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Has Atrial Fibrillation, Fluttering Heart And Ablation. On Pace Maker. Taking Medication. Is It Likely To Happen Again?
This is a Cardiologist question:
My mother (80) has atrial fibrillation and has had ablation with now a pace maker and defibrillator, already for about 8 years. She recently went in and had her pace maker battery changed and ever since has had trouble with afib again. Went back and had tests run and now they say she needs medicine to help keep heart in rhythm, I'm confused because I thought the point to the ablation with pace maker and defib was to get her off all those medicines. I would like to understand this and if I could be referred to a site that may explain this to me. The medicines are VERY expensive and she cannot afford them. I will be contacting her Cardiologist to ask these ?s but that won't happen until next week and until then her heart continues to flutter/race. This information was provided to her by the nurse who was only relaying the information and had no answers to any of her questions.
My mother (80) has atrial fibrillation and has had ablation with now a pace maker and defibrillator, already for about 8 years. She recently went in and had her pace maker battery changed and ever since has had trouble with afib again. Went back and had tests run and now they say she needs medicine to help keep heart in rhythm, I'm confused because I thought the point to the ablation with pace maker and defib was to get her off all those medicines. I would like to understand this and if I could be referred to a site that may explain this to me. The medicines are VERY expensive and she cannot afford them. I will be contacting her Cardiologist to ask these ?s but that won't happen until next week and until then her heart continues to flutter/race. This information was provided to her by the nurse who was only relaying the information and had no answers to any of her questions.
Wed, 20 Nov 2013
Hi friend,
Welcome to Health Care Magic
Both the appliances are meant to be monitoring the rhythm…’Standby’
The defibrillator will detect live threatening arrhythmia like ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation; and give a shock to correct…
The pacemaker senses the beats and paces when the rate falls below a pre-determined limit… many drugs to control the abnormal rate or rhythm may also depress native rate to threatening levels and hence the standby. The machines enable proper dosing of the medicine – they supplement the ‘medical’ treatment, not supplant them…
They do not treat the atrial fibrillation directly – but address future catastrophic events, as above
Ablation is not always 100% successful… / Dormant tracts can become active / there may be more than one… / some may need to have the procedure repeated; some may need ‘pulmonary vein isolation’ and so on…
The treating doctor alone can suggest further based on his assessment of the situation.
Take care
Wishing all well
God bless
Good luck
Welcome to Health Care Magic
Both the appliances are meant to be monitoring the rhythm…’Standby’
The defibrillator will detect live threatening arrhythmia like ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation; and give a shock to correct…
The pacemaker senses the beats and paces when the rate falls below a pre-determined limit… many drugs to control the abnormal rate or rhythm may also depress native rate to threatening levels and hence the standby. The machines enable proper dosing of the medicine – they supplement the ‘medical’ treatment, not supplant them…
They do not treat the atrial fibrillation directly – but address future catastrophic events, as above
Ablation is not always 100% successful… / Dormant tracts can become active / there may be more than one… / some may need to have the procedure repeated; some may need ‘pulmonary vein isolation’ and so on…
The treating doctor alone can suggest further based on his assessment of the situation.
Take care
Wishing all well
God bless
Good luck
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