Firstly, to my surprise I have an ablation booked for April 9th. But.....after doing much reading and talking to my EP I think I am going to decline at this time. What made my mind up is the article I have attached below which I think some of you will find very interesting. It talks about the PVI and there is also an article about Aspirin which some of you will find informative. Hopefully you can all open up the attachment.
I am concerned about the conversion pauses I am having. But to be honest I have only felt one conversion in the 8 years of having AF. My EP said that my pauses are not too serious at this point. He said when it is 10 seconds then that is dangerous territory. I am not there yet and maybe I won't ever be. I obviously would not have any option but to have the ablation at that point.
One thing I've been doing for the past few months is taking a B12 supplement after reading it is the most important vitamin for repairing nerves. It is helping. My AF burden was anywhere from 14 to 21 days NOW it is 21 to 30 days. It is improving. Who knows maybe my AF burden will be once a month or less. That would be amazing.
I asked my EP how does he know where to burn the rogue signals. His answer: I just do the PVI. If we see anything we will also do it. He does not Map the signals and hopes I am not in AF when doing the operation as he says the heart is unstable to work on. So to me just a crap shoot.
Thank you. Below an extract from the article by Dr Mandrola. Not sure whether or not this is to be welcomed.
“But in recent years, these alerts mostly point me to business stories on how big the AF ablation market is and is going to be. It’s especially crazy these weeks and months because all the big industry players are marketing their new way to kill atrial myocytes with pulsed field ablation (PFA). The marketing with PFA rivals that of left atrial appendage closure”
I am pretty sure I have too high cortisol and have had for many years, which could be the cause of my waking in the night despite going to sleep normally. I have just read from the Good Health Naturally newsletter that Vits B3,B6 & B12 with L-Theanine may buffer the effect of high cortisol and improve sleep. They do sell vitamins but I am going to order their 'Relax well' product anyway as it is worth a try to crack this sleep problem.
If you are reasonably asymptomatic in AF then it's reasonable not to have an ablation for now. I had one back in 2009 which was successful for 13 years which was great. I have since about 2022 developed permanent slow AF. This doesn't bother me (I didn't even know I had it, it was only when the EP reviewed old Kardia results that he identified it). I can still exercise quite hard.
If you do go for an ablation in the future, I suggest you find the best EP and yours doesn't sound great. No mapping?? Does he only do cryo?
On aspirin, those results only compare aspirin to no aspirin and they show a slight advantage to taking it. But it's not nearly comparable to an anticoag.
On B12, could you get it from food, such as meat, fish, nuts, pulses, etc.? Then you get a whole lot more nutrients as well 🙂
You are right that choosing an EP is essential for the best results. If I do decide to proceed with an ablation I'm going to interview...lol the EP and question how he/she repairs the rogue signals. To me that would mean "mapping". My current EP just goes for the PV and hopes for the best. Obviously the chances are you are going to need a "touch up".
You can definitely get B12 from food but it's hard to get enough. Taking a B12 tablet that is slow release I feel (only my opinion) works best and only 1 small pill a day and you're done. I only started doing this after having my blood taken and found that I was on the low end of B12. And of course after reading about B12 and how it is imperative for healthy nerves including the heart I had to try it.
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