Post av node ablation palpitations

[donnajak]

I had av node ablation April 11 this year after 4 years of more of less permanent AF. Since the procedure the frequency of palpitations or ectopic beats has increased from every now and then to almost constant. There seems to be no info on how many is too many but since I have 15 to 20 per minute every minute I have almost no time for regular beats. I am constantly out of breath when walking even inside my home. Weakness and dizziness come after 15 or 20 feet walking distance. Have requested an appointment with the ep since this must be an electrical problem and not a plumbing issue as my cardio Dr explained. Really need to know if there is hope to reduce the number per minute or is this the best it is going to be. Any similar situations or words of hope would be appreciated.

[dedeottie]

Fingers crossed that this can be sorted for you. I like to think that if all else fails, this will make life easier not harder. X

[Spiritji]

Good luck and consider taking a absorbable form of magnesium and also Hawthorne while sorting it out

[BobD Volunteer]

I must admit to some confusion. Does your pacemaker not give you a steady ventricular beat to maintain circulation? That is of course if you really mean an AV node ablation and not a PVI as you wouldn't have such without a pacemaker. It is quite common for a pace and ablate patient to still feel atrial problems but not as you describe.

Ectopics are a real pain I know and we all get them to greater or lesser extent. Deep slow breathing (less than six breaths a minute) can be very helpful in stopping them as many of us have found.

[donnajak in reply to BobD]

It was av node ablation and the pacemaker is set at 70 but I still have ectopic beats constantly, as many as 23. In a 1 minute period. Slow breathing does the opposite for me and continues the ecto beats until I speed up and that doesn't always stop them. They come in spurts. 2 or 3 or 12 to 15 at a time. Just do what they want to do. My ep has left the practice and have appointment with nurse practitioner on Sept 28. Will be assigned a new ep at that time. May also get some input as to what is happening. Finding it more difficult to deal with since breathlessness and dizzy go with these beats. Thanks for your input

[jackmccready]

Either the AV node ablation has not been successful and needs to be done again or you have frequent ventricular ectopy.

Your electrophysiologist / pacing clinic will be able to tell you which and explain further treatment options.

[blueair]

Just to say, I had a pacemaker fitted and AV node ablation but after a few days had lots of runs of ectopics which made me breathless dizzy and generally unwell, this showed up on pacing check, the pacemaker clinic on EP advice turned my pacemaker up to 90 instead of 80 beats per minute and this did seem to help. Advice to take magnesium (which was dismissed by EP) helped me and now my new cardio has helped much more than my last EP. My pacemaker does give me regular ventricular beats, but I assure you that the way you describe things is very much how it was for me. I am now with Dr Sanjay Gupta, who does know how to treat these problems. He is a total professional who cares about his patients, we are not just numbers we are people. He keeps you informed, does tests that other EPs/cardios do not do and finds the best way forward for your condition. If he is not sure he consults with people who specialise in different areas. The man you see on this site is the man you meet in the hospital.

I wish all members LOVE LIGHT AND ANGEL BLESSINGS and hope you all find a way forward without too much stress, as this does not help.

This is for Bob, just to say that unless you have had pace and ablate you can't know how someone will feel, just as if you have not had PVI you can't know how that feels either.

Angela

[donnajak in reply to blueair]

thank you for the encouragement. there is light at the end of the tunnel and is not a train!!!!