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Gill, Make sure you are signed in at the top left of the page, then it will highlight in BOLD all threads that have had new posts/comments added since last time you read a given thread. Be well, Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Many thanks Oliver! Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi George, You can find past posts anywhere in the combined forums going back to October 2003 via the advanced search feature, and when you are at the same post you showed the link to from 2011 you can return to the current home page of the new combined forum by clicking the 'Forum List' ion 'Message List' link found at the top left hand side of the very first thread messagby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Alas Joywin, your Cardiologist has done you an inadvertent disservice by telling you 'for years' now that you were not a candidate for ablation due to age and being female. At 75 years old you are definitely NOT disqualified based only on age and sex alone! Far from it, with a skilled EP who is competent and confident in doing more advanced procedures that include real-time non-PV tby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dr Natale generally prefers ELiquis for most people, During conversation if a given patient indicates a real preference for once a day dosing or has had past good effect with Xeralto he will often keep that going rather than risk the person not be ing as compliant with twice a day dosing, But Studies indicate Eliquis is frankly superior to Warfarin .. not just "non-inferior' as the oby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thank you Jackie for letting us know. I'm very sorry to hear about Trent. Trent suffered from what appeared to be a case of post polio, also called late effects of polio, the original bout of wild virus polio he had contracted as an infant, if I recall accurately after some years now since speaking with Trent. Trent and I conversed on the phone over a long period too, with me having hadby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mike and Jeff, The range of typical daily ablation activity at St Davids Medical Center, which is the largest volume AFIB ablation center in the world, ranges between 14 to 18 ablations a day in their 4 state of the art EP Labs and one hybrid EP + Surgical ablation lab. Dr Natale has done over 8,000 ablations personally, more than any other individual on the planet by a decent margin and heby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks Pamela, I'm doing just fine and nothing to be concerned about though I appreciate your best wishes. And I would not worry at all about the very tiny remnant of the clot found on TEE, as it's almost a certainty that such a very small remnant clot seen recently on TEE will invariable be dissolved prior to your touch up ablation in Austin after such a long successs after your inby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Just a note for those wishing to log into the forum recently and register to add new posts or start threads who had had some difficulty doing so. A few of you got stuck during a brief few days glitch when, I too, was locked out from even accessing the Phorum administration page from middle of last week through this past Sunday. That issue has now been solved, thankfully, and anyone wanting to regby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Pamela and Jay, With caffeine is can very much be a trigger for some folks when in active AFIB/Flutter and highly prone still to triggering. Since with your advanced case of AFIB Jay and very extensive ablation required the odds of likely needing a touch up at some point are high too to get this thing really locked down for the long term. As such, it makes all the common good sense in thby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Pam, I spent the last two days with Dr. Natale at the Stop AFIB conference in Dallas where I am still. Dr. Natale said that so long as you are not miserable he would prefer you do not have an ECV (electro-cardioversion) so soon before the ablation. It is not that it is forbidden so close to an ablation, and if you can't control the rate well and are suffering then it's okay. Buby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Great to hear things are going so well Smackman, You are on the aspirin along with the Eliquis mainly for your history of a PCI stent install in a coronary artery well prior to your index ablation. The aspirin is for the anti-platelet effect they like to see when you have foreign metal inside the heart. Though often that is not for life, especially if and when they are confident the metal havby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Pamela, You should plan on a minimum of 5 days in Austin (same for out of town folks at eithe CPMC in San Fran and Scripps at La Jolla when getting ablated by Dr Natale at any of his three regular centers. First day is flying in, the following day is consult with your NP and doctor Natale and if at a minimum a blood test is done plus an updated echo if you have not had one recently. If yby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
