Migraine aura after ablation. Why?

[dedeottie]

Many people on here talk about having migraine with or without aura, following ablation . It has been suggested that this has something to do with punching through the septal wall to get to the left atria. Does anyone know why this should be? I like to know the logic behind something that may happen to me ! X

[BobD Volunteer]

Not sure why . I just accept it as there isn't much I could do about it. Not everybody seems to get this and it soon passes anyway. I never had headache , just vision disturbance. The human body is a very complex organism and the heart amongst it's most complex parts so I guess if it feel like doing it then it can so long as it keep on working for me! lol

Bob

[dedeottie in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob. I thought that may be the case! X

[morrisdancer]

I don't know but I had the same thing after an angiogram

[MarkS]

I had the aura as well after my ablation. I thought it was something to do with the sedative - I had sedation and not the general anaesthetic. I would just relax and enjoy the lightshow - it's quite spectacular with flashing lights and zig-zaggy patterns. It will pass in half an hour or so and mine stopped about a week after my ablation.

Mark

[dedeottie in reply to MarkS]

Thanks. I will do!

[Hidden]

Heart is intimately connected with the brain - when one is affected, the other follows, to put it simply mainly based on my own experience anyways. They both depends on each other and once the mutual balance is going off then things start to play up whether we like it or not.

[dedeottie]

Thanks. That does make sense.x

[StuartCJones]

I had ablation on Monday, for the past 3 days I have had Aura and Migraine (quite severe for 3-4 hours) starting at about lunch time each day. (I thought I was having a stroke on the first day as I handn't heard about the possibility of migraines occuring).

I hope this soon goes away!

[Hodges8085 in reply to StuartCJones]

Did your migraines ever go away? I'm experiencing the same thing after my ablation. It was not for AFIB though. Day 5 now...getting 1-2 migraines a day with blurry vision (Aura) and seeing stars

[tooh in reply to Hodges8085]

Mine lasted about 3 weeks. Aura and severe headaches. It was a worry and it was occurring every day. It did pass though.

[dedeottie]

Yes. Mine lasted about 2 - 3 weeks and then suddenly disappeared. X

[Sydneyside]

I am feeling a bit re-assured after reading these comments as I have had one episode of this each day, lasting half hour, post my ablation on Monday, and was worried re stroke too. Never had anything like this b4

[LouBrig in reply to Sydneyside]

Hoping we recover from this in a couple of weeks. I've read it might need checking with EP as the blood thinners could have caused a little brain bleed. I'm thinking more caused by the puncture wound and seepage of 'dirty blood' from one side to the other. Be great to hear from others though?

[Sydneyside in reply to LouBrig]

Yes, my EP called me yesterday and told me it was likely the result of the puncture and some blood transfer. I hope it will resolve soon. My EP said within 3-4 weeks...

[LouBrig in reply to Sydneyside]

O

That's reassuring. I'm planning to call the EP next week to also clarify. He forewarned me about acid reflux and prescribed medications for that but no mention of potential migraines.

[MJ17 in reply to Sydneyside]

I just had an ablation for atrial Fib on Tuesday. Experienced horrible Migraine Auras and headache. Yesterday I had 2 episodes. Sitting on pins and needles now wondering if and when the next one will hit. Seems like this is common and we are not alone. Hope they pass quickly. Good luck to you too.

[Sydneyside in reply to MJ17]

Hi MJ17,

Yes, it seems quite a lot of us are experiencing the auras. It was rather scary/unexpected for me as my EP had not told me about this particular side effect. But this community/site was where I learned it was quite common. While I guess everyone is different, My auras stopped happening daily/regularly one week and a half after the ablation. (Last Wednesday) And then I had one extra on Monday this week, but none since, touch wood. Hope they are gone for good now.

I hope you are aura free in a week or so too.

Wishing you great success post ablation -take lots of rest if you can, it really helps.

[MJ17 in reply to Sydneyside]

Thank you for the reassurance that they will go away. Mine were gone for about 4 days but are back daily now. It hasn't quite been 2 weeks since the ablation so I will give it time. So glad to know I am not alone with this.

[BrianMitchell]

I have just undergone my second ablation on Tuesday. My first was in June 2016.

Following my first ablation I experienced the aura for about a week and had about 5 or 6 episodes in that time. The episodes varied in severity and lasted usually for about half an hour or so each. Thankfully I didn't have any headache and no repeats after that week.

Following tuesdays ablation I had an episode on Wednesday and another today, which is friday.

One common link in my case is that most of my episodes have been in the afternoon, usually between about 3 and 5 pm.

I cannot offer any scientific reason as to why this is happening, but as with everyone else on here, I hope it will not continue.

If anyone has any observations, comments or questions I am happy to be involved.

[Rodd]

Had my third ablation three weeks ago Had two optical migrains head aches and dizzie Hope this clears up It would have been easier if l had been warned that it is not un common to have this The worry is the worst

[Mal7896]

I had my first ablation for persistant AFib 9 days ago. Been getting auras almost daily since. Each lasting 15-30 minutes. Scarey but comforting to know it’s a common after effect of ablation. I wish my EP had have warned me

[sammual71]

Had my cyro ablation just under two weeks ago and have been having auros since though decreasing in numbers. I had one within two hours of the procedure and my electo physiologist did say it was very likely linked to the puncture hole in the atrium and it will fade I also had breathlessnes and wild fuluctuation in bp for nearly two weeks'but feeling great and now with good rhythum

[CDreamer]

My experience was that although I have had migraines with vision disturbances since I was 14 years old, they completely disappeared after ablation. It was discovered during ablation that I had a Patent Foramen Ovale which is a hole in the septum. This is an abnormality leftover from pre-birth ie: a hole in the septum between the 2 atrias which heals in most people but it is thought doesn’t in about 20%.

There is a much higher prevalence of migraines with aura amongst those with PFO’s than the the general population.

During my ablation the EP consulted with a colleague specialist in this area as to whether to repair but having completed a bubble test to see whether or not venous blood was mixing with arterial blood found there was no leakage so decided it wasn’t necessary and just used the hole to complete the ablation.

I have never had a migraine since. Go figure?

ajmc.com/view/review-explor...

I would imagine the auras disappear soon after ablation as the septal puncture heals.

[willec49]

I am on day two after my first ablation. I had one yesterday which was the day after my procedure and two today. I had a past history of migraine with aura so knew what it was. As others have noted, it's good to know this is common and not necessarily anything to alarm us.