6 years post ablation follow-up Hi all! Libby here! I had an afib ablation with Dr. Natale in May of 2018. The first 5 years were perfect! The 6th year I had short runs (like 7 beats) of atrial tachycardia or SVT now and then and this past October I had a 45 minute episode of a-fib. When I went into it I took 30 mg of a calcium channel blocker and like I said, converted after 45 minutes. . I wore a monitor for two weeks after that and had 6 very short episodes of atrial tach/SVT and 1 10 beat run of VT. Most of them were in the middle of the night. I'm 66, my calcium score was 0, chamber sizes and valves normal, so they didn't seem too worried about the VT, but it all gives me anxiety. I often feel like it's going to start, but if I get up and move around it goes away. When does one push to do another ablation? I'd like the perfection of the first 5 years, but reading people's realities maybe I should count my blessings. I felt in good hands in TX, but it's been a tough year at home for my folks and there are risks to procedures. I have good feelings about my care in Minnesota, but having been an echo tech for 36 years, I want the best odds. I'm not inherently a risk taker. What's a gal to do? I appreciate your thoughts, thanks! https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198560#msg-198560 Fri, 23 Oct 2026 01:13:54 +0000 Phorum 5.2.23 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198691#msg-198691 Re: 6 years post ablation follow-up https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198691#msg-198691 libby AFIBBERS FORUM Sun, 26 Jan 2025 01:18:52 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198627#msg-198627 Re: 6 years post ablation follow-up https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198627#msg-198627
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libby
Thanks, I appreciate the support, gloaming!! One last question, how long does one need to be on Eliquis before an ablation? Was it a month? I think I'll make an appointment to check in with Dr Natale.

For my angiogram, different surgeon, they went through my wrist. In prep, I was to discontinue apixaban the previous morning, take five (5) 81 mg 'baby' aspirin starting at supper and ending with one before leaving for the hospital that morning. I was asked if I had done as directed, yes, and then she said she would give ma Plavic to swallow prior to the surgery...and she did. While lying on my back on the table, they injected heparin. I swear I was bleeding out of my ears by then! Or thought I should!

for both ablations, Dr. Novak each time, just discontinue apixaban the morning before, and no metoprolol after midnight. Nothing about aspirins, and no Plavic or heparin were administered while I was still conscious (bur I wouldn't be at all surprised if they injected some while I was unconscious).

By the time I got to where I needed workups for an ablation, which included the angiogram, I had been on Eliquis for four years, and they did ask me to answer honestly how careful I was about following the prescription. I don't dick around with such things, so I was able to answer truthfully that I had faithfully taken it for several years by then.]]> gloaming AFIBBERS FORUM Wed, 22 Jan 2025 05:05:51 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198618#msg-198618 Re: 6 years post ablation follow-up https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198618#msg-198618
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libby
One last question, how long does one need to be on Eliquis before an ablation?

Three weeks is the usual number cited, but it can be as short as 1 dose. If it's less than the time the EP deems necessary, they'll just do a TEE before beginning the procedure.]]> Carey AFIBBERS FORUM Tue, 21 Jan 2025 20:29:24 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198616#msg-198616 Re: 6 years post ablation follow-up https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198616#msg-198616 libby AFIBBERS FORUM Tue, 21 Jan 2025 18:31:43 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198592#msg-198592 Re: 6 years post ablation follow-up https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198592#msg-198592
I used the word 'touch-up' when flat on my back, looking up at bright lights in a cold room, and my EP asked me the usual questions, where are you, why are you here, and who is performing the procedure? When he asked why I was present, I responded that it was for a touchup ablation. Dr. Novak didn't bristle at my response, but he said aloud, 'a pulmonary vein isolation via catheter ablation'. So, my point is that most/all EPs don't look at it as a 'touch-up' of a previous attempt. It's an entirely new procedure, complete with anesthetic, intubation if necessary, TEE if doing RF ablation, and then the typical mapping and cauterization of tissue. In Dr. N's case, he already knew where my foci were, and he knew he needed to go back to the pulmonary vein ostia and zap again, hopefully to close the gap he'd left open the first time. And he did just that.]]> gloaming AFIBBERS FORUM Sat, 18 Jan 2025 17:38:00 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198586#msg-198586 Re: 6 years post ablation follow-up https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198586#msg-198586 I understand what can happen, be it stroke, atrial enlargement, remodeling... I don't plan on letting it get that far. My contemplation is: Ablation in Minneapolis or TX? and sooner vs wait a little? It could be a year before it happens again. I have an appointment with a naturopath to see what I can do to support my body/heart. I feel everything! I feel from some docs here that the amount of ectopy I have doesn't excite them yet, but I sometimes feel anxious and/or traumatized by past experiences. Could a touch-up solve things forever? I guess I'm a planner and I want to make a plan to reduce my stress.]]> libby AFIBBERS FORUM Sat, 18 Jan 2025 00:23:59 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198564#msg-198564 Re: 6 years post ablation follow-up https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198564#msg-198564
Or, you accept the minor risks associated with a highly experienced and adept practitioner like Natale or Santangeli, and get the right kind of fibrosis where it counts, and where it gives you perhaps another three or four years of bliss. I can tell you where I'd put my time, money, and effort...if you ask.]]> gloaming AFIBBERS FORUM Thu, 16 Jan 2025 04:24:40 +0000 https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198560#msg-198560 6 years post ablation follow-up https://www.afibbers.org/forum/read.php?9,198560,198560#msg-198560 libby AFIBBERS FORUM Wed, 15 Jan 2025 04:56:19 +0000