Who else has it? It drives me crazy.. They say I can have a ablation done but it hasn't got to that point. I am 33 and this is a condition that gets worse with age... I'm sure I will have to have a pacemaker before I'm 40.. Any of y'all having to deal with this?

Dang man your aweful young for that.

Yep

I am assuming they have done some testing to try and figure out the cause. Typically you see that electrical problem in the elderly. I do know one other person I use to work with that had it in their 30s, they did get the ablation, and have been fine since.

Have you been drinking again? Seriously, you are in a roll tonight.

My mother has a condition called mitro valve prolapse since she was in her late 30's where her heart skips a beat every now and then. She takes a pill for that and has for many years, and is 71 yrs young today. I would have it checked out if you have not already.

My wife had a severe problem and about 8 years ago she had to have surgery. I think she was in Baptist Hospital in Pensacola for it. The doctor said that was the only thing he did. He went into the groin, ran a laser up into her right ventricle and supposidly poked thru to the left ventricle where the problem was. He zapped a small section of the muscle wall and it cured it. He said they were usually a one day stay procedure, but it was later in the day for her and she stayed the night.

There are any number of underlying conditions that cause it. Some of them are relatively benign, while some can be life-threatening. My family's version can trip from Afib to V-tac; which is usually fatal, unless a defibrillator is handy. Pacing, a pacemaker/IDC, drugs, and ablation, either alcohol or radio (the wire), are all used. Dehydration (think alcohol), salt, or physical strain can all be triggers. A lot of those conditions you have to pay attention to your doctor.

You won't need a pacemaker for afib its controlled by meds. I had persistant afib for 2 years until I went to my fathers doctor that fixed his afib. Dr. Osario at Grandview. I got what they call a hybrid ablation. if yours isn't persistant you might just need a regular ablation. A hybrid one is where the burn the outside of your heart by going in your chest with a small insision under your sternum and burning the backside of your heart with rf and then they go in with a catheter in your groin area and burn the inside with rf. I would recommend this doctor he is really good at it and he is really people friendly. The regular ablation is just the catheter one btw

I just got off my xarelto 2 days ago woot!

Buddy of mine had an extra nerve burned off his heart.
Heart doc said he had an �electrical problem� not a �plumbing problem.�
He�s fine.
Bro-in-law just had a pacemaker/afib deal implanted.

No need for a pacemaker for Afb it is an electrical issue.MVP is completely different than Afb Cummins. I hope your on some form of blood thinner, if not you should be Steelman. You can be on rate control medication such as a beta blocker or a calcium channel blocker like cardizem but this will not cure the issue by may just allow your rate to be somewhat normal

I had ablation therapy at Vanderbilt in 2003. I had suffered episodes off and on for 12 years. In my case they said the cause was atrial tissue growing into the pulmonary veins. I was in my 50's when they did it and have been fine ever since.

The big danger of a-fib is that clots can develop in the atria during the fibrillation. When the heart converts and beats normally, the clots get pumped out and can hit the brain causing strokes.

If ablation therapy is available from an experienced doc, I'd highly recommend it. Meanwhile, take your anticoagulants to avoid clots.

My mom has had it for years. After many trips to the ER/hospital they finally installed a pacemaker a couple of years ago. She�s been doing good ever since

I am 32 and have been in AFIB at least 4 times over the last couple of years. Doctor hasn't put me on any meds yet since the episodes are so far apart. He also told me it will just get worse with age. It's a bad feeling when your heart is at 180 beats per minute or out of rhythm.

They are correct that you typically do not need a pacemaker for a-fib. There is always a possibility that you might need one after the ablation. It is not often, but when you have a-fib it is like a bunch of extra power sources firing off sending the electrical impulses that the heart doesn't need. When the cardiologist goes in, they attempt to find the extra sources and cauterize them and stop them from doing that. I have seen atrium be so sensitive that it is hard to pin point the source(s) of the problem.

This is probably the biggest and major drawback to an ablation. It can cause you to have bradycardia (slow heart beat) and require a pacemaker. This is certainly not the norm, but indeed a possibility. No surgery/procedure is without risk. As you age, get as much info about it as possible and make the best decision you can for you and your health.

