how long does it take to completely recover from ablation

[loou]

I am 6months post ablation for atrial fib and atrial flutter...I was very short of breath with any exertion for a good 2 months, it is getting better,, but still not able to tolerate activity at my normal level....should it continue to improve, or is this as good as it gets.

[azriverrat]

How did you feel before the ablation? Is this basically now worse? Did the ablation fix what you had say afib and or flutter? Did the ablation have any complications?

[Jlaine in reply to azriverrat]

Had ablation done june 1st! . No improvement. Breathing seems worse! Dr. wants to do another already. Also had cardioversion done after ablation too. Didn't last long in NSR. Its never ending for me! And no matter what you do it triggers afib! Its a curse..

[PirateJeff in reply to Jlaine]

I had two catheter ablations appropriately 3 months apart for afib and flutter. The second one did the trick as I’m now at a HR of 50’s-60’s post 2+ years.

[RiderontheStorm]

My goodness, it took me an old guy who is in good shape 9 - 12 months to get back to my normal resting heart rate. Everyone is a little bit different about this. I love exercising and many cannot tolerate it.

[Mal7896]

I'm 10 weeks since my ablation, and am feeling a lot better, but still suffer from fatigue, and just cant get rid of the chronic cough which seems to be getting worse. Luckily no Afib/flutter since the ablation. I'm 72

I think it takes time

[dcoughey in reply to Mal7896]

I had the chronic cough for years. The only thing that would stop it was Prednisone or Nitro. Obviously, I used the Nitro and the cough stopped almost immediately. You have to watch your pressure though. My EP acknowledged that these would work in my situation; and, in fact, had to use Prednisone to stop the cough long enough to do the ablation. Iam amazed that so little is known about this.

[Mal7896 in reply to dcoughey]

What is nitro?

I’m desperate to stop this chronic dry cough.

I had read chronic cough can be caused by pulmonary vein stenosis after the ablation. Hopefully it’s not that 😳

[dcoughey in reply to Mal7896]

Nitroglycerin. Believe it or not, it was a cardiologist that first used it on me when I was in the hospital and couldn't stop coughing. She gave me a spray under my tongue. I thought it was just a placebo that she was giving me to see if my cough was psychological in nature. I figured that, even if was really Nitro, it would take hours to work. To my amazement, the cough stopped immediately, the pressure on my head released and I had no shortness of breath.

Since my first ablation, on Oct. 03/17, I have only had to use the Nitro once or twice. I still cough on occasion; but, it only lasts a few minutes. I still have shortness of breath and pressure on my forehead that I feel is due to the Sotolol. I had my second ablation on Aug. 17 and my pulse has been holding a steady 60 at rest. My pressure is hovering between the low 90s to the mid 120s so I am reluctant to use the Nitro as one spray can drop my pressure by as much as 30 points. I will be seeing my EP in a couple of weeks for followup, at which time, it is my hope that we can start cutting back on the Sotolol.

NOTE: As a test, I took a spray of NItro at 10.13 hr as my pressure is now 121 with a pulse of 60. The pressure on my head is greatly reduced and I feel as if I could run a marathon. When I was getting ready to ride to work this morning, I put on my motorcycle boots and had to sit down to get my breath. I then put on my leather jacket and had to sit down again. I was also sweating. I just took off my boots and put them back on without wheezing or shortness of breath. Surprisingly, my pressure only dropped 11 points in 5 min. I may just start using the Nitro again when I need to do some physical things like walking.

There you have it. For me, the Nitro is a kind of miracle drug that has few, if any, side effects.

[Mal7896 in reply to dcoughey]

Interesting post. I’ll mention to my EP on next review. From what I have read nitroglycerin is mainly used for angina but if it helps for this damn cough would be fantastic

Thanks for the advice

Mal

[dcoughey in reply to Mal7896]

Many ER doctors and cardiologists I have met say the same thing and seem to be totally oblivious to the fact that Nitro affects other things as well. I have been blessed to have other cardiologists and my EP that Nitro can be very effective for other symptoms.

Note: I can't emphasize enough that one has to watch their BP very closely when using nitro; and, it can take 20 minutes to 1/2 hr to stop dropping. Those that tell you it is safe to take another spray after 5 minutes don't seem to be aware of the drop in BP. This morning, for example, I woke up feeling queasy and with a heavy pressure on my forehead. My pulse was its normal 60 BPM and my BP was 125/71. By 07.20 hr it was down to 96/61. That is 29 points. I felt a lot better; but, I didn't dare drive to work until I verified that the BP had stopped dropping and was on the rise again.

[CDreamer]

I think I was also a good 9-12 months before I felt anything like I had recovered but I never achieved pre AF fitness but whether that was due to old age, other conditions or the ablation I don’t know.

Everyone is different and certainly it maybe age dependant - I was 62/63 for my ablations, the first failed. Do you know that the ablation has worked? Are you suffering ectopics or tiny runs of AF or AFl without feeling it?

I don’t think your reaction is at all out of the ordinary but I do think our expectations of achieving full fitness again may be unrealistic. Everyone reacts differently and there maybe be some young, elite atheletes who do but for the rest of us, I think many doctors underestimate recovery times.

[songbird74]

I am 7 months post and just beginning to get back to pre ablation fitness - i still get a bit more breathless than before but it has improved a lot in the last month and I haven't had a 'funny' (not sure if it was AF or ectopics) rhythm for over a month now. My cardiologist put me on ivabradine to slow my heart down as it was running at approx 90 - about 10 bpm more than pre ablation but it is now down to around 75 and I think some of that may be my heart readjusting naturally not just the meds so soon I will start to reduce the ivadradine and see if it is real. The ivabradine was much nicer than the betablockers as the brain fog has cleared and I am beginning to think I am coming out of the tunnel so hold on in there!

[Lizty]

It took me the best part of a year to really feel myself again, but I was improving all the time. My fitness was pretty low at the start,, as chronic AF had increasingly been slowing me down and then it took ages to be diagnosed. Everyone is different, but I am with the others who say expect progress over a year. My GP told me it takes around 18 months to recover from anything which has severely knocked you back!

[pip_pip]

Hi

Are you still in AF or Flutter . If so at this stage you should seek further support from the EP.

After my third successful ablation 4 years ago it me a year to fully recover my energy levels and strength of prior times years before the AF. Having said that my ablations were successful and I am now in sinus since. Are you ? If not, seek advice.

Phil

[Jlaine in reply to pip_pip]

Happy for you that something finally worked!!Best of luck!

[pip_pip in reply to Jlaine]

It was a long and difficult journey. But I got there in the end.

P

[Hidden]

A long shot, but very occasionally, respiratory symptoms can be due to a paralysed diaphragm following ablation. It shows up on chest X-ray and most times resolves spontaneously over a few months.

[Jlaine in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for sharing info. Didn't know that!!

[Dodie117]

It took almost 6 months for all arrhythmias to stop and a further 6 months for resting heartbeat to get back to normal. I am now almost 5 years post ablation and at 69, exsmoker, pretty normal for my age group.

Are you on any meds? I am only on apixaban.

Are you in NSR? If yes, you should improve gradually.

[Scott1101]

I'm 5 months out and I still feel messed up I'm 39 I've read at least a year to heal and remove all the inflammation

[Mike11]

What drugs are you on (expecting to hear bisoprolol) ? If so try changing to nebivolol