Thank you for your question. Left ventricular muscle enlargement which is called hypertrophy is of many types. Removal of the excessive muscle or myomectomy is performed in a specific condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with obstruction of blood flow out of the heart. This is significant surgery and does carry some modest risk. The alternatives of drug therapy with beta blockers and verapamil may have already been tried but should be considered if not attempted. You should consult on this with your cardiologist.
Thank you fo ryour question. The doctor is concerned that your husband\'s weakened heart may predispose him to a heart rhythm disorder. The referral is appropirate and the suggsstion of a defibrillation may be quite accurate. The center you are being referred to is an excellent one for this issue.
Thank you for your question. This symptom whould be evaluated and if needed investigated by a trained physician such as an electrophysiologist. It may not resolv spontaneously and this is an important concern in this age group.
Thank you for your question. It is possible to make the diagnosis of Long QT syndrome in some patients on the ECG and in others it may require additonal tests. The monitoirng process to record your abnormal heart beat is the right approach and hopefully will clarify the problem.
There is usually a bridging period before a procedure that can be considered with heparin or lovenox. You may wish to discuss this with your physician before the procedure as an option.
Thank you for your question. It would be necessary to know how much Afib you have and how are you taking the flecainide. If your dose is optimal or maximally tolerated and Afib is frequent and symptomatic other treatments may be indicated. This could include drugs or ablation or pacemakers.
Thank you for your question, Ilias. You have certainly worked hard to control your Afib. Propafenone at a three times a day regime with a beta blocker seems to be helping you. Antiarrhythmic drugs can unmask spontaneous atrial tachycardias or other flutters that may precede AF and prevent them from evolving into AF. It seems that is the case here. You may not need to do anything more than what you are presently doing and relieving your Afib symptoms.
Thank you for your question.
There is no recommendation related to Afib. You should follow the usual guidelines for cholesterol management as in all other patients.
Thank you for your insightful question.
There is no better way to localize AF that if it occurs naturally and mapping is done from its beginning. We like to map and localize it before an ablation procedure to know where to ablate. I would suggest you consider a mapping guided approach as the empiric anatomic methods have not been successful.
Thank you for your question.
These are options in catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation.The use of either can be effective and there is very little data on any preferential approach. Cryoablation has some unique risks such as phrenic nerve palsy and the other method has all the risks of radiofrequency methods. The long term outcomes of both methods are still coming in. No definite evidence based recommendation can be made at present but in failures of one technique the other may be an option.
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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