Hi everyone
I have AF and after a 7 day monitor which showed 24% AF, echo & a MRI I have been told by my cardiologist that my left Atruim is dilated mildly and will stretch further with AF even though I am on Bisoprolol and Apixiban and not feeling symptoms at the moment.
He would recommend an ablation as this is possible now before my heart stretches any further. Obviously I am anxious about this scary heart procedure.
Any advise please as this is very daunting.
Many thanks.
Sounds as though you had excellent advice and sounds good. The procedure itself is amazing and the thought far worse than the reality. The recovery however can be more problematic than you are led to believe for some people.
I would suggest you go to the AFA website where there are lots of information about ablation, preparation and recovery sheet written by patients so more realistic than any advice given by doctors.
I've had three ablations and I can tell you there isn't a lot to be afraid of, BUT we all worry right up until we have the procedure. It's not until afterwards that we realised that it really wasn't that bad. Most people feel better right away but some can take a few weeks or months to return to their normal energy levels.
I must warn you that for some people they can make attacks worse and an ablation may not be the miracle cure hoped for. I had my first one naively thinking it was going to completely cure my AF. It didn't, but it did cure my heart beating wildly when I walked up hills (I thought everyone's did that). My attacks of AF became worse and I would end up spending days in hospital, I had a second ablation and it didn't help at all and I was told I wouldn't be offered any more. I kept asking the advice of the AF nurses who worked for my EP and miraculously was offered a third ablation at short notice. This third ablation did help, my daughter came to visit me in hospital and said mum you're like your old self and I must admit I felt really well. However, before I could leave hospital the next day my heart took off racing. After another 24hrs it calmed and I went home. About 4 weeks later it took off racing again and after a few days I went back to the hospital for a cardioversion. Since then I've been ok, but still have AF, but it doesn't go too fast - usually flits between 60-90's. I am so much better for having that third ablation. Some people feel better after their first, but I think it is rare.
I really wish that back before having any of my ablations I could have known that what eat or drink can be the trigger for our AF.
I'll do another post on diet, as this one is rather long.
Jean
Welcome to the forum.
Having had AF for 17 years, three ablations and numerous cardioversions my advice to people who have been diagnosed with AF is the following:
1. You are most unlikely to die from AF. I used to think that the way my heart bounced around I would surely be found dead next day. Still here though!
2. Changing your diet to a more plant based one, avoiding any foods or drinks containing artificial additives or caffeine, not allowing yourself to become dehydrated, cutting back on sugar and losing weight (if it's needed) will all have a beneficial effect on your AF. Artificial sweeteners were a sure trigger for my attacks. How I wish I'd known all of this before having any of my ablations. Would I have listened if anyone had told me? Probably not, because I believed ablations would cure me - three didn't! They have helped some people though and my AF now is not so severe.
3. This is a hard one, but looking at gadgets that show your pulse and AF will make you anxious and anxiety feeds AF. I was obsessed with what my heart was doing for about the first ten+ years of my AF journey and my attacks were so debilitating I'd end up in a hospital ward, it has taken me a long time to take my mind off this subject and get on with living. The less I think about it, the better I feel. Now I used to feel cross with people who suggested I stop looking at my pulse rate machines, I thought that their AF couldn't be as bad as mine and they didn't understand how poorly attacks made some of us feel. I would get cross with anyone who said they could still go on holiday and carry on life as normal. They made me feel evil, by not understanding how ill I felt! In our minds AF is only as bad as we have experienced, for some attacks are mild for others they're more severe.
4. Make sure you don't slouch, or unwittingly do shallow breathing. If you do your heart will protest.
5. Try supplementing with magnesium which many people find eases their palpitations (I use glycinate from YourSupplements) and I also take vitamins B12, D3, C and zinc). I feel well and there's nothing I can't do now, despite being in constant low rate AF. Or at least I think I am, I don't check these days.
Sanjay Gupta a cardiologist from York Hospital in the U.K. has made some helpful YouTube posts. They're presented in a way we can easily understand and he really cares about people.
Here it is:
youtube.com/c/YorkCardiolog...
Jean
All the tests and options can be very confusing at first and of course on top of that is our own individual preference for drugs or invasive procedures. Hence why information generally and in particular the responses you have had so far are so valuable.
The priority must be to stop the AF episodes completely if possible. So I would ask your cardio to put you on the ablation list (likely to be a delay for that) and ask he/she in the meantime if you are appropriate to try Flecainide at 100mgs or even 200mgs or perhaps some other anti-arhythmic drug. If the latter works and you don't want to rock the boat you can always decline the ablation when the time comes.
Caveat: I am biased as I was offered an ablation in 2014 but opted for an increase in just Flecainide to 200mgs which stopped the AF and none since, aside from 2 very short blips. I am not complacent and continue to take other advice and action on lifestyle changes. I still have the ablation option and although being older is a disadvantage, I hope this will be cancelled out by improvements in the procedure over time.
The decision is not easy but follow your gut feel.
Don't be worried. Ablations are performed all over the country and the world I had one for AFib, and another for AFlutter. Neither ablation was an issue. The consequences of the AFib as you have described are more worrying, so if I were you I would be happy that it was being addressed. Hopefully your Atrium will recover somewhat if the AFib is reduced.
Best wishes
I've had af for 17 years and only just being offered ablation, unusually.I had echo that showed mild to moderate enlargement of left atrium and mild left ventricular dysfunction. I'm still able to have ablation. There are more factors involved that the electrophysiologist takes into account.
As others have said its not as scary as it sounds ..though I'm yet to have it, AND I also understand, as Jean points out, that this may not be the first procedure or any complete long term solution. Its good to gather information from medics, the bhf and those with lived experience, and make an informed choice.
Wishing you well.
It's not as bad as you fear (and, boy was I fearful each time!). For me the recovery was worse, it was a good 6 months before I got most of my strength and energy back. But it depends on how much work they do and in each individual. Good luck
Ablations have varying results depending on your situation. My first one helped somewhat (but still a positive improvement) and the second one helped a lot. I had no problems healing after each. The procedure is actually no big deal, you'll rest up afterwards and then take it easy at home. A man with whom I worked had his ablation and was back at work two days later, though had to refrain from being very active for a while.
I used Bisoprolol 2.5 mg twice daily for the period of 3 years, 2016 -2019. It was good, able to lower my heart rate around 70-90. It also helped to reduce the blood pressure. But at last my cardiologist switched me to Ivabradine 5 mg twice daily in June 2019 after an episode of 190 BPM, though it came down to 89 BPM within minutes when ECG was taken in the clinic. There after I am still on that medicine. It is costlier. Ivabradine reduces the HR below 70. Now it lies 58-78 range. Initially I was little anxious about the medicine. I have consulted other doctors, but all of them are in support of using Ivabradine. Only one EP tried with Nebivolol 2.5 mg , but I had to switch over to Ivabradine to control my heart rate. Nebivolol not able to slow down my heart as like Ivabradine. According to doctors my case is Paroxysmal AF. Every time my ECG is normal, echo normal, holter is ok. but I don't know why I feel some knocking sensation in my mid chest.
Ablation 
Ablation.
ablation or not to have ablation
Ablation on Wednesday 
