Posted by Don Haynsworth on January 09, 2003 at 02:06:45:
In Reply to: AFib Progress and the Cleveland Clinic posted by James T. Redmond on January 08, 2003 at 11:11:40:
James, I think that Jack Drum is probably right when he says that in the end you will probably opt for options #3 (ablation), or #4 (Maze). I put up with Afib for over 20 years, and if it weren’t for people like Jack, Carl, and all the other good folks on this board, I’d still be taking medication and having more severe and prolonged Afib as the years go by. My cardiologists at Scripps Hospital here in San Diego told me for the last 5 years, when I asked about having Maze surgery, “Do not do it. It’s risky. No long-term data on the Maze. We can medicate you, etc. etc. etc.” Because of the information and reinforcement of this board, I decided on my own to go to Salt Lake City, where Dr. Millar there performed the Maze surgery on me (4/4/02). My Afib has been history since then. I did, however, have some SVT (Supra Ventricle Tachycardia) after the Maze, which bothered me somewhat, so, an EP here in San Diego in my new cardiology group (I gave up on Scripps) did a catheter ablation on my heart (12/17/02). Since then (3 weeks), I have had no more SVT, and NSR seems to be my fortunate way of life now. I’m 74 years old, and wish Dr. Cox, the Cleveland Clinic, and this board had been active concerning Afib 20 years ago, as I wouldn’t have suffered all these years with this very curable disease. Good luck with your decision about treatment for yourself. You can, of course, see what my decision would be if I were you. Don