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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Ablation and cardiomyopathy
Answered by
Cleveland - OH
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests
Ablation and cardiomyopathy
by SteveB47, Jul 13, 2004 12:00AM
History-
3 yrs ago felt very faint
EKG showed Atrial Fib
Followup showed Cardiomyopathy w/15% EF
Otherwise good health.
One unsuccessfull Cardioversion - lasted one day.
Another Cardioversion 3 months later lasted 9 months with Amioderone 200 mg.
Current Meds- Amioderone 200 mg, Correg 12.5 twice a day, Lisinopril 20 mg.
Currently in Afib (for about 3 months).
Tired ALL the time, but can't sleep because of the meds.
Here are my questions:
1. When I'm in sinus rythm and taking the meds, my heart rate drops to 30. Dr said it was probably medically induced. Now that I'm back in Afib, my HR is about 55. How do you determine heart rate? Do you count the extra beats as single beats or as part of the existing beat?
2. I want off the amioderone bad. If I can talk my doctor into an ablation, how sucessful (ballpark figure - not taking as absolute fact)are ablations with cardiomopathies?
3. I want another cardioversion, but I really don't want my HR to drop down to 30 again ( yes, I know the consequences). Any suggestions or recommendations?
4. If I have an ablation and my HR doesn't increase, would a pacemaker power both the atri and ventracals, or would I be back to having only half my heart working?
Thanks for a great site. I refer to this place often.
Yours,
Steve
3 yrs ago felt very faint
EKG showed Atrial Fib
Followup showed Cardiomyopathy w/15% EF
Otherwise good health.
One unsuccessfull Cardioversion - lasted one day.
Another Cardioversion 3 months later lasted 9 months with Amioderone 200 mg.
Current Meds- Amioderone 200 mg, Correg 12.5 twice a day, Lisinopril 20 mg.
Currently in Afib (for about 3 months).
Tired ALL the time, but can't sleep because of the meds.
Here are my questions:
1. When I'm in sinus rythm and taking the meds, my heart rate drops to 30. Dr said it was probably medically induced. Now that I'm back in Afib, my HR is about 55. How do you determine heart rate? Do you count the extra beats as single beats or as part of the existing beat?
2. I want off the amioderone bad. If I can talk my doctor into an ablation, how sucessful (ballpark figure - not taking as absolute fact)are ablations with cardiomopathies?
3. I want another cardioversion, but I really don't want my HR to drop down to 30 again ( yes, I know the consequences). Any suggestions or recommendations?
4. If I have an ablation and my HR doesn't increase, would a pacemaker power both the atri and ventracals, or would I be back to having only half my heart working?
Thanks for a great site. I refer to this place often.
Yours,
Steve
Doctor's Answer
by Cleveland Clinic, Jul 13, 2004 12:00AM
, Jul 13, 2004 12:00AM
steve,
thanks for the post.
1) When I'm in sinus rhythm and taking the meds, my heart rate drops to 30. Dr said it was probably medically induced. Now that I'm back in Afib, my HR is about 55. How do you determine heart rate? Do you count the extra beats as single beats or as part of the existing beat?
Heart rate is measured over time, and usually reported as beats per minute. Depending on the method, especially real time measurement of heart rate with most machines, they will count beats and mutiply them by the interval to report the number on a continuous basis. With fibrillation the beat to beat interval varies, so when you have a pvc or extra beat, the multiplier will report a higher heart rate.
2) I want off the amioderone bad. If I can talk my doctor into an ablation, how sucessful (ballpark figure - not taking as absolute fact)are ablations with cardiomopathies?
They are less successful then without. There are alot of factors such as the cause of your cardiomyopathy, regurgitation and the size of your atria that will influence even my best guess. There are other antiarrythmics available, but all will have some side effects.
3. I want another cardioversion, but I really don't want my HR to drop down to 30 again ( yes, I know the consequences). Any suggestions or recommendations?
This is probably a factor of your coreg and your amiodarone. If you are in sinus and with symptomatic bradycardia while in sinus, a pacemaker may be order.
4) 4. If I have an ablation and my HR doesn't increase, would a pacemaker power both the atri and ventracals, or would I be back to having only half my heart working?
see above. a pacemaker might be an option. in addition to pacemakers that control both the atria and ventricle, there are other options specifically for pacemakers in heart failure depending on how symptomatic you are and the way your heart beats.
good luck
thanks for the post.
1) When I'm in sinus rhythm and taking the meds, my heart rate drops to 30. Dr said it was probably medically induced. Now that I'm back in Afib, my HR is about 55. How do you determine heart rate? Do you count the extra beats as single beats or as part of the existing beat?
Heart rate is measured over time, and usually reported as beats per minute. Depending on the method, especially real time measurement of heart rate with most machines, they will count beats and mutiply them by the interval to report the number on a continuous basis. With fibrillation the beat to beat interval varies, so when you have a pvc or extra beat, the multiplier will report a higher heart rate.
2) I want off the amioderone bad. If I can talk my doctor into an ablation, how sucessful (ballpark figure - not taking as absolute fact)are ablations with cardiomopathies?
They are less successful then without. There are alot of factors such as the cause of your cardiomyopathy, regurgitation and the size of your atria that will influence even my best guess. There are other antiarrythmics available, but all will have some side effects.
3. I want another cardioversion, but I really don't want my HR to drop down to 30 again ( yes, I know the consequences). Any suggestions or recommendations?
This is probably a factor of your coreg and your amiodarone. If you are in sinus and with symptomatic bradycardia while in sinus, a pacemaker may be order.
4) 4. If I have an ablation and my HR doesn't increase, would a pacemaker power both the atri and ventracals, or would I be back to having only half my heart working?
see above. a pacemaker might be an option. in addition to pacemakers that control both the atria and ventricle, there are other options specifically for pacemakers in heart failure depending on how symptomatic you are and the way your heart beats.
good luck
Good luck to you.
Thanks.
Steve