Re: Need to decide on Catheter Ablation + Pacemaker or Maze procedure

Posted By Carolyn on April 12, 1999 at 07:39:03:

In Reply to: Re: Need to decide on Catheter Ablation + Pacemaker or Maze procedure posted by CCF CARDIO MD-APS on April 11, 1999 at 18:28:40:








Thank you so much for answering so quickly. I spoke to my doctor yesterday and he will make the referral to your clinic today. Hopefully I can be evaluated a your clinic soon.
Carolyn




Dear Carolyn,
Yours is a fairly unique case in that your a.fib is literally impossible to control medically, and my best advice to you is to come to the Cleveland Clinic (if not at least to a place like this that has vast experience in treating rheumatic/valvular heart disease, difficult to treat a.fib, and one that has experience with Maze) for an evalution.  One thought I have in reading your history is how much is the a.fib related to your valvular heart disease and as you ask, would the a.fib abate with fixing the valve (a.fib is often a sign that a valve needs to be fixed sooner rather than later.)
It is possible to have both procedures done at the same time, however it needs to be appropriate for your specific case.  Also, the Maze procedure is being done now without open heart surgery, i.e. done with catheters much like a cardiac catheterization (through veins and arteries in the groin.)  This technique (i.e. Maze with catheters, not open heart)is still in 'experimental' but very close to being available to all patients.  
Just so you know, Maze is a technique whereby the likelihood of an abnormal rhythm (a.fib)is reduced by making cuts/lines of scar throughout the atrial walls to block the propagation of the abnormal rhythm.  The statistics, i.e. success rate and risks of the procedure, are highly dependent on the institution and the operator who performs the procedure; thus I suggest you seek an opinion here.
I hope this information is useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for
general purposes only.  Only your physician can provided specific diagnoses and therapies.
Feel free to write back with further questions. Good luck!
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please
call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at
www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the
cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your
cardiac problem.