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Help with ablation decision
I am being told I need a cardiac ablation & need help to make an educated decision. I am 58 years old female, three generation (maternal side women)history heart disease, triple by-pass (4/01), hospitalized twice (2001, 2002)for a-fib & tachycardia, enlarged left atrial, liver enzymes (62-don
Hi. I agree with the doc. You need to start by understanding what they are trying to cure, and then assess whether an ablation is the right thing for it.
I dont see anything in your write up that looks like something worth ablating. I'm not saying its not there, I just dont see that you have comprehended it and successfully put it into words. Like the doctor said, onsies and twosies are't usually candidates for ablation unless you get literally thousands of the suckers everyday. Also, there are some characteristics that can disqualify people from being good candidates for ablation: for instance, heart disease.
Having been through an ablation myself, I can tell you that while an ablation is an easy procedure to go through, the effects it has on you can be very profound, and they will last a lifetime. From your description, you work out at the gym, and are clearly not debilitated now. This is something you should not take for granted.
Trust me it is better to play it safe. Ablations carry a fairly significant risk of stroke, and there are an infinite number of ways to screw them up. So you really really need to go through this carefully, and select a fine doctor, before you sign up for one.
I suggest asking a lot more questions and doing a great deal of reading on your own. If necessary seek a doctor who can answer your questions in a way you can understand.
Good Luck.
I dont see anything in your write up that looks like something worth ablating. I'm not saying its not there, I just dont see that you have comprehended it and successfully put it into words. Like the doctor said, onsies and twosies are't usually candidates for ablation unless you get literally thousands of the suckers everyday. Also, there are some characteristics that can disqualify people from being good candidates for ablation: for instance, heart disease.
Having been through an ablation myself, I can tell you that while an ablation is an easy procedure to go through, the effects it has on you can be very profound, and they will last a lifetime. From your description, you work out at the gym, and are clearly not debilitated now. This is something you should not take for granted.
Trust me it is better to play it safe. Ablations carry a fairly significant risk of stroke, and there are an infinite number of ways to screw them up. So you really really need to go through this carefully, and select a fine doctor, before you sign up for one.
I suggest asking a lot more questions and doing a great deal of reading on your own. If necessary seek a doctor who can answer your questions in a way you can understand.
Good Luck.
It is a very safe procedure, but any time you have an invasive procedure, which it is, there are risks. You are after all, putting caths in the heart itself. And it is a VERY expensive procedure! Unless the abnormal rhythms are sustained/very frequent or cause untoward hemodynamics, or the patient just can't tolerate the symptoms any more, I hope a reputable EP wouldn't even try one, given a structurally normal heart. Just my opinion!
I read many people discussing about risks of ablation but I actually always heared it is a very safe procedure. The only problem is the possibility of an AV block, but apart from that I don't see why not choose ablation as an alternative if you have a normal structured heart.
QW,
Thanks for the post.
Making a decision to under go any procedure is difficult. Each time you need to ask yourself: How severe are my symptoms? Will the procedure impact the symptoms? What are the risk of the procedure? And Are the risks worth it?
Im not sure what you are undergoing an ablation to accomplish since im not sure what they are trying to ablate.
(1)I thought ablations were for irregular heartbeats that are also tachycardia. I only had two tachycardia episodes (last in 2002).
They can attempt to ablate foci for ectopy if it occurs frequently. The success rate of this is not as great as other types of arrythmias.
(2)Can they
Thanks for the post.
Making a decision to under go any procedure is difficult. Each time you need to ask yourself: How severe are my symptoms? Will the procedure impact the symptoms? What are the risk of the procedure? And Are the risks worth it?
Im not sure what you are undergoing an ablation to accomplish since im not sure what they are trying to ablate.
(1)I thought ablations were for irregular heartbeats that are also tachycardia. I only had two tachycardia episodes (last in 2002).
They can attempt to ablate foci for ectopy if it occurs frequently. The success rate of this is not as great as other types of arrythmias.
(2)Can they
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