Robert's Posts

I had an ablation is 2007 for Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), and it was very successful. I have not had another incident. I realize it is not the same as Afib but to answer your question, they were able to introduce SVT during the procedure and know just where to zap. I was in a twilight sleep during it without general anesthesia. Hope this helps. My husband has Afib (he's never had OHS) and his ablation was very successful. He has not had any incidents since. It's been a little over two years.

I have had 3 ablations and 4 cardioversions in the past two years. AFIB after first OHS but Atrial Flutter has been my main problem. The pulse field ablation wasn't available for my first two ablations but am happy to say I'm 8 mos in normal sinus rhythm following the PFA I had in March. Mine were all 4-5 hrs, two w/ general anesthesia and the first w/ MAC sedation (I was asleep though) . The meds to illicit my arrythmias were effective during mapping and ablation which is typical. My third one, my EP scheduled it while still in flutter. Mine is atypical flutter so ablation was left atrium like AFIB is. They do target the problem areas during ablation but preventive areas as well. The newer PFA is more kind to heart tissue than thermal ablation. I did end up w/ a pacemaker a year ago, but my course has been challenging. I watched a couple videos on what to expect w/ an ablation which was helpful. Tylenol post ablation worked. It really isn't too bad a procedure. If you have it under twilight, you can always request more meds if you are uncomfortable. Best wishes.

Hi Robert, I was wondering if you were ok because I haven't seen anything from you lately. I'm sorry you are having these issues. Anyway, my experience with Afib and Aflutter was from the OHS and my last episode of it was about six weeks after the surgery. My husband, however, has several bouts with Afib out of the blue and had an ablation which was about 2 years ago. He's had no more instances of it since. He was told that when treated early, it's more successful. He remains on Eliquis as a precaution. May not be of help to you but that's my experience. Take care and God bless you. Keep us posted.

Thank you for the responses. I have been really busy with work so I didn't really post much. Strangely enough, about 4 days ago my pulse changed again. I wanted to check my heart and went on the same strenuous hike. I couldn't get the BPM above 110. Resting pulse dropped below 60. Go figure. I do have a Samsung watch to take EKGs but I rely more on the Kardia 6L these days.

I have been on bisoprolol for at least 5 years now, probably forever. It is an effective antiarrythmic, as well as a good way to lower heart rate. I can still play a mean game of pickleball twice a week, do yard work, do yoga, and walk briskly several times a week. I have not found it to be a problem for me. And your dog is adorable!

@Marie Myers, thanks for the feedback. I hope I can switch from Amiodarone, which doesn't help me much, to Bisooprolol, So far I am in sinus rhythm a lot more and my pulse has stabilized. I will need to do something more strenuous again to really check. My wife just signed us up for pickleball and now I feel more positive again that I can do that. And thanks for the kind words about our dog. He is a Bernadoodle. He is quite well known in our neighborhood and kids like to pet him and play with him.

@Fidel Martinez Ruiz, thank you for your comment. Before my episode/change a week ago I had to go fairly hard to push my heart rate to 120. Usually less than 120. I still need to figure out why that change happened overnight but I now feel more confident bisoprolol might be my solution. I wasn't sure if this was just an "emergency" medicine or something that can be taken permanently. It looks like a good/better alternative to Amiodarone.

Do you take your pills with food? And are you on any acid blockers like famotidine? It is over the counter here, and you could try it for a couple weeks to see if it helps. Aspirin is one of the culprits for stomach discomfort. I have been lucky/blessed to have been taking it for 8 years without issue (yet?)…

@Fidel Martinez Ruiz, for sure you should not stop any medicine without your doctor/cardiologist saying so. But tell them about the issue. They might be able to replace one medicine with another. As Marie said, try to eat some food before taking the meds unless the meds specifically say you should do otherwise. If they do, check with your doctor if it's ok to take it with/after food despite the note not to do so. Also, what you could do is taking medicine staggered. Let's say you get an upset stomach within 1h of taking the medicine. Take one medicine and 1-2 hours later take the other ones. See if that one medicine gave you a stomach ache. The next day, take another medicine and then 1-2 hours later the others. Do this for all medicines and see which of the single medicine you good before all the others gave you an upset stomach. That way you can identify the medicine(s) (one or more) that give you an upset stomach. There is a chance that combination triggers the stomach ache so you might have to experiment some more by first taking 2 medicines at the same time and then 1-2 hours later the rest of them. If the problem is that it's because of a combination of medicines, you might be able to take some at 8am, some at 9am, etc. Discuss with your doctor.