age cutoff for ablation

I am 71 years old, PIP flecainide, is there age related cutoff??

Erika, I will be 72 next month. I have ask the same question of 3 doctors that I have talked to about ablations. Each one of them said no age limit. What might effect it though is any number of health issues that might make you less likely to be a candidate, the older you get the more likely they will appear at probably the worst time . I have worried about this to some extent.

One has to roll the dice in making a choice of what to do. Flec works for some for a long time and that might be enough to see us thru our remaining years. If ablations were a free lunch with permanent results and no risk, then it would be an easy choice.

Good luck with your choice....ronH

Erika

In published research papers they give the age range of the people in the study. I have seen at least one from Bordeaux which included people over 80.

Gill

Erika, I don't think 71 is old at all. 25 years ago, my father-in-law was told that he had 15 years to live after prostate cancer surgery. His AF was discovered a few years later and he has been on warfarin ever since. He will be 92. He is slowing down a bit and doesn't cut down trees and dig out tree roots by himself anymore. If the current technology was available back then, I have no doubt the decision to ablate or not would be a personal choice and not a choice restricted by age limit.

I just spoke to Dr. Hongo (CPMC in San Francisco) yesterday regarding my own ablation surgery. He mentioned that he had successfully ablated a lady who was 88 years old, and Dr. Natale had done one on a lady who was 90.

I think a more important issue is how symptomatic you are. If you only have an event a few times a year, and PIP works for you, then waiting may be fine. In my case, at age 64, I became very symptomatic quickly and arrhythmia is ruining my life as I have PACs, PVCs, SVTs, afib, or other irregularies daily and medication is not preventing this, so I am going for the ablation. I also want to get this done while my general health is fair and before I have to go on Medicare and be subject to Obamacare.

Nancy M

I was PIP Flec age 65 with no Atrial enlargement when I had ablation 18 mths ago. I was getting AF 2-3 times a week in the end. Nothing since

Nancy, sounds like your appt with Hongo went well.

Hi Nancy,

Dr Natale was ready to ablate a 91 year old Texas man as well, a well known writer, but he decided to just ride out the rest of his life in persistent AF after he was subsequently diagnosed with another issue that changed his decision to go for an ablation, but Natale was confident that had he remained in the pretty good health he was in at 91 he would have done well.

At that general age it's more about the overall health than the age itself.

Shannon