Shannon, Congratulations to you both for this honor. Thank you for your help. Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
The BELIEF trial involved primarily male patients with mean body-mass index (BMI) of approximately 33 kg/m2. I'ld like to see a similar study involving female patients who would probably have a lower mean BMI. Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi Ken, Sorry to hear the beast is back. Glad you have had one good year. It can happen to any of us. Before my index ablation with Dr. Natale, my EP was Dr. Saavedra at Vandy cardiology. Although I self referred to Dr. Natale, Dr. Saavedra said he would be happy to see me for follow up after the ablation. You might try there. Actually it has been two years since my ablation and I've nby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
When my Afib first started I would awaken in the middle of the night with a heart rate around 200, gasping for air and feeling like I might pass out walking to the bathroom. This was in the days before AliveCor monitoring. The problem initially resolved by morning. Any man reporting those symptoms would immediately get a cardiac work-up. Because I was a female with no cardiac risk factors, the EPby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
I used to sit in the local EPs waiting room and wonder where the female patients were. I didn't see them at Afib Clinic or at the Arrhythmia Clinic. The women there were waiting with their significant other, the patient. Since I was considering an ablation, and had read on this forum that women had more complications, I asked the EP where his female patients were. He bristled. Then I talby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
You will do just fine! Your wife will be pleasantly surprised. Dr.N couldn't induce afib during my ablation with his various tricks. If I had known in advance I could have drunk a big glass of ice water and taken care of that for him! Guess he still knows what to do as my ablation was 'extensive' and now I'm fine 2 yr later.by bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sorry lasix1 to hear of your Afib problems. They are probably similar to those many of us have experienced too. I had lone afib vagal type for 18 years along with bouts of bradycardia. My heart rate was an uncomfortable 38 sometimes and a more uncomfortable afib rate of 200 at other times. I ate carefully, wasn't overweight, and had no other health issues. It didn't matter. The rate prby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Monty, Your EP who does 40+ procedures a year is doing you a favor by refusing to do a second procedure on you. I wouldn't let him do the first procedure either. As Ken and others here have said, you only have one heart and you need to stack the odds in your favor by going to the most skilled EP you can find. Best wishes, Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Barb, Best wishes and prayers. Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Shannon, Special prayers and warm wishes for Magdalena and you as you go through this journey together. Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Shannon, Glad to hear your plug still seals your LAA and that you are doing well. Does this mean you are free from having 3DTEEs too or will you have to have more until the year is up? Best wishes for continued good health. Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tsco, Good to hear from you and glad you've done well for eight months. It is possible you just had a run of ectopics. We just don't know. May I suggest you get yourself an ECG monitor such as the AliveCor monitor you can attach to your iPhone. Then you can record another such event on your ECG device to know just what is going on. I'm 15 months post ablation and just recentlby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Duke Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi Betty, > Thank you for more info. > How long did you experience the sharp chest pain, > nausea and shortness of breath after the > ablation? > Is it a week or longer? > How extensive was your ablation and were you > paroxysmal or permanent afibber? > > Duke Duke, The delayed infby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Duke, Getting your heart branded causes your heart and surrounding tissues to respond with inflammation. This usually occurs immediately after the procedure. In my case it wasn't a problem until I returned to work three weeks after the ablation. The first day back to work was fine. The second day I began having sharp chest pain, nausea, short of breath and it really hurt to breathe. I&by bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Duke, In regards to question number 2 about when to return to work, I don't think that returning to work in three to four days is realistic. It will depend on the activity level of the work you do, how extensive your ablation is, and how your body reacts to having your heart branded with a branding iron. Some of this won't become apparent until post ablation. I've heard some tby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Shannon, I'm glad you are doing well with your new Occluder device and looking forward to one last TEE October 1. Since you will be needing another TEE, I'm wondering what makes them so sure you won't spring another leak down the road. Have those plugs been fool-proof so far? Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jackie, Thank-you for sharing your story. I found the shortness of breath part of the recovery. It goes away eventually but each of us is different. Get plenty of rest while your heart heals. Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jackie, Prayers and best wishes for your quick recovery. We look forward to learning of your progress. Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Best wishes for you, Barb. Hope things look up from here. Best wishes to Charlotte, too, who had her ablation same day. Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
KenKY, Did you ask if those stats were for him in particular or are they for all the EPs combined? Are these numbers for the hybrid procedure? Did you ask about his stats for complications? Has he had anyone die during the procedure or in the first month as a result of the ablation? These are all reasonable questions i'ld be asking before they branded my heart. Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
KenKY, Prior to my Natale ablation a year ago, I talked with my EP at Vandy about an ablation on a couple different visits requesting specific information about his stats. In particular I wanted to know how many he had done and what his success rate and complication rates were. Both times I felt like I got a canned speech about how many the facility in general had done and how they worked asby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Craig, My Natale ablation was one year ago. My heart rate has been elevated since. Am not complaining about that since Bradycardia was a problem before the ablation and not a problem now. Recovery was slower than I expected. Took three weeks off from work which was not enough. Developed bouts of pleursy the first couple months relieved by Motrin. Although sedentary activities were fine iby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lisa, I had the same problem that you described with taurine. Stopped it and the symptoms improved. Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Peggy, Claritin and Benadryl are both classified as antihistamines, not decongestants. They don't work as decongestants. As a vagal afibber, I found Benadryl and Claritin to be triggers. Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
I bought mine from Amazon about six months ago but can't figure out how to use it. Does anyone have directions for dummies? Thanks, Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Congratulations!by bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
Barb, Yes, you will hardly know you were out and will feel fine shortly afterward. That's how it was with mine. The stuff they spray in your throat could taste better though. Best wishes, Bettyby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM
"This is why Natale's group in Austin, alone, is averaging between 13 to 15 ablations a day in their 4 EP labs which is a huge volume of experience by any measure! Combined with their unprecedented level of follow-up from selected patients representing this large and growing pool of experience, this gives them a unique advantage in understanding more clearly just what impact their proceby bstevens - AFIBBERS FORUM