Heart Palpitations Forum

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Heart Palpitations Forum >> Symptoms and other concerns >> Ablation for A-Fib & Palpitations???
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Message started by Big Dave on May 9^th, 2013, 10:41am

Title: Ablation for A-Fib & Palpitations???
Post by Big Dave on May 9^th, 2013, 10:41am

Twenty years ago I began experiencing heart palpitations (a skipped beat followed by an unusually heavy beat). The doctor initially diagnosed premature atrial contractions, while another doctor 10 years later diagnosed premature ventricular contractions. But all doctors agreed that the palpitations were harmless, and prescribed beta blockers to mask the symptoms. Then, in Jan. 2012 at age 35, I had an episode of atrial fibrillation that lasted approx. 10 hours before it spontaneously returned to normal rhythm. The doctor put me on a calcium channel blocker and 2 baby aspirins a day. I had another episode of what I believe was a-fib in Oct. 2012 which lasted about 3 hours before it spontaneously returned to normal rhythm.

I am 36 years old and would like to avoid taking cardiac meds and a blood thinner for the rest of my life if I don’t have to, so I asked my doctor about ablation. He responded that ablation is a treatment of last resort due to the risks and does not have a high success rate for a-fib anyway, so I should stick with the meds.

Does anyone have any experience with ablation for a-fib? I trust my doctor, but I’ve read that young people with relatively infrequent episodes of a-fib have a high success rate with ablation since they generally are more robust and their atria have not yet been remodeled by frequent a-fibs. So, I don’t know what to think. Thanks