Now what?

Ruesado here, and thanks for all of the info on pacemakers.
Went to VA hospitol in Atlanta and found out from young and studly doctor that I was too young for a pacemaker, 49.
I still have Afib.
So what is Ablation and Mini- maze?
What can I do, how much exercise can I try to acomplish?
Would riding a bike across the state of Ga. be out of the question?
Ruesado

3 Comments

huh

by Tracey_E - 2009-06-17 10:06:32

Ablation is when they go in through a catheter and zap the node causing your afib.

What does age have to do with need? Seriously, if your age is his reason for not giving you a pm then I'd be running for a second opinion. However, pm's can do very little for afib. Afib is usually controlled with beta blockers,which slow down your hr. Pm's generate beats- they can speed up a slow hr or regulate one that's missing beats, but it can't keep your heart from beating fast on its own. Depending on what they ablate, you may need a pm later, tho, but that's not common for a first ablation.

Never heard of a mini-maze!

It's up to your doctor if you can ride your bike long distance. We have marathon runners here. It all depends on if you can get your afib under control. Having a pm is not a reason to stay off the bike.

Mini-maze

by Jack - 2009-06-17 11:06:21

I had chronic afib for many years and wasn't a candidate for a regular ablation so I chose the Mini-maze knowing I only had a 60% chance of it working to stop my afib.
It didn't work on me because of the length of time I had had afib.
Mini-maze is a process of going in through both sides of your chest with small remote controlled tools and actually burning the outside of the heart in hopes that the burns will scar and corral the electrical impulses and send them where they are supposed to go. It's not the greatest thing I've ever gone through. You might want to google it. They even have films of the operation for you to see. I'd be happy to go further into it if you wish later.
Good luck.

MAZE ???

by pete - 2009-06-18 03:06:54

I dont advise anyone opting for any kind of MAZE proceedure. It is very invasive and to my mind brutal and crude . I know people who have had them and I do not want to post here what happened to them other than to say I think these maze proceedures will be abandoned some time in the future by the medical profession and that they will look back in horror wondering why they ever thought it was a good idea. This is only MY OPINION but there are doctors out there who would agree with me. Ablations are when a Radio Frequency high power catheter is inserted through a vein or artery and up into your heart to heat / burn out / eliminate pathways and signal nodes in the heart. Sounds dreadful but it a well established proceedure which is more or less painless and used extensively and effectively. Takes great skill on the part of the doctors. I have an AV node ablation and a biventricular pacemaker to stop my chronic AF from giving me heart failure. Usually very effective treatment. The business about "being too young for a pacemaker" is "sheer unadulterated piffle" Go to another hospital. Good luck Peter

You know you're wired when...

Your pacemaker receives radio frequencies.

Member Quotes

The experience of having a couple of lengths of wire fed into your heart muscle and an electronic 'box' tucked under the skin is not an insignificant event, but you will survive.