Posted on 03/03/2023 6:54:24 AM PST by ConservativeMind
In a world-first randomized study, catheter ablation has been shown to reverse heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in patients with both HFpEF and atrial fibrillation (AF).
Researchers found catheter ablation substantially improved exercise capacity, lung pressure and quality of life in participants, and significantly, 50% of participants randomized to the study group no longer met the criteria for a HFpEF diagnosis.
Dr. David Chieng said that catheter ablation should be considered as a treatment option for those with AF and HFpEF.
"After catheter ablation, half of our study patients showed reversal of HFpEF using the gold standard testing method (pulmonary capillary wedge pressure on exercise right heart catheterization) at six-month follow-up," he said. "Whereas in the group that was treated using the standard medical therapy, only one of the 15 participants showed HFpEF reversal.
"This is a significant finding given there are few current therapeutic options for HFpEF."
Half of all people diagnosed with heart failure have HFpEF, and there is a high rate of atrial fibrillation associated with a HFpEF diagnosis as each condition exacerbates the other. Because both conditions share similar symptoms, HFpEF is frequently not diagnosed, but comorbid HFpEF and AF is associated with significantly increased risk of morbidity, including stroke and heart failure hospitalizations, as well as all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.
"We used detailed physiologic and gold standard testing methods for the study and found there to be a clear positive impact on measures including resting and exercise cardiac output, improvement in functional capacity, and a clear positive impact on heart failure and AF-specific quality of life measurements.
"And while we saw a reversal of HFpEF in 50% of AF ablation patients overall, we saw a 75% reversal rate in the study ablation patients who'd had no AF episodes during the six-month study period."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
That procedure of ablation to treat heart failure worked for me back in 2015. The scariest part was hearing the term
‘heart failure’. I later learned that is a description of a condition due to an event, it does not mean my heart will remain in ‘failure’ mode forever. I recovered quite well, but established a new normal baseline, where it is now a common and non-urgent matter for me to feel a little pressure in the heart area from time to time.
Watchman Procedure - works well! Anyone who has had to be extorted by Pfizer for Eliquis ($500 per month even with insurance) can get off of it with a watchman procedure. I have had it and it works well.
I never knew I had atrial fibrillation until I had an ablation and didn’t have it anymore. For years, doctors or their nurses would say something just happened during my checkups. They’d do an EKG and say, “never mind”. When I moved to Texas, they caught it right away and didn’t blow it off. They’d ask me different questions and want me to keep track of when I went into atrial fibrillation. I told them I couldn’t tell. They’d get so frustrated with me. But like the nurse told me after my ablation, sometimes you don’t know you have a problem until you don’t have it anymore. I had mine in 2019. I recommend an ablation to anyone who suffers from atrial fibrillation.
L8R
catheter cryoablation by an experienced and skilled operator should be the treatment of choice for anyone in permanent Afib ... the only better treatment is a Cox Maze IV procedure during open heart surgery ...
antiarrhythmic drugs can sometimes work for some period of time, but most are dangerous and some are extremely toxic ...
all other “treatments” leave you in permanent Afib, reducing your pumping capacity by 20% and leading to even more serious consequences down the road ...
I had a case of Affib about 8 years ago now. It was just an ordinary one. I think I got from take Aleve for too long. I had cyrogenic ablation that solved the problem. Almost instantly. I was in the hospital one day and out the next day. A week later I was back to working out at my local gym. I thought the operation was a miracle because I was so out of it before the operation.
That said I don’t understand this sentence. Can you explain it?
—catheter ablation has been shown to reverse heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in patients with both HFpEF and atrial fibrillation (AF).—
My first iversion and first ablation lasted only a short time. Had to wait for my second ablation due to clots in my LA. Also had heart failure and tachycardia. Second ablation was done this past July. So far so good. Meds are Entestro, Pradaxa and Metoprolol. In January my cardiologist told me it was time to get active. I swim 3 to 4 times a week and feel good. As an aside, he said to quit drinking beer. I told him I had done 9 out of the 10 things he asked me to do. He should be happy. He just shook his head.
People who get this form of heart failure may, or may not have Afib, but this treatment approach worked for solving both problems, if someone had both problems.
More on this form of heart failure, here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_failure_with_preserved_ejection_fraction
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