Ablation update

[Cally53]

So,so disappointed to receive this letter today as I had really hoped that my recent ablation had worked. It looks like I'm never going to get rid of it! 🥺

[Paulbounce]

Hi Cally.

Don't give up yet. Early day's.

"I hope she will do well with the procedure"

The rest is medic speak but the above sounds good. Give it time. That sounds positive to me. Don't knock it yet Cally

Paul

[Cally53 in reply to Paulbounce]

Thank you for your positive reply, but It was the, "She therefore has a predisposition to AF despite four isolated veins" part which leaves me feeling despondent!

[Paulbounce in reply to Cally53]

Hiya Cally.

Of course you feel despondent - I know I would. However you must give it time for things to 'heal'.

Of course you have predisposition for afib - otherwise you wouldn't have had an ablation. I think you need to sit this one out for a few months - you may well find an improvement which would be a blessing.

I'll copy and paste again

"I hope she will do well with the procedure"

There's hope there but it may take some time to 'kick in'. Sit tight on this one and let's see. You maybe in for a pleasant surprise - good luck but give it time.

Paul

[Cally53 in reply to Paulbounce]

Thank you Paul. I will be patient, wait for my review, and see what my EP says then.

[Paulbounce in reply to Cally53]

👍

[CDreamer in reply to Cally53]

Even if it is not completely banished you may and I hope you will, find that you are much less symptomatic. I couldn’t have cryo ablation because of co-joined veins and found that although my AF was banished for 3 years, when it did return it wasn’t with the vengeance of old and I was much less symptomatic.

I know you are disappointed right now but as Paul says, stay positive as I do believe that a positive mindset helps and do everything you can Lifestyle wise to ensure a successful recovery and avoid further ‘triggers’.

Best wishes

[Cally53 in reply to CDreamer]

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I am hoping that despite this, my events will be less severe. I will definitely wait to see how things are at the end of the blanking period.

If only I could find a trigger!

[Buffafly]

I feel for you but though my ablation didn’t totally get rid of AF I feel it is something I can live with now. My AF goes hand in hand with inflammation so maybe it’s my body telling me to take notice when I am not well ❤️‍🩹

[Cally53 in reply to Buffafly]

I'm hoping that it will at least lessen the amount of episodes I get. Previous to my ablation nearly 3 weeks ago, I was getting AF approximately every 10 day, and although I did have an episode on Saturday I was just hoping that it was just a 'blanking period' episode, as it is very early days yet. We'll see!

[Buffafly in reply to Cally53]

Best wishes, look after yourself 🍀

[Cally53 in reply to Buffafly]

Thank you, I will do my best.

[Padayn01 in reply to Cally53]

Very early days your heart is healing it took 13 months after my abalation to feel right after docs said I feel fine in 2 weeks

[Cally53 in reply to Padayn01]

After having had two ablations, I do understand that. It was what was written in the letter which disappointed me.

[Padayn01 in reply to Cally53]

Just got to be so careful now with triggers and diet which you probably are doing but your doctor was hopeful that you will benefit from the procedure what was the gap between abalation 1 and 2?

[Cally53 in reply to Padayn01]

I do my best to reduce triggers, but to be honest I've never really found one. I had a 15 month gap between both of my ablations. They were only able to ablate two veins the first time, the other two were too difficult to get to.

[Coco51]

It is disheartening and they have worked hard to get all four PVs isolated. You may well find it reduces your symptoms. But remember there is more they can do than isolate the Pulmonary Veins. The atrial roof area and the isthmus for example. For me this extra treatment has really lessened the AF considerably. Quite a relief. But I agree with everyone above that staying positive and getting enough sleep are both really important for recovery. You may find your symptoms are so reduced you can live with them.

[Cally53 in reply to Coco51]

Thank you for your positive reply, I am really hoping that my symptoms will be less severe. I was getting af every 10 days which was just too much and really draining. I will see what my consultant says at review.

[Coco51 in reply to Cally53]

Good idea. My AF was about six times a year for about 10 years. Then Bam! It became persistent 24/7 which is far more difficult to treat. I became really exercise intolerant and really tired. But the treatment has finally worked for me...so hang in

[Neoneo]

I feel for you. I am waiting for my fourth ablation, The first two didn’t work. The third was a cryo and that did work for about eighteen months. Beginning of June I started the dreaded dropping sensation. So depressed that I have to go through all this again. I have a complication which means I cannot take any of the normal medications. It’s a Ablation or nothing for me. Not sure the mental strain of this condition is taken into consideration. Good luck on your journey.

[Cally53 in reply to Neoneo]

I really hope that your 4th ablation works for you. I really understand how you feel regarding the mental strain.

[Padayn01 in reply to Neoneo]

I 100% agree with you about the mental strain of this condition it’s unbearable

[Ppiman]

I think what they found with you is more common than we might realise. The doctor must avoid going too close to the four veins themselves for fear of causing them to narrow from the scarring.

