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.
Went into Santa Rosa Hospital at 5:45A.M. and able to go back to our motel room by 7:30 P.M. The next morning 4 hour ride home was no problem.The cryoablation went well, and the only unexpected problem was that general anesthetia caused nausea for the rest of the day but anti-nausea meds helped. Agree with Joan--- not a fun procedure, but doable. I still have the same odds for success---84% for a 1st ablation. My EP dr. says you can't know for sure if it's sucessful until 5-6 months afterward.
Felt no soreness, and was able to take off all bandages the day after the ablation. I've felt tired (which is normal) but feel good today.
At the hospital, wasn't started on a heart rythmn med (surprised!), told to just to stay with my usual digoxin and cartia (heart rate control) and Warfarin, and call the Dr. if my heart rate went up.
Monday afternoon about 4P.M. heart rate went to 108 so called the office and they decided I needed to talk to on call dr. (my dr. being out of town)
by 4:45P.M. heart rate went to 115 and severe dizzyness kicked in. Talked with the dr. a few minutes later and could barely talk because of severe nausea and shortness of breath which concerned the dr.so much he urged me to go to ER ---- guess the prudent thing to do considering I'd just had an ablation.
At the ER about 5:30P.M. several people actually saw my heart rate on the monitor immediately convert from 125 to 100 then soon to the 80's. and my breathing immediately normal ( no treatment given).
Unfortunately, the nausea lasted another hour and anti-nausea meds don't help much with this type. But as soon as the rotating dizzyness stopped, nausea stopped. All the tests came out ok, and the ER Dr. released after 4 hours.
I've had A Fib for 9 months, and this is 3rd time for this weird kind of episode. The rest of my episodes were mild.
The RN explained why I had shortness of breath : For some people, when the heart beats too fast, less oxygen goes to the brain, so the brain signals you to start breathing faster.
Was started on Amiodarone just before left hospital, but stopped it the next day after reading about it and talking with a pharmarist, The on call dr. understood my concerns and said I can wait and discuss it with my dr.
Started having these side effects with amiodarone the next day(tues)
one episode of blurred vision, continual shakiness, and almost unable to eat anything ( with no nausea). These problems improved yesterday, and stopped today. Understood that I might have to take a rythmn med for awhile after Ablation but 3 main worries about Amiodarone is: that 10% of people on it for several months develop vision problems, can cause thyroid problems, and after stopping it you must continue to monitor it for months because it stays in your body for months after stopping it. Really think another rythmn med would be more appropriate for me. What do you think?
This is way too long, but maybe some of the details might help someone else.
Felt no soreness, and was able to take off all bandages the day after the ablation. I've felt tired (which is normal) but feel good today.
At the hospital, wasn't started on a heart rythmn med (surprised!), told to just to stay with my usual digoxin and cartia (heart rate control) and Warfarin, and call the Dr. if my heart rate went up.
Monday afternoon about 4P.M. heart rate went to 108 so called the office and they decided I needed to talk to on call dr. (my dr. being out of town)
by 4:45P.M. heart rate went to 115 and severe dizzyness kicked in. Talked with the dr. a few minutes later and could barely talk because of severe nausea and shortness of breath which concerned the dr.so much he urged me to go to ER ---- guess the prudent thing to do considering I'd just had an ablation.
At the ER about 5:30P.M. several people actually saw my heart rate on the monitor immediately convert from 125 to 100 then soon to the 80's. and my breathing immediately normal ( no treatment given).
Unfortunately, the nausea lasted another hour and anti-nausea meds don't help much with this type. But as soon as the rotating dizzyness stopped, nausea stopped. All the tests came out ok, and the ER Dr. released after 4 hours.
I've had A Fib for 9 months, and this is 3rd time for this weird kind of episode. The rest of my episodes were mild.
The RN explained why I had shortness of breath : For some people, when the heart beats too fast, less oxygen goes to the brain, so the brain signals you to start breathing faster.
Was started on Amiodarone just before left hospital, but stopped it the next day after reading about it and talking with a pharmarist, The on call dr. understood my concerns and said I can wait and discuss it with my dr.
Started having these side effects with amiodarone the next day(tues)
one episode of blurred vision, continual shakiness, and almost unable to eat anything ( with no nausea). These problems improved yesterday, and stopped today. Understood that I might have to take a rythmn med for awhile after Ablation but 3 main worries about Amiodarone is: that 10% of people on it for several months develop vision problems, can cause thyroid problems, and after stopping it you must continue to monitor it for months because it stays in your body for months after stopping it. Really think another rythmn med would be more appropriate for me. What do you think?
This is way too long, but maybe some of the details might help someone else.
I'm waiting for a call back from my dr. after they review my records----waiting to find out whether or not I need to try another rhythm med or continue with heart rate control. Practicing medicine is an art, as much as science!
Keep improving and stay well. Joan
D