5 years post-abalation and all's well

Happy to report that it's been 5 years since my Natale ablation here in San Francisco at CPMC and I've been in sinus rhythm the whole time.

Thank you to everyone here, especially Shannon, who give me such good advice.

Que - Congratulations!

How long did you have af issues ? To what degree ?

I am head to austin if things don't get better soon.

I've exhausted almost all possibilities

[www.afibbers.org]

Congratulations Que...I'm coming up on my 3 year Natale ablation. Hats off to Dr. Natale and his amazing staff.

Great to hear Que 👍

Que, great news! Continued NSR to you!!

George

NotLyingAboutMyAfib, It's hard to recall all the details. I was diagnosed with a fib about 1.5 years prior to the ablation. It was intermittent at first and quickly progressed. I don't recall if I was in afib all the time but I would say at least a majority of the time. If I recall Shannon had recommended that I act quickly before there was much damage and that's exactly what I did. I think that's some of the reason for my success and of course Dr. Natale's skill.

Good luck!

"act quickly before there was much damage"

This is heart remodeling from being in AF for a prolonged period ?

Weakens the muscle and heart learns to pump in this odd way?

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NotLyingAboutMyAfib
This is heart remodeling from being in AF for a prolonged period ?

Weakens the muscle and heart learns to pump in this odd way?

Yes, remodeling is the word. There's an old saying that goes "afib begets afib." The more time you spend in AF, the more your heart adapts to that conduction pattern, so it becomes more likely you'll stay in AF. But the only muscle weakening that happens is when you don't keep the ventricular rate under control. A rate over 100 for prolonged periods of time can cause enlargement of both the atria and the ventricles, which in turn can lead to heart failure. But otherwise, people with longstanding persistent AF lasting years or even decades who maintain adequate rate control live just as long as everyone else and suffer no negative effects. It's not the AF that causes heart damage; it's an uncontrolled rate.

BTW: is Shannon still active here?

Oh yes. Look around, he's posted quite recently and he's still the editor.

Thanks!