Another newbie from downunder!

Hi there, I have been lurking in the shadows here since my hubby Graham had a dual chamber pacemaker fitted in early March to see if it would provide G with some relief from A.Fib. Unfortunately it has not. His cardio in conjuction with the E.P. thought the next course of action should be an A.V. Node ablation. Neither of us were that keen On this route but if it meant better quality of life for G we would go with it. We have just received a letter from the Hosp where the A.V.Node ablation would take place and it seems they have changed there minds and want to replace the pace maker with an ICD.
We no nothing much about ICDs except from what I have gleaned here. Has any one here had the AV Node ablation - how are they feeling now - is their A.Fib contolled?
Has any one had and ICD.fitted and does that control the A.FIB.
We would be very grateful for your coments. Thanks.

6 Comments

Ablation

by janetinak - 2008-11-04 02:11:46

I had the AV node ablation in 2000 for Afib & got a PM at same time. I am doing great since then & am on my 2nd PM & 100% dependent ventricles paced. Only med I am on for this is Coumadin because still in Afib. Feeling great too.

I think if you look under topics on the left I see ICD but not ablations. I bet someone will know how to pull up more comments on ablations.

I don't know how an ICD will affect your hubby's condition but I bet you'll get some comments here.
Good luck & welcome to our great site.

Janet

Thanks!

by Benjie45 - 2008-11-04 09:11:05

Thanks Janet for you helpful coments. One thing puzzles me tho - how come you still get A Fib when you have had an AV Node ablation? I would have thought you would have been paced by the I C D? Are we missing something here?
Regards, Wenda.

afib

by Susan - 2008-11-06 09:11:13

Hi Wenda,
I would encourage you to visit some other web sites that discuss afib and learn everything you can so that you can help make the decisions ahead. I started out with a biventricular pacemaker but it did nothing for the afib. I did have an av node ablation and the only thing that helped was a reduction in my symptoms. So although I felt better, the afib continued and actually increased. It was then I decided to go for an ablation for I wanted to be rid of the afib not just not feel it. There are concerns about what effect long term afib has on the heart and though I am not a trained medical person, I just didn't think having my heart beat >300 bpm in the atria is good for my heart. Ablations and maze procedures including mini-mazes etc are very successful at stopping the afib. I would certainly encourage you and your husband to look for options that don't involve an av node ablation.
At the yahoo groups site on afib there are serveral individuals from "down under". They might be able to share some resources they are familiar with that might be helpful to you. It is very improtant to seek out an experienced EP for success is highly correlated with the amount of experience the EP has.
Susan

ICD

by lb151 - 2008-11-07 02:11:47

I have a bi-ventricular ICD. It paces me ,now about 90% of the time. I am in controlled rate A-Fib. The unit does not help A-Fib,but can help pace the heart when the heart rate is low enough. We have tried everything over 3 years to return me to sinus rythum,but my heart is too happy the way it is. As long as the rate of A-Fib is controlled,you can live a very normal life for a very long time. Its simply an electrical problem. I am closely watched on my meds and the ICD.

Thanks

by Benjie45 - 2008-11-08 08:11:50

Many thanks for your welcome and helpful comments.
Graham goes to Hosp for check up and a chat on the 18th. We will make a decision after that. We have done quite a bit of research over the years so are fairly up to date with most treatments for A.Fib. Once decided the Procedure will be done the next day.
Hopefully it will be the end of a rollercoaster ride that G has had over the last five years.
Cheers,
Wenda





Jerry77

by jerry77 - 2008-11-10 01:11:11

I see that you folks have received a cardioverter defibrilator in conjunction with your A fib regime.

What was the reason for the defibrilator?

Which chamber does it defibrilate?

Is it pacing anything?

If so, which chamber?

What will make the defibrilator go off?

Has it ever gone off? Thanks

Jerry77

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