My mom (81) has had bradycardia and afib for decades. About 5 years ago, she got a pacemaker and was put on sotalol & Metropolol, which controlled things well for a while.
Recently, she’s been having more frequent episodes of afib (lasting a week or so at a time). Her Dr suggested an ablation, but my mom is concerned that with her age, there may be greater risks than benefits. Has anyone here gotten an ablation after age 80? How was your recovery?
Age is not a barrier however the older we are and the longer AF has been established then the less likely it would be to have a successful ablation with lasting NSR.
It is an invasive procedure with some risks and recovery is not always as quick and straightforward as suggested by the doctors. If a GA is administered rather than sedation then you have all of the complications connected with GA recovery on top.
You always have to balance benefits with risks and other factor such as: How symptomatic is the AF? What sort of quality of life has she now? What is your Mum;s general health and fitness like? If the AF is very symptomatic and quality of life very poor then worth considering. If symptoms are not that intrusive and she believes she can live with it, then I wouldn’t - I had 2 ablations in my 60’s and AF still came back so there are no guarantees ablation would work or last.
Best wishes
When I asked my EP about my age risk he told me 70 was considered young in their team and that they frequently give ablations to people in their 80s. So I’m sorry I can’t answer your question as I’m just a youngster at 70! Your mum will be wise to take the advice of an EP - they won’t offer her an ablation if they don’t believe it to be worthwhile.
Since you are in the USA, check with Randall Wolf wolfminimaze.com/
I wonder if her consultant is suggesting a different sort of ablation - with the AV node ablated. That would mean that your mother would be dependent on the pacemaker.
Maybe not if she is still going back into sinus rhythm. If it was an AV node ablation then it is a simpler and shorter procedure with fewer risks - although she would be pacemaker dependent. Once done, the ventricular rate is set by the pacemaker - the atrial fibrillation continues but doesn’t affect the heart rate. A lot of people feel better on it - but it could be that your mother’s AFib has not yet progressed quite that far.
As MiniMeGreen said above, do look into the suitability of Dr Wolf's mini-maze procedure, which seems less invasive to me. And Dr Wolf gets a lot of "last resort" multiple prior catheter ablation patients, but actually prefers those with no prior catheter ablations as the success rate is highest for this cohort. Good luck.
Age doesn't seem to be a barrier to ablation a friend's husband had an ablation at 84 and then had a hip replacement about a year afterwards and is still going strong at 89 with no AF and a good hip so that he can go on his long walks again.
That’s great. Good on him.👍
Hi! I would recommend considering the AVNode ablation also as was previously noted. Since your mom is 81 and already has a PM it may be way to go. What I have read here and personally experienced is that ablations rarely are the end all answers to afib and seldom is one and done the reality. I had 3 done that were unsuccessful and ended up having the AV node done.
There is a new procedure called Pulse Field ablation (PFA) that is available in Europe and will probably be available in the US sometime next year. It destroys far less tissue than the traditional ablation. If she can wait for that, I would suggest that she do so. That's what I'm doing.
My mother had a TAVI (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implanation) at 88 years old. She had a good 8 years after the procedure and it gave her a new lease of life.
I’ll be 82 in a few weeks and had my first ablation last week. I had no issues at all during the surgery and no pain since coming home. I have had shortness of breath but have just been prescribed prednisone and lasix. I think SOB may not be common with ablations - my EP didn’t mention it! Tell her not to worry.
Ablation fixed esophagal ring too (that caused AFib in the first place?)
Can too many ablations cause “stiff heart”?
Is it too early to do ablation after just four episodes? 
Too heavy for ablation
Age limit on ablation
