Two Failed AFib Ablations Made Him Worse—What Finally Worked
AFib Education Center
34,393 views
AFib can come back—or even feel worse—after an ablation. This failed AFib ablation case shows how recurrent persistent AFib and atrial flutter can become more complicated after incomplete treatment.
In this case study, Dr. Scott Lee explains what happened to a patient with advanced AFib who remained symptomatic after two previous ablations, developed multiple atypical atrial flutters, and spent years searching for an explanation. You'll see why the stage of AFib, the lesion set chosen, and the completeness of those lesions can matter when AFib returns after an ablation.
You’ll learn:
• Why the same AFib ablation strategy may not fit every stage of AFib
• How advanced persistent AFib can require a different treatment strategy
• How gaps in prior ablation lines can contribute to atypical atrial flutter
• Why someone can feel worse after an AFib ablation
• What physicians may look for when AFib or atrial flutter returns after multiple procedures
• Why the energy source used for an ablation may be less important than the strategy and execution
• What this patient's eventual successful treatment can teach people facing recurrent AFib
When Your AFib Question Becomes Personal
General education can explain why AFib may return after an ablation, but deciding what recurrent AFib or atrial flutter means in your situation can depend on your prior procedures, rhythm history, testing, AFib stage, and the treatment options now being considered.
If you've reached that point, an AFib Strategy Session provides individualized record review and physician reasoning to help you better understand the decision you're facing.
🩺 Learn more about an AFib Strategy Session:
https://heart.drscottlee.com/review
Continue Learning
If you want to understand advanced AFib and more complex ablation decisions in greater depth, continue with this related playlist:
▶️ Advanced AFib Ablation:
Advanced AFib Decisions: When AFib Keeps C...
Additional AFib Resources
🧭 AFib Clarity Assessment
Not sure what kind of AFib help you need next? Use the free assessment to help identify the most appropriate next step:
https://heart.drscottlee.com/clarityquiz
📖 Understanding AFib
A clear, structured guide to understanding AFib, stroke risk, progression, treatment options, and the decisions patients commonly face:
https://understandingafib.com
🔴 AFib Live Q&A
Watch or join Dr. Lee’s live AFib question-and-answer sessions:
https://afiblive.com
📘 AFib Clarity Program™
Structured education for patients who want to understand why different AFib treatment recommendations make sense:
https://heart.drscottlee.com/clarity
🌐 More AFib education and free resources:
https://drscottlee.com
👨⚕️ About Dr. Scott Lee
Scott Lee, MD, is a Stanford-trained, board-certified cardiac electrophysiologist with more than two decades of experience treating AFib and complex heart-rhythm disorders. Through the AFib Education Center, he helps patients understand what problem each treatment is meant to solve, why different options may fit different situations, and what tradeoffs should be considered before making an important decision. His goal is not to push one treatment, but to help patients ask better questions and participate more confidently in decisions with their physicians.
👍 If this helped, consider sharing it—it may help someone else.
💬 Questions? Drop them below.
🔔 Subscribe for more AFib education.
🕒 Chapters
0:00 Two failed AFib ablations: the case
0:23 How his AFib progressed
1:30 Why AFib stage matters for ablation
3:14 Where AFib starts
4:22 What the first ablation treated
4:54 The second ablation
5:04 Why advanced AFib is harder to ablate
6:53 How incomplete ablation lines can cause problems
8:11 Why he felt worse after the second ablation
9:16 When medications didn’t solve the problem
9:37 Five years of searching for an answer
10:21 What the repeat procedure found
11:23 The outcome
11:34 Three lessons from this case
#AFib #AFibAblation #AtrialFibrillation
20 Comments
9 months later, so far so good. 0 alcohol, control my HRM during exercise with e-bike, limit cycling to every other day. Cardio aspirin (they put Watchman in during the 2nd procedure) and a tiny dose of metaprololo for meds. Life is pretty good!
