0. Male 56
1. Natale Ablation May 29, 13
2. At 3 months yes
3. 1-2 days, many times the last year in and out eveyday
4. 5 weeks last summer
5. Cardioverted at day 30 post ablation for flutter, very common especially with the deep transmural burns Natale does, never before
6. Had a PVI, posterior wall, anterior wall, roof line, coronary sinus and superior vena cava ablation. 30-40% I'll need to have my LAA ablated next, as Natale's PVI almost never reconnects anymore.
He's a master at applying enough contact force and holding it up against the heart wall and applying enough RF energy for as much time to make a transmural burn.

Any further afib will involve ablating around the mouth of the LAA that in 90% of his persistent cases is where the \ further triggers are that need to be shut down. Many times during sedation the activity in LAA is often suppressed and is the source of stubborn afib. He see's this more and more now and is the reason he achieves high success rates in the 80/90s. Most EP's wouldn't dare venture into the coronary sinus or LAA delicate areas that only high skilled ablationists can truly ablate without collateral damage.

0. Male/Female Age (me M,63)
1. How may procedures have you had? none
2. Were they successful? How do you define success? afib is paroxysmal, asymptomatic and controlled by diltiazem and aspirin.
3. What was the longest run you've had w/o AFIB? hard to tell since I don't know when I am in afib
4. Has anyone had AFIB completely GONE (for more than 5 years)? not since being diagnosed
5. How many total times and over what period of time, have you been hospitalized due to AFIB? no hospitalizations
6. What do you think your outcome is/sill be?afib is so chaotic and unpredictable that I could not even tell you what I think my outcome is tomorrow let alone in the future. I have no expectations. When I was initially diagnosed I consulted with 3 ep's and each gave me a different treatment recommendation.

opsyn

0. Male/Female Age (me F, 65)
1. How may procedures have you had? (0)
2. I was diagnosed Nov-11. I take metoprolol, Cardizem 180 and Pradaxa every day.
3. What was the longest run you've had w/o AFIB?
I went a-fib free from Jan-12 to Apr12 and haven't had an episode since late May this year. In May-12, I was having several a week. I attribute my recent lack of episodes to taking magnesium.
4. Has anyone had AFIB completely GONE (for more than 5 years)? NO
5. How many total times and over what period of time, have you been hospitalized due to AFIB? Once, in Apr-12.
6. What do you think your outcome is/will be? I think I'm having a remission and it will recur more often.

0. Male/Female Age M/65
1. How may procedures have you had? 0

2. Were they successful? How do you define success? :controlled on Flecainide ( 100 mgs 2x qd)

3. What was the longest run you've had w/o AFIB? Technically 1 year, but since my afib has specific triggers ( >2 alc drinks, excess stress and salt), since I now avoid them and since my afib is immediately stopped by one small extra dose of Flecainide, I feel like I have not had afib in more like 6 years. In other words I feel like I used to before all this afib nonsense began.

4. Has anyone had AFIB completely GONE (for more than 5 years)? not completely gone, but completely controlled

5. How many total times and over what period of time, have you been hospitalized due to AFIB? For example, I've been hospitalized 7 times over 30 months. Never

6. What do you think your outcome is/sill be? LOL! IDeath I am hoping ( that is after another 15 - 20 years - that means I get to see a few grandchildren get married and all of them graduate from college or enter a career) before afib gets worse. I am not sure if anyone knows the long term effects of Flecainide.

0. female 64
1. no procedures
2. Controlled with Flecainide 50mg 2xdaily, PIP Atenolol 25mg
3. Controlled since starting Flecainide 7 years ago, last episode nearly 2 years ago, lasted less than 2 hours, self converted
4. Never hospitalized, once in ER for initial symptomatic episode, no treatment, self converted
5. I expect to grow old....much older and die of something else same as my mom at the age of 92

My crystal ball is currently out for repairs
jan

Male, 58 found out three years ago I had A-Fib. First doc said, Ablation, Second doc said, drugs, third doc said, what are your symptom's. Yes my heart rate goes up and I am in constant A-fib, but I still run and get plenty of exercise. Still ski and dive too.
Ask doc about "triggers", he said that I am in constant A-fib so there are no triggers.

Three years later, no ablation, no drugs and doing fine. He did tell me to take an aspirin, which I don't always do.
PS: I had the benefit seeing what two ablations did to my one year younger brother and it was not good. He is still on drugs and still is in A-fib, and get little exercise.

harts: Were you INITIALLY diagnosed with constant/chronic afib? I was. Also asymptomatic. Also run/exercise. I don't worry about triggers either, although I do what is generally good for heart health. I was diagnosed 2 1/2 years ago. I am 8 years older than you. Will be 65 in December. Are you on a rate control med? I am on Bystolic. Also Pradaxa because I am close to the age that requires it and I have sleep apnea. Another question... was your brother constant/chronic? What problems did he have with the ablations? Thanks. -petey

71years old, Afib diag. Roughly 6/7 years ago, messed with meds for 3 years, Sotalol, Rhythmol?' Several others only could tolorate Sotalol...incidents continued roughly 3 / month, meds additionally brought B/P and H/B to very low levels(a problem), had ablation 3 1/2 years ago , one incident since (12/2012), mostly successful I guess, Afib always (100%)converted when I ran( I am a slow but obsessive runner ) ablation was a good option for me so far. Still have wonky heartbeats occasionally but afib only once since ablation...I know some on this board think ablation is wrong wrong wrong but if Afib pulls the rug out from under your quality of life it's about the only option ...the drugs used are powerful maybe too much so for some. If ablation beckons a good EP and good hospital critical. I used Barnes St. Louis and Washington University Docs. But there are many good options . Don't check this board often since they went bonkers over health care options (politics) but thought I would add my experience.

