Post- ablation for atrial flutter

Hi - glad to hear your AF is under control with meds. I think the doctors figured meds wouldn't really do me any good as I also have Tetralogy of Fallot which was fully repaired. So I have congenital structural defects but the arrhythmia issue is fairly recent. They said they could try giving me a cardio version but the irregular beat would just keep coming back. I might also need a valve replacement, I'm having an MRI on Tuesday to hopefully get that sorted out.  I don't drink or smoke so I can't pin it on either of those things. Thank you for sharing your experience! 

From posts on here the recovery time is quite long and many feel worse with a faster heart rate before feeling the benefit.

In my case I have had the pacemaker fitted already and have yet to decide on an ablation or AV node ablation and let the pacemaker take control. Your symptoms/condition must have been different to mine.

I read that the recovery time has to do with your body having to respond to the irregular beat to begin with in addition to the trauma of the actual procedure being thrown at it as well and having to form new scar tissue etc. Yes we must have had two different issues because there wasn't even mention of a pacemaker made to me at all. It was said at my regular cardiology visit maybe 5-6 years ago that I might need one eventually in relation to the Tetralogy repair but no mention of it has been made since. At that point the doctor was talking about at least 20 years down the road but now with possibly needing a valve replaced who knows if they'll even reconsider it. 

All of your procedures and proposed one are in a different sequence to mine. I started with an aortic valve replacement and that put me into AF. A cardioversion put me back into NSR for 15 montths before another procedure stimulated my vagus nerve and put me back into AF and another good cardioversion before another procedure put me back into AF.  

Its so interesting how different people come to have the same things. I wonder if it has something to do with age? (I am 32.) And again I have the pre-existing heart condition so that might have something to do with it too ... I wouldn't think they would ever propose a valve replacement as a first option for someone like me. Also I would need the pulmonic valve replaced so maybe since it was your aorta it was more serious? 

I had no symptoms but tried to get on trial programme for renal denervation a BP lowering procedure. I was deemed not suitable for it but the thorough medical showed that I had aortic stenosis with my valve 76% closed. My age was also 76:-) I then wondered how long my valve had been faulty as murmur had been mentioned from time to time over the years. Way back when I had an Army medical when I was 18 the doctor listening to my heart stopped suddenly and looked up to ask if I had rheumatic fever as a child. I said no and he grunted and started to listen again. Strange how things like that stick in your mind.  

Yes it is! I had symptoms but was attributing them to bronchitis which my husband had. After 3 weeks of coughing, shortness of breath and generally feeling like garbage I finally went to get the cough checked out, and ended up with the flutter diagnosis. After that it made sense. In early September I had a migraine which landed me in the ER, where they gave me the standard EKG and noted nothing wrong with it. Then when I saw the adult cardiologist for the first time in early November (my regular cardiologist is pediatric), they said, well there were indications this was going to happen on the EKG that you had in September. Needless to say I was floored, but lesson learned: that's the difference between someone who's a heart doctor and someone who isn't.

Thank you  

Some very worthwhile comments here Annie.. How severe was your AF before you decided to do Ablation?   Obviously you tried meds first yadda yadda....  How long ago?   I'm 66 and controlling AF with Flecainide but always have ablation as an option???   not sure about it.  

Too many trips in the ambulance. It was always around 200 beats per min but erratic as well. I'm glad I made the decision to have the ablation.

The ablation doesn't fix ectopic beats unfortunately. Dealing with those constantly!

Cheers

Thanks for this ,  So far  I'm not there.  My afib is pretty well restricted to irrgular HB.  Mainly 40-90 Bpm.   Very irregular.  Thanks again..guess I'll just stick to the Flecainide for now. 

Are they not concerned about your 40bpm. Mine was in the 40's for years with overnight drops to the mid to high 30's and 3.5 second pauses between some beats. I was told that I needed a pacemaker as a matter of some urgency.

Hi Annie, thanks for sharing. My bpm have never been very fast, just hard and irregular. The surgeon said I could basically live with atrial flutter but it does make the chances of getting A-fib higher (apparently I was never actually in fibrillation). Again with the structural defect/condition that I already have they probably just figured it best that I shouldn't mess around. Not that I would want to! I'm so glad you have been able to feel better. 

I have also not been placed on any medication such as a beta blocker etc. Maybe my flutter wasn't actually that bad? 

They have never said 40bpm was a problem.  Save for when they tried Bisoprolol on me and it dropped to 30 bpm.  They were concerned and pulled the Bisoprolol.   I had AF 8 yrs ago for about a year and it stopped on its own.... then resurfaced this summer ...   3 months of it  and like you 3 second stops...  so I quit smoking , drinking...started going to church....lol... they gave me Flecainide and Diltiazem.   Diltiazem slowed me down too much.... so just Flecainide now.   Have to be on Xeratol too... anyway... no issues with the meds now.   Thought about quitting the meds???     Do you think  a pacemaker is a good move ?  

 

One day my heart was racing at 136 bpm. I was told to take 2.5mg of bisoprolol and another 2.5 at night. In the morning my rate was down to 36bpm.

Only they can say if a pacemaker is right for you. I've not started the Church therapy yet. Perhaps you should try a faith healer as well,