3 month update post ablation and question

[Afib_girl]

Since my first cyro ablation failed my dr wants to do rf ablation… or take medication which I don’t tolerate well.. considering I have had 2 cardio version and a cryo that didn’t work he thinks my afib is coming from a different area which ablation won’t help… but is willing to try again. Does this sound right? Family is telling me get a second opinion.

Since mine comes and goes can I just take the Eliquis and deal the the afib that I get about once a week instead of going thru all this again? That’s the one thing I didn’t ask him…

[Ppiman]

You need to ask your doctor for health advice but, all else being equal, that is, assuming your heart is mechanically and structurally sound, I suppose the advice will be to either ride the AF episodes out, or, maybe better, to try to keep the heart rate down by taking a beta-blocker tablet as needed.

Steve

[Jajarunner]

Second opinion imho xx

[theohappy]

"a cryo that didn’t work he thinks my afib is coming from a different area which ablation won’t help… but is willing to try again." This sentence is confusing. Is your doctor saying the AF is coming from an area where an ablation won't help or that it is coming from an area the cryo didn't address. If the former, then why do an RF ablation? Doesn't sound like he is very confident in the success of an rf ablation. As to just taking the Eliquis and living with the occasional AF, that is entirely up to you. AF tends to get worse as time goes on and you may find at some point that medication or another go at an ablation is needed. You should have some kind of monitoring device (Kardia) to make sure you are not in AF more than you realize. I could not tolerate any of the AF meds, Eliquis, or otherwise. I did an rf ablation, the only kind my EP does because of the greater success rate. I am still in the blanking period, but after 4 months almost always in NSR without any heart medications. Consider another opinion from an EP who only does rf ablations with a high success rate. Of course success is also dependent upon the condition of your heart.

[Afib_girl in reply to theohappy]

he doesn’t think it will work but is willing to try again. I am getting a second opinion but he can’t see me until March 1st… eep I am going to stop all meds except eliquis to see how I do. I only get afib once a week (10 hours ish) each time. I’m 37 years old so don’t want to be on medications long term esp since they don’t work anyways.

I have an Apple Watch

[honey1958]

I would certainly not rule out another ablation

My EP said when I had first cryo ablation it might need a touch up.

Only you know how badly AF affects you. The only thing is as you get older it could get worse. I have read about heart 'remodelling' and the saying AF begets AF.

I have opted for 2nd ablation but having said that also am not well controlled on medication x