A-Fib Patient Story #79

Philippino Dr. with A-Fib Has Amiodarone Problems—Then ECGI & Ablation at Bordeaux

By Dr. Carlo Romero, The Philippines, February 2015

I am a 49-year-old male from the Philippines. I was diagnosed with A-Fib in 2007 at age 42. It happened after I was dehydrated playing golf. The A-Fib resolved by itself after a few hours. But after a few months, I had another attack. When I went to the ER, an ECG documented the AFIB. I was not given any medication but was advised to stay away from triggers which I did. I even stayed away from cigarettes, drinking, chocolates, food with monosodium glutamate.

After Three Years, Severe Pain Triggers A-Fib—Amiodarone Works, But Thyroid Problems

I had no known A-Fib attacks for three years until I was operated on for a herniated disc in 2010. The severe pain and the medications probably triggered the A-Fib again as I had several attacks. I was referred to an electrophysiologist in Manila which is an hour and half plane ride from our province. This time I was given amiodarone and Coumadin. I did not have any attacks for a year, but my thyroid hormones were becoming abnormal due to the amiodarone. I was shifted to 100mg flecainide bid which again limited my A-Fib to probably one attack per year.

A-Fib Attacks Become More Frequent—Decides To Go To Bordeaux

At this time I was already doing research about what other options were available, because I know that in time, the medications will stop working. In 2010, I was already in touch with Steve Ryan and had already heard of ablation. I had written several big centers and inquired about ablation procedures and cost. I wrote emails to Bordeaux and to the secretary of Dr. Natale. But since the attacks were few and far between, I decided to stick to medication which controlled the symptoms.

However mid-2014, after a bout of flu, the A-Fib symptoms recurred and the attacks became more frequent. I learned that at this time that there was an ablation center here in Manila, but it is still in the infancy stage. So, I decided to go abroad. It was a choice between having the ablation in San Francisco or the Bordeaux group since they have been the most talked about ablationists in the forums. The cost made me decide on Bordeaux, because it cost half that of San Francisco.

Arriving at Bordeaux Hospital

In August 2014, I wrote Bordeaux emails, and they made me answer a questionnaire to determine my status. I sent my reply and was told I would be a good candidate. I was given an ablation date Nov 3, 2014, more than 2 mos. from the time I inquired. I was instructed to do some blood tests and a TEE 2-3 weeks prior to my ablation and to settle the payment for the procedure 1 month before the ablation date. I complied with all of these requirements, got a medical visa from the French Embassy, plane ticket, hotel booking and was all set. I arrived in Bordeaux on Oct 29, 2014. Since we still had time, we first went to Lourdes, France and then back to Bordeaux the next day.

Nov 3, 2014, Monday, I was told to be at the Hospital at 8am. To be sure that we didn’t get lost, we took a cab which cost around 45 euros coming from the center of Bordeaux near the opera house. Admission was a breeze, and I made sure we had internet which you can get in the Admitting section (ask them about it because the nurses are not familiar with it). I made sure of the internet connection to be able to use the app I downloaded which helps me to communicate in French. (Translate App) When you type in English, the app will translate it to French.

I was attached to a holter monitor whose signals were transmitted to the nurse’s station. The first day was spent getting X-rays, lab exams, preparation and shaving of the groin area. They also started injecting heparin. I was told to stop amiodarone 5 days prior to ablation. But since I learned from Steve Ryan that amiodarone has a long half-life, we asked Dr. Jais thru email if the instruction was right. He was able to correct it to 10 days prior to ablation and pradaxa 48 hours prior to ablation.

Ablation with ECGI

The next day, I received IV fluids and was brought down to the CT scan area. I laid down on a bed and was given a vest which I learned later was an ECGI. It’s the new procedure which, according to Dr Haissaguerre, is not yet in use in the US. But they have found it very useful and promising.

His explanation is that it is like an ECG. But instead of 12 leads, it has 252 leads (attached in the vest) The ECGI vest represents the future of the mapping procedure, and according to him will shorten the OR time since they can map out the heart prior to the procedure. (For a further explanation of how the ECGI mapping system works, see “How ECGI [Non-Invasive Electrocardiographic Imaging] Works.”)

I think I was the 2^nd case that day since I was brought down at the theatre at 1 pm. I did not see Dr Haissaguerre at that time nor prior to the procedure which made me a little bit anxious. But I was assured by his assistant that He will be doing the ablation. The assistant doctor asked me if it was ok that he start with the insertion of the catheter and that Dr Haissaguerre will be the one doing the ablation later, to which I agreed.

I must have dozed off. Because when I became aware again, I heard that we were about to be finished. Although during the ablation there were instances where I felt my heart going very fast, then they would later massage my neck area. And then after a while, there were two more cycles like that. I was told later that, since I was not in A-Fib, they had to induce me several times. My procedure took almost 4 hours.

