Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group
Atrial fibrillation (AF or afib) is an abnormal heart rhythm (cardiac arrhythmia) which involves the two small, upper heart chambers (the atria). Heart beats in a normal heart begin after electricity generated in the atria by the sinoatrial node spread through the heart and cause contraction of the heart muscle and pumping of blood.
Hey all! I just wanted to let everyone know that I finally saw an EP in December and have scheduled an ablation for February. He seemed to think that given my age and that I'm in the early stages and my Afib hasn't gone persistent yet that I would benefit from the ablation. He actually said I had a 90% success rate! This all sounded great to me and I immediately scheduled the ablation. I haven't been scared or nervous. I guess I just haven't been thinking about it too much. I'm sure the nerves will get to me a bit more in the next two weeks before the procedure.
From what I've read, I'm going through the same feelings as everyone else before an ablation. I keep thinking maybe I don't need this procedure and I'm just fine without it. But I keep reminding myself that this condition gets worse over time and I'd be a fool not to try to nip it in the bud now. One of the reasons I keep questioning my decision is because I've had 4 Afib episodes (1 in September and 3 in November). I haven't had an episode in 2 months. It's silly but part of me thinks "I'm cured"!!! I know that is unlikely. I'm probably more nervous about the procedure than I realize and coming up with excuses to not do it.
My ablation is going to be done by Dr. Chinitz who is the director of the NYU Langone Heart Rhythm Center. He is supposed to be one of the best and has probably done thousands of these in his career. I think the center at NYU does hundreds each year. Has anyone heard of him or been a patient of his? I've only heard good things from what I've researched. Also, for those of you who have yet to see an EP...do it!!! I walked out of there feeling so much better about what was happening to me. It's almost like someone finally took the time to explain it to me. My cardiologist, although a great doctor, never really did a good job at that. Even the nurse at the EP's office gave me more info in 5 minutes than I had received in the 3 months I had been going to my cardio.
Anyway, the date is coming up and as it gets closer I may be needing some words of encouragement. So I just wanted to give you all an update. Wish me luck!!!
From what I've read, I'm going through the same feelings as everyone else before an ablation. I keep thinking maybe I don't need this procedure and I'm just fine without it. But I keep reminding myself that this condition gets worse over time and I'd be a fool not to try to nip it in the bud now. One of the reasons I keep questioning my decision is because I've had 4 Afib episodes (1 in September and 3 in November). I haven't had an episode in 2 months. It's silly but part of me thinks "I'm cured"!!! I know that is unlikely. I'm probably more nervous about the procedure than I realize and coming up with excuses to not do it.
My ablation is going to be done by Dr. Chinitz who is the director of the NYU Langone Heart Rhythm Center. He is supposed to be one of the best and has probably done thousands of these in his career. I think the center at NYU does hundreds each year. Has anyone heard of him or been a patient of his? I've only heard good things from what I've researched. Also, for those of you who have yet to see an EP...do it!!! I walked out of there feeling so much better about what was happening to me. It's almost like someone finally took the time to explain it to me. My cardiologist, although a great doctor, never really did a good job at that. Even the nurse at the EP's office gave me more info in 5 minutes than I had received in the 3 months I had been going to my cardio.
Anyway, the date is coming up and as it gets closer I may be needing some words of encouragement. So I just wanted to give you all an update. Wish me luck!!!
Just curious - with the new anticoagulants - since there's no routine blood testing, how do they know where your INR is? How do you know it's not too high? Do they wait for a bleed to happen?