Posted by Carl Plaskett on May 24, 2002 at 07:06:32:
In Reply to: Help.I don't know what to do ! posted by Laura Wood on May 21, 2002 at 18:20:07:
Laura AND Tony: If I were considering an PVA, I would absolutely want to know what the percentage of stroke and stenosis have been for the person performing this technique. The risk for either of those is considerably higher than the risk of death because of the Maze III. I would also want to know what type of ablation tip/tool they will be using. The Cleveland Clinic is reporting much higher success rates with the latest instruments, and have had no strokes of which I am aware. We have a poster on this board who is going to Dr. Natale for his PVA on June 14th, and have had a few others who have posted success with ablations done there.
From what I have read of Dr. Large, it sounds as though he is doing pretty well with the Maze, and given that you have tried ablations, Laura, I would sure try to see him and try to get your active life back. If you have read many of the posts here, you know that many, many of us were very active aerobicly until afib appeared. Apparently, afib does occur more often among our group than in the otherwise heart-healthy population. Use the "search" feature at the top of the page to find references to exercise, etc., in past posts.Good luck!