Has anyone traveled to get an ablation (not a PFA) for afib and aflutter at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio? If yes, please share any/all insights, tips, experiences re: process and the recovery.
Any thoughts on having a dead loop recorder removed at the same time or might that be better done at a later time? TY
Dr dressing did my ablation for Afib. He’s the best but it didn’t last ( I’d also had 2 oblations before that at Kettering, didn’t last) I had chronic Afib. Cleveland clinic saved my life. I had Superior Vena Cava occlusion 98 %, 14 hr surgery. I also had open heart and The Maze procedure 2021,surgery for Afib 10 hrs, Dr Kapadia , no more Afib.
Wow..you must have super powers to have gone through all that. Thanks for being willing to share to give others hope, the benefit of your experiences and inspiration
I live in a suburb of Cleveland and went to Cleveland Clinic for my last two ablations. It's top-notch, but extremely vast. They should give you directions to the place, and the various locations in the building, through the postal service and MyChart before your appointment. Despite it being an extremely busy place, it's run like clockwork, i.e. your EKG, echo, BP check, etc. are booked at exact times. They seem to never be late, and you're given instructions at each "stop" where to go to the next test and how to get there. If you drive there, I suggest valet parking. There's a circular area in front where the valet picks up and tags your car. It's $10 for the valet service, plus tip (this is the States, after all), so it's a bit much, but much better than trying their very complicated parking garage and automated voucher system. I don't know who your EP is, but mine (Dr. Taigen) is very good and explains everything that's to be done. Before you know it, you're waking up in the recovery room, then on to your hospital room. I stayed overnight on both occasions. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about your dead loop recorder. Can you message them via MyChart your concerns? Feel free to ask more questions of me if I missed anything.
We will be driving from MICH (3+ hours) and have a room booked at the Holiday inn (3 nites?) for t he pre op appt on Tues, procedure wed, overnight @ hosp and then 1 nite back at Holiday Inn with the drive home on Friday if all goes well.How fortunate you lived so close... removes an added layer of stuff to deal with right after and of course later on. Had tried to get Dr Taigen as heard great things about him when I scoured this website, or Dr Wazni but neither was available. CC seems to do great job with their end of things... it's the aftermath and potential complications that are keeping me and mostly my wife up at night. How did your recovery go? Any other tips what to bring or do?
I understand then, driving from Michigan. My recovery went very well both times. Just as everyone here on the forum says, don't overdo things for a few weeks after the procedure. I'm an avid gardener, and because I felt so well even a week after the ablation(s), I went about my normal bending, pulling, lifting, etc. It resulted in pressure in the chest, so maybe interfered a bit in my recovery process. Regarding what to bring with you: Your devices with charging cord if you want to stay in touch of course; other than that, the hospital provides everything. May I ask who your EP is?
Dr Santangeli is doing the procedure at Cleveland
I have not but EP Dr. Santangeli is there now. He did my afib/atypicalflutter ablation at University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, commonly known as Penn Med. He is one of the best and trained under Andrea Natale.
A huge ty for your reply.. as Dr Santangeli is who will be doing my afib and aflutter ablations. Reassuring to know he is considered one of the best!.. Heard he sometimes redoes other docs ablations but thought he was more of a vtach expert than a AFIB Aflutter expert. How did your procedure and recovery period go, especially since you had 2 ablations. Any other info would be most appreciated as well
I had three ablations at Cleveland by Bruce Lindsey who retired last year. I had moderate success with the ablations. There is a reason they are rated number one in heart care. They do things very well but ablations are hit and miss and carry their own problems. I would recommend Dr. Taigen who is the head of EP.
Three ablations! Are you still glad you went through all this... It seems like there's a lot more to the rest of the ablation story other than.. it's a better done/sooner rather than later ...
I had a PCI ablation for Afib + Watchman insertion a few years ago at Cleveland Clinic. I then developed Aflutter and had a second ablation for that a few months later. My overall recovery took about 6 months as I had problems with tachycardia and rhythm problems. I also wore a Holter Monitor for a few days after those problems, but it didn't show anything serious. I didn't have a loop recorder.
After about 6 months my heart calmed down and with one brief exception I have thankfully been in NSR to the present day. I also take Metoprolol 25mg daily. I don't need to take blood thinners except for a baby aspirin due to the Watchman, and I purchased a KardiaMobile so I can take my EKG regularly and I see my local EP twice a year for checkups.
Overall I was happy with services provided by my CC EP Dr. Wazni and the other CC team members. I did stay overnight after each procedure and the only other surgical complications were difficulty getting the bleeding/oozing at the ablation insertion sites to heal (took several hours with pressure blocks) and a damaged uvula from the throat tube during the second ablation. It did heal on its own after about 10 days.
Read the Health Unlocked literature on what to expect before and after the ablation if you haven't already. It's important to take it easy after the procedure for awhile and be patient with your progress during the "blanking period." It has been great to be in NSR for awhile now and I recommend ablations as a first line Afib treatment as now recommended by treatment guidelines. My treatment medication (Sotalol) which I took before I decided on an ablation led to lowered heart rate which could have been very serious.
Best wishes to you.
I am following the "ablation is now the first line of treatment and do it sooner than later line of thinking" since after an increasing amount of mostly aflutter episodes for awhile that converted with PIP Metropolol, my last episode was in 10/23 and required my first cardioversion then but have been in NSR since! On 25 mg Metropolol at night ever since.
So, of course I am wondering if I am doing the right thing moving ahead with this under these circumstances esp since probably what's to come will be worse than what I am have now. I am in my mid 70s and have BPH, diabetes, poor veins, etc so the aftermath is particularly unsettling. . Any other tips about dealing with possible complications from the groin site or throat tube... or the dreaded GA and urinary issues? I did read this site's worksheet.. looks like recovery can take at least a week at best to many months.
"What's to come" will probably be short term issues like I had that ended and left me with longer term improvements in my daily quality of life. Take advantage of your recovery by relaxing and/or meditating with occasional naps. I began walking and exercising a couple weeks after each of my ablations and passed a treadmill stress test with flying colors about 6 months after my second ablation.
As Afib/Aflutter are thought to be progressive disorders you are wise to address them via ablation sooner rather than later. If your primary problem is uncomplicated Aflutter then your chances of a "cure" are even better. As I have both it is more of a challenge. My echocardiogram also showed some significant heart structural problems and reduced ejection fraction, which has since improved. I also was in my 70's as you are, As I had mentioned I also failed with medication and with a couple cardioversions before the ablations.
I'm sure your EP must have reviewed possible complications and risks with you, but keep in mind that for the vast majority it is a relatively safe procedure. CC has done many thousands of them and you are in good hands there and with your excellent EP.
I am very grateful that I went through the ablations as I am doing much better now. It is definitely worth the risks in my opinion. You can only do so much to "prepare" and the rest is up to the medical team and your higher power. It sounds like you have prepared well and you will be able to deal with any issues. You will hopefully enjoy a higher quality of life in the future with one less health issue to contend with after your ablation.
Please keep in touch and let us know how you do post ablation!
Implanted Loop Recorder?
MRI’s with implantable loop recorders
implantable loop recorder 
AFib vs Aflutter
At last at Cleveland clinic
