Afib and pacemaker

[C66t]

What do you think of pacemaker and paf. I've had 3 ablation and am back in hospital with afib (last abl was 29th July) ep is talking about pacemaker I'm not convinced.thanks everyone

[CDreamer]

I had resynchronisation PM fitted 2018 prior to Pace and Ablate. The pacemaker worked so well I cancelled the AV node ablate. I have seen several similar posts where PM has vastly improved QOL.

May not work for everyone but I would say consider it.

The procedure to insert the PM is quick - about 1-2 hours under a local anaesthetic - you can have sedation if you want but I didn’t. You need to be careful for 6-8 weeks until the leads bed in and after that, free to go.

It was nothing like the long recovery I had after both ablations, I’m certainly very glad I went ahead.

[bantam12]

I have PAF and bradycardia so I had a pacemaker which allows me to take the meds for the af but stops my rate going to low, it's been very successful other than I'm now going through a spell of constant ectopics 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Buffafly]

If you do a search for ‘pace and ablate’ or ‘pacemaker’ you may find helpful posts, most positive.

[C66t]

Thanks everyone 🥰

[opal11uk]

Had mine fitted 3 years ago after suffering for 20 years and 1 useless ablation and my P/A/F is a thing of the past and life is so much better, wish I'd had it earlier!

[Barb1]

There seem to be many positive outcomes on here from people who have had pacemakers fitted. I have read of no one who wished that they had not.

Saying that, my EP and I have decided on this route, as my 4th ablation lasted 5 years unlike your short time in SR.

1. 5th ablation

then

2. Mini maze but only if I can lose weight

then

3. Pacemaker.

He and I prefer to put the pacemaker off as long as possible, as it's irreversible. Plus new ablation methods are being developed.

A recently developed mini maze and one that I didn't know about when talking to my EP is the Paracardioscopic Ex-Maze. maybe worth asking about in your case. I will be when 5th ablation fails.

Good luck.

[C66t in reply to Barb1]

Thank you so much, I'm unsure what's for the best. As you said its irreversible, I've never heard of Paracardioscopic Ex-Maze, I ll do a little research although I don't know if its available here in Ireland. I hate being told it's the only alternative . 🥰

[Barb1 in reply to C66t]

Being informed is good

[not2worry]

My husband was not a candidate for ablation. CardioVersion was done twice. The first one worked for 5 days. The second one lasted only because immediately after he started Amiodarone and that medication affected his liver after taking for 6 weeks. It’s one of the “dirty” drugs in the world of AF pharamaceuticals.

My husband was also apprehensive about having a pacemaker procedure. Finally he agrees to have the procedure. AF left him totally exhausted. The Cardioligist described it as AF won’t kill you (other than causing a stroke) but it’s like your heart is running a sprint 24/7.

The day after the procedure he got out of bed and declared “I feel great”!

That was in Sept 2018. Since then he has only been in AF about 6 times and the time frames for the AF episodes are from 5 minutes to 30 minutes.

The newest PM are a scientific wonder and are very sophisticated so they can be adapted and tweaked to address each individual’s AF.

If you do decide on getting a PM I have done several posts over the years on my husband’s journey with AF and a PM. I’d be happy to share that information or you can check my profile and my posts on the site.

All the Best from Across the Pond