Posted by Mike Ware on February 19, 2003 at 12:21:49:
I subscribe to Consumer Reports "OnHealth" publication. The March 2003 issue has a full-page article on afib written by Dr Marvin M. Lipman who is Consumers Union's chief medical adviser.
The article describes the experience of a 53-year-old man who had one episode of lone afib. The article explains what afib is and lists some of the probable causes. It discusses typical tests run on a patient who is newly diagnosed with afib.
Dr Lipman gives an overview of drug therapy for afib. He states that everyone with afib should take a blood thinner like Coumandin except for those under 60 with lone afib in which case aspirin is okay. He gives the pros and cons of rate control versus rhythm control drugs . Dr Lipman concludes that based upon the New England Journal of Medicine that "If anything, rate control - which is easier and cheaper tended to produce better results" [than antiarrhythmic drugs].
Dr Lipman does not mention in his article either the Maze or catheter ablation as potential ways to cure afib. I plan to write a letter to the editor of "OnHealth" to ask that they publish a follow-up article on how afib can be cured! Also, I will emphasize to the editor that they should describe the debilitating effects and emotional impact of both afib and the drugs used to treat it on many people who previously had active lifestyles. I am disappointed with Consumers Union!
As an interesting side note, I just listened to an audiobook entitled "Four Blind Mice" which is a novel about a military-related murders. The grandmother of one of the main characters in the book develops afib and is cured by a catheter ablation within a few weeks after developing afib!