I am a 72 yr old female.
I have had Atrial Fibrillation for 7 years.
Had no procedures.
Have been through a variety of B blockers and anti-arrhythmic drugs. Flecanaide was the most successful and for several years I had very few episodes.
Since May this year, flecanaide no longer works. Have tried Sotalol; tried no anti-arrhythmic drugs to see if the heart would go into Persistent Afib but to no avail.
This week I have started on Amiodarone, the dreaded drug.
Am also on Warfarin as Pradaxa did not suit me.
Had aortic valve replacement 3 years ago but already had Afib (not related as I had a faulty valve).
Also had several trips to hospital.
Am still having Afib on a daily basis - often when I lie down or when I eat a meal!!!

Female, 55
Diagnosed in 2004 with a-fib & a-flutter
Procedure - 1 ablation in January 2008
I have been in NSR for the past 5 years and 9 months. I am currently taking only aspirin.
Before my ablation I was hospitalized too many times to count!

My ablation gave me my life back, If need I would not hesitate to have another.

Good Luck to everyone!

jbtwn: Remind us about your afib experience... who did your ablation, type of afib, frequency, any other stuff like what they think caused it... also your exercise habits, eating, weight (if you want to talk about it since you already gave out your age), etc.

We like to hear success stories and we like to try to analyze why your ablation WAS successful. I see you had afib and flutter for 4 years.

Thanks.

petey

Okay. I am 55 year old female. Exercise, I don't even know what the word means, LOL. Just kidding. I do not have an exercise routine. I do suffer from arthritis, had my knees replaced and am getting ready to hopefully have my hips done soon. I have always ate a low carb diet.
My ablation was done at Univ of Penn by Dr. Marchlinski.
In 2004 I was diagnosed with "Lone Paroxysmal A-Fib". I was put on Cardizem. In 2005 is was put on Flecainide. A-fluttrer started showing up along with the A-Fib. In 2006, I was taken off Flec and put on Rythmol. I had a bad reaction to Rythmol, taken off it, then put on Sotalol. This year, V-tach came into the picture. This is when my first discussion about having an ablation came about. This is also when I started "interviewing" EP's for the ablation. In 2007 my a-fib turned into a "Persistent" a-fib. My EP added Cardizem with the Sotalol and Atenolol as a "PIP". In Dec. 2007, V-tach started showing up on a weekly basis. So in January 2008 I had my ablation done for a-fib & a-flutter. The procedure took 8 hours.
When I was first diagnosed, the first thing my EP did was send me for a sleep study. I was surprised to find out I did have sleep apnea. To this day, I still use a CPAP machine.

Aloha Robert -

Hope this helps:

0. Male/Female Age- Female, 33yo

1. How may procedures have you had? 2

2. Were they successful? How do you define success? First was in Dec 2009 and had no fib for 3 years until we started trying to get pregnant. Second ablation was Dec 2012. Again, on fib until a few months out trying to get pregnant again. This second time around seems like my particular prenatal vitamin was triggering episodes. With each ablation, I was on a blood thinner (Warfin first time and a different one 2nd time [a newer one that isn't contingent on food]) for 2 weeks after the procedure each time. No other meds to maintain NSR.

3. What was the longest run you've had w/o AFIB? Only had fib episodes that lasted a few minutes prior to first ablation. After first one I was fib free for 3 years. After second, I'm finding I'm sensitive to some foods and much better when I'm well hydrated, rested, and keeping my blood sugar up. Going on runs and forgetting to hydrate or eat after will put me into fib.

4. Has anyone had AFIB completely GONE (for more than 5 years)? See #4.

5. How many total times and over what period of time, have you been hospitalized due to AFIB? Once before my first ablation. They gave me three different anti-arrhythmias (Flec, Propafenone, Amlodepine) causing me to go into 16 hour random episodes. I, personally, will not use an anti-arrythmic again.

6. What do you think your outcome is/sill be? Hoping my awareness of diet and different triggers will do the trick. I currently run and do yoga without any episodes, so I hope this continues. Since my second ablation, I have incorporated in my mindfulness practice some acceptance that the hyper-sensitivity to symptoms and triggers and the occasional episode is part of who I am.

Best wishes and calm breaths to all.
Tracy

0. Male 49-- Diagnosed Persistant AFIB 3.5 years ago
1. How may procedures have you had? 5 cardioversions
2. Were they successful? The first cardioversion failed terribly; woke up during the procedure. The 2nd held for about 9 months; felt great loss 65 lbs working out eating right. AFIB came sneaking back. 3 more failed cardioversions with several different Meds. Tikosyn, Rhytmol, Cardizam Metatropolol.
3. What was the longest run you've had w/o AFIB? 9 months -- shortest 40 minutes.
4. Has anyone had AFIB completely GONE (for more than 5 years)?N/A
5. How many total times and over what period of time, have you been hospitalized due to AFIB? For example, I've been hospitalized 9 times over 40 months. AFIB which leads to CF, very debilitating. I am going for a surgical 5Box/ttm Mini Maze procedure in 2 weeks. Dr. Sirak has a very high success rate and I am a good candidate. ohioafib.com.
6. What do you think your outcome is/sill be? I am hoping to be symptom free on little or no Meds with in a year and able to go back to a normal life running, working, working out and coach my kids. :) . I will keep you posted on the success of this procedure.