Ablation or no ablation ?

Heart health and blood vessels
1

I would like to share with my experience :

I am a 57-year-old male, very active, I go to the gym on daily basis, I smoke and drink.

On June 22, 2017, I woke up at 7:00 in the morning, as I normally do to go to the gym, but this morning with an abnormal very strong heart palpitation. I thought that I would wait before I take any decision. I had my normal morning American coffee, I lit a cigarette, I went to the toilet, ect.. but things were getting worse and the palpitations becoming stronger. I decided that before going to the gym, t I should visit the emergency at a nearby hospital. I went there walking, alone,  I don't know how I was able to reach the ER.  Once inside, a bunch of Drs and medical staff came to my rescue. They thought that I was having a heart attack. They proposed that I go for catheterization of the heart and asked me if I do have a cardiologist smile. Of course not! I don't know anyone without a heart problem that has a cardiologist! they proposed a name which in my situation sure will not argue. I ended up in the operating room. The catheterization took around 1 hour, where the Dr discovered that there was nothing wrong neither with heart nor with arteries. He had to give me an electric shock in order to regulate my heart beats. Since I have a good insurance, the Dr. asked for an echo of the heart.Nothing there too. He then prescribes for me Flecaine and xalerto . I informed the Dr. that I am a smoker and a regular drinker and I go to the gym on daily basis. He said that what happened to me has nothing to do with my life style and that I can continue with my normal life! So I did ! the episodes started coming on a regular basis, almost daily,  stronger and longer ... I decided on my own to stop drinking, smoking and even I went vegetarian. I decided to go for a self-body cleansing. The episodes started to be less and less frequent and much weaker. I also decided that I cannot live to wait for the episodes to come and control my life and that I should definitely go for ablation. I did my own researched and went interviewing many Doctors " electrophysiologists". I finally found the right one, the one that made me feel that I am in the right hands, the one who read well and in the tiny details ALL MY FILE and LIFE, the one who was not in hurry, the one who went and explained in detail what is happening with me and what would be the procedure, the one who is not materialistic .  I decided that I will go with this Dr. and will take my chances. I had the ablation last Wednesday, it took 9 hours, I stayed in total 2 nights at the hospital,  I feel relieved. I am back in control of my life. The Dr . said that he is confident that on the majority of cases I will have no more episodes and in case I would it will be very weak. 

From my experience, my advice is the following : 

1- Don't go for google searches about what you have, it will only make you weaker and you will read about the 0.001 percentages of death and the 5% of failure and you will imagine that this will happen to you. Unfortunately, you will not see the 95% of successes. 

2- Stop all the harm you might be doing to your body (smoking, alcohol, junk food, etc...);

3- Don't wait too long before you take the decision before you go for the ablation, this will only make you weaker physically and emotionally.

4- Shop around for the best available Dr. and ask about his reputation to 3rd parties. Choose a Dr. that will make you feel safe, the Dr. is much important than the hospital. 

You need any other advice or more details, just ask. I wish someone else has shared his experience with me after the ablation, it would have been a relief. 

Thank you 

 

2

Thank you very much. This is important infomration. It is the doctor and not the hospital . i think one has to feel safe Still not had an ablation but may soon. 

3

Great advice !! Are you taking any drugs for AFib now? Thanks, Didi

4

Yes, Didi, I am still on rytmonorm 300 every 12 hours and xalerto once / day (same thing before ablation). The Dr said that after 3 months, we will use a 24 hours holter to make sure that the heart beats are regular and we will gradually stop the medication. Really looking forward to being medication free. 

5

Good post!

From what I've read and experienced I think ablation succes is heavily dependant upon the skill level/abilities of the Electrophysiologist. 

I was ablated almost 18 months ago and am still going quite well, although I have to admit that my medication has gradually increased over this time.

I also suffer from PVCs and have noticed that on those rare(ish) occasions when I consume several more glasses of red wine that I should(around about 5-7glasses-when attending weddings,parties etc.) the amount of PVCs increase dramatically and take weeks of being 'good' to subside, and without slightly increasing my meds, they never quite get back to being as they were originally. I suspect that eventually I'll have to go back in for a second ablation procedure, but I definitely feel that I can have a significant influence on when this happens (by living well and exercising regularly).

I read somewhere on the internet that on average ablations last around three years. I believe that lifestyle (and skill level of the Electrophysiologist) are probably the two most influental factors on the lifespan of an ablation.

 

Good luck with it al aouni🤔👍

6

Thank you Simon . My Dr said that if I need to live without pvcs I should avoid alchool. He even said that if I need to have them back, it will only take to go for 5 -6 whisky.  I am learning to enjoy life with no or very little drinking. For the first time , I am trying light beer  and one for the whole evening, I used to be a heavy whisky drinker. 

After all , it is all in one's head . Yes I believe one can still enjoy life without drinking and smoking, the challenge is that someone should accept himself without any stimulis.I wish you all the best Simon and thank you for your whishes .