Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire A-fib

Afib is nothing to mess with unless you're hoping for a stroke. I had ablation surgery 8 yrs ago and the Afib subsided until last spring. It's not unusual to have to get a "tune-up" ablation periodically. For whatever reason the March ablation didn't completely solve the rhythm problem this time so I had a follow-up ablation in December that seems to have put me back into normal rhythm. I highly recommend ablation by a good electro physiologist before going to a pacemaker (or having a stroke). All 3 ablation surgeries were done early in the morning at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh and I walked out of the hospital by 4 PM that afternoon.

My middle son had the procedure done when he was 25. He takes a pill daily and has been fine since.

No.

Your heartbeat is out of rhythm. You get tired much easier when its occuring.

Slumlord , some people feel it , others do not . I had loss of Energy , and a high Pulse . Some folks feel a thumping Heatbeat . There are also two types of Ablations . The common one is Right Atrial Ablation and I have seen various High numbers given for success . Unfortunately , that was not my case . I have had two Right Atrial Ablations and still have A-Fib . The severity at present , however , is much less than before . There are certain Nodes in the Heart Chamber which are destroyed to try to prevent A-Fib . There are at least three ways to accomplish this destruction . I seem to recall telling the Surgeon ( just before Anesthesia ) to avoid the PV1 Node ( hope my Memory is correct ) . He chuckled at that one , and off to Dreamland I went . Anyway if a Pacemaker is installed and your PV1 Node is gone .......and your Pacemaker FAILS ........ you die . My present Cardiologist says if you have A-Fib and you live long enough , you will probably go into 100% A-Fib . There is another Procedure called Left Atrial Ablation pioneered by a Professor at Pa. University in Philadelphia . When I was first told I had A-Fib , I was put on a Med. ( Amiodarone ) where you had to sign a Release . Lost some hair from that Med . That Cardiologist suggested a Left Atrial Ablation . I asked for the Pa. Professors Phone No . ....and was told some BS about contacting the Professor .... shortly thereafter I got a new Cardiologist . I found the Contact Info on the Computer , called the Professors Office and made a Consultation Appointment . Going there and meeting the Professor was an interesting story in itself . Anyway , Left Atrial Ablation is a much more dangerous Procedure( as it involves piercing the wall which separates the two Chambers ) . About one in three hundred people don't make it . This was a few years ago , so the figures today might be better . I was told to stay on Amiodarone for the time being as that Option was the safer way to go . After my second Right Atrial Ablation , I was able to get off that Med . Sorry to be so long winded , but hope this Info. helps folks afflicted by A-Fib .

Good luck Steve hope you got a good heart dr to take care of you.

It is definitely not something to ignore. Had an episode a couple years ago, got shocked back into sinus rhythm and fine ever since. On a few meds to keep things that way and I pay pretty close attention to it.

Had it for years before I knew what It was. For years I had a high heart rate of around 100.Was easily winded by sudden exertion such as running in to answer the phone. In 2007 my heart really jumped time. Blood pressure too low for my machine to register a reading. Pulse jumping back and forth from 40 to 170. Got shocked back into time 2 or 3 times over the next few years. Refused to use a cpap, but took medication. In 2013 went to Oklahoma City OU hospital for cardiac ablation. It took all day but it was working nicely for a while. Still wouldn't use the cpap and decided I could quit the medicine. Guess what, it came back. 2015 The ablation was tried again. Now I'm addicted to the cpap and take a medication called Multaq and one called Xarelto, both very expensive but I have good insurance. No recurrence except one minor episode when I lost 5 lbs. of sweat one day chainsawing this past August.

That last part, your electrolytes were probably way out after sweating so much.

I’ve been in constant A-fib for at least 4 years. I asked my cardiologist what I can do. His response, if you have ever to go to the emergency room for anything and they tell you are in A-fib... tell them not to even try to deal with it because there is nothing they can do to fixit.... I reckon at this point it is what it is...

Guess I’m GTG on a fib then. I got some other issues with mine. Some wall thickness in a couple places they brought to my attention.

I always show an abnormal EKG, and anyone new gets a weird about it. lol
The print out will say danger Will Robinson, abnormal, possible ischemia. I cast a neg T-wave on every read since 2015. I’m just say well ok, thanks. lol

Cardiologist I see says don’t worry about it.

Well ok. If you say so. 😐

Right, that's what my cardiologist said.

Had a little touch of A fib several years ago. Doc had to stop my heart to get it back in rhythm.
On Eliquis to control clotting in my heart chambers. Hasbeen

Sleep apnea brought on A-fib for my father, which in turn became heart failure. It killed him. That was 1978. There was no mention ever of a cpap machine for him. He would snore loud enough to shake the house and would stop breathing for over a minute. Probably a hundred or more times a night.

Wow.

My first ablation failed too, after a few days. The second one flew like an eagle and I have not had a single occurrence of afib since. Been checked several times.

Moosemike, good luck to you brother.

Guess we’ll see what happens on Thursday . Went in today for all the pre- op stuff , so I’m ready.one night stay they say so Friday I should be out. Interesting bunch of reply’s here.i’v been hearing all kinds of stuff from friends about a-fib to. Sounds like no sure fire cure to me.

Here's hoping things go good at the Hospital.

My friend runs his own business and it has not slowed him down since he had it done.

Roger, are you on meds for it now?

Good luck to you and the OP too.