Absolutely fed up.

[Cas33]

So I had a second Catheter Ablation in January , with mapping.

Everything seemed reasonable until Sat last, for no reason at all, I came all over breathless. Scary couldn’t catch my breath at all. Ambulance was called, arrived very quickly. I don’t remember the journey, but I was given a high does of Oxygen as my levels were below 50.

Over night I was given I V antibiotics as they suspected a chest infection, followed by a Digoxine Tablet, which appears to have restored me to .NSR.

I have been told because of the Ablation, I now have A Fib and A Flutter. Has any one else expirenced this please .

[Hidden]

I’m not medically trained Cas33, so choosing my words carefully. When you became breathless, do you know if you also had an irregular heartbeat? Could you also say who suggested that the ablation caused your Afib and Aflutter which seems strange because these are conditions which are improved by having an ablation. I believe issues like chest infections and flu can trigger AF and bearing in mind it can take in excess of 6 months for your heart to recover, runs of AF, ectopics and palpitations are not unusual.

Hopefully, things will improve as the infection subsides........,l

[Cas33 in reply to Hidden]

Yes it was my EP who mentioned about having both AFib and A Flutter. He had said it in the past and spoke with me yesturday.

Before these two Ablation, I had 5 Cardioversions last year from June onwards.

Just trying to get my head round all this, and get my confidence back.

[Hidden in reply to Cas33]

I understand, and I know it's difficult. As I'm sure you will have seen from other posts, cardioversions play an important part in the treatment process. Firstly, they establish whether or not someone with persistent AF can be put into sinus rhythm and if it works, how much better they feel whilst in rhythm. Clearly you have been through that process which is why your EP decided to ablate you. Two ablations are quite common, indeed I am currently on the waiting list for my second, so try not to worry too much about that. Your recent unpleasant experience may not, possible was not, brought on by AF, it is possible that you have picked up a chest infection and it is that which triggered the episode. It's also possible that because your last ablation was fairly recent, it had more of an effect than otherwise might have been the case. It would be interesting to know what your EP said about last weeks episode and what his thoughts are on future monitoring. Has he mentioned if there is an Arrythmia Nurse attached to your hospital as they can be a tremendous help when things become difficult.

As I said earlier, it is normal to experience AF and other heart related hiccups for 6 months after an ablation and thats without the added complication of a chest infection so please try not to worry as anxiety will not help either.....best wishes, John

[azriverrat]

What was the ablation for? It is not uncommon for say an afib ablation to work then say a previously unknown flutter to appear. Or a new circuit or hotspot to form. Also possible one of the previous burns didnt take and needs redone. So, touchup ablations are sometimes needed.

So what was the original ablation for? If a second ablation is needed just find the best EP possible fot it.

Now of course I have had five ablations.

[KMRobbo]

Cas33

I had an AFIB (left atria) Ablation on the 29th January - great, no problems. I was controlled by flecainide and diltiazem (plus AC leading up to and after ablation).

9 days later my heart went crazy, very arrhythmic (pounding in chest) , worse symptoms than ever (for me) including breathlessness which I did not ever have as I was asymptomatic previously, even when in A-FIB with very high heart rate.

However this was diagnosed in hospital as Atrial flutter not AFIB.

My symptoms with this appear to be less severe than yours, but I did not have any infections.

26 February I had a second ablation for flutter on the RIGHT atria. After ablation flutter removed and back to normal NSR . The EP believes the flutter is solved being a simpler issue than AFIB. I am in NSR after two weeks ( but still on meds for the previous AFIB ablation).

My EP has not explained to me how the flutter has developed in the right atria after the apparently successful ablation for AFIB on the left atria. He only advised flutter was not present /apparent during the first ablation or they would have dealt with it then.

I am surprised that you have been advised you have AF and A flutter BECAUSE of the previous ablation?

This does not seem to make sense to me (but I am not an EP/Cardiologist).

Were you not given an explanation why this is?

On my (apparent) re-occurrence of the arrhythmia I was initially advised that there can be temporary flutter/ AFIB issues during the period following an AFIB ablation while the heart heals up and it will probably resolve itself ( in my case it did not, but then it was in a different part of my heart).

However it does not sound like you believe yours is temporary - is this the case?

If you do not know, then that is a question to ask your EP as that may remove some worries and make you less fed up.

The good thing is you are in NSR now while you are considering this.

Cheers

[Cas33 in reply to KMRobbo]

Thank you for your in put. I did briefly see my consultant just before they discharged me, however I intend having a thorough conversation in the next few weeks when I have a follow up appointment. Carol x

[Daveeba]

OMG. Hope you got that sorted. It's rare for my oxygen to drop below 90% but it has in the past and with my HR dropping I've gone flat on my face, coming round in hospital. Scary some times. You take care. Dave x