I am a 33 year old female. I was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy at age 15. A little over a year ago I started experiencing episodes of afib. I've had 3 cardioversions in the past 3 months. I had my first cardioversion a year prior which seemed to have lasted a good amount of time. The cardiology team is now suggesting I do an ablation procedure. Doctors believe that my afib is coming from the upper left side of my heart, which is the same side my cardiomyopathy is on.
Has anyone experienced having to do an ablation with a current condition like cardiomyopathy?
My last cardioversion lasted 4 days, so at this point the ablation feels like my only next option because my afib is persistent and does not go back to sinus ryth on its own. My sypmtoms during these episodes are severe.
Glad to hear that your cardiomyopathy resolved and your ablation has been successful thus far.
My first cardioversion was six weeks after being carted off to hospital by ambulance backin Dec 2014, it lasted a couple of days. I was then put on Amioderone(potentially a very nasty antiarrhythmia med) and cardioverted for the second time a few weeks later. This worked well. I came off the Amioderone after six months as longer term use is very risky.
Early last year I needed to be cardioverted three times in six weeks and like you, an ablation seemed like the only sensible option. From what I've read, it very important to get the most skilled Electrophysiologist that you can find, as skills (and therefore success rates) can very considerably between Electrophysiologists.
As I am 51, I am pretty much resigned to the likelihood that I'll probably need further ablation work at some point in the future. I t would seem that we, as patients can have some impact on the the success/longevity of ablations by living well( limit booze and address other addressable risk factors).
I took my first Amioderone dose last night. Currently in Afib and will be cardioversioned tmr in hopes of buying me some time to have MRI imaging and additional mapping done before the ablation.
I had two upcoming appointments scheduled for consultations with different EP's for second opinions, however because of the severity of the afib I've been unable to avoid recurring hospitalizations and so I am having it done with my current EP. He has great credentials however, I wanted to get an idea of what others said.
Your story has brought me relief. Its great to hear about your outcome, which seems very similar to my experiences to date.