Posted by Mike Ware on December 05, 2002 at 18:20:21:
In Reply to: First post, I need help with A Fib at age 38, medication questions and more. posted by steveh on December 05, 2002 at 14:55:39:
Steve, sorry to hear about your situation. Spend time reading previous posts on this board to educate yourself (and your doctor). At CC, ablation success rates are 80% for one ablation and 95% if a second ablation is needed. Regarding medication, that depends on how badly you feel when you are in afib and how it affects your lifestyle. If the attacks don't bother you much, then taking an anti-coagulant is all you need. Coumadin (generic is Warfarin) would give you the best protection against stroke, but many people, particularly if they are under 60 years old and have no other heart problems, take a full aspirin instead. If afib bothers you, and it's frequent, take a beta blocker like Toprol XL to limit your max heart rate while in afib. If that is not enough, then you could try some of the various anti-arrhythmia drugs. Unfortunately, these drugs can have side effects worse than the afib itself, but some people find them very worthwhile. They generally loose effectiveness over time forcing you to either increase the dose or to switch drugs. I chose to not even try the anti-arrhythmia drugs and to have an ablation instead at CC.
I hope for the best for you.
Mike
- Re: First post, I need help with A Fib at age 38, medication questions and more. Carl Plaskett 19:05:37 12/05/2002 (0)