After the Ablation—Time With Dr. Haissagguerre

Wednesday, when I woke up, I had a fever of about 39 degrees and had a difficult time breathing. The nurses upon instruction from the doctor gave me paracetamol which lowered the fever, but I was still in pain if I breathed. I was really worried at that time and kept on reminding the nurses to ask the doctor when will they see me so I can talk with them about these symptoms.

That night, a young doctor came to my room with a portable 2d echo and, after examination, concluded I had fluid around my heart and that the fever and the difficulty of breathing were related to that. I was given an anti-inflammatory which relieved the symptoms in 2 days. At this time my abdomen was black and blue due to the round-the-clock injection of heparin. Towards the evening , I was allowed to start with soup and yogurt and later solid foods if I could tolerate them.

Thursday, the fever and the difficulty of breathing diminished. The nurses also advised me to start pradaxa after my last dose of heparin. I was allowed to sit up already and go to the bathroom. In the afternoon, Dr Haissaguerre was able to visit me which was the first time I met him face-to-face. My wife told me that he visited a few hours after my procedure, but I was mostly asleep at that time. He had an aura of confidence in him that made me feel that I was talking to a very knowledgeable person. He explained that I had 3 problematic areas. 1 in the atrial septum and 2 near the pulmonary veins. He added that since I was not in A-Fib, they had to induce it with isoproterenol.

They started with the atrial septum focus which made the A-Fib stop after they had ablated it. But since they knew that I had 3 problematic areas even before the procedure, they induced me again and ablated the 2 remaining areas near the pulmonary veins. After that I was told they could no longer induce my A-Fib.

Dr Haissaguerre stayed in the room for almost an hour explaining to us what was done and what to expect in the future. I asked him how many international patients they have. He informed that they accept only 2 international patients per week. And I was told that I was the first Filipino patient he had. I was also able to meet for the first time Laurence Bayle, the secretary of the doctors with whom I was in contact most of the time. Sometimes it would take a day or two for my emails to be answered, sometimes a week. But despite that, I was able to arrange and carry out my ablation. Probably the volume of the inquiries made it impossible for them to answer immediately.

Discharge—Questions For Dr. Haissaguerre

The next day, Friday, I was told that I would be discharged. I was given all the instructions. While waiting for our Dr Haissaguerre to meet us prior to discharge, we were able to go around the hospital and outside it. From what I understand, it’s a big hospital building which caters solely for heart patients. We were sent to the admitting section to settle our accounts, but we were told that we would have no additional payments, as everything is included in the package.

When Dr. Haissaguerre arrived to see us in the afternoon, I informed him about skipped beats which bothered me post op. He told me that it was normal for an ablated heart to skip beats especially since I had a pericardial effusion, but that they will go away in time. (the skipped beats slowly went away in a month’s time).

I went back to the hospital in November 10, 2014 for my final check-up prior to being allowed to go home. The next few days, we opted to go to Paris and spent some vacation time just in case there was still a need to see Dr. Haissaguerre prior to our flight back home to the Philippines.

Lessons Learned

The whole “healing journey” was very memorable. I cannot believe that I really went out of country just to have the procedure, but everything went as planned. A lot of anxious moments and hesitancy, but I made it through. A few hitches here and there, but nothing that couldn’t be handled.

In this age of the Internet, we as patients have the power to learn more about our disease and act accordingly. We can opt to just live with it which is not really a bad choice as a lot of A-Fib patients have done successfully. Or we can be proactive about it. Of course the ablation procedure is not 100% curative nor 100% safe, But I made my decision based on my goal that I still wanted to practice my profession as a doctor. I owe it to my patients to try to heal myself by the best possible means so that I can render the best medical service to them.

I am now exactly 100 days post ablation. I’m still on anticoagulants, but am A-Fib free. In the last conversation I had with Dr Haissaguerre, I asked him if there are things that I am prohibited to do or food that I am not allowed to eat, and he told me no prohibitions.

“Live a Normal life” and that’s what I plan to do.

Carlo Romero
Email: cadromero1170@yahoo.com

Editor’s Comments:

Because Dr. Carlo had been in A-Fib for some time, his ablation probably was more challenging. It took four hours which was longer than usual considering that the mapping had been done already by the ECGI system. He had a minor pericardial effusion which is often unavoidable in more extensive ablations.

The ablation Dr. Carlo had represents a radical, transformative change in ablation therapy and may alter the way ablations are done. Normal catheter ablation for A-Fib usually starts with isolating the pulmonary vein openings. But Dr. Haissaguerre instead started with the atrial septum area as indicated by the ECGI system. Only later did he go to the pulmonary vein areas. ECGI will certainly change the way catheter ablations are performed.

Dr. Carlo Romero is a great example of a proactive A-Fib patient who educated himself about A-Fib, researched all his options, found the right doctor for him, and wouldn’t settle for less than the opportunity for a complete cure of his A-Fib.

Back to top

Return to Patient A-Fib Stories

If you find any errors on this page, email us. Y Last updated: Sunday, July 17, 2016