pacemaker and icd

[ddavey]

my 22 yr old mentally impaired daughter is scheduled for cardiac ablation tues at univ of mich.  there is a possibility that her large amounts of arrythmias are the cause of her dilated cardiomyopathy.  the only issue that there is with this procedure is that she has a 2.0 cm diameter mass that originates at a 4mm defect at the base of the medial anterior mitral leaflet and protrudes into the left atrium.  this mass has an irregular surface, and has blood flow within it into a small very irregular lumen. there is no shunt through it or flow into the left atrium. she has had this defect since birth and has caused no issues.   my question is this, since they have made it clear that they will not ablate on the left due to this defect, and if there are arrythmias coming from the left, does this then indicate the use of a pacemaker or icd to control any pac's that may still be there after ablation.  holter in july 06 showed 30,762 arrythmias, and since adding digoxin last 12 lead holter showed 20,562 (both 24 hr monitors)    she was diagnosed with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in may of 05 during a routine cardio appt. ef has been stable at 35%   thank you dawn

[CCF-M.D.-PPB]

Unfortunately, ICD do not prevent arrhythmias, they only detect them and treat them if needed.  Pacemakers are very rarely used to control arrhythmias in the long run and would prpbably not be indicated in your daughter's case.  It would be interesting to see whether the arrythmias are at all related to the mitral valve mass, because if that is the case, surgery may be a reasonable option that could take care of the mass and treat the arrhythmias.  If the ablation is not successful, medications only will be the next step, something stronger than digoxin.

[ireneo]

Good morning, Been thinking of you and Amber. Is she still scheduled for the 17th? Just wanted to let you know you're in my thoughts and prayers.

[Momto3]

Hope everything goes well with the ablation.  Please keep us updated.  

[Lecah]

My prayers go to your family and your daughter that all is well during the procedure.

Do you mind me asking who is the Dr. at U of M doing the procedure? I used to be a patient of EP doc. Dr. Michael Lehman when he worked in Detroit.

[ddavey]

yes, actually, dr lehmann is amber's cardiologist and frank bogun is the ep who will do the ablation      i just switched cardiologists, we were seeing a doc out of st john's, but since we have changed to dr lehmann, she has been doing better, and they aggressively treating her, as opposed to just "see you in 3 months" that we were getting from her other dr.    we see dr lehmann in livonia, its a long drive from algonac, but worth it.          thanks for your good wishes everyone    will give you all updates next week          dawn

[JimsJems]

Had the ablation, scary going in but well worth it afterwards. I now have an ICD/pacemaker and have started a WebRing for ICD patients (and heart).
It can be found at www.jimsjems9.com/icdring.html
Always good to know you are not alone in all you are going through. And I have experienced my share.

JimsJems, Mayor
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www.jimsjems9.com/