Struggling with post ablation ectopics and racing heart
Posted , 4 users are following.
Had ablation two half weeks ago for avnrt. Ep study triggered it straight away and no other arrythmia showed so told successful ablation. I was warned that ectopics and fast heartbeat is normal for up to 3 months after as heart heals.
Noticed straight away that i was getting ectopics much more than before proceedure and leaning/bending forward always triggered them. Worst is laying down which can set off long runs of multiple ectopics which then changes to fast hearbeat aroubd 120bpm for hours with occasional ectopics so sleeping is hard. I have sent downloads from my reveal moniter and been told nothing to worry about its runs ectopics and then tachycardia. Spoke to specialist nurse today who tried hard to reaasure me that this is normal and its very early days. I am in a state state of anxiety worrying that every ectopic will turn into a fib which i had for 5 hrs few months ago and felt like constant ectopics. Cardio is hoping that this episode of a fib was svt degenerating into a fib but if i have another a fib attack then this is seperate problem.
I think i was hoping that i would be better after the ablation but am now having worse symptoms with all the ectopics. Nurse said that some people get worse before they get better during 3 month healing process.
Anyone else struggled with after effects of ablation?
0 likes, 4 replies
skywalkerluke87 deborah36618
Posted
Hi Deborah, I had my ablation for AVNRT in November 2015. The discovery of my SVT happened in one episode that lasted roughly 4 hours with a heart beat of 230. After the procedure, at home I would feel my heart trying to start an episode again almost every 20-30 mins. Like you, I reported this to my specialist. I had numerous 24 hour ECG's that showed nothing (although I could feel it). Long story short, I felt worse after my ablation for about 1-2 months. After this I did feel back to my normal self with any minor issues being psychological. I get the odd fast beat that lasts less than 2 seconds and that is normal. It's hard to believe people when you're feeling the way you are (I've been there) but you'll be fine. Almost every person to have an ablation feels the way you do for a short while, the heart is just healing. 👍
deborah36618 skywalkerluke87
Posted
Thank you for the reassurance. This is exactly what the nurse was telling me. Some days are good and i think great then next day can be constant ectopics and long runs of them etc and i start to panic!
skywalkerluke87 deborah36618
Posted
Sounds about right. It's hard at the minute for you, but there is light at the end of the tunnel 👍
Shige deborah36618
Posted
Hi Deborah,
Sorry to hear you've having some scary stuff post ablation. I know that's not fun and can cause a lot of anxiety. I also echo what SkywalkerLuke said. I had my ablation done for accessory pathway SVT in left atrium back in July of 2018. I had ectopics daily for the first couple of months and 3-4 tachy events. It created a lot of anxiety and fear for me. I was calling cardiologist office weekly asking for reassurance. I wore holter monitor, did ekg stress test and they said everything looked good. Later I did echo stress test and coronary calcium score scan. Again cardiologist said my heart looked great. It was almost immediately after the last tests and strong assurance from my general cardiologist that all the symptoms went away and my quality of life has gotten back to pretty much normal. It's been 4 months and I'm symptom free. I hope that helps.