AV node ablation with pacemaker implant

[queseyo]

I'm an 85 woman with permanent AF since 2018. It started in 2011 and was ill-treated for many years. Now my new EP suggested having an AV node ablation as a last resort. However, he advised me that it is with some risks, the procedure, and also with a pacemaker implanted.

I'm on Atenolol, 12 mg once a day, and Digoxin, 75 mg. I feel unwell and without energy. Any similar circumstance to comment on, thanks for reading.😪

[Hylda2]

Had pacemaker and av node at 79! All good.

[queseyo in reply to Hylda2]

Thanks, Hylda, your experience is encouraging even though I'm much older.😀 May I ask, are you still on meds at all? Thanks.

[Hylda2 in reply to queseyo]

I still take Dabigatran and diuretics but that is all

[BobD Volunteer]

You should have been told that whilst it won't stop AF, the ventricular rate, what you feel at your pulse , will be regular so you should have more energy . The AF can still carry on and some people can feel it. Most people do feel better afterwards.

[queseyo in reply to BobD]

Thanks, Bob for your useful comment. I will mention it next time see my EP. Interestingly is because my main problem is due that I can hear the heart pulsations in my left ear which is most annoying especially at night keeping me awake, due to carotid calcification, and having no energy at all. 👍

[Hylda2 in reply to queseyo]

I have pulsatile tinnitus too. Can hear a steady thump but anything better than hearing AF. Loved listening to my heart back in NSR after an episode. Am told I am now in permanent AF but can’t feel a thing! 🤸🏻‍♂️

[queseyo in reply to Hylda2]

Hi Hylda, I’m following your posts because they interest me, but forgive me if I’m wrong: I think you said before that you had an AV node ablation and a pacemaker done. How is it then that you still have Arrhythmias? I would have thought that the Pacemaker would regulate the Heart Rate. Thanks for posting.

[Hylda2 in reply to queseyo]

Apparently still have AF in the two upper atria

[Rainfern]

Queseyo, it sounds like time to celebrate that we live in an age where medical procedures are offered us into old age. It is normal now to have surgery in your 80s and the EP would not have suggested this if he didn’t think it the best option. So please don’t think yourself into being too old even if the AF is making you feel that way! The risks of surgery are there at any age. And it’s the duty of medics to spell them out and scare us a bit. But it sounds like you’re in good hands now and so many here have benefitted from pace and ablate. Good luck and hope you soon have relief from the awful symptoms.

[queseyo in reply to Rainfern]

Thanks for posting, Rainfern. I appreciate that we, who suffer from AF, can understand each other's predicaments. I have received many positive posts, including yours, about going ahead with the last resort, as the EP put it. An appt with him in July, and we may talk about it with my GP's input as well. 😀