I meant That made my day to see him again, words can't express what I felt as well as the other fellow affibers who also showed up to Thank him.
Shows you his character ........ ! :)

McHale

That would be great odds for many cancers, but the difference is no-one has to have an ablation for afib for longevity reasons. Except maybe stroke risk goes down. petey "

Pete that thinking may be changing now as was expressed by a few EP's Dr Marchalski included.

McHale

Scott: The issue of long term effects of my AFIB have not come up. Remember, I've had AFIB for 40 years (diagnosis 5 years ago), and my heart (other than the AFIB), is relatively normal (slight enlargement of I think is was the left ventricle). And maybe that's the result of 50 years of weightlifting. Who knows. Something is going to get all of us sooner or latter, At 64, I would rather not rush to process. I'll probably be changing cardiologists within the next month or so, might have more to say about it then. I've read a lot about AFIB, and very little is conclusive.

Scott: Heart failure occurs from uncontrolled high ventricular rate. If you control it, heart failure is highly unlikely according to what I have read. BTW, heart failure (low ejection fraction can facilitate afib). On another note, my atria shrunk since being treated with a beta blocker (rate control).

McHale: There is no data to support longer lifespan after ablation. I don't doubt some EPs think that ablation might help you live longer, but no-one will put that in writing. If you have a successful ablation and don't have to take rhythm drugs and your CHADS score is zero, it would seem logical as a group those people would live longer on average, but no-one can provide any data. If they did, I would be first in line for an ablation (even though I feel no symptoms).

petey

Thanks everybody for your responses.

McHale - Okay, I understand what you are saying about Dr. Natale. He seems to be a real nice human being in addition to being very competent. Most EPs and cardio doctor are pretty cocky.

Also, regarding your flutter, sure, I know it is normal to have one shortly after an ablation. I had mine 2 days after the procedure. They had to use cardioversion to get me back to NSR too. Then, they put me on Sotalol (80mg 2 x per day). Later, my EP said we will take you off of Sotalol after 3 months.

Paul - Sure, I understand what you said. Based on what petey said, you might be okay just taking a rate control drug to keep the rate down if the afib is not problematic. I totally understand that you don't want to rush going for an ablation. Good luck to you.

petey - Okay, I see what you are saying. I have a feeling that I was in afib and flutter for 9 months since my heart rate was pretty much elevated (resting 100 bpm). The rate control drugs were not working. My cardiologist did not want to increase the dosage since my blood pressure was pretty low (100/64). I think I was NOT diagnosed correctly. Finally, I was so fed up with my afib/flutter, and feeling bad all the time that I decide to go for the ultimate, the ablation. I am happy I did it and got it over. So far, the results have been good. But, time will tell.

Thanks again for your responses.

Scott

Scott,
I too posted on the other sites that I was sick and tired of hearing about Natale Natale Natale....can't ANYONE ELSE DO A GREAT PROCEDURE? Yes they can but..........

I had to have my ablation report redone as it was lacking details as I was one of the first to get ablated here in NY at St Lukes.
Dr Danik who was listed as also doing the procedure on my ablation report called me a few times and I straight out asked him how much of the procedure he did. He told me nothing it was all Natale, just assisted him and watched and observed. He told me he never saw anyone ablate like Natale, basically foot on the gas the whole 58 mins of flouroscopy time taking only a few moments to redirect and ablate his next target. This from an EP who worked at Mass General with some great EP's up there before Natale recruited him. He was in awe of him the way he spoke and sadly because of politics Natale is no longer there.
What sets Natale apart is that no one but him does the ablation, from inserting the sheaths and threading the caths and doing the burning. This is not true with most other top EP's as I've heard many don't do the whole procedure. He flat out told me the last 5-6 years he barely see's any more reconnections so if my afib should come back he is going after my LAA. This is a delicate area of the heart that most EP's will not dare venture into but where now most are realizing the many hots are in stuborn persistent long standing afib.

DAvila reported on Natales vanishingly low reconnection rates compared to everyone else at Boston AFIB.. Dr Natale is bolder, uses more consistent contact forces with higher power for just the right amount of time needed to get more consistent transmural burns than most otherwise solid EPs including Jais and Haissguerre who both have decent, but still much higher, reconnections than Natale does now. They also use about 5 watts or more lower power for each type of burn than does Natale as well, which does not serve the patient as well. They do get good results, to be sure, but require on average more ablations to get there as a result. Most all of the European EPs use lower dose isoproternol challenge too and for shorter duration than most US centers, and certainly less than Natale and his proteges use, and as a result they tend to recognize less triggers that can pop up later to bite you, particularly in the CS and LAA where it can be tricky to discern activity there without enough stimulus.
I had extensive work done in my coronary sinus which shut down the last of my afib. He also ablated my anterior and posterior wall, created a roofline, all to breakup the atrial substrate that sustains afib.

McHale

- Why Dr. Natale is a Rock Star? Is it because he goes around and lectures? Or is it because his results are fantastic and all his patients have been afib free after he did the procedure on them?

- What method did he use for your ablation? Cryo? Catheter? Or both?

Why is he a Rock Star?
Not only is he at the forefront of new research and studies but still performs around 50 ablations a month from what I know and has done over 11,00 ablations in total, more than anyone else I believe. Only uses RF, gen 2 Thermocool Catherters, doesn't believe cyro is durable. His complication rate and safety recore is astonishly low for the volume he does.
Yes most other EP's I consulted with are very cocky and dismissive when challenged but Natale is a true gentlemen and will gracefully answer all your questions.

McHale

Yes

McHale,

Thank you, thank you, job well done! Okay, now I am clear why Dr.Natale is a Rock Star. Based on what you are saying, he deserves the Rock-Star title. He is aggressive but knows how far he can push the envelope when ablating.

You did a nice job describing the details for a Rock Star EP :-) Thanks again.

Scott

Next, my Dr wants to do ablation, I've avioded it but now I think I'll get it done after following/reading this thread. Drugs haven't worked. Xrelto, Tikosyn & toporal.
Thanks as usual,
Andre

Hi Duke,

I think if nothing has worked and still life is NOT good, yes, it is time to bite the bullet and go for the big banana, the ablation.

I wish you lots of luck and success in your decision.

By the way, that was the case with me. I went for it and I am glad that I did.

Best wishes,
Scott

YES X'S 2

Definitely YES. The 2nd was successful. Joan

YES ... three times. If you had asked me after the second time I would've said no.

No surprise here...NO.