It will depend on what part of the atrium triggered your AF. With luck and a following summer breeze, the doctor will have stopped the main mis-conduction areas.

From what I've read, you need to wait three months to see if the procedure succeeded, with some waying up to six months. Let's hope for success. That said, from what I can glean, everyone eventually ends up with permanent AF at some point. My elderly friend has had this for very many years and has no treatment or symptoms except warfarin.

Steve

[Cally53 in reply to Ppiman]

Thank you. Yes, I'll wait for the review and see what the doctor says.

[bassets]

I really feel for you as an ablation is always the great white hope despite us trying to be sensible about it. Good advice here though and I hope you will feel more positive soon. Best wishes

[Cally53 in reply to bassets]

Thank you. Yes, good advice here. Patience is key.

[PrinzMongo]

Hi, Cally53,

Wanted to endorse the sentiment of the folks who said give it time. I developed a rapid atrial quivering in February this year and got fast-tracked for an ablation early August after drugs weren't working and I presented with a heart rate of 240 bpm during an attempt to workout in a cardio-rehab facility.

A couple of days before I went under the knife, I had the great fortune to reach out to Dr Caldwell Esselstyn and describe my situation to him given I'd basically followed his recommended whole-food vegan diet with no salt-oil-sugar since a massive heart attack 9½ years earlier. I'd lost over a hundred pounds and was walking 30-35 miles a week as well. He concurred with what my cardiologist and EP were counseling me and suggested that I make sure to eat copious amounts of greens during my recovery to bathe the heart endothelium in nitric-oxide (NO). Given the trauma associated with a cardioäblation, that made sense to me and everyday I had six servings of greens+balsamic vinegar from before breakfast till a bit after supper.

I can't prove that the greens & vinegar are why things went so well for me, but I have had the good fortune to have had only one couple-of-day AFib episode during the 'blanking-period' and am waiting for my upcoming appointment to review my Holter Test and bloodwork results. I'm back to walking 30-35 miles a week. For me, I switched from tachycardia to bradycardia + low blood pressure, but I suspect I've recovered ejection fraction from 35% to probably ~50%... at a minimum, I've had no blackouts which were happening between Feb & Aug and I'm back to regular, strenuous walking.

This morning, I did an 'under the radar' alcohol challenge to see if I could tolerate the occasional gin-&-tonic... had a G&T an hour before I reported for my weekly ECG-telemetered workout. The cardiac nurses saw no AFib on my realtime ECG. I drink maybe six beers/G&Ts a year and could easily live without them, but it is a nice treat on a warm summer afternoon.

So, I can't make any promises that eating lots of greens+ balsamic will turn things around, but it makes sense to me to baby the veins and interior of the heart chambers during your recovery period. Best of luck to you! Good thoughts for you!

PS: And even though it feels like I've been 'cured', that bit of recurrent AFib was enough to remind me that it could come back again. And so I accept what my heart can do for me and I do what I can do for it. -PM

Postscript (17 Jan 2022):

A couple of weeks ago, had my follow-up with my referring cardiologist regarding Holter Test & ultrasound results. The news is that while I'm having a singlet premature atrial contractions once every 90 seconds or so as well as a singlet premature ventricle contractions at the same rate, he saw no AFib. I took the opportunity to increase the pace of my daily 5-mile/8 km walk to stress my heart, with no triggering of AFib.

The ultrasound of my heart showed I've indeed recovered 20-25% ejection fraction to 50-55% depending on viewing angle. What I didn't expect was the scaring of my septum damaged by my heart attack 10+ yrs ago has diminished. While I can't prove causation, autophagy of scar tissue and generation of undifferentiated T-cells are attributes of Dr Valter Longo's Fasting Mimicking Diet.

So, I feel profoundly grateful for my results and am continuing to work on losing my last 10-15 lbs, eating a whole-food, no oil, vegan diet and continuing to walk 5 miles a day, six days a week.

[Cally53 in reply to PrinzMongo]

I'm glad your regime is working for you, I don't know whether I could cope with eating copious amounts of greens though! Regarding alcohol - It is extremely rare for me to drink any at all, so I know that isn't a trigger for me.

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

hi. oh dear everyone is different.

mine is under control that is COMPLEX A.F with the CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKER.

A friend has just had lazer ablation. he had 2 A.Fs going.

He says that its cured him.

Another is on his 3rd ablation and tols no more.

Have you tried CCB?

take care. joy

[Cally53 in reply to JOY2THEWORLD49]

I haven't tried a CCB but will discuss it with my consultant at review.

[Snowgirl65]

Cally53, my cryoablation in 2014 was fraught with problems too, resulting in my going in and out of a-fib for a couple years after. I then had a radiofrequency ablation with much better results. There's still hope -- please don't give up!

[Cally53 in reply to Snowgirl65]

My ablation 3 weeks ago today was an RF ablation as my Cryo didn't work. I'll be patient and discuss with my consultant at review.