You're LAA was not ablated Ken. Only about 30 percent of persistent Afibbers are found to even have LAA triggers that require isolation and confirmed long term transmurality of isolating LAA ostium encircling lesion around the mouth of the LAA to achieve long term freedom from all atrial arrhythmia. It can sometimes require an extra touch up to the LAA isolation too, due to the very thickby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yes Portastrom62, You have the worlds largest AFIB ablation and research center right under your nose at St. Davids Med Center. It is led by the single most experienced AFIB ablationist in the world in Dr Andrea Natale. The whole crew there are highly experienced and average from 14 to 19 ablations a day in their 4 state of the art EP-only labs and one state of the art hybrid ablation lab forby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Try mixing in some topical mag too Mike. I like the EASE spray Magnesium Chloride-Hexahydrate from 'activationproducts.com' ... start with 10 to 15 sprays on larger skin areas with less hair and rub in vigorously for 30 seconds or so and let fully absorb for 2 minutes before dressing after shower. Apply 1x to 2x a day ... Morning shower and after quick bedtime rinse off). And combine wiby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
You can have low speed flutter, of course, but it's not as common as low speed (65bpm to 100bpm) AFIB, both of which aren't as easy to detect the closer you get to typical daily HR at rest. Most true atrial flutter though is a good deal quicker than 100bpm often up to 165 to 175 Bpmor higher for either Typical right atrial flutter or Atypical left atrial flutter, the later almost alwaysby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Welcome Portastorm62, Yes your symptoms, while not universal, can occur in the early days post ablation. The fluid etc are largely from the irrigated catheter saline which can take some days to drain out of the body and can be hastened with prescription potassium tablets from your EP and prescription Lasix. But don't overdo either for too long. You don't want to get dehydrated, justby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Marq, No Anti AFIB is correct, there is no need to wait any time whether on or off OAC drugs to get a TEE, that is test to see if you have a clot or not in the first place... Among many other various parameters a cardio or EP might use a TEE for to investigate in your left atria. Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Marg, Sorry for the delay in seeing your post, I'm afraid your sisters Cardiologist in Greece has a few holes in his training .. and even in his practical real world experience, apparently. First of all, neither a Calcium Channel Blocker - CCB nor a Beta Blocker - BB, both of which are used in AFIB primarily for rate control-only and secondarily for blood pressure control when needby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Ken, JayBros did a pretty good summary above. And you are right to ask. AFIB ablation, as we have underscored here for years now is a complex affair with many variables defining what success looks like with various degrees and classifications of AFIB. Also its very important to keep in mind the variation in patient selection criteria and type of patient caseload a given EP ablationist workby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Wolfpack, Regarding added ablation lesion scars, the large majority of ablation lesions are laid down in atrial tissue not involved in contractile function of the heart. Hence, such deliberate lesions have a good deal less significance on mechanical function of the atria, not always the case with AFIB-induced fibrotic scarring which gets distributed randomly in various regions of the hearby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Excellent choice Fravi, I assumed you were in Spain or the EU. One source for those who are in Europe and have persistent AFIB I can highly recommend are Dr Antonio Della Russo who has a real focus in persistent and LSPAF at the large AFIB ablation center in Milan Italy that is Directed by Dr Claudio Tondo who is also an excellent ablationist. Both are colleagues and have worried for yearsby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Mike, send me by PM your cell number and we can talk about the nuances of which facility to go to considering your scenario. And where are you getting those time frames? Cheers! Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Clay, Good question which brings up the issue of using a DeMRI for pre-screening prior to AFIB ablation. Certainly, a preliminary DeMRI as you apparently have had is good to see that is shows both atria with essentially zero fibrosis/scarring on MRI which is very likely a good sign you don't have much, if any, atrial fibrosis to speak of. But DeMRI is still quite controversial as a meby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Wolfpack, Your TTE measure you want to know is LA diameter and yours is 45mm which is moderately enlarged but not seriously so. The longer you stay in unbroken NSR the more that number will drop back toward normal levels. The degree of reverse remodeling and recovery of smaller LA size can be limited by degree of atrial fibrosis present. A lot of long term fibrotic changes and only partial revby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Spekkles, let me know when you want to talk and PM me your cell number and time zone. Cheers! Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Speckles, The easy flutter ablation apache is referring too is typical right sided CTI-FLutter or Cavo-Tricuspid-Isthmus flutter. This is a rather simple ablation that any half-way decent EP should be able to perform with very high success rates at 98% as it's all laid out with a predicted anatomical only pattern in the right atria that requires no transeptal puncture. The type of fby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Great to hear Dnverfox! Another happy Natale alumni and keeping your self engaged fully in life all around ... Best wishes Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Welcome Luis, I strongly second the recommendation for Dr. Sergio Pinski, he is very bright and very well trained and is an experienced ablationist. Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM