Worried about heart after ablation. I'm LYJB

[LYJB]

Hi, I hope you can help me. I had a cryoablation last May and I've been almost free of PAF since. I'm due to see the PE in 12 days for my second follow up. Tonight I felt very cold (even though the house wasn't cold), and my fingers went white (very unusual for me). I also felt light-headed and slightly dizzy. I took my blood pressure using an electronic device. I took six readings over a couple of hours. Two readings were rather low, 102/66 and 96/60 (my BP is never high). My heart rate was fast for me: 85bpm. I'm worried that the scarring in my heart is beginning to let rogue signals through. Is this normal after an ablation or should I get in touch with the arrhythmia nurse??

I'm not sure I'm using the right method to get in touch with you all.

[Donkster]

Hi those readings are pretty good normal is 120/70 but just get checked out to be safe

[LYJB in reply to Donkster]

Thank you, that's good to know. I may ring the nurse tomorrow.

[Donkster in reply to LYJB]

Also 85 bpm is ok average is between 60 and 100 but if you’re walking etc it can go higher but that would be normal as well

[LYJB in reply to Donkster]

Thank you so much.

[Hidden]

Neither of these blood pressure readings are examples of low blood pressure but fall within the NHS’s “Ideal blood pressure”. They are actually very good readings. See nhs.uk/conditions/high-bloo...

where you can enter the readings and see for yourself.

It would do no harm to contact the nurse for an investigation. But there are many reasons why you might feel cold, not necessarily related to the heart.

[LYJB in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much, Samazeuilh. It was so odd that I felt so very cold, and my heart rate is usually about 70 since the ablation. I'm OK today. I think I've maybe become over-vigilant and tend to attribute any unexplained event to my heart! I've had PAF for 19 years so I'm afraid all roads lead to that in my mind. Hopefully that's history now. Thanks again for your help.

Happy New Year to everyone.

[Hidden]

Your symptoms are consistent with low standing blood pressure. This is commonly due to medication. Sitting BP and then immediate standing BP would pick that up

[LYJB in reply to Hidden]

Thank you, oyster... I will check that. I take 2.5mg Bisoprolol and 20mg Rivaroxaban.

[Hidden]

I guess it’s quite normal for us AF’ers to assume that every ailment we experience is associated to our AF but of course, that is not always the case. Fortunately, you say you are feeling better now and obviously, we want it to stay that way. BP and Pulse rates often fluctuate, but as I’m sure you know, it’s the regularity of the pulse which tends to be important where AF is concerned. Pulse rates have been known to remain higher than normal for in excess of 9 months after an ablation so try not to worry about that. I’m not medically trained, but BP is often difficult to monitor because so many factors can influence the levels, but it’s relatively easy to keep a check on the regularity with simple pulse checks but it’s also important for us not to get obsessive (so easy to say when you have experienced AF!!). If those symptoms repeat, it probably would be a good idea to contact your Arrhythmia Nurse or GP....

[LYJB in reply to Hidden]

That's very useful information, thank you so much, Flapjack. Sometimes with me it's a case of 'a little knowledge....' I know that the deliberate scarring in the pulmonary arteries can heal to the extent that rogue signals can start to get through, so I'm half expecting some breakthrough beats in due course. But it might never happen, so I'm not going to dwell on it. I'm going to enjoy my new lease of life.

Thank you again for taking the time to reply to my post. Lynda x

[Hidden in reply to LYJB]

Try not to dwell on scar tissue healing to the point that rogue impulses can break through as this would mean that every ablation is likely to fail and we don’t want that, do we!

What can happen with a Cryoablation is that because the tissue around the pulmonary veins can be irregular, the expanded balloon might not reach all of the tissue. This means there may be small areas of tissue which are not frozen therefore scarring will not occur. As far as I know, EP’s are generally aware if this happens. It happened in my case and I had a RF (burning) ablation to scar the missed bits and so far so good.

[LYJB in reply to Hidden]

I did have migraines soon after the ablation but they stopped after about a month. I posted on here about it. Bobd and others explained it can happen. This forum is great!

[LYJB]

Thank you Flapjack, that's really interesting. I knew that if I had to have another ablation it would be with RF. My experience so far has been so good, so worth it. I would recommend anyone to have one if advised to. I was terrified but it wasn't too bad and I'm so glad I had it!

I'm grateful for your help. Lynda x