Your videos helped a lot in getting me through this! :-)
Two Failed AFib Ablations Made Him Worse—What Finally Worked
AFib Education Center
34,393 views
AFib can come back—or even feel worse—after an ablation. This failed AFib ablation case shows how recurrent persistent AFib and atrial flutter can become more complicated after incomplete treatment.
In this case study, Dr. Scott Lee explains what happened to a patient with advanced AFib who remained symptomatic after two previous ablations, developed multiple atypical atrial flutters, and spent years searching for an explanation. You'll see why the stage of AFib, the lesion set chosen, and the completeness of those lesions can matter when AFib returns after an ablation.
You’ll learn:
• Why the same AFib ablation strategy may not fit every stage of AFib
• How advanced persistent AFib can require a different treatment strategy
• How gaps in prior ablation lines can contribute to atypical atrial flutter
• Why someone can feel worse after an AFib ablation
• What physicians may look for when AFib or atrial flutter returns after multiple procedures
• Why the energy source used for an ablation may be less important than the strategy and execution
• What this patient's eventual successful treatment can teach people facing recurrent AFib
When Your AFib Question Becomes Personal
General education can explain why AFib may return after an ablation, but deciding what recurrent AFib or atrial flutter means in your situation can depend on your prior procedures, rhythm history, testing, AFib stage, and the treatment options now being considered.
If you've reached that point, an AFib Strategy Session provides individualized record review and physician reasoning to help you better understand the decision you're facing.
🩺 Learn more about an AFib Strategy Session:
https://heart.drscottlee.com/review
Continue Learning
If you want to understand advanced AFib and more complex ablation decisions in greater depth, continue with this related playlist:
▶️ Advanced AFib Ablation:
Advanced AFib Decisions: When AFib Keeps C...
Additional AFib Resources
🧭 AFib Clarity Assessment
Not sure what kind of AFib help you need next? Use the free assessment to help identify the most appropriate next step:
https://heart.drscottlee.com/clarityquiz
📖 Understanding AFib
A clear, structured guide to understanding AFib, stroke risk, progression, treatment options, and the decisions patients commonly face:
https://understandingafib.com
🔴 AFib Live Q&A
Watch or join Dr. Lee’s live AFib question-and-answer sessions:
https://afiblive.com
📘 AFib Clarity Program™
Structured education for patients who want to understand why different AFib treatment recommendations make sense:
https://heart.drscottlee.com/clarity
🌐 More AFib education and free resources:
https://drscottlee.com
👨⚕️ About Dr. Scott Lee
Scott Lee, MD, is a Stanford-trained, board-certified cardiac electrophysiologist with more than two decades of experience treating AFib and complex heart-rhythm disorders. Through the AFib Education Center, he helps patients understand what problem each treatment is meant to solve, why different options may fit different situations, and what tradeoffs should be considered before making an important decision. His goal is not to push one treatment, but to help patients ask better questions and participate more confidently in decisions with their physicians.
👍 If this helped, consider sharing it—it may help someone else.
💬 Questions? Drop them below.
🔔 Subscribe for more AFib education.
🕒 Chapters
0:00 Two failed AFib ablations: the case
0:23 How his AFib progressed
1:30 Why AFib stage matters for ablation
3:14 Where AFib starts
4:22 What the first ablation treated
4:54 The second ablation
5:04 Why advanced AFib is harder to ablate
6:53 How incomplete ablation lines can cause problems
8:11 Why he felt worse after the second ablation
9:16 When medications didn’t solve the problem
9:37 Five years of searching for an answer
10:21 What the repeat procedure found
11:23 The outcome
11:34 Three lessons from this case
#AFib #AFibAblation #AtrialFibrillation
A repeat procedure isn't automatically the same problem—or the same procedure—all over again. Understanding your AFib stage, what was treated previously, and what rhythm you have now can matter.
▶ Continue learning about more complex AFib ablation decisions in the Advanced AFib Ablation playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVHmai_cbEkwXS6Hp-sO0BOl4Pk-bCgI4