Hey everyone, just returned from the CC after having the PVI procedure, please feel free to pick my brain while it is still fresh from the procedure...I am no expert, however, I can tell you why I had it done, why I chose the doc, and what test were done prior to determine the need and the projected outcome. Don't be shy, this has been the best source for me, thank you

You are a pioneer! Tell us everything, from the selection of your cardiologist to the prep for the procedure, how it felt, after effects, the works.

Here goes...I have had afib for years that just kept getting worse, then I fainted on the tennis court and had an ablation but they ablated only the right side...this made the afib really act up and I was having terrible bouts of 200 irregular bpm for two eight hours, even with the beta blockers almost daily. The antiarythmics made the afib worse. The EP here in FL wanted to do the PVI but I felt that since it was invasive, I would go to the best. Last week I went for testing at CC and the EP (wonderful) had a cancellation for Tuesday of this week...I felt fortunate because normally you wait at least five months or so! PREP: The cat scan felt weird because the dye is hot, but that lasts only a minute...ekg's and echo no biggie. THe prep for the procedure is heprin lock in each arm for meds. Then you get on the table...four nurses an assistant and the EP...they keep you in twilight so they can watch for signs of stroke. The med that they gave me ( I have to get the name) put me in severe tachy for the entire procedure and I was not the model patient because the meds made me aggitated and he would tell me to shallow breathe while he cauterized the pulmonary vein (mouths), but I would shallow breathe and then take a big breath and the catheter would get sucked into the vein...not good...from what I remember he yelled at me but he was concerned. He was able to complete 80% of the ablation, including the veins in just under six hours. My neck looked like I swallowed a loaf of bread,now like a golf ball, and the groin areas are still bruised and puffy. I am very short of breath but it's Friday and I feel better than yesterday and I know that tomorrow I will feel better than today. The heart has to heal, so rest is imperative. He is worried about stenosis, because of the catheter in the vein, we are getting a cat in three months to check per protocol. They have you send in a monitor reading at least once per week, and when you feel anything, for three months. Follow up is in three months in Cleveland, and Warafin for three months. Lots of threes. I was not willing to live my life in a haze of meds, I am 45 and very active. Hopefully it worked, I will consider it a success if the episodes are cut from every other day to once a quarter, I can live with that. Most don't have the bad reaction to the meds so my experience was rare in that sense.
There's more but I want to know what you want to know specifically :)