I think what you are experiencing is normal, but check with your EP to make sure...I have had two PVI ablations for A-fib, and one A-flutter ablation, and after each one my heart just plain felt irritated and it did not take much to cause pain for at least a week...the EP (and many websites) mentioned that reoccurrence right after an ablation was common due to irritation of the heart from the procedure. One time it was two weks later, annd another time it was two days later.

After you talk to your EP I would recommend taking it a bit easy for another week or so. Each time I had the procedure my groin was too sore to allow me to be too wild anyway.

I too had 2 seperate episodes of a-fib after my ablation. My EP told me that this was normal, and that my heart needed time to heal. I am happy to say that I have been in NSR for 3 years now. Good Luck! Wishing you well, and wishing you enough...

its completely par for the course....knowing what to expect is super important. expecting that everything is perfect after your ablation is just not how it goes.....talk to your surgeon and doctors about this and have tons of patience and make sure everyone in your support network understands things as well....

Ismo, there are different kinds of ablations. I had a pulmonary vein ablation two years ago. It took me a good three months to recover. For that three months I was tired, somewhat weakened, and had a couple of distressing episodes of svt. Since then, though, I have been afib free and medication free. It is true that it can take months for your heart to recover from the burns. That does not mean that your ablation was not successful. Give yourself time to heal. One of the times I was in the ER with svt after the ablation, a young cardiologist who was attending me said, "Jody, right now your heart is just really pissed off, but that doesn't mean the ablation didn't work." I couldn't help but laugh at that as miserable as I was at the time.

Well today is the third time now, yes the Doc said it is normal to go into it for awhile, but the thing is that when I do thing that take effort I get short of breath and just feel funny, even alittle dizzy.

This happens when I'm in nsr

Yeah, that is what I experienced too. I thought I would pass out quite a few times. That went away after a while.

Hold on! I had two ablations done and both times it takes about 10 days for the heart to settle down and 3 months to heal properly. Yes I freaked out two when I went into AFIB after the procedure, it is normal!
The ablation takes about three months to heal then with a little luck you will be AFIB free. Best of luck!

I had my afib ablation done on Feb 9th. I also had some frequent, but very brief SVT that resolved quickly (couldn't even catch them on the event monitor). I was told by my doctor that the cauterized portions of the heart that were responsible for conducting the beats must scar over before the afib and SVT is completely resolved.

In addition, the heart is inflamed for a bit afterward-- if my memory serves me correctly, it is a month. If I overexerted it hurt to take a deep breath and I would get more frequent irregular beats. He said it is normal to experience episodes until the scar tissue is formed. Of course, if they didn't cauterize the correct spot, then scar tissue isn't going to help you--that's why you are being monitored every 2 weeks or so.


Three months is what you are supposed to expect, as far as recovery. I am on an anti-arrhythmic to minimize episodes until I'm healed and it helped immensely in the first couple of weeks. I feel better all the time now. Irregular beats that I had become accustomed to are now gone, but I'm just feeling better now--three weeks into the recovery! (Every time I rapidly changed my heart rate I used to get a little SVT). I'm still very tired and can't keep up with my regular schedule just yet.

I suggest you rest! You deserve it! You've been through a lot!

Ya excersize makes me go into it now where it didn't do it before, they burned around my pulmanary veins, nothing else fired up when the stimulated the heart. I also seem to feel weired when I do a little more even if I'm in NSR. This is day 8.

Remember scar tissue needs time to form.... that is what blocks the signals....

It took we a couple of months to heal. I had one episode about wks after ablasion that lasted 12 hours. I have had none since. The
dr. referred to it as a "stormy period".
Now some 6 months later I am at the gym for an hour doing a routine of cardio and weights. All is well.
Do not discourage what you are experiencing is normal.

I'm at 5 weeks out now, and I am still having short bursts of afib. It does feel discouraging. I hope it stops soon.

I have had 9 episodes since Feb 22 when I had it done, 4 to 18 hrs in length, I do feel better than I did earlier as far as shortness of breath goes. But stil afib

Greetings All,

Can ablation be used for persistent Afib. I've been in Afib now for 6 mos after I was in NSR for 14mos on Sotalol until it failed me.

Thanks, Rdelmo