Ablations

[Prince123456]

I’ve always wondered why ablation for afib is not really successful ? The reason I say this is because I see so many ppl with Afib who have more than 2 ablations I personally know of 3 ppl who have had an ablation for SVT and all was a success. I also know of 2 ppl who had successful ablations for VT both was successful.

[pottypete1]

You are not correct suggesting ablation for AF is unsuccessful.

Whilst you are right that sometimes patients have to have more than one ablation, in my opinion it is those who have concerns or issues visit this forum.

I have to tell you that there is clear evidence that an ablation significantly improves the quality of life for the majority of those for whom this option is adopted.

In the UK the care is free of charge to the patient and there is no way that cardiologist EPs would be able to perform so many procedures per annum if the results were judged to be insignificant.

Pete

[Hidden]

Would be interesting to know the basis for your comments regarding ablation for AF......

[Prince123456 in reply to Hidden]

The reason is in my question

[Hidden in reply to Prince123456]

Well I guess it’s because ablation for AF is not yet a precise science. Many do quite well with one, but some need more procedures before all the rogue impulses are thwarted and even then, over time, they might return. That’s why we always encourage people to do everything they can to improve their lifestyle first and to weigh up the risks against the before deciding what’s best for them. The majority who go down the ablation route seem to be pleased that they did. At the end of the day, it’s all down to personal choice......

[Prince123456 in reply to Hidden]

I have had a few runs of VT in the last 16 months all thankfully none sustained but they are still frightening to say the least. I’ve had all the tests done MRI / CT / Angiogram / pet scan / Echocardiogram and all is fine and no cardiomyopathy LVEF 58 % and RVEF 61 % I also have a ICD fitted obviously as a safety net. I still suffer with PVC averaging 2 per Hour and they are trouble sum I take 10mg of Nebivalol once a day. I’m under 2 great cardiologists they said ablation is a possibility for my condition if I chose to have one and it’s got a 90% success rate. It’s a tough decision to make do I carry on with the PVCs or do I get an ablation. Is there anyone else on this forum who have had ablation for VT ?

[Fazerboy in reply to Prince123456]

Hi, I'm not sure whether VT is the same as SVT but I had an ablation for SVT (AVNRT) a year ago now and it stopped the SVT episodes. I am a 64 year old male.

[Prince123456 in reply to Fazerboy]

No my friend SVT is the upper chambers VT is the lower chambers

[Fazerboy in reply to Prince123456]

Thanks. I didn’t know that. Lets hope others on here answer your question.

[avma in reply to Prince123456]

Hey,

Can I ask the following:

-Which sort of VT do you have, does it comes from different places in the chamber or just from one or two places?

-Did they tell you they if you have the ablation and it’s successful that they could remove your ICD?

-Did they tell you still need to take medication after the ablation?

-Did you decide yet to get the ablation or not?

Thank you for the answer!

[Prince123456 in reply to avma]

Hi sorry for the late reply

I haven’t had an ablation yet I’m still waiting to see my cardiologist. The last ecg I had picked up a run of Right Ventricular outflow Tachycardia. But they won’t know for sure until they physically get the catheters inside and do the mapping a hopefully trigger off the problem area. To be honest I wouldn’t want the ICD taking out now it’s a life saver if VT ever becomes sustained and the heart stops. The problem is not the ICD being taken out it’s the leads that become imbedded in the body so as far as I know they can’t be taken out. And the meds I’m not sure about I only take 10mg of Nebivalol anyway. Can I ask what your medical issue is ? Do you have VT and an ICD implanted ?

[avma in reply to Prince123456]

Hi, thx for the reply.

Ah ok. Don’t you find it bothering that the leads are grown into your body, so they never can come out again, couldn’t that become a problem for your veins or something?

You asked about my case:

I had an hybrid ablation in 2019 for AT and that was a success, the road to recovery was long because of the intense procedure, but it was worth it. So I thought, I was okay again and ofcourse stupid to think that of me so:

I don’t know yet what the problem is. When I went for my 6 month follow up at my cardiologist/EP a few weeks ago, he did my echocardiography and I had a minor PVC at that moment, he saw it really perfect on my heart, but at that moment nothing to worry about. Then he put me on the bike to see how my heart reacted to the exercise test. So at a certain moment I felt my heart doing weird and told him and there he saw on the graph that I had a PVT. So ofcourse he was worried. If I think about it, I have had this once before in February this year. I remember that night I was at friends of mine and drunk a lot of strong tea and was a bit emotional that night and talked a long time, so when I got in my car, My heart started racing, it really hurt, I thought then, wow this is it, now I’m gone. I stepped out of my car and walked a bit and it passed.

I never had it back, until a few weeks ago on the test with the bike.

So he gave me a holter for a week, but that was all negative and now he planned an EP and mri at the end of February to search further what can cause it. So like you say, I only can be sure when the tests are taken. It is just that it was polymorphic, so he wants to look deeper, if it was really that and indeed yes where it comes from.

He talked about an eventually ICD, but didn’t want to say more, because ofcourse he wants to be sure and he also told me that he found it a very strange pattern.... So I really hope it is not as bad as it sounds.

I’m really scared 😱.

[Brenda-j]

A lot of people are on this forum because they are having problems. The people who have had successful ablations usually disappear. I had an ablation 3 years ago which was successful and now I just have a few eptopics. Life is now so much better and wish I had it earlier. I had AF for 10year, gradually getting worse before having the courage to have an ablation. I would have another if necessary (hopefully I won’t need one)

[momist in reply to Brenda-j]

Thanks for telling us Brenda-j . I too hope you don't ever need another. Good luck.

[secondtry]

The debate will rage on, there is only thing I know for certain that is over the 6 years I have taken Flecainide (I postponed the ablation offer) I have been making constant progress on lifestyle changes and my QOL gets better.

[Finvola in reply to secondtry]

Same here secondtry - I count myself very fortunate.

[Lunamoongirl]

I had an ablation for atrial fibrillation four years ago and have been free of the condition since then.

[momist in reply to Lunamoongirl]

Thanks for posting this Lunamoongirl ! It's so encouraging to hear of successful ablations, and somewhat rare as noted here. Only those with problems tend to let us know . . .

[Palpman]

I read that ablations for long term AFib patients are less successful due to the heart muscle remapping itself.

People with SVT's such as AV Node Reentry have much shorter periods of arrhythmia hence the heart would not remap.

Feel free to correct as my memory is getting a bit problematic.

[Ashburton51]

I have had two ablations, the last one was two years ago which has been a huge success and made such a difference to my life. However I have also made changes to my life, like not drinking alcohol, making sure I eat healthily, exercising etc. I just feel the consultant did his bit and now I must do mine and it seems to be working.

[pottypete1 in reply to Ashburton51]

That’s exactly what I felt. My EP worked so hard to help me the least I could do was to do my bit too.

Pete

[jedimasterlincoln]

I've had 5 ablations. The 5th was successful.

[stagecoach]

The ablation for SVT is much simpler and more targeted than an AF ablation which is probably the reason it is 95% successful first time. For SVT the arrhythmia is induced so you can pinpoint the place to ablate. With AF you are attempting to isolate the pulmonary viens and thats a lot of scope for missing something or not doing it enough.

In my case my AF ablation appears to have worked first time and I hope the SVT ablation I've just had will be the same. My ep told me it is time to ditch the flecainide and I'm happy.