Becky After years of paroxysmal AF mine was persistent for 18 months. After doing a lot of research I went to Bordeaux in January 2003 to have an ablation. I have been in normal rhythm since then. At that time very few EPs in the UK were doing ablations, but now there are more of them and their success rates have improved. Who did your ablation, and where? What does s/he say about another aby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Bodie My EP in London prescribed Flecainide when my AF was paroxysmal. By the time I went to Bordeaux for an initial consultation it was persistent, and Pr. Haissaguerre told me to stop taking the Flecainide. Instead he prescribed Bisoprolol. After the (successful) ablation he said that I should continue to take Bisoprolol for a month, or longer if it made me more comfortable. He described iby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Paris I expect Peggy, our expert 'archivist', will point you to some posts in the past detailing various people's experiences, but here is mine. After many years of paroxysmal AF and then 18 months of 24/7 AF I too had had enough of this beast so I went the ablation route and it was the best decision I ever made. It gave me my life back - now at age 69 I work out 3 times a week and do severalby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Keith I had a successful ablation in Bordeaux in Jan 2003 and though I don't get AF any more I do get huge numbers of ectopic beats - almost 6000 in 24 hours. My EP says I shouldn't worry about them. They used to make me very uncomfortable but since I started taking magnesium and potassium I hardly feel them so I just ignore them and get on with my life. Gillby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
I was tidying up my files and came across some information which might be useful for people who have recently had an ablation. It was from an EP at King's College Hospital in London in March 2003, two months after my ablation in Bordeaux. This is what I wrote at the time: Changes in the heart after ablation - 1. Electrical - ie the ablation 2. Mechanical - atria still not contractingby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Aldona I'm so pleased for you. You are indeed one very brave lady and I salute you. Gill Bordeaux ablation Jan 2006 - still at peace...by Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mike I was groggy for 24 hours after my ablation in Bordeaux, but after that was full of energy and feeling completely back to normal. Gillby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks PC, will go straight to the CR now. Won't be able to follow much of the discussion though, because my husband and I leave on Monday evening for a week's scuba diving in the Maldives. Will have a lot to catch up on when we get back. Gillby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi PC I have had 3 TEEs, all done in Bordeaux to check for clots pre-ablation, and no one ever mentioned anything about the MV. I didn't get a copy of the reports. I have also had two echocardiographs. The one done in 1994 (when AF was still paroxysmal) said specifically that there was no MR. Another, done in 2001, said:- MV - Thin & mobile. Triv MR. Gillby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Peggy Right after the second ablation, when I was getting a lot of ectopics, Prof. Haissaguerre told me that he had found a very toxic focus in the coronary sinus, which was extremely difficult to find and ablate. He wasn't sure that he had been able to get all of it, and he said that the ectopics might well be coming from there. He prescribed bisoprolol and flecainide for 3 months whileby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
I wrote to Professor Haissaguerre and Dr Jais asking them if I should be worried by the huge number of ectopics I get ie almost 6000 on a 24 hour Holter. He replied 'Il n'y a pas de soucis' - ie no need to worry. So I will just keep taking the supplements that keep me from feeling them, and then ignore them. Gillby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
The last two 24-hour-ECGs I had counted almost 6000 ectopic beats. Gill (in nsr since ablation in Bordeaux January 2003)by Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ablation and touch-up in Bordeaux 2003, no follow up there though Pr. H asked to be kept informed of my progress. I email him once a year. Followed up in London since then - this means a consultation once a year with the EP, and a 24-hour Holter if I can persuade him that it is necessary. EP hasn't written to Bordeaux since 6 months after the ablations. Gillby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Keith I should add to my old post that 24 hour Holters have shown that I still get the same number of ectopics so the supplements didn't stop them. However I can now hardly feel them so they don't bother me at all. Without the supplements I could feel every ectopic beat, as though someone was banging hard on my chest and I was considering going back to Bordeaux to see if they could fby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Keith After my successful ablation (Bordeaux, Jan 2003) I had a few ectopics, but from mid-2005 the number increased hugely. A 24 hour Holter in Nov 05 showed almost 6000 ectopics and I was really uncomfortable. Following the advice on this board I started to take magnesium, then added taurine, and finally potassium. I noticed a huge difference, particularly with the potassium, and thought Iby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Peggy According to the last 24 hour tape in November I still get thousands of ectopics in a day, but with the supplements I just don't feel them so I don't pay them any attention. I sent copies of the last 2 Holters to Bordeaux asking if the ectopics were a potential problem but haven't had a reply yet. I increased my magnesium and am now at maximum dose for me, I think becauseby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dave