Like any other profession there are folks that are good at their job and folks that are bad at their job. Cardiologist are a lot like any other physician that does procedures. They would rather be in the room working on you, than in the office talking to you. It is their element and what they like to do. To the man with the hammer in his hand, everything looks like a nail.

I had Wolf Parkinson White syndrome. Which was an extra electrical channel to my heart causing tachycardia, and a fib. Found out I had it when I was 12 when I told my baseball coach I wasn't nervous, but my heart was still beating really fast. I had an EKG the next day and the day after that i was on my way to Children's in Dallas to have a RF alblation done. Haven't had a problem since surgery but scares me to death knowing what could've been

My point to Pauly's post. Atrial fibrillation isn't a condition. It is a symptom of any number of medical conditions.

I recently started to have symptoms at age 62. Dr appt has been made to look into it.

I'm a CVICU nurse. Everyone I have seen that has had the ablation done has turned out fine. It is usually a same day procedure. They go through the groin just like your having a heart cath. After sheath is pulled the leg stays striaght for usually 4 hrs, this is the worse thing about the whole procedure. They give you what is called conscious sedation, usually morphine along with a drug called versed. You don't even know what their doing most of the time. If you decide to have it I would go to UAB first choice then second choice would be Baptist South. A cardiologist has to have a electrophysiology background to be able to do it.

Dad had his done at uab. When we got there his heart rate was 280. They couldn't believe his heart didn't explode. They gave him something that slowed his heart. Found the problem done there deal he was out the day they done the procedure.

I have had it for the last 4 or 5 years, normally have 2-4 episodes a year and it lasts for less than a day. Just has one on Wednesday of this week. Cardiologist said as of now, as long as I can deal with it, I am ok but will eventually have an ablation procedure.

Thanks for all of the input and advice guys, and your Dr wouldnt happen to be Cochran would it? Thats basically what he told me.

I've got it--first noticed when I was 53, got worse as I got older. Untreated I would have 2 or 3 episodes a month where my heart got very irregular beat, not pumping in rhythm so blood not circulating effectively. Could hardly walk up the stairs without fainting. My cardiologist specializes in electrical issues. He tested me and found my type of afib doesn't respond well to ablation. He put me on meds to slow my heart rate, lower my blood pressure, and prevent clotting that could lead to a stroke. Also made me quit alcohol and caffeine, which were triggers for my episodes. So far, it works pretty well for me. I have been on the new meds for about six months, and only had one episode. You need to find a cardiologist who is an electrocardiologist or an electrophysiologist.

I'm 33 as well and had a case of A-Fib 3 years ago. Ended up in the ER and came out of A-Fib on my own right after they got me back to start running tests. Spent the night on a heart monitor at the hospital and had an Echo the next morning. The hospital Dr. said I needed a pacemaker since my resting heart rate was in the 40s, but they released me and sent me to a cardiologist.

I did a stress test two days later. She looked at all of the results and said my heart was pristine. Didn't need to see me again unless I had issues.

The only hypothesis they came up with is that I over stressed myself since I was on the front end of a sinus infection and stayed up late the night before due to having a Christmas party at the house the night before. (Not the college version or "party")

Mine comes and goes, I'm seeing Dr cochran in mobile, he says that I have afib but it isn't regular enough to really worry about and told me that it normally takes at least 48 hrs in afib in for clots to form.. He prescribed me some medicine to take when it happens, I haven't tried it yet because the last episode I had only lasted a little while. It just scares the crap out of me when it happens and is very unsettleling.. I have adjusted my diet some and slacked up on the beer and so far I can tell a difference.

Dude if you need the ablation there is nothing to it. They might try and control through medication. One off hand is amiodarone and then an anticoagulant like coumadin or eliquis. I would do the ablation rather than be on the meds bro if it becomes an option for you. You have two atriums and 2 ventricles in your heart. Your ventricles do most of the pumping in the body however the atriums still do alittle. In afib the atriums dont quite pump out all of the blood which can cause the stationary blood to pool which can cause a stroke. It is one of the most common causes of a stroke I believe. Afib is pretty common in the unit I work in. You are going to be OK dont worry. You holler at me if you have any questions I work in the CVICU at Jackson in Montgomery

This is exactly where I'm at. As long as it doesn't get more frequent they aren't treating it at all. I have averaged going into AFIB twice a year now for the past three years.