james_hazy

On November 30, 2009 I had an ablation procedure to (God willing!) stop my paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. I would like to share my story so that others can get hope that they can get through this procedure and live a better life.

By way of background, I'm a 53 year old male, with a history of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation that dates back many years. In fact I probably experienced my first symptoms in my late 20's and didn't realize what was going on. Until about 5 years ago the events were rare and brief enough that they weren't diagnosed but eventually I ended up in the emergency room with tachycardia and got an EKG at the right time. I hooked up with a great cardiologist, who wanted to treat me conservatively since my episodes were rare.

For several years I did fine on diltiazem to control heart rate, and seemed to have an episode only once or twice a year that didn't last more than several hours. In the last year, however, the episodes began to occur more frequently and lasted longer. We switched to flecainide for rhythm control instead, but the episodes of flutter and fib continued to occur with increasing frequency, sometimes now as frequent as every 4 weeks. One landed me in the emergency room where they even tried to cardiovert me, unsuccessfully. I always came back to normal sinus rhythm after fluids and time (about 8 hours usually) but it was clear to my cardiologist and to me that pharmacological intervention wasn't going to hold me.

I'm an active middle-ager with a challenging career, a beautiful, supportive, patient, brave (I could go on ...) wife, wonderful adult kids, and awesome grandchildren. Like everyone, I have a lot of reason to enjoy life and to want to live to the fullest. I have lots to do yet in my life - like the song says (if you're into Christian rock) "greater things are still to be done". I don't want to live the next couple of decades counting every heartbeat or wondering if every twinge is going to drive my heart rate up to 150 bpm. When my cardiologist (and his nurse practitioner - these folks are great) recommended the ablation, I agreed.

Make no mistake, I wasn't excited that I was going to have someone thread equipment up into my heart from my groin, and fry some of my heart tissue. It sounds scary and it darned well IS scary. But I did a lot of research and I was convinced that the procedure is as safe as one can possibly expect, if done by the right people, and that the reward was well worth the risk.

Besides worry, there isn't much to do to prepare for the ablation except to anticoagulate to reduce the risk of throwing a clot. For my cardiac electrophysiologist, that meant warfarin for about a month prior to the ablation to get my blood to a therapeutic INR. Other than that, and resting, my only other prep was some serious prayer. The ablation itself went very smoothly.

I was admitted to the hospital on a Monday morning, went through preop procedures, and was in the lab quickly for the procedure. I remember the anesthesia tech telling me I'd be going to sleep now, and remember nothing else till I woke up in the recovery unit about 6 hours later. During those 6 hours they had threaded 3 catheters through my femoral vein to my heart, deliberately induced atrial fib, mapped the electrical disturbances, and cauterized the tissue generating the 'short circuit' until they quit. By the end of the procedure they tried to put me back into atrial fib, and couldn't do it. Success in their book!

Recovery in the hospital was pretty swift really. They started unplugging things from my body within a few hours and I was allowed to start walking by that evening. I won't say it was painless, but it honestly wasn't all that bad. I took exactly one mild pain pill, not because I'm some kind of hero, but because that's really all I needed. I had a very mild discomfort in my chest from the procedure, and my worst discomfort was a sore back from laying so long on uncomfortable beds. I ate a normal meal a few hours after waking up with no problems, and I was discharged home on Tuesday. I took it very, very easy for a few days at home, but by about my third day home I was back to a fairly normal routine. It takes a few days to work out the kinks and get the anesthesia out of your system, but I really felt pretty good the whole time, and improved quickly.

So today is day 28. I'm in normal sinus rhythm and I have been since the procedure except for a brief (about 20 minutes) episode - the docs warn you before you leave the hospital that, as the heart heals, you WILL experience some palpitations in the first few weeks, but the idea is that they won't last and that they stop happening within a few months. The game plan is that 8 weeks after the procedure I'll stop taking flecainide and, God willing, my heart will behave on its own.

As noted, I'm sharing my story because I know there are others out there with similar circumstances and some of you are wondering if you should do the ablation or not. In the end, everyone's circumstances are unique, and I can't say that someone should or should not - but I DO want to share my own circumstances so that you know how it goes, and what to expect. And, especially, to share my hope with others who are a little scared and a little uncertain. If anyone out there needs to 'talk' about your circumstances and, especially, if you're considering an ablation and you have questions, drop me a line. I could not have gotten through the last year, or, especially, the last few months without being able to lean on others, especially my wonderful and supportive family. So if you'd like to 'talk' feel free to reach out to me. Wherever you are in your journey with atrial fib, I wish you the best and pray for your health ... james