My Editorial on Dr Andrea Natale

Many here know the name. Ill assume few have had a procedure by him. Ive had 2. 8/6/21 left flutter ablation of LAA and CS. I learned of him many yrs ago right here. 2010ish? But i liked my EP in Charlotte: Warren Holshouser Naval Academy Univ of NC med school univ of VA residency. High iq. He ablated me in 2012 pvi. Vg! Lasted tll march 2021 when atypical flutter began. I agreed to his ablation 3/29. It lasted 6 weeks. More flutter off on episodes horror. He said: go to Natale. On 7/5/21 i did. Natale sent me home. He wasn’t convinced i was ready but lets see. 7/10 flutter and cardioverted in Charlotte. Back to Austin 8/6 and Dr Natale ended the flutter via LAA isolation. 6 months then last week back to Austin and Natale put in a Watchman. Im nearing the finish line? He grudgingly agreed to my 3/31 TEE by Holshouser but sent to him in Austin
So……Cleveland Clinic then out on his own. TX Calif NY. Hes Italian. He does not sugar coat. He tells you exactly what he believes. Is he the best? No 1? In the 1960s id heard the legend of Babe Ruth. Was he greater than Mantle & Mays? Id think
This is the same. There are too many great EP minds to rank a guy 1. But! Hes easy top
10 if not 5 imo. Too much great experience. Had he had adverse events? Im sure it’s impossible he hasnt. When he arrives in the cath lab its Super Bowl Sunday. He loves it! Lives for it. He also goes into heart areas others wont. My EP never touched the LAA. By Natale doing so my flutter stopped. Yes it comes with: higher stroke risk. Mandatory anticoagulant or occluder. Watchman. Another procedure then a TEE then another 6 weeks 6 months. I loved my experience. The staff the nurses him. Its an oiled machine. Hes all business yet has personality. Am I guaranteed? No. Are my odds good? Yes

Hi Tom - I'm a Dr. Natale patient too. Had my first ablation with him in Sept. 2013, when he was visiting in New York. He did a LAA isolation too, as I had Afib for 10 years at that point, and was getting it every day, sometimes twice/day by then. I did well until June 2014 when a needle went into my left shoulder during Acupuncture. at which point I went into Flutter (first time). Dr Natale told me to get cardioverted (also the first time), which I did. That only lasted 2 weeks, so I went to Austin for a "touch up". I've been Afib free now or 7 1/2 years.

I too had to be on Eliquis, due to the LAA procedure. As I sometimes forgot to take a dose and learned how dangerous that can be for someone who had an LAA isolation, I decided to get the Watchman. Spent my birthday in the hospital here in NY, as that's the only day Dr. Natale was available to do it, as once again, he was up in NY visiting. I go for my TEE next week, on the 28th.

I' am sincerely hoping this "run" will be the last thing I need to do Afib-related. I want to get off of all blood thinning meds (now taking a baby aspirin as well), so if the TEE is good, then I guess it's another few months that I get rechecked, and hopefully safely protected by the Watchman and off the meds. At the very least, I would be OK..with the low dose of Eliquis I'm on now.

Hoping we both have NSR and few if any meds to take for this, very soon! Barb

Yes Barb I have followed your journey. I too hope your TEE is clear at 6 weeks He told me the flex has a less that 10% leak risk. Best to you!

North Carolina Arrhythmia Association is part of Texas Arrhythmia Association. Dr. Hranitsky IMO is the most compassionate and knowledgeable EP of all the docs I've had consults with (and that's been alot). I only met him once but so impressed. I'm not at the point of needing any ablations but if/when I do, Dr. H will take care of that for me! He knows Dr. John Day, author of The Afib Cure. I've been to Duke and Wake Med (who have great EPs) but have never felt the concern and kind-heartedness as from Dr. H. I'm one of those people who needs both expertise and compassion. If you can't travel to Texas for Dr Natale, don't pass up chance to meet Dr. Hranitsky in Durham, NC. Look it up on internet!