due

[Capri62]

Hi there. I have Paroxymol Atrial Fibrillation. I am due an Ablation in a couple of days.

I read about people getting Ectopic beats after an Ablation, What is an Ectopic beat, how does it differ from my usual AF?

[Hidden]

Hi Capri....and ectopic is like a missed beat. If your heart is beating regularly, it is literally like a beat disappearing. Sometimes people have ectopic beats and are not aware, but folk with AF tend to be more sentitive to any change in their heart beat. I'm not medically trained, but most people here suggest that ectopics are not dangerous, just a nuisance, but they can sometimes be controlled by deep breathing (see some of BobD's recent posts).

They can often occur after an ablation, as can the odd episode of AF, but all being well, they subside around 3 to 6 months after the ablation. My ablation was last July, but I noticed some ectopics whilst I had a streaming cold, cough and catarrh recently. I'm sure everything wil go well for you, just remember to do nothing for the first week, and not much more for the second!!

Best of luck, John

[BobD Volunteer]

John has it right but just to be a bit technical, ectopic in medical terms means "out of place". What happens is that the atrium should contract and pass blood down to the ventricle which then contracts and sends it round the body. If the ventricle contracts before the atrium has passed the blood down it squeezes onto nothing so there is no blood to pump and it feels like a missed beat. Everybody fit or otherwise has them up to say 200 a day but we AFers are far too sensitive to our hearts doings and notice them They are fundamentally .harmless but can be annoying if you let them.

[Capri62 in reply to BobD]

Thanks for the replies John and Bob. I don't think I have had any ectopic beats so far because the only sensation I get whilst having an episode of AF is a fluttering/vibration in the heart.