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Quotebeardman With the three different cardiologists and the EP that I saw, not one of them even asked about my diet. I was very clear with all of them that I kept very good records of everything and even asked if changes in my diet might help. I always received the blanket statement that eating better is always good for you . . . What is,”better” when you don’t know what I’m eating! Sorry forby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I've always been told to stop the antiarrhythmic I was taking 5 half lives before a procedure, and that includes Natale. I'm not sure why Penn would say otherwise, but they are one of the top centers in the country for ablations. I very much doubt they'll do a simple PVI and not do any mapping or trying to provoke the arrhythmia. Penn is better than that.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters Scary article on calcium channel blockers: Until you notice that the newest research they relied on to arrive at the scary article is 18 years old and contradicted by larger, more recent studies. For example: QuoteCONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that CCBs reduce the risk of all-cause mortality compared with active therapy and prevent heart failure compared with placebo. Fuby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotebeardman The EP said that my stroke chances where the same no matter how the conversion occurred. He said it didn’t matter if it was an EVC, drug induced or naturally occurring. Your EP is correct. The risk is that if there's a clot in your left atrium and you return to NSR, the resumed effective pumping action will pump the clot out and a stroke is the likely result. It doesn'tby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I suspect he's being required to take anticoagulants for three weeks prior to the cardioversion to give any existing clots time to dissolve. That's standard procedure. So what his EP is saying is don't take flecainide until that time period has passed. You definitely don't want to convert to NSR by any means when you've got a clot lurking in your left atrium. Anotherby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
My first thought is articles like that are why I don't like Steven Ryan and a-fib.com. He reports some random guy's experiences and then says -- based on nothing -- that PVCs lead to afib. If you read the random guy's actual report, he's not so alarmist: QuoteAccording to Mayo, if PVCs are over 20% of your heart beats, they are dangerous. Mayo calls that level ‘high densityby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotebolimasa The movie did not have issue so much with approval for new, novel devices, I'm sure, as you say, the approval process is difficult. The big issue it had was that modifying an existing device fast tracked the approval, (It seems there was name for this that I've forgotten) and that the testing of these newly modified devices was very limited, and the system of reporting foby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I work for a company that makes medical devices and lab instruments used by the pharmaceuticals industry, so naturally we're FDA regulated. Rocketritch is right. It typically takes years to get a medical device from first prototype to FDA approval, and a lot of drugs and devices never get approved at all. In fact, we just underwent an FDA audit. The company prepared for it for weeks, and eveby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
That's great news for you! Awesome! :-)by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters I guess that's why hybrid techniques are being used...to burn from both sides for success with difficult cases. Makes sense. Only time will tell which works best but if I had to bet I would bet on catheters. The downside of hybrid procedures is those holes they have to make in your chest. They may not be big but they add significant risk, pain, and weeks of recovery. (Not surby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotebolimasa Part of me wonders if I should just wait and see what happens with my afib, see how tolerable it is... But on the other hand I see no indications that this ever gets better or resolves on it's own Go with your instincts because they're exactly right. Afib does not get better on its own. It does the exact opposite. And the longer it lasts, the more entrenched it becomesby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotebolimasa Geez you guys are scaring me!!!!! Sorry, we don't mean to scare anyone, but ablations are what they are. They are burns applied to the inner walls of your atria that create permanent scar tissue that blocks afib signals. There are tons of other surgical procedures that give people back their health and their life that are a lot scarier than that. I've undergone six ablaby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters That's the fear, anyway. As explained to me, it's nothing like cauterizing...far more gentle with pressure sensors and water spray to make sure the catheter isn't too hot. Well, that's what EPs like to tell people. ;-) It's not like cauterizing only in the sense that the burning is done more slowly and collateral damage to surrounding tissue is minimized.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegrace123 To the rest of you: I don't feel obligated to share more details about my medical condition with people who've communicated with me in the manner that you have. I'm sorry you feel that way.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
If it was regular then it was most likely flutter. Flutter is common following ablations. The good news is it didn't sustain and only lasted 10-15 minutes. That's a positive sign.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Grace, I and others have asked you several questions but you've ignored them. Nobody thinks you're an idiot but you told us alarming things, then won't clarify and answer questions, and you get upset that we don't ask questions. As for being low stroke risk, nobody is low stroke risk three weeks after an ablation, so it's really hard to fathom what your EP's thinby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotebolimasa You mean Dr John right? My comment that you quoted here was about my EP Dr. Marrouche. He's the one I'm hoping is good. I was referring to Dr. Mandrola, yes. Sorry if I misled. Dr. Marrouche is widely respected.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Grace, Sorry you feel you got a poor welcome, but try to understand that you described some extremely unusual treatment. Virtually all EPs would consider taking someone off an anticoagulant three weeks after an ablation to be downright dangerous. It's hard to understand why your EP didn't try other anticoagulants. Did he even discuss it with you? The beta blockers are neither herby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I echo wolfpack's comments. After 8 months your ablation is as effective as it's ever going to be, so if you're still having afib episodes then it was not fully successful. 12.5 mg of metoprolol per day is virtually nothing. Not sure what, if anything, that's doing for you. I can believe Xarelto may have caused unpleasant side effects, but I'm extremely skepticaby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotebolimasa He seems to be big wig in the EP community, but I'm still hoping his hands are as good for procedures as his brain is for research. He's not a bigwig in the EP community at all. He's viewed with disdain there.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Heart failure can improve, and it can also not improve. I wouldn't count on it doing so.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Beta blockers and ACE inhibitors list hair loss as rare side effects, but it's more common with simvastatin so that would be my bet. There are other statins that don't have that side effect. Talk to your doc about switching to something like Crestor.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteMarkF786 When I read Dr. John's blog, he makes the recovery sound like a nightmare. Recovery from ablations is a breeze for most people. It's a few days of a lifting and exercise restriction, some mildly tender insertion sites, and perhaps a little fatigue. I've had far worse head colds. Mandrola is a self-promoting writer who makes a practice of making a fool of himseby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteLarryZ I have been in constant AF since April I hope you're taking a rate control med. Prolonged tachycardia can cause heart enlargement and eventually heart failure. Although heart failure might resolve once the afib is stopped, there's no guarantee of that. I know people with permanent heart failure caused by prolonged, uncontrolled afib.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
An ablation won't detect heart problems other than arrhythmias. You need to mention these symptoms to your EP before the ablation. ASAP would be good. What you describe with your let arm sounds more like a nerve or circulation issue in that arm, but arm pain can be angina. An echo would not detect a partial blockage. But what do you mean you've had a heart cath and all came back good? Wby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Good luck, Steve. It sounds like you're in good hands.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
No, PACs and PVCs alone won't keep you on the Xarelto. What might keep you on the Xarelto is your CHADS-Vasc score. Hopefully you'll come out of this with no afib. If so, that's what Horton will primarily look at in deciding whether you should continue the Xarelto.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
My memory is fuzzy on this but I believe Natale has panned the device as too crude of an instrument. It's basically like doing a cryo using RF instead of cold.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotejpeters are completely inappropriate for non-professionals I'm sorry but I don't share your unquestioning worship of doctors. I've seen doctors kill patients through ignorance and lack of up-to-date training. Seriously, you've never read or heard stories of medical incompetence? You haven't seen the stats? I've seen it first hand. I've even seen doctorsby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotemwcf BTW; has anyone here ever had 1:1 AFlutter with Flecainide? I'm aware a few (incl. Shannon and Carey) have had 1:1 AFlutter but so far as I'm aware that wasn't due to Flecainide. I know of one person on another forum it happened to. It is a rare complication.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM