Anti-arrhythmics as you have experienced stop being effective after certain amount of time. When cure from AF is the goal, an interventional procedure(s) is necessary. In general the maze procedure or any surgical approach is not as successful as percutaneous procedures simply because during surgical procedure the surgeon is not guided by intracardiac electrograms which are very important in determining complete pulmonary veins isolation. Before you make decisions on which approach to follow, please take the opinion of several physicians, ask as many questions as you can and demand to see reports of their track records and procedure outcomes. Best of luck.
This is a very difficult question to answer. In general each operator has his/her specific results and outcomes regardless of the approach used. In my opinion, surgical approaches to AF ablation have the following disadvantages:
a. During surgery the surgeon does not have the benefit of recorded intracardiac electrograms used my electrophysiologists. These are very essential in confirming complete pulmonary veins isolation.
b. Patients who undergo surgical procedures are not usually followed up long term. Hence, we do not really know the outcomes of the these procedure 6, 12 and 24 months after the procedure. We do however know the immediate success rate which is around 65%.
c. Recovery from surgical procedure usually takes considerably longer time a percutaneous procedure and they may require longer hospital stay.
No matter what your choice will be, please spend some time researching the subject and do your homework. My very best wishes.
Taking Inderal LA will not cause you to have continued palps. Are you still following up with a cardiologist in Cleveland or somewhere else? I do recommend that you see a cardiologist and try to know the nature of these palps and whether or not you still have some AF. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance.
Carrying a defibrillator for AF is absolutely unnecessary. Carrying a defibrillator is only necessary when a person is at risk of life-threatening arrhythmia as ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation.
I do not have enough information to answer you accurately, but I will assume that your heart is relatively healthy and that you still have a good chance to be cured from AF with ablation. You will have to decide on how symptomatic your episodes are and whether or not you want to get rid of AF.
Helen, you did not tell whether your ectopies are only atrial or ventricular too? Are you bothered more by the ectopy or more by the Afib which usually follows?
Any way, whether the ectopy is atrial or ventricular both can be ablated depending on their source. They also can suppressed by medications. My advice to you is not push yourself to exercise while you are feeling dizzy or our of breath. Listen to your body.
It is true, you do not need to worry about the bundle branch block for now. You are taking quite a high dose of Flecainide!! Feeling your heart beats in your stomach is not unusual, but I would check with your doctor and rule out any problem with the abdominal aorta. Just to be safe.
WPW can cause the heart to beat fast (tachycardia). Apart from the palpitations, high rate tachycardia can sometimes cause dizziness or even fainting. In some instances if WPW is associated with AFib the rate could become so high, the rhythm may become unstable causing serious consequences. It is unpredictable how frequent or how long your episodes might be. Your upcoming visit with an electrophysiologist will be very valuable in understanding your options.
Ex- Maze is rarely performed now unless the pt is going for an open heart surgery to repair or replace a valve.
Dr. Andrea Natale
Dr. Andrea Natale is a board certified electrophysiology expert and practices at executive medical director of the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute at St. David's Medical Center in Austin, Texas. Dr. Natale also is the Senior Medical Director at Pacific Atrial Fib and Arrhythmia Center in San Francisco. He visits MetroHealth in Cleveland, and Akron General, Ohio. He has pioneered a new circumferential ultrasound vein-ablation system to correct atrial fibrillation and performed the procedure on the world's first five patients. For further details Please visit :Link
Dr. Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy
Dr. Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy, MD, F.A.C.C, FHRS. is a board certified electrophysiology expert and practices at Mid-America Cardiology and The University of Kansas Hospital Clinics in Kansas City, KS, USA. He has several distinctions in clinical and research career to his credit and serves as an associate editor for Journal of Atrial Fibrillation.For further details Please visit :Link
Dr. Dhanunjay Lakkireddy, MD, F.A.C.C, FHRS, The Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute (KCHRI), KS, USA.
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