The Alivecor Iphone 5 monitor is out, I purchased mine last Wednesday and it arrived Monday and works incredibly easily and seems very accurate. Very fast way to confirm pulserate as well. It serves as a nice Iphone-5 case as well. Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Ken, That is par for the course that Dr, Natale to tell you that he would not target the LAA in the first ablation, unless the mapping indicates your LAA is either a major, or even the only, trigger source for your AFIB. Especially, at the relatively younger age of 55. He usually reserves any possible LAA isolation work for any possible second ablation, if that turns out to be needed? And wby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
I'm not clear if the last cardioversion worked or not or if you have been in persistent AFIB, but at a lower more tolerable rate since your first incident in January? Read The Strategy linked here and start from there. Although if you are in persistent AFIB your odds are a Much less that the Strategy will be enough to help get you out and stay out of AFIB. Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Now, if only they would do the same comparative test with Warfarin and the NOACs versus 8,000FUs a day of high quality Nattokinase combined with large dose Omega 3 ( 4 to 7 grams a day) that is tritrated upward or downward so that all eight typical platelet Aggregation levels on a complete Platelet Aggregation Profile serum test read roughly 40% above the top of the reference range for each of thby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
THe use of the Foley increased after hte release of the original Thermocool catheter which was FDA approved in early 2009, but which pioneering docs like Dr Natale were using for ablations staring in the summer of 2008. I did not have a catheter on my first ablation as it turns out at Austin, but I was also among the first 20 patients Dr N had ablated with the then brand new Thermocool versionby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Peggy, When you were having this pounding steady heart rate episode, did you notice any racing thoughts or feelings like you were running ahead of yourself a bit (mentally at least if not literally?) also any loose stool yesterday or this morning? Did you happen to check by sticking both arms out straight ahead with hands opened and palms facing down if there was any mild tremor in your fiby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks Malin and welcome to afibbers land! Glad to hear you are not a practicing Afibber like the rest of us here, but no doubt with our mutual interests in things ionic with Magnesium, K, Na and the like as well as Aldosterone and adrenal issues as well there will surely be many areas in which we can all learn from each other. We mostly discoverd the Cardy meter via your Paralytic Paralysby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Stephen, If you were more or less consistently eating a consistent amount of Vitamin K containing foods prior to the ablation .. and then suddenly you not eating that day and having what is almost always a low K intake meal at the hospital and possibly the day after, that could easily have increased your INR, though usually such an increase from 2.7 to 3.2 would take a few days ( 3 to 5 genby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
The foley is not really that big a deal, the relatively rare 'war story' was just that to cheer up Stephen and reassure him he was on the mend. Two reasons Bordeaux doesn't use Foley's is that apparently, from all I have heard they do not use general anesthesia for most ablations preferring the original method of conscious sedation. Adrian you no doubt drifted in and out buby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ha Mchale! There are no absolute 'dont's' on my list, but a lot of those 'do's' you mention will be at one's own considerable risk! :-) Fortunately, you are wiser than that so I'll not worry you would want to play chicken with this freight train again once you get it firmly in the rear view mirror ... Not long now!! Take it easy, Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ron, I don't think they use General A as a rule in Bordeaux, though they may now as so many top EPs have switched to that form if anesthesia for the reason I outlined elsewhere. Don't worry about the Foley, even if you need one, really 95% of the time it is no big deal at all. They use a Foley typically when they use an irrigated tip Thermocool catheter or similar design... Not sureby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
McHale Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm assuming general anesthesia .......Shannon? > I guess conscious sedation would be The Twilight > Zone. Yes McHale, your anesthesiologist will likely induce anesthesia with Propofol (also known as Milk of Amnesia) ... as well as some versed and fentanyl in all likelihood then he or she will likely eby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
One other suggestion not only for Ron and McHale but everyone who has an ablation. Even if you have given a good honest college effort on trying to make the supplements, diet and 'The Strategy' work and found it wasnt enough to control your AFIB and you require(d) an ablation, don't give up on the supplements and useless for you! This is particularly true in the month prior aby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi McHale and Ron, Great news for both of you to get in so quickly! You are going to an equally good place too Ron so no worries ... McHale, so glad they can fit you in so fast. It's the advantage of getting set up there right at the beginning in a new place and that is why I encouraged you to jump on it ASAP before the schedule was booked for four months. Great to hear it is workingby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Tom, So sorry to hear of your rough go of it with the flutter ablation in Hawaii, I feel for what you've had to go through! Where did you have it done, at Queens Med Center? Who was your EP .. or you can PM me if you would prefer? And thanks for sharing your tough story, as it does help underscore what many of us so strongly advise here to be cautious in whose hands you place your