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QuotepeterA80 I am leaning toward a 3rd ablation in Austin under Dr. Natale. What do other subscribers suggest? Option 1 won't get rid of the exhaustion. Option 2 might or might not, and you'll be pacemaker-dependent for life. You could try Tikosyn, but it requires a 3-day hospital stay, it's expensive, and you might not like the side effects. Natale is the most certain routeby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
A CT scan can detect a number of things but the sole purpose of a pre-ablation CT is to provide an anatomical map for the mapping system they use during the procedure.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
The point for being female is because women have a slightly higher stroke incidence. However, many EPs don't consider the female point to be "real" and don't count it. You get the BP point even if your hypertension is controlled with meds. Sorry. I get that point too even though my BP is controlled with meds. If you want to see if your hypertension is whitecoat just buy a hby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I understand being accustomed to sleeping on one side or the other and having a hard time getting used to switching, but I don't understand the scary part. Why is it scary and what does it have to do with your ablation?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteZb3 Re the CHAD score - is there a way to calculate that myself to know what my stroke risk is? I suppose I can google that but figured I would get more insight trying here as you all seem to be experts in afib which is encouraging and makes me feel less alone so thank you all. https://www.mdcalc.com/cha2ds2-vasc-score-atrial-fibrillation-stroke-riskby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Even if your BP goes high that won't hurt you for a short period of time. Even days or a few weeks wouldn't be harmful.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
She's talking about people in heart failure. If you don't have heart failure then her advice doesn't apply and being well hydrated doesn't reduce ejection fraction.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sure, no problem putting off the BP meds for half a day.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
You eat more before meds and you have fewer problems. Believe what your body tells you. Just compensate by rearranging schedules rather than eating more. For example, you could take your other meds with dinner rather than in the morning.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotewolfpack Is it a CT and not an MRI? I suppose both are used. Mine was a delayed-enhancement MRI, says so on the report. I also had a delayed-enhancement MRI prior to one of my ablations. They used that instead of a CT for feeding into their mapping system, so I believe it's a choice of one or the other but not both.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotekbog Is there still x-ray exposure during the procedure as well then, or does the pre-ablation CT scan eliminate most/all of the need for that? It does not eliminate the need for fluoroscopy (x-ray) during the procedure, but it does minimize it. The amount of radiation involved is really fair trivial. You'll get a higher dose from a flight to Austin than from the procedures.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSam Bordeaux didn't require me to have a CT scan, just a TEE. I can't explain why Bordeaux does what they do. Just explaining why CTs are used by Natale's group.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
The data from the CT scan is fed into their mapping system so it will have a precise anatomical map of your heart. It's absolutely essential to an afib ablation. (Flutter ablations are usually much simpler.) And yes, it would also reveal things like a thrombus being present. A second ablation wouldn't require another scan unless it was years later or you had it done at another center.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Being free of afib is awesome, is it not? :-) Glad you told your story. What we mostly hear here are negative results so it's always good to be reminded that sometimes things work out great.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteRobin Maybe I should cancel the conversion for this Thursday. Why? If it doesn't last, oh well, nothing lost other than a couple hours of your time. But if it does last, you're better off. Cardioversions are no big deal. I wouldn't hesitate to do one if it had even a small chance of succeeding.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
A cardioversion to get you out of afib makes perfect sense. So does the monitor (the chip). Go with all that.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Unless you're looking for massive doses like George uses, supplements are an expensive way to get potassium. Any type of pill will be limited to 99 mg under US law no matter what form it comes in (citrate, etc). With powders you can ignore that limit and use as much as you want, but if you're doing that you'd better make sure your kidney function is normal and you're not takinby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
You can substitute coconut water. It's 480 mg per 8-oz as compared to 900 mg for V8 but it's probably the highest you're going to find in a drink.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
If the Kardia said normal then you're in NSR so forget the cardioversion. And I wouldn't put much stock in what the BP cuff says about regularity. Believe the Kardia. I second what wolfpack said about Natale. If you're on his schedule, stay there and don't let local EPs steer you otherwise.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
The lack of response is probably because whoever you sent the PM to didn't notice the indicator. The only notification you get is the "Private Messages" link at the top of the page turns bold. It's very easy to overlook and I've done so several times.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Do not do another cryo ablation. As wolfpack pointed out, it would be a waste of time. You need to find out what sort of ablation they're suggesting (cryo vs. RF) and you need to find out how many ablations the doctor has performed. If the answer is less than hundreds, preferably thousands, just say no. You're not dealing with someone who has the experience necessary to do successful afby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Pulsed electrical field is interesting stuff. If it pans out it should greatly reduce complications like phrenic nerve injury. The dailymail article is rather incoherent and misses the important points, but here are some pretty good results from a small clinical trial.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Since your dizziness continued even while lying down, I very much doubt it's hypotension by any cause, or even cardiac at all. What you've described sounds much more like vertigo.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotemwcf OK so a few lucky individuals like you have been successfully ablated to the point where - if I recall correctly - you don't even feel a single ectopic. That said, many other Natale ablatees do continue to notice PACs and short runs of PACs etc. It's a lot more than "a few." Keep in mind that people who undergo successful ablations don't tend to follow forumsby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
The material used in the Watchman has not been a problem and the FLX uses the same material as used in the original. The main problem with Watchman devices was operator inexperience in the early years. As operator experience has grown, problems have decreased substantially.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteElizabeth So without having an ablation and cells not encircled by dead scar tissue what stops these cells from "blazing away with random" in someone who hasn't had an ablation? You said it yourself in another post: it's probably genetic.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotewolfpack Fibrosis alters the electrical substrate of the atria. Think of perfectly healthy atria as a wire - electricity can flow uniformly through a wire. Now dip the wire in acid so it corrodes and gets lots of pitted and oxidized areas. Now electricity can't flow uniformly through the wire. It has to find a way around the bad spots. That's what fibrotic tissue in the atria is doby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotemwcf The EP comment you refer to is a bit odd given that an ablation is more typically supposed to prevent AF by blocking errant signals from the PVs. I think what he probably meant was an ablation doesn't stop the errant cells causing the afib from firing. It just prevents those signals from going anywhere. I'm sure the cells in my PVs are blazing away with random, afib-inducinby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteThe Anti-Fib Yes I agree, PVC's are much more of a potential danger, as if it progresses to V-Tach, then that is terminal unless you are are in a Hospital, or somewhere that a defibrillator is available. V-tach is potentially fatal, but only potentially. People commonly experience v-tach without dying, even sustained v-tach. But yes, it's definitely an ominous rhythm that demandsby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM