First Visit With Dr. Sidney Peykar In Sarasota, FL

Hi All!

I was in persistant a-fib untreated for 3 years. Then cardioverted in 2005. On low dose, 200mg amiodarone for 8 years with 2 additional cardioversions, the latest being 2 weeks ago. I am very, very lucky to have avoided any perceptible side effects. I have had a 'good run' so far, but, I am DONE with this route, on to choose another...

I feel that my strong intention, focus and desire for answers has led me to both new information and a great EP.

Dr. Sidney Peykar was recommended to me by Steve Ryan in his book "Beat Your A-Fib", which I highly recommend for all a-fib patients. The pdf download from his site or Amazon is $12.00.

[www.beatyoura-fib.com]

Steve Ryan's 'Resources For A-Fib Patients, really, really informative and valuable information:

[a-fib.com]

Dr. Sidney Peykar was with Dr Haisaguerre in Bordeaux studying the 'stepwise technique' for 3 months. He has done over 1,500 a-fib ablations in 8 years. Sarasota Memorial Hospital gave him free reign to set up his own cath/ablation/a-fib lab: Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute there. He specializes in difficult to treat "long period persistent a-fib" with the 'step wise' technique. Many patients come to him from other EPs to have second or third 'touch up' ablations for a 'cure'.

[caifl.com]

[vimeo.com]

I drove down from Gainesville to Sarasota, a three hour drive, on March 29th, to see him. I was glad I did. Dr. Peykar has that quality that good MDs have: they make you feel that they have all the time in the world to listen to you, they don't, of course, but you feel that way. So after I told him my story, he almost immediately asked me if I had sleep apnea. I said I didn't know. He then asked me several questions, all of which I answered yes to: fatigue, yes. loud snoring, yes. ever been told you stopped breathing by a partner, yes. Frequent urinations during night, yes. And a few more...

He told me that if I had untreated sleep apnea, his chances of helping me were much reduced. He told me that my recent cardioversion had much less chance of holding if I had untreated sleep apnea. These both due to the disruption of the autonomic nervous system by sleep apnea.

My first and second EPs had never even mentioned sleep apnea! Admittedly the connection is being researched more each day, but you expect your Doc to do his or her homework!

[www.youtube.com]

[circ.ahajournals.org]

[www.stopafib.org]

Due to me using the dreaded amiodarone, he urged me to have a pulmonary function test, thyroid test, and eye test, as I had not had these done for 2 years.

I bragged to Dr. Peykar that I had lost 40 lbs in the last year. He gently, but directly urged me to continue my weight loss (30-40 lbs. more) to, once again, greatly improve my chances of keeping a-fib at bay.

My sense is that with the probable sleep apnea treated and the continued weight loss ( mostly the Dr. Furman, "Eat To Live" way) that I will indeed "Beat My A-Fib", eventually reducing my amiodaron dose little by little to see what happens. If I once again enter a-fib I will know Dr. Peykar will be there to help me with a "state of the art" ablation that will have a better chance of long term success with sleep apnea controlled and at a healthy weight.

So, long story longer: I saw my primary Doc yesterday and have a sleep study being scheduled, a pulmonary function test being scheduled, thyroid test scheduled, and an eye exam to be scheduled very soon.


Sorry for the long email. I promised an update and I had a lot to share.

I wish for you all the "blissful NSR".

JohnB

John,

Great to hear that you found an obviously competent EP. You may be interested in these two abstracts from the afibbers.com database:

[www.afibbers.com]
[www.afibbers.com]

Hans

Thank You So Much Hans

Those two research articles are very helpful to me. I will print them out and make a "vocabulary list" to study plus adding them to my "files". I feel that the research into a-fib has entered a new chapter and we are getting much closer to very important answers. I have been at this since I first found you and your forum on the internet in 2003. I have alternately moved from hopeful to despairing several times over the years. Now with my new research and experiences with a well trained and experienced EP I am on the upswing again toward hopeful.

Your continued "rock star quality" research is completely and totally awesome!

You Rock!

John

John
Did you have ablation with Dr Peykar?
Karen

Yes, I had an ablation performed by Dr. Peykar on Dec. 2nd, 2013. I would love to say that I have been in nsr ever since, but, that is not the case. After the procedure I was in and out of nsr and afib for about 2 weeks. Then I began to experience atrial flutter. Doctor Peykar recommended a DC conversion and also taking 200 mg Amiodarone, which I did. I have been in nsr since. He suggested taking the Amiodarone for 6 months and then stopping, and then see what happens. The idea is that the heart may heal so that the afib does not return. If it does, then we go for a repeat ablation, which is a common result when treating persistent afib. I am at this stage now. I am tapering off the Amiodarone and soon will be taking none. I continue with the common supplement recommendations found in "the list". I have found my ectopics are reduced with increased potassium intake, about 5 gms additional to my diet. Time will tell and I intend to return to Dr. Peykar should I need a "touch up" ablation.
John

How are you doing since your Dr Peykar ablation?

Did you have persistent afib for a while before then?