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QuoteQue My VO2 max is abnormally low, and I am in very good shape. I wonder if my ablation had something to do with that, also. I'm also measuring my VO two max via Apple's health app. Do you have Apple readings from before the ablation? An ablation significantly lowering VO2 max seems unlikely to me.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
What you have is a common occurrence with procedures that require septal punctures, especially with large catheters, which the Watchman requires. They're usually harmless and will usually close on their own eventually. I have one, but I haven't had a TEE since 2019 so I don't know if it finally closed. No one, including me, is concerned about it enough to do another TEE because, asby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
PACs can be persistent and annoying as hell, but they're harmless and will most likely settle down at some point. Many people here have had good luck taming them with magnesium supplements. Search the forum for posts about magnesium and you'll find a ton of them.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Glad it worked out so well for you. St. David's really is a unique hospital experience and Natale's finesse is impressive as hell.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
No, it does not mean that. Ectopics following an ablation are very common and so is an elevated HR, though 108 is a bit high. Does it stay that high for prolonged periods even when you're at rest?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Don't even think of another ablation with any local EP. You're a complex case and way beyond their abilities. Read this post.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuotePixie I don’t think the EP or general cardiologist ever read my report(s). They did not make it very easy for me when they learned that I had made an appointment out of-area. After 2 failed ablations, I would think they would have a different attitude! I was basically told to just live with it! If you're in the US they can't refuse to provide you with complete medical records.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
You're eating lots of fiber, which tends to make harder stools. Maybe you need to add some things to your diet to soften things up. Magnesium does a very good job of that and it's beneficial to people with afib.by Carey - GENERAL HEALTH FORUM
QuotePixie The EP I saw at that time did not believe in isolating the LAA . Translation: Does not know how and hasn't read the literature.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hard to say. Could be the drugs used by the anesthesiologist. I've only experienced them once and I've had multiple ablations at different hospitals, and it wasn't Natale's procedure.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Those were anesthesia-induced hallucinations, not auras. Auras are pretty predictable and follow patterns that don't involve objects like people, cars, etc. They're typically just colorful geometric shapes that kind of vibrate, often forming a shape like the letter C, but they can come in many forms. They're never recognizable objects.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Can you describe the "visual hallucinations" you experienced? I've experienced both auras and actual anesthesia-induced hallucinations and they're quite different.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Not to my knowledge. And according to drugs.com's interaction checker, these have a major interaction, so I wouldn't combine them at all. You can stop the flecainide and take your chances with afib or stop the paxlovid and take your chances with covid. I'd take my chances with afib before covid.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Okay, that's a reasonable exception.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I agree that all antiarrhythmics should be stopped by the end of the blanking period. There's no way to know if the procedure was successful if you don't. I think EPs who leave their patients on AADs following an ablation aren't confident of success. I've even seen published papers that labeled ablations that required AADs afterwards as successful, which of course is a completby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesaulger I will read your reference and will also search for the exact numbers, but one year monitoring is not long-term. The drop-off (recurrence of AFib post CA) after five years is something like 30%. Don't know where you're getting your numbers but 1 year of freedom from atrial tachy-arrhythmias without AADs is proof of a successful ablation. Recurrence of afib after that isby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesaulger Carey messaged me that he will forward a report that shows 90% success, including persistent AFib patients. I apologize for the delay. I've had a wicked busy few days and more are to come. I must correct myself a bit on that 90% figure. That was achieved after two procedures, but those procedures were done on the toughest of the tough cases, those who had failed multipleby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotetvanslooten Carey - that's sobering. Given the progression of a-fib, does that mean it's impossible to put it to rest for good no matter how many ablations you have and no matter how well those ablations have been done? I wouldn't put it so bleakly. Like everything in medicine, the individual matters. One person might get an ablation and live out the rest of their life afibby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuotePixie How would you interpret the response “none” listed on my original post? I would interpret it very literally. There were no arrhythmias detected, which is exactly what you want to hear. Don't overcomplicate these things. They're not being coy or playing word games with you. The person who interpreted the data doesn't even know you, and the person who told you has no rby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Nothing important to add to what George and Daisy said. I first contacted Natale's office in early May. I was stable on meds, and my ablation occurred in late August, so that was about 4 months. I think that's pretty typical. If you can afford the travel with only a week or so of notice, then by all means ask to be put on the cancellation list.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Then I would ask again. Over a month is not reasonable.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d (did they do ablations 20 years ago?) Yes. The first cardiac catheter ablation was performed in 1981. The procedure we know today as a PVI was developed by Michelle Haissaguerre in Bordeaux France in 1998.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
It doesn't take weeks. You need to talk to your NP contact and see what's going on.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteYuxi I wonder how does EP determine where the troubled spots are? They use mapping catheters to find where other sources of afib are lurking. They use electrical stimulation and a drug (isoproterenol) to provoke those locations into revealing themselves. It's a highly skilled task that many average EPs haven't been trained for and haven't mastered. Cryo's only big selliby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
In a word, yes. The risk of 1:1 conduction is low, and as George noted goes up with dosage and your dosage is small, but if you don't like a HR of 120-160 then you're really not going to like the 250+ that 1:1 conduction can produce. Some EPs feel that the risk is so low it's not worth adding another drug, particularly if you're taking a fairly low dose as you are. Likby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesaulger Hi Daisy. Can you share a paper for any EP that confirms 90% long-term success rate after a single ablation? I would love to see it. S I can do better than that. I can show you a 90% success rate ablating afib in patients with multiple prior failed ablations, and I will when I find some time tomorrow. But as you probably expect, the study authors aren't average EPs. Theyby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotetriplea I’ve been on Xarelto for 2 years. I don’t see any reason for starting Multaq and then waiting 2 weeks for cardioversion . Oh, okay, new information. There's absolutely no reason to wait except for their scheduling convenience. I would tell them unacceptable. If they won't schedule it ASAP, you'll go to the ER.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotetriplea I am currently on 20mg of Xarelto daily. For how long? You need to be on an anticoagulant for 3 weeks in order to a cardioversion safely..... BUT... They can do a TEE and if your heart is free of clots they can do a cardioversion in the same day no matter how long you've been on Xarelto. Talk to you EP's people.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I've been on both. I tried Multaq (dronedarone) when my afib was in full swing and found it completely ineffective. I then went to Tikosyn (dofetilide) and that worked very well. When I started it people told me the longer you take it, the more effective it becomes, and I found them to be correct. Not much in the way of side effects for me for either drug, but as Daisy pointed out Tikosyn caby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Under current guidelines the point for being female is no longer counted, so BJS is a CHADS 1 (1 point for being >65). Therefore, anticoagulation is a judgement call. Continuing to take it is obviously the safer approach because there's really not much worse that can happen to a person than a major stroke, and keep in mind that strokes due to afib tend to be more serious than from other cby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM