enlarged left atrium and afib

Four years ago, I had a mitral valve repair but have been dealing with more frequent bouts of afib in the last year. The episodes have increased in regularity from every few months to every two weeks or so. I'm currently taking sotalol daily and use atenolol as a rescue medication. I'm scheduled to have an ablation next month. But because my left atrium is severely enlarged, I've been cautioned that the procedure may not be terribly successful. My cardiologist and EP say I'm likely facing permanent afib at some point.
I'm 66 and very physically active but find atrial fib both debilitating and depressing. I've been trying daily meditation along with stress and depression management classes. I don't want afib to rule my life.
Just wondering if people have any advice for coping with the physical and mental aspects of this condition or if there's anyone in a similar situation I might connect with. This is my first post. Thanks.

Welcome Abby,

How flexible could you be in who does and where you get your ablation. What part of the world do you live in?

George

Hi George,
I live in the SF Bay Area and am pretty committed to having next month's procedure with my health provider locally. That being said, I'd be open to suggestions for down the road.

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AbbyC
Hi George,
I live in the SF Bay Area and am pretty committed to having next month's procedure with my health provider locally. That being said, I'd be open to suggestions for down the road.

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My cardiologist and EP say I'm likely facing permanent afib at some point.

The above quote is a trigger for me to recommend Andrea Natale in Austin. He also spends time at Scripts and in the LA area. He is arguably the best ablating EP in the world and with your issues, your probability of a successful outcome is much higher with him. I'm guessing some others here will chime in to agree with this.

Had a friend of a friend in Denver who 3 local EPs thought he had vfib and had him running around with a "shocker" vest on. They said nothing really good could be done for him. Got him to Natale who a) said the diagnosis was incorrect and b) said he thought he fix it. This was in 2017 and the guy recently contacted me to thank me again for making it happen quickly through connections. He said everything is perfect and he easily rides his bike to work. I could go on, but Natale's caseload is much more difficult on average, yet his success ratio is much higher.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2021 10:55PM by GeorgeN.

Abby, Dr. Natale is in Thousand Oaks, CA at Los Robles Hospital (Ventura County) 3 days a month. I highly recommend him. He also does tele-appointments. It’s a short flight or a pleasant train ride. It’s closer to you than scripps near San Diego.

Pm me and I’ll give you the office phone number. He is in town starting tomorrow.