Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group
Atrial fibrillation (AF or afib) is an abnormal heart rhythm (cardiac arrhythmia) which involves the two small, upper heart chambers (the atria). Heart beats in a normal heart begin after electricity generated in the atria by the sinoatrial node spread through the heart and cause contraction of the heart muscle and pumping of blood.
So I had my Bordeaux ablation June 7 and it's been smooth sailing with a couple of brief bumps. A couple of random missed beats and that was more or less it.
Last night I was cleaning something off the floor when I felt an odd beat. I didn't worry too much about it until I had another then another. This went on for an hour or so before going away but it scared me. I went to bed nervous and woke up stressed but with a solid heart. Then around noon it started happening again so I took a dose of my old beta blocker and then some propafenone and it mostly went away for a few hours but started again about an hour ago.
I realize I didn't eat well over Christmas and New Years and I drank a fair bit of beer (something I never do anymore) but it still seems weird to go from nothing to this that quickly. I also know I should be thankful that it's not Afib but before my ablation the ectopics got so bad that I was dizzy and couldn't function.
Like I said, it's no where near Afib but it still freaks the crap out of me ( which is probably exacerbating it).
What are others experiences with pac/pvcs after ablation? Is this normal or is it the harbringer of worse things to come.
Monty
Last night I was cleaning something off the floor when I felt an odd beat. I didn't worry too much about it until I had another then another. This went on for an hour or so before going away but it scared me. I went to bed nervous and woke up stressed but with a solid heart. Then around noon it started happening again so I took a dose of my old beta blocker and then some propafenone and it mostly went away for a few hours but started again about an hour ago.
I realize I didn't eat well over Christmas and New Years and I drank a fair bit of beer (something I never do anymore) but it still seems weird to go from nothing to this that quickly. I also know I should be thankful that it's not Afib but before my ablation the ectopics got so bad that I was dizzy and couldn't function.
Like I said, it's no where near Afib but it still freaks the crap out of me ( which is probably exacerbating it).
What are others experiences with pac/pvcs after ablation? Is this normal or is it the harbringer of worse things to come.
Monty
Worth reading.
First, let me just say "Merde!" My ablation was three years ago now, and I STILL have extraneous beats. The first year, or maybe more, this was cause for a total meltdown...now, I just sort of go "uh oh!" This whole afib thing never did disappear from my mind, but I think with time it will be the same for you...each incident won't turn you into a basket case. Dr. Calkins told me last year that outside of the 6 month "blanking period," it really takes up to two years for the heart to completely recover from the trauma of an ablation. It is my sincerest hope, along with everyone else on this site, that this is still just the heart recovering, and that things will get better and better for you. Try to relax! Yeah, easier said than done!
Bill
Bill,
Do you get odd ones or do they come in clusters?
Monty
It always seemed weird to me that I NEVER noticed having PACs until after my ablation...I can go a week or two without feeling anything, and then I have days where there are a bunch of them...THAT is a bad day, cuz then it starts me worrying. And I have the occasional "weird" feeling when I bend down a certain way, to pet the cat, or more recently, to rake leaves. And this is all after 3 years. Just hoping that the afib NEVER comes back...but it sure would be nice to get to the point where I just don't think about it ever again...but that is difficult with the PACs.
Bill
I asked my EP about my long-term (more than 2 years out) chances of having afib again. He said, "if you had a twin brother who never experienced afib, your chances are now the same as his would be". That made me feel pretty good!