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.

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duder 01/26/2015

I'm pretty stoked. I have a cryoablation scheduled for Feb. 4th at Emory in Atlanta. I go in for final consult with the EP on the 2nd, pre-op MRI on the 3rd, and surgery on the 4th. I started taking rat poison about 3 weeks ago, so I'm hoping my INR stays stable and in-range. Last time it was 2.0, hoping to bump it up just a little bit before then.

Another interesting note, another board member here, boyinthebush, is having his ablation in NY the same day.

juniebe 02/02/2015

Best of luck to everyone! Can't wait to join you, don't forget to keep us updated on your progress.

DBinIL 02/02/2015

GOOD LUCK to you both! We will all be waiting to hear from you afterwards! NSR forever!!!

CLane 02/02/2015

Good luck Duder and boyinthebush! We will be looking forward to your updates after the procedure. Just FYI: My ablations were performed by accessing the femoral veins. Once the catheter reached the right atrium, my EP accessed my left atrium by trans-septal puncture to perform isolation of the pulmonary veins and left posterior wall.

sautee 02/02/2015

Wishes for the best of all possible outcomes for Duder and boyinthbush!

bergeram 02/02/2015

duder & boyinthebush,

Positive thoughts and prayers are sent your way for a successful procedure. Wishing you both all the best of outcomes in NSR.

Annette

buddyc22 02/02/2015

Hey Paul60 -

thanks!! That was a very interesting description - you sound like an EP, except more verbose. :-)

I didn't know that they sometimes access the left atrium via the arterial system - I thought it was doable but didn't know that it was sometimes done. It seems like that once the catheter reaches the left ventricle, the EP would need to make a tight 90 or more degree turn to thread the catheter through the mitral valve and into the left atrium. But this seems safer than transversing the interatrial septum with a needle - there would be risk of bleeding.

Actually I forgot a couple more arteries proximal to the femoral artery before reaching the inferior vena cava - femoral artery-->external iliac artery-->common iliac artery-->IVC-->right atrium. :-)

Paul60 02/02/2015

Don't give me too much credit, that was a cut and paste.

Orchard25 02/04/2015

Duder and boyinthe Bush: thinking of you both today and praying for a good outcome for both of you. Prayers for speedy recoveries.
Please let us know how you do?
Hugs
Christine