too close to somewhere he shouldn't.

Yes there are risks, and I was terrified and almost walked out of the cath lab (and boy is it cold in there!) but having mine has given me my life back for the last 3.5 years and I know for sure that I would do it again and probably be just as scared !

Right, off to finish replacing the alternator on my MG, something I was not capable of doing before my ablation

[Janey1955 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you that is reassuring. But I don't have any symptoms and there is nothing the afib stops me doing. The reason I am on the waiting list is to stop it getting worse, although my EP says I must have some symptoms to keep ringing him up. The thing is I dont just a pounding heart and this is why it is such a difficult decision because the recovery time seems quite lengthy too.

Jane

[Hidden]

Great advice already given, most of us wouldn’t take paracetamol if we all read the accompanying leaflet!

[Kaz747 in reply to Hidden]

One of the tablets my husband used to be on had on the side effects/risk list “sudden death”. Thankfully he didn’t have that side effect 😉

[BobD Volunteer]

They only put that so you can't sue them.

[Sfhmgusa]

I don’t want to minimise the worry, before my ablation in July I was very anxious , and I don’t think there is anything you can do to remove the fears completely.

What I did was look at the risks of things I happily do every day to make life better. Things like driving ( accident) eating (choking) drinking wine (liver failure /cancers) etc etc.

Doctors legally have to inform you of the risks but often don’t “ sell” the advantages.

I think if you read the forum the majority of ablatees are glad it was done and you need to factor in that after a successful ablation it seems likely that people will no longer need the forum

I’m not sure my ablation worked fully, after 3 months I am improved but not af free but if I need a second I would say “ yes” right away

Steve

[Janey1955 in reply to Sfhmgusa]

Yes that’s a good way to think about it. But the recovery time seems to take a while. I work full time and hope to only have a week off work?

[Sfhmgusa in reply to Janey1955]

Hi Janey

I would think ( depending on your job) that a week is too short, if you have physical things to do you need to do for your job, need remember that your heart will have had its “ feathers ruffled” and be gentle and gradual on what you do both at work and in home life.

Working from home after say 2 weeks is perfectly possible, but all your colleagues need to be respectful that whilst this is a routine procedure it is not a trivial one, the rewards are great but if/when you have an ablation you are just as much part of the team that can make success more likely. And resting and knowing when to stop is part of that.

I know you have been advised-of this before but the factsheet on ablation recovery is really good

Good luck

S

[Janey1955 in reply to Sfhmgusa]

Ok then I do have a sit down job

[KMRobbo]

Agree that these are just a " general" possibilities. I was advised similar.

However a few more things to weigh up,: The first being in afib is not without risks, afib begets afib. Atrial re modelling etc. which may cause issues later, with further QAL impacts. Also despite the warnings your EP will be assessing you before and DURING the procedure. If he/she sees an issue I would expect them to adapt or stop the ablation. My general view on life is that it is quite dangerous anyway, nothing is risk free . A quick Google tells me 2500 people a year die in car acidents in the UK which is a 1 in 200 chance of death(!!) every year, but we all travel in cars or walk in places where there are cars daily without a thought.

At the end of the day you must work out what his best for you. Best wishes for you whatever you decide.

[Dodie117 in reply to KMRobbo]

I’d work on the maths 😳. My reckoning makes 1 in 200 = 350, 000 deaths if you are talking about uk pop of 70m.

[KMRobbo in reply to Dodie117]

I did not calculate it, just read it from an insurance Web site.i have misquoted as the deaths are per year, but the chances of being killed is your life I suspect.

autonetinsurance.co.uk/info...

NO IDEA how they calculate this but the point is the same life has many other risks.

[Dodie117 in reply to KMRobbo]

👍😁

[Jane722 in reply to KMRobbo]

Well said

[Itman]

Hi I have had 3 ablation 2 were for SVT with the third being for AF. As previous people have said the doctors have a care of duty to explain the risks to you.

[Coco51]

I was scared too. But I don't regret the ablations.

They have not cured me completely. I might go for a third,. But episodes are far more manageable and less intense . My quality of life is better.

Doctors have to be sure you give informed consent.

And there are risks involved in living with bad AF. It can get worse, your atrium can enlarge. After 10 years of infrequent AF at 65 my episodes got longer then suddenly became persistent-ie 24/7.

But it depends on how bad your AF symptoms are, how well you can control them, and how you cope with the medications to treat it. If you can't take Flecainide that's difficult for you.

[Janey1955 in reply to Coco51]

I can’t take it it changed the T waves. As my heart rate is so slow apparently not much else they can give. Don’t really have any symptoms though just the sensation of a pounding heart

[Coco51]

Well if you can cope with the symptoms and they don't bother you that's good.

When I had persistent AF before the ablations I felt totally drained, breathless, and any exercise sent my heart rate through the roof. Now the AF is pretty slow and usually I can carry on with activities if I have it.

The consideration for you, I guess, is will it get worse and harder to treat? Can you live with that? It's a hard call.

It might be a while before you get the ablation. A cardiologist told me recently have been halted nationally unless for life saving purposes.

Meantime some people on here swear by magnesium supplements. Magnesium Taurate for example. You might consider researching then trying those and see if they help while you are mulling it over?

[Janey1955 in reply to Coco51]

Yes that’s very helpful. I will try that

[Pamela259]

I had a ablation and it went very good.reading up on the risks is the worst thing you can do.But had it done and they went in and burned alot on right side that was causing my Afib. And before that I had a watchman put in to have the me get off of the bloodthinners that were killing my pocketbook.So anyway after all that everything went great. Then they weaned me off of all meds except a baby asprin and thats all I take now. Its been 5 months med free. Hope all goes will on youre ablation.

[Jlaine]

I have had two done. First wasent very effective. The second one they punctured one of my veins and I bled out almost into rt leg. My leg was purple from my groin all the way down. Talk about horrible pain which lasted for 30 days til blood reabsorbed. Never got an apology. My EP dr said Sometimes this happens.! My afib is much better now but I also had pain all around my chest area for months. Just saying you may do fine. My first one was uneventful. My primary told me they have to insert THREE cathedars in your groin area. I have been having shortness of breath again and hope it isnt because my pulmonary veins narrowed. Am going to request chemical stress test to insure my blockages havent gotton worse? If there ok than it may have something to do with ablation??Dont want to scare you but think you need to hear the good as well as the bad. Good Luck. Needless to say I am done having ablations. Some people have had over 10 done! Cant imagine that.

[Janey1955 in reply to Jlaine]

Yes thank you. for sharing that. Apart from an afib attack every three weeks or so, I have otherwise good health and I am frightened it may jeopardise that. So yes I need to see both sides of the story.

[foxglove1 in reply to Janey1955]

Hi Janey1955 Ive been reading your posts about whether to go ahead with an ablation or not. I am in the same position and have been on the ablation waiting list for the past year. i know the date is going to come up soon but cannot make a decision. Fear! I am paf and have episodes around every two months during the night. They last for up to 8 hours or so then I go back into SR and carry on. Did you go ahead with the ablation or decide against? whatever choice you made I wish you all the best.