Will a pacemaker help afib? My husband had an ablation, electrodes made a hole in his esophagus which caused a major surgery , six weeks in hospital and getting ready to go back in to be put on tickason, all this seems was done for nothing. They tell him a miracle he survived.
Pacemaker is not the first line treatment for atrial fibrillation, as it's not the most effective means and per se it doesn't stop atrial fibrillation in most of the patient, so it can be used when some other indication of pacemaker is present like when sometimes the heart rate falls very low in some patients with atrial fibrillation or when you want to increase the dose of medication to adequately control atrial fibrillation.  Medication is still the best, ablation can be tried if medication have serious side effects or patient doesn't tolerate the medication, as recurrence after ablation is high after anticoagulation. More detailed EP study and other reports available will help me to talk the best treatment for your husband.  Regards Chat Doctor.