Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...
"A-Fib.com is a great web site for patients, that is unequaled by anything else out there."
Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
"Jill and I put you and your work in our prayers every night. What you do to help people through this [A-Fib] process is really incredible."
Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI
“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP.
Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017
“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD
Q&A: Can Catheter Ablation Be a First-Choice Option?
Q: “I was told that I can’t have a catheter ablation to fix my A-Fib until after at least a year of trying different medications. Is that right? I don’t want to live in A-Fib for a year. I’m very symptomatic. I hate being in A-Fib.”
A: Catheter Ablation Can Be a First-Choice Option. Current Guideline for the Management of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation say you don’t have to wait before getting a catheter ablation. You can have a catheter ablation right away as a first-choice option.
Here is the actual wording of the guidelines:
“The role of catheter ablation as first-line therapy, prior to a trial of a Class I or III antiarrhythmic agent, is an appropriate indication for catheter ablation of AF in patients with symptomatic paroxysmal or persistent AF.”
Guidelines Level of Confidence: Catheter Ablation has a Class IIa Level of Evidence (LOE) indication. This means the “weight of evidence” is in favor of this treatment as useful and effective. (To read more, see Catheter Ablation of AF as First-Line Therapy (p. e307.), in the 2017 HRS/ECAS/APHRS/SOLAECE expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation.)
Drugs First? Your doctor may talk about first trying antiarrhythmic meds. This can waste valuable time as most “antiarrhythmic” drug therapies are only effective about 40% of the time, can have bad side effects, and often become less effective day by day. And, you will most likely still have A-Fib.
Catheter Ablation as a First Choice? If you want to skip the drug therapies, ask your doctor about catheter ablation. If your electrophysiologist won’t talk to you about catheter ablation, seek a second opinion (or change doctors).
As an A-Fib patient, know your rights and be assertive.
