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.
As many of you know I was diagnosed with paroxysmal AF in August 2012 by my cardiologist. Initially I was asymptomatic except when exercising which was a challenge since I have been a runner for many years. Although I have been on diltiazem at increasing dosages I am unable to run because my HR would get too high. Even brisk walking for an extended period of time is a problem so I adopted my exercise program to slow walking, yoga, minimal weight lifting. I have since experienced occasional palpitations and high HR but they were very short lived..
I decided to speak with 3 EP's to get their opinions on my current treatment and prognosis. I chose 3 because I wanted to get varied opinions and identify common areas of thought. My cardiologist recommended Silicon Valley Cardiology and UCSF. I added Dr Natalie to the mix.
Without mentioning names, one EP recommended ablation, one gave me a choice between ablation and drugs (rythmol was his recommendation for me) and the last one suggested that I throw away my HR monitor, run on the treadmill and if the symptoms really bother me then do an ablation.
I decided to follow the advice of the last EP (but with my HR monitor) since it was easy. For the last 2 days I have been doing some running (at a slower pace than pre AF) on the treadmill and my HR has got up to 168 and I felt good, was not anxious, continued to run and it gradually went down.
Aside from the different advice, the consultation approaches that the 3 used were different. I explained to each ahead of time what I wanted and sent them the same information (ekg,echo,stress,holter) to look at. Two of the 3 EP's did another EKG and took my blood pressure, one did a mini exam, one did not do any tests or exams but asked a lot of questions.
A physician once told me that medicine is 75% science and 25% art. I am not sure of the ratios but I attributed the differences to the art portion of this equation.
All provided valuable and different insights. For example, one suggested that you could exercise and get your HR to 180 without a problem as long as it is not prolonged. Another told me to count on 2 ablations if I decided to go that route. A third informed me of promising clinical trials that were being done.
I felt all 3 EP's were caring physicians with excellent bedside manners and I would be happy to be treated by any of them. I have an upcoming visit with my cardiologist (who has also been my primary physician for many years) and plan on closing the loop with him and discussing the recommendations I received.
opsyn
I decided to speak with 3 EP's to get their opinions on my current treatment and prognosis. I chose 3 because I wanted to get varied opinions and identify common areas of thought. My cardiologist recommended Silicon Valley Cardiology and UCSF. I added Dr Natalie to the mix.
Without mentioning names, one EP recommended ablation, one gave me a choice between ablation and drugs (rythmol was his recommendation for me) and the last one suggested that I throw away my HR monitor, run on the treadmill and if the symptoms really bother me then do an ablation.
I decided to follow the advice of the last EP (but with my HR monitor) since it was easy. For the last 2 days I have been doing some running (at a slower pace than pre AF) on the treadmill and my HR has got up to 168 and I felt good, was not anxious, continued to run and it gradually went down.
Aside from the different advice, the consultation approaches that the 3 used were different. I explained to each ahead of time what I wanted and sent them the same information (ekg,echo,stress,holter) to look at. Two of the 3 EP's did another EKG and took my blood pressure, one did a mini exam, one did not do any tests or exams but asked a lot of questions.
A physician once told me that medicine is 75% science and 25% art. I am not sure of the ratios but I attributed the differences to the art portion of this equation.
All provided valuable and different insights. For example, one suggested that you could exercise and get your HR to 180 without a problem as long as it is not prolonged. Another told me to count on 2 ablations if I decided to go that route. A third informed me of promising clinical trials that were being done.
I felt all 3 EP's were caring physicians with excellent bedside manners and I would be happy to be treated by any of them. I have an upcoming visit with my cardiologist (who has also been my primary physician for many years) and plan on closing the loop with him and discussing the recommendations I received.
opsyn
CPMC would all be considered for referral. Hopefully I'll be fine with just my cardiologist.
Who said what? Send me a message. Please
I like your choice.
Annette
All too often, most/many of us (for various reasons) are not able to seek/pursue multiple opinions.
You are very fortunate to have achieved this group of opinions at the very start of your experience with this very challenging and bewildering disease/condition. All the best moving forward. ;)