hearby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Really the story of my one rough experience with the Foley wasn't nearly so much to do with the Foley it self but the circumstances and how it was used in that one case 25 years ago. Its not that bad 98% of the time and, in fact, for the vast majority its only the momentary removal process that can feel a little queasy. The Foley is commonly used for 12 hours or so now with the high tby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hey Steve, good to hear its all over but the healing! Welcome to the Foley club .. where its no fun all the time :-)! I've had that unique displeasure to have had a Foley four times in my life and the first two were a bit of an adventure, while the last two during my first persistent AFIB ablation with Dr N there in Austin at St Davids in 2008 and again with my LAA isolation ablation withby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
You are welcome Bruce, Nel and Murray, I've had a total of 16 ECV shocks in my day ... 14 in a period of 15 months ... and hopefully have seen the last as well. But it wasn't until that last one a year ago next month, in which I was wide awake when they hit the button and felt like having a 480 overhead power-line thrown on my chest with a mini-atomic bomb going off through my head aby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi RonB, Go for Bordeaux now for sure, but also don't delay in helping to better support your heart and the rest of your body with the right supplements, good eating and getting good rest for the adrenals too starting now. Extra Vitamin C (build up to 3 grams a day or a bit more using LivOn Lypospheric Vitamin C packs) and include a high quality B vitamin complex and particularly with addby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
That is an interesting story Steve, Its one of the rare ones I've heard of where the trigger is so uniquely singular and specific, and obviously tied to a vagal effect. In turn, your discovery that it was directly mediated by magnesium/potassium repletion is also yet another valuable confirmation about how important doing everything one can to insure you are getting enough high quality Maby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks for the report Texas Steve, We hear so many similar reports from those who have made that same wise choice, and I've gotten the same feedback from, so far, everyone among the fairly large number of people I've recommended they consider Dr. N, first and foremost, as their ablationist, and who followed through with that suggestion and are very glad they did. While there is noby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
ECV Youtube video I know some of you have asked about what an electrocardioversion (ECV) is like and this link to a YouTube video is a well done example. I had one on my 14 ECVs, that I had over a year and a half period prior to my LAA isolation ablation last August, filmed as well on my I-phone showing much of the same thing, only with a little bit more flopping around with my arms once tby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Hans, Here is the contact info I posted above for Dr. Natale's scheduling and appointment assistant Melanie People in the east coast region who would like to see Dr Natale there can contact Melanie at Al-Sabah Arrhythmia Institute for appointments and ablation scheduling at: 212-523-2400. It is located at St. Luke's Medical Center off of Amsterdam street in Manhattan. Shannoby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Great to hear McHale, Sounds like you've done your most important job now getting all set up. Now its just walking through the motions and before you know it this will be all over, SLeep well friend, Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi McHale, Do you really need more encouragement?! You've said for almost a year that if Natale was in your area you would already be done with all this business. So maybe its time to listen and follow your own intuition here. With your reported increase in AFIB frequency to the point now that it is happening several times every couple of weeks now, and this inspite of and after all theby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
HI Mike,' I realize their stats sound great up front, but keep in mind this is from a very much smaller pool of patients and , and while the whole mini maze approach has its assets for sure, don't let anyone kid you that it is a walk in the park. I know now of six people now who have had a mini maze from one various surgeons plus the detailed reports of Five Box here with his good reby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks Jackie, The report you posted concurs entirely with my warnings in the thread above responding to Murray's post on meat eating in the excellent thread titled 'For doubters' by Steven N sharing his success with a 'Strategy'-based protocol in helping to manage his AFIB. My warning was about jumping to the easy and superficial conclusions regarding diet and red meby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Murray, The problem isn't meat per se, its mostly how it was cooked and the fact that from the 1920 to 1930's onward, the vast majority of beef was corn fed and not grass fed. Corn fed beef has almost no Omega 3 which ie essential to take in each day from your diet, as provided in good amounts in all grass fed beef as well as other game animal meat. So for the last 90 years orby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dr Natale is maintaining his base and home in Austin, but will spend a fair amount of time in both New York and San Fran perhaps a bit less time in both SF and Austin to make the required time for NYC, but not too much less than previously. Shannonby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM
The new Al-Sabah Arrhythmia Institute in NYC that Dr. Natale has accepted the Executive Directorship for is being funded by the Amir of Kuwait (very deep pockets no doubt) and their aim is to make it the premier arrhythmia center in the world over time. Starting with three state of the art EP labs as well as a research center and an education center for both EPs as well as the general public andby Shannon - AFIBBERS FORUM