After having 9 cardio versions (shock treatment) in the past two years and at the age of 77, I decided to go for quality of life and forego all the drugs that I have taken over the past few years. I tried two ablations and a few drug protocols of which none worked. After all of that and the worry of always looking for where a hospital would be when I traveled the decision to have the AV Node Ablation seemed like the best avenue for some continued years.
The good news is that I had a PM installed in April, 2023 and the AV Node ablation in May, 2023. After some adjustments for the HR my PM is now performing as I wanted. I am off all meds now with the exception of 5 mg of Eliquis twice a day for a blood thinner. I am walking over a mile multiple times a week and my conditioning is improving. To celebrate, I went fly fishing with a friend for 3 days and never worried about looking for a close emergency room. The best news is that I have several trips planned without worries. All good here!
Written by
Chief4646
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Wow. You have given me inspiration. They are considering doing the same for me I'm 73. Bit worried as I would be totally dependent on the pacemaker. But it would be good not to have the worry of wondering when my heart would malfunction. Enjoy the fishing. All the best
Same here. A year since the pm insertion and 10 months from the av node ablation. Off of meds apart from apixaban and feel like ive got my life ( and sanity) back.Big decision to make at 68yrs but im now 69yrs and looming towards the "Big 70", so time flies and all that. Glad its worked for you.
The AV stands for AV Node which is the part of the heart that controls the heart beat. Sort of. Afib happens when rogue signals are sent out usually by areas where the left Atrium meets the pulmonary veins, telling the AV node to beat when it shouldn't, thus causing the heart to beat irregularly. The aim of an ablation is to burn away those areas that are sending out these rogue signals, but if it fails to do this and meds can't help either and maybe the symptoms become unbearable for the sufferer or their heart has gone into failure mode etc, then the only option can be to burn away the AV Node as well and just leave a pacemaker to do everything instead. Sort of. It means you're relying on the PM to continue working for the rest if your life. PM's can also be used to help control the heart beat when it's too slow but then it works in conjunction with the AV Node which isn't burnt away in that instance. But a PM can't stop rogue signals from being sent to the AV Node. The short term for the former procedure is pace & ablate. But there's no going back as you've only got one AV Node. So it's a big decision to make.
I’m due to have mine on Friday and feeling quite anxious and fighting the butterflies but your positive post has really helped. Thank you. I’m so pleased for you and hope mine will be as successful.
Hi, sorry for belated reply but I've had a friend staying with me. As far as I know it went well; I had sedation but only very mild and so I was totally aware of the whole procedure but apart from being aware of a bit of prodding around my groin area I really didn't feel anything, which I think is amazing. I expected to feel something when they actually knocked out the AV node but I felt absolutely nothing in my chest area at all. I had to lay flat for a couple of hours afterward until they removed the stitch in my groin and then for another half hour after that and then I was allowed home. I'm still on the same meds as when I went in and at the moment don't know when they propose weaning me off, so until that happens I won't know how successful it has been. The positive thing is that I know I can't go into a full blown AF attack now; the most recent ones I had were really dreadful and I felt so ill and consequently I've been living in fear of going any distance from home or doing anything in case I went into AF, so now I don't have that fear which in itself is worth a lot. My pacemaker has been set at 80 and I have to go to the clinic after 4 weeks for it to be reduced to 70 and then I think 4 weeks after that to be reduced to 60. No one seemed to be able to give me any information about the medication side of things, so I will wait a few more days and then I'll make some enquiries and see what I can find out. As for the groin area it is healing beautifully with virtually no bruising - the same with where the cannula was inserted, the nurse who did that was amazing, I really didn't feel a thing and I'd been fretting about that because previously they have always had a problem finding somewhere to put it (they can only use my left arm due to lymph node clearance on the right). So, all in all, really good with fingers crossed that I'll soon come off the medication and hopefully still be feeling fine. Thank you for asking. Tricia
That’s great! I’ve had 4 cardioversion and just had my second ablation 4 weeks ago. I went into afib yesterday and was devastated. It’s so depressing, I thought this will be the last procedure I need. Drs have mentioned that I may need a AV Node ablation if this last ablation didn’t work. I’m scared to death about having this procedure. Is it different from a regular ablation? What about recovery time? I take Eliquis, Entresto, Metoprolol and furosemide. Do they take you off all your medications after having this procedure? I’m 70 and I want to live but the medications and all these procedures are driving me crazy I don’t know what to do.
This is absolutely phenomenal. So happy for you. My husband is the one with AFib and I spend my life wondering and planning over the worry of the next episode.
Curious as to the type pacemaker you have? Is it a dual chamber? Leads to both ventricles? I have a single chamber to the right ventricle only. I have a AV node ablation scheduled in a week and am concerned with my quality of life.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Pacemaker with AV node ablation
Pacemaker with AV Node Ablation 
AV Node Ablation and Pacemaker
AV node ablation with pacemaker implant
Positive thoughts about having an AV node ablation. 
