4th total Ablation scheduled in Nov, is 2nd procedure with Dr Natale

Hi,

I had paroxysmal AFIB since I was a child and now I’m 49. After 2 failed ablations in Cornell 10 years ago and last ablation over 9 years ago at Cleveland Clinic by Dr Natale, in the past month and half I developed AFlutter/Afib. First time I went to ER to make sure I get EKG to verify and one was flutter the other AFIB. I self-converted in about 3 hours.

Last episode I had started about 2 weeks ago triggered by mad sprint up 3 flights of stairs to catch the train. I did this many times before without any issues but now once I sat down I had skipped beets for about ½ hour and an hour later went into Flutter that lasted 4 days before I got electro cardioverted in NYU hospital. Thanks to Shannon for keeping me on track for my ablation and not jumping the gun to get procedure in NYU.

Procedure schedule Nov 23 with DR Natale in Austin.

Thanks
Mike



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2016 05:43PM by Shannon.

Dear Mike,
Your story is similar to mine. I had an ablation nine years ago and went back into afib/flutter a month ago. My first ablation was successful by Dr, Natale. My procedure is in October after I get clearance from a blood clot. You probably are feeling as excited as I am to see Dr. Natale again.
Best Regards,
Pamela

Hi Mike,

Sorry that you need to have another ablation done. I understand that Dr. Larry Chinitz at NYU is excellent. Just wondering if you saw him and whether you considered using him. I'm also in NY and there are a number of top EP's here, such as Dr. Chinitz and Dr. Reddy at Mt. Sinai.I haven't had an ablation, as I have been been afib free for the last 15 months with lifestyle modifications, but I was considering both these doctors if I were to need one.

Regards,
Jeff

Jeff,

I did consider NYU but only if it’s an emergency also if you want top EP you will have to wait. Since Dr Natale got me out of AFIB hell that I was in with two failed ablations..why risk it. Last time I waited a year to get the procedure with Dr Natale this time fortunately its 3 months. NYU does 5 procedures a day I’m sure Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia in Austen does a lot more.

Mike

Thanks, Mike. That's good to know. I wish you the best.

Mike and Jeff,

The range of typical daily ablation activity at St Davids Medical Center, which is the largest volume AFIB ablation center in the world, ranges between 14 to 18 ablations a day in their 4 state of the art EP Labs and one hybrid EP + Surgical ablation lab.

Dr Natale has done over 8,000 ablations personally, more than any other individual on the planet by a decent margin and he stopped keeping track almost two years ago. Currently, he does between 450 to 500 ablations a year, which is slightly down from his long time rate of from 525 to 550 a year during his peak ablation years. He has cut it back slightly the last two years to meet his expanded AF conference schedule he is invited to speak at around the world and in training EPs in how to do these advanced ablation procedures.

Dr. Chinitz and Dr Vivek Reddy are both experienced ablationists to be sure, I'm not sure of Dr Chinitz total ablation experience at this point but he heads the EP Fellowship training program at NYU. The nurse of the younger early-40's Dr Reddy told me two years ago that, at that time, he had done between 1,700 and 2,000 total ablations. Dr Reddy is a bright and dedicated EP at Mt Sinai in NYC and a frequent speaker at major AF conferences too.

Luigi DiBiase is also in NYC now as director of EP at Montefiore Medical Center and is Professor of EP at the affiliated Albert Einstein Medical College. Dr. DiBiase is also still Director of Research at St David's Medical Center in Austin which is the highest volume AFIB research center in the world producing more than 2.5 peer reviews studies published a month, on average. Dr Natale has told me a number of times that Dr. DiBiase has excellent hands and is very skilled, knowing how to do LAA isolation and all the other Atrial and venticular ablations at a high level.

Dr. DiBiase has also been Dr Natale's longest running direct protege with 9 years working side by side with Natale, and thus having the very good fortune of a peerless mentor to learn all the nuances one is exposed to when regularly addressing the most challenging class of AFIB patients anywhere, and who are often referred to Dr Natale at St David's from all over the US and other countries. Over 50% of Dr Natale's patients are LSPAF cases (long standing persistent AFI, the most difficult class to treat, and over 75% of his total caseload include both LSPAF and Persistent cases. No other EP in the field has close to such a challenging average case load. The Bordeaux France team and University of Penn group are first class as well.

So there are certainly some competent EPs in NYC, and yet if one can afford to travel for 5 days there is always Austin or San Francisco where one can put the care of the only heart we have in the most experienced hands anywhere, and then be able to rest easy knowing you made the best choice possible for yourself up front ... and yet there are lots of choices in any event.

Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2016 06:04AM by Shannon.

Thanks to Shannon I am heading to San Francisco later this month to see Dr. Natale for an ablation. My first ablation in Florida lasted about 18 months, so I am hopeful that Dr. Natale can work his magic.
Many thanks to Shannon for his tireless efforts to explain issues and make contacts. Also, many thanks to Jackie for sharing her experiences and expertise. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful support on this bb.
Jim fl