I haven't had it, but I have a buddy who went through 4-5 of them. None worked, and he ended up getting a pacemaker/defib unit installed permanently. But each of the ablations seemed pretty easy as surgeries go...he was always right back up and at it.

My wife had it done 2X - neither were successful. First guy couldn't pinpoint the bad wiring but thought he was in the neighborhood, so he zapped the area. He was wrong and it didn't do any good. 2nd procedure was by a different (and highly regarded) Dr. - he went in and located the problem area. Trouble was that not only is it on the outside of the heart (doable, but difficult), it's in close proximity to an artery - WAY too risky to damage the tissue that close, weakening the area and potentially leading to a blowout. She's dealing with it with meds.

Had a friend who had it done and it seems to have worked well for him. Another guy I know has had multiple procedures with limited success - don't know if it was the same issue, or multiple issues.

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_________________________________________________
"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare" - Juma Ikangaa

http://www.litespeed.com

I think you'll find most everyone's experience is different. I've had two of them. First didn't work, but the second has stuck for the last couple years. The procedure itself isn't bad. The urinary catheter was the most uncomfortable part of the whole thing and the drugs made me nauseous briefly, but if you are in decent shape you bounce back quickly. Night in the hospital and out the next morning. I went through Kaiser in San Bruno for what it's worth.

I researched the subject extensively, and it is not an easy call. Dr. John Mandrola has a good overview here (https://www.drjohnm.org/...af-ablation-in-2015/). There is certainly a good case for not doing anything if it is not impacting your life style. But if you are on Slowtwitch afib is certainly a problem. That's where I was at - I didn't want to give up exercise for the rest of my life (my afib was persistent).

Probably the most frustrating part for me is identifying the cause. When afib first hit I was 40 and in decent shape. No heart disease, etc. but a family history. When I asked the docs what they thought triggered it, they basically shrugged and said it's not clear. About the only thing they agreed on was booze is bad. They also seem to agree that it will return at some point, but it could be next month or ten years from now.

In terms of aftereffects, the only noticeable thing long term is I think I lost some of the high end when I run and/or climb hard. Max heart rate before afib was probably 180ish, now I'm lucky to get over 160. Could be I'm just getting older, but the feeling of running into a brick wall is very pronounced.

Bottom line: I think you have to explore it as an option depending on your own situation. But I doubt it is a panacea and you are probably signing up for multiple procedures. But for me it was better than taking the drugs. Good luck!!

https://www.velopress.com/...s/the-haywire-heart/

i'm 51, ride with a couple guys who are 46-47 and 60. the other 2 were diagnosed with afib. when the younger guy was diagnosed i got an iwatch to monitor my heart rate regularly. the younger one took drugs and got it under control. i'm not sure if he still takes 'em. the older one did the ablation and got it under control. we're all pilots and get EKG's yearly. the older one lost his medical for a while but the FAA reissued it. to get your med back after losing it to a heart related issue is a bitch! but his ablation was successful. i dont think he takes drugs...but not 100% sure on that.

edit: the book is what the older guy recommended for us to educate ourselves on heart issues.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ-ΛΑΒΕ
we're doomed

had it done 5 years ago; one an done so far
it's come a long way from 10 years ago and in last few they sometimes freeze rather than cauterize (or so i've heard)

guided mri it should be a one - done now; research your dr

I had one procedure performed for SVT, not successful. Procedure itself was a piece of cake. Was a bit weird laying on the table and feeling them pump you full of adrenaline? to get your heart rate spiking. Neglected to go back to try it again because it wasn’t life threatening and outside of local sprints, it didn’t really affect my competitiveness.

My Dad had it done at least twice. It worked initially but overtime the symptoms came back over time.

Had my ablation done the end of August this year. So far so good. PM me if you want to know specifics.

One & done 14 years ago for SVT/WPW. I only ever had 2 episodes, 6ish months apart. Was given the choice of being on beta blockers for the rest of my life or surgery/ablation. Doc said considering age (early 30's at the time), the relative straight forward & safe nature (as far as surgeries go) of the procedure, the latter was his strong recommendation.

My procedure was relative straight forward. Similar to a story above, surgeon thought he knew where the problem lay & did a bit of zapping willy nilly. As I was about to be taken off the table, the accessory pathway presented, so had to go through the procedure again, but at least it was sorted, so pretty thankful about that.

I know of at least 8 people in my former club who had it. Aside from myself & one other who had a pacemaker (his condition was not SVT & more serious), no one was able to get there's rectified via the surgery. In all those failed cases, they weren't able to induce the problem at the time of the op, but this was all 12+ years ago, so success rate might/should have improved by now...

100% 15 years ago

Thanks all for the replies. I have had an EKG, Echo, am wearing a holter monitor right now, and just started Xarelto. I will see a cardiologist in about 2 weeks. I will also talk to my GP who is a runner with a fib, and he has had an ablation (unsuccessful, I think.)

I have a lot to think about.

i'm getting the feeling that cardiologists who perform ablations are like bike fitters: there's a big delta between the good ones and the less good ones. i've got some questions about this i'm sorting thru, not because of my own afib - which is occasional - but on behalf of so many of us, of you, who deal with this.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

best friend is just now leaving for Mass General to get an ablation for serious VT, hope a top 10 surgeon in country is good enough...

Had an ablation in 2009 for PSVT at age 39. No problems since then!

I'll be looking forward to hearing what you find.

I had mine for psvt at 27. Now 43

The decision was easy.

I was preparing for my first ever tri - Mrs t's (where I actually met the slow man)

Anyway. For a while if been running but randonly my hr would spike

I returned a hrm a Nike as I thought it was the problem. It wasnt

At the end of a run one afternoon. I went in to my apartment. Sat down to watch golf. The hrm hit 240+

I walked out the building, in to the er across the road. The lady said what's wrong with you. I said I think my hr is a bit high. She said how high. I said 250. She looked at me like I was an idiot. Asked for my wrist and shouted stat

I bypassed everyone. Was on a trolley before you could say trolley

Dr's arrived by the bunch

They said "happen before"

Yes

How long

A monyh

They said go home. Happens again come back

See your gp

Had holtet monitor 48 hours later

Results the friday

Saw the tertiary specialist the next wrek

Schedule procedure for the week afyer

Went in at 5am. Home at 3pm

Insisted on holding out for a pee instead of bed pan

Slept for 48 hours

10 days later did tri

Then did IM WI following year

Had it done at northwestern by time that were very early adopters if not pioneers

No post op complications

No drugs

Still have caffeine

Jobs a good un