In November 2002 I had a TEE in Bordeaux in the morning, with my ablation scheduled for the afternoon. I had been on Warfarin for 18 months with INR in the correct range. But the TEE still revealed a clot. Of course they wouldn't proceed with the ablation - I left the hospital that same morning with supplies of calciparin injections to dissolve the clot. A month later another TEE sby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sometimes warfarin doesn't prevent clots forming. The first time I went to Bordeaux for ablation the TOE (TEE) showed a clot so they couldn't proceed. I had been on warfarin for 18 months. Had the ablation 2 months later after another TOE showed no clots. Gillby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Isabelle Thank you for that information - most interesting! I am a very cautious old diver because I don't ever want to stop. I am a member of Divers' Alert Network and read all the medical research they publish, especially about older divers. I take a baby aspirin every day whether I'm diving or not; I love fresh pineapple and have it for breakfast every day but I didn'tby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
PC Before the ablation I was overweight and taking no exercise because with permanent AF I could barely walk upstairs. Blood pressure was 140/90. Now it is 130/70. Height is 5'5", weight is 132lbs. BMI is 22.0. MPV or Mitral Regurgitation has never been mentioned by any doctor I have seen, and the echocardiogram reports that I have seen also made no mention of it. Weight loss - yby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi everyone, I would welcome your advice on what I should do next. Since my ablation in Bordeaux in January 2003 I have been in NSR and feeling great, but have had problems with atrial ectopics. My EP in London tells me that they are a nuisance but not dangerous. Here are the number of ectopics recorded by 24 hour ECGs --- 593 - pre-ablation Oct 2000 35 - post ablation Apr 2003 5915 - Octby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Shaun I went from UK to Bordeaux in January 2003 but paid the whole cost myself. Prof. Haissaguerre suggested that I should get form E112 which would mean that the NHS paid some of the cost. I wanted the ablation as quickly as possible because I was in permanent AF and feeling dreadful, and when I investigated doing the paperwork I decided that it could take months and then I might STILL haveby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ed As far as I remember, Professor Haissaguerre's landmark research paper which forged the path for ablations wasn't published until 1998 so I don't think anyone has lasted 10 years yet. When I asked my EP recently about the latest long term results he said "You ARE the longterm". My ablation was in Bordeaux in January 2003 and I have had no recurrence of afib since tby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
jb My EP (in London, UK) told me a few weeks ago that in the past there were 2 methods - Pappone in Italy did big wide circles around the veins but didn't test for gaps in them. Haissaguerre in Bordeaux and Kuch in Germany did circles round the veins, plus lines, then looked for gaps and foci. The EP then went on to say that these two methods are sort-of merging and one preferred method iby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mark Three days after my ablation in Bordeaux (in January 2003) AF recurred while I was still in the hospital. Professor Haissaguerre said that it might well have stopped by itself, but because I had travelled from UK he did a touch up right away. 10 days after I got home AF started again and I was in despair, thinking it had all been for nothing and wondering what I had to do to slay this beaby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Kagey An EP once told me that after ablation, even if AF started, the lines should make it impossible for it to sustain itself. This suggests to me that even if new areas of the heart start to fire erratically, AF could not continue for more than a very short time. Well, I live in hope that that is the case! Gill (3 years 9 months of NSR since ablation in Bordeaux)by Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Following on from Martin's thread "Dilemma - London V Bordeaux", I just looked at the results on the London Bridge Hospital website, and found something which exactly illustrates my worries about comparing reported success rates. They say "Success was defined as symptom free and no more than 30 secs on AF on a 7 day holter." Note that there is no mention of how manyby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Martin Something to consider if you decide you would like to have it done in Bordeaux: they sometimes have cancellations. (Eg. the first time I went they found a clot during the TOE so didn't proceed with the ablation.) If your circumstances permit then you could let them know that you could come at short notice, which could reduce the waiting time. BA has 2 flights a day and Air Franceby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Bill I had permanent AF for 18 months before my ablation so wasn't an easy case: I needed a touch-up 3 days after the first procedure because of recurrence, which happens often with permanent afibbers. It was done at no extra cost in Bordeaux - I only had to pay the daily charge for the extra days in the hospital. I had one 2-hour bout of Afib 10 days later which terminated by itself, buby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM
Martin I am very surprised by the information that London Bridge Hospital is doing hundreds of ablations each year and claiming success rates equal to Bordeaux. When I saw Pr. Haissaguerre in Bordeaux for the first time in September 2002 he told me that there were 2 doctors in England who were starting to do ablations; Dr Schilling wasn't mentioned nor was London Bridge Hospital. I wonderby Gill - AFIBBERS FORUM