I am curious to know how long the effectiveness of an ablation lasts for those who have had one. From my research, the success rate can vary greatly, but what I have read is that the success rate decreases by 7% each year for those who have paroxysmal AFIB (which is what I have).
Anyway, I had mine about 1.5 years ago, and “knock on wood,” I have been AFIB-free ever since. I was always in good shape, running and elliptical 4-5 times a week. I was a moderate drinker before the ablation and reduced that down to sporadic drinking at the most. I am a 63-year-old male
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Bucky1026
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My first ablation (age 48) lasted 15 years and looked like total success until I had an aortic dissection 7 years ago and a 14 hour OHS surgery. That brought the AF back! But in my recent ablation 2 months ago the mapping showed the original work was still holding up, the surgery had made new areas of activity, now fixed 😀
Hi, i had PAF for a few months before ablation Jan-23 and so far so good. Had bouts of 'possible arrhythmia' after exercise but self corrected soon afterwards which I've been told is not a concern. Also noticed I get sporadic bouts of ectopics at rest that i never had before. Was a little concerning at first but was also told these are harmless and that things probably wont feel the same as it did pre PAF diagnosis or just that I'm more tuned into it...either way, just getting on with it as best I can 👍
My first 2 ablations were not successful. Went straight back into AF after 2 days. Last one was thought to be unsuccessful as it followed the same pattern but then 5 months later my heart went into sinus rhythm. Been that way since...18 months now.And this is after 20 years of AF. At least 10 of which were persistent (constant) AF.
I know it won't last forever but so far, so good 😊
I had my ablation back in March this year and so far no episodes that I am aware of. My EP hasn't taken me off the medication as yet (I am on Sotalol and Apixaban) and I think he is reluctant to do so. I was also told I would be on apixaban for life. Who is your consultant at Glenfield? Mine is Prof Ng.
Thank you, I believe he works very closely with Prof Ng, they share the same secretary. Perhaps they have different views on things. I am seeing Prof Ng on Monday I will be asking him again about the Sotalol. My heart rate is faster now than before the ablation at around 74bpm before it was about 62bpm, maybe that's why he wants me to stay on the meds.Do you not have to keep taking an anticoagulant?
hello Karendeena, Elaine Hearne writing. I hope you are well. I am also under the care of Prof NG I am having an Ablate and Pace at Glenfield on January 8th. My concern is that the pacemaker people says they will set my heart rate to 80bpm which concerns me as I have been at 60bpm for years. Hope it will be alright. Elaine.
Hi Elaine, I would have the utmost trust in Professor Ng and his team, he is one if the best and it took me a while to find him.I understand your concern here, I was worried because my heart rate is mainly in the 70s now but he doesn't seem concerned about that (it was 84bpm last time I saw him in August) he said that was good!
I actually think they like the heart rate a bit higher, not sure why but I intend to ask him when I see him on Monday. I will let you know.
Have you mentioned this to the arrythmia nurses at Glenfield? They were a godsend to me before and after my ablation ❤️❤️
Why do you need pace and ablate as opposed to a straightforward ablation?
hi I already have a pacemaker because I was having episodes of syncope (passing out) I guess it is just an ablation of my AV node. I had a lovely cardiac nurse Charlotte Neve and she was always there with any answer and help, but she moved to Lincoln. There is Suzanne Armstrong, but she usually just says "I need an ablation" Charlotte used to say "my AV node wasn't working properly " after I had sent her some Kardia ECGs Hope all goes well with professor NG.💓 If he says why they increase the pulse rate I would love to know. Best wishes Elaine.
>>Do you not have to keep taking an anticoagulant?
As a fit and healthy 66 year old male without AF (since ablation) my CHA2DS2VASc score is 1 (when I was 64 is was 0). My AF, when it happened was symptomatic and I also carry a Kardia Device and wear an Apple watch, so I’m confident I would know if I had another AF episode. After discussion (when I was 64) it was agreed I could adopt a pill in pocket approach. So I carry both Apixaban and Flecainide. If I was to have an AF episode I have been told to immediately take Apixaban and a “PIP” dose or two of Flecainide (up to 300mg). If I revert to NSR within a 24 hours, I can stop taking Apixaban. But if I don’t revert then I have to continue taking Apixaban until I can get treatment. If the hospital is confident I have been anti-coagulated since the AF episode started they can cardiovert me. I guess if I had the same discussion again, now that I’m 66, daily Apixaban may be recommended, but I’d probably decline as my father nearly bled to death on Warfarin when he had a bowel haemorrhage.
I am surprised at Dr Sandilands, I know a few people under him and he seems to follow the same protocol with apixaban as you can have episodes without knowing it. This happened to my brother and he had a stroke whilst our driving. I was put on it at age 63 with just 1 point for being female and have been on it ever since I think warfarin is different and has more of a bleed risk. My father fell and banged his head whilst on warfarin, unfortunately his cerebral haemorrhagic robbed him of his life aged 60 years, but that was 36 years ago when DOACs weren't available.
I didn't think that apixaban or any other anticoagulant could be used as a PIP? I must ask about that one ❤️
Fortunately Apixaban works quite quickly. Nevertheless I was warned that at some point in the future I may find that my awareness of being in AF may decrease. But, at the moment, I still notice pretty much every missed beat (PVCs). You may find this paper '“Pill-in-Pocket” Anticoagulation for Atrial Fibrillation: Fiction, Fact, or Foolish?' of interest. I'd post a direct link, but I don't think we're allowed to.
I lasted 10 years after the first ablation but never was a total cure for me, although bouts were few and far between but got progressively more frequent towards the end. I'm now 6 years post second ablation with the same result. Now at a crossroads with the way forward.
I suffered with PAF for several years, with episodes occurring roughly twice monthly. Had a PVI cryoablation in August 2018. I'm happy to report that I've been completely AF-free since that time. I wouldn't hesitate to have another ablation should the need arise.
Sorry for hijacking your post Bucky1026 but i've been signed up to this group a couple of years now and most, if not all, group members I see posting seem to have been prescribed some form of rhythm meds they continue to take post ablation...i was never given any meds pre or post ablation other than rivaroxaban which stopped at the end of the 90 day blanking period...i'm just curious how common that is? I was 50 at the time i went into PAF(52 now) always been fit and active, admittedly slowed down a lot this past year with other health concerns getting in the way...also diagnosed with bradycardia same time as PAF with avg resting bpm 48-56
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