Hello,
(30yom, aside from my cardiac history, otherwise fit and well)
Apologies if this has been covered before I am new here and seeking some advice.
I had a three-year history of irregular palpitations. The first episode came on at rest and then subsequent ones were triggered by ice cold drinks or an adrenaline surge from a 'fight or flight' response. Once I knew the triggers, I stayed away from them and didn't really worry about it, as the episodes self-terminated after a few minutes or a couple of hours.
My cardiologist eventually convinced me to do an electrophysiology study, which showed AF. He advised an ablation which I had the procedure about 5 weeks ago. Since then I have been in AF, have random runs of irregular, fast palpitations and I am rarely in sinus rhythm. I also suffer bouts of light headedness, most usually when the irregular rhythm goes back to being regular - There is a pause and then a sudden rush of blood to the head.
I would say that in the previous 3 years I could count on one hand how many irregular episodes I had had. I was a very fit endurance athlete and now I do not have any exercise tolerance.
I appreciate I am in the early days of recovery but I would be keen to hear from people who may have had a similar experience. I am really disappointed in how the recovery is going. The ablation has caused more problems than it solved (I am not discouraging this procedure as the stats don't lie on its success rate)
If anyone can provide some insight into my questions, that would be great:
1) Has anyone had very infrequent paroxysmal AF had a cyroablation?
2) were you in permanent AF after the procedure/during the recovery?
3) What was your recovery like/length?
4) were you able to exercise to the same level/intensity prior to the ablation?
Many thanks for your advice and support