Hey Ton,
I spoke to you on an earlier post about your AF.
I’m a Charge Nurse in a Cardiology unit that deals with ablation procedures.
Sorry for the news but there is still good reason to be hopeful.
So, AF is erratic signals making your atria go mad, these signals come from the Pulmonary Veins, which bring blood back from the lungs to the heart.
These veins join the heart at the left atrium. An ablation procedure is intended to essentially burn a ring around the area where the veins join the heart, electrically isolating them so that even if they fire random signals, they can’t get through to the heart.
There are four veins joining the heart, so this has to be done for each of them.
You’ll come into a day surgery ward the morning of the op.
Get into gown, doctor/nurse does paperwork, consent etc.
You don’t have to shave your pubs at our gaff but the hospital might tell you to.
You’ll be taken to the cardiac lab, lie on a thin table and have loads of stickers put on you. (good idea to shave chest & back – it’ll hurt taking stickers off)
Xray macjine will sit above your chest.
Lots of computer screens on your left.
The doc will put cold liquid on your groin. (yikes!)
He’ll then inject local anaestetic. (stings then goes numb)
He’ll then but three little tubes into the femoral vein.
Long catheters that have platinum tips then go up tho your heart.
They go to the left atrium and sit in the pulmonary veins.
These catheters pick up the random signals and display them on a screen.
Another catheter is put in and put up against where the signals are coming from.
The platinum tip is then heated to about 50degC 50 watts for around a minute at a time.
The doc works his way around the vein until the screen showing the erratic signals is clear.
It can be a bit painful as it moves around, some spots are easier than others. It’s not because somethings going wrong, it can just be a bit uncomfortable.
You will probably get some sedatives & painkillers – take them if offered, don’t be a hero.
The procedure can last 2-6 hours.
Don’t drink too much before & pee before you go in.
After, you will have to lie flat for an hour or so to make sure you don’t bleed from the groin.
You’ll go back to the ward and sleep it off, you might get home that day but prepare for an overnight stay.
The procedure is not always successful firt time.
An area treated might recover slightly, allowing some erratic signals getting through.
A second procedure is just some spot welding to seal the gaps.
It can be done several times.
Best advice is to try and be as relaxed about it as possible (hard, i know) tense and anxious people tend to have a rougher time.
As for future?
Beta blockers are quit refined now, with lots of different options to try that’ll work best for you.
Warfarin is ok but new & safer ones are coming (See dabigatran)
Keep excersizing as much as you feel you can and keep yer chin up.
