Going in for cardioversion after having an ablation 2 weeks ago.

[Lisa54]

Found this site one week ago and am enjoying reading about the experiences of everyone else dealing with afib. I was diagnosed 2 years ago with persistent afib and have had 2 cardioversions so far - each lasting about 5 months. I am now involved in a study where they are trying a new catheter called the “Diamond Temp Ablation System for Persistent Atrial F which hasn’t received FDA approval yet in this country. Had the ablation procedure May 14th. All went well and I was back in NSR immediately afterwards. Felt fine until I went to a graduation party Tues night, drank 3 glasses of wine throughout the evening and noticed I was back in afib with 110-135 bpm the next morning! Ughh. Doctor is now in the process of scheduling another cardioversion next week to get me back on track. The nurse told me it could have been anything that triggered it. She said one of their patients told her dark chocolate does it for him. So frustrating!

[perkman]

I would suggest to quit alcohol use, especially so soon after ablation. Alcohol is a known trigger of afib for many of us.

[Paulbounce]

Sorry to hear you are back in afib Lisa.

An ablation can take a little while to kick in - I hope your CV helps put you back on track. I`m sure it will.

I would suggest to anyone having an ablation to go booze free for 3 months after the procedure*** - let your heart recover.

New procedures are being introduced all the time for afib. This is why I am so positive about real advances being made in the next 3 - 5 years. I`ll research about the DIAMOND - AF study. I`m also very interested in the AcQmap procedure and will ask for this if / when I have an ablation. It`s worth forum members Googling it IMO.

Best,

Paul

***Mental note to self. Keep off the beer for 3 months after ablation heheh

[BobD Volunteer]

Far too soon to even think about alcohol. Most of us gave that up years ago when we got AF. Still early days in your recovery as it will be three to six months as I am sure they will have explained. DCCV this early is not that unusualy actually so if you change your life style I'm sure things will be fine. Drink plenty of water and stay well hydrated too. Tea and coffee do not count by the way as they reduce hydration over time.

[Dawsonmackay]

Wine is the biggest trigger for me with Afib. Take Magnesium.

[Lisa54]

Yeah - it makes sense. Wouldn’t you think that would have been on the list of things NOT to do after an ablation? Hadn’t had anything to drink for weeks before that. Looked it up online after the ablation and it said to wait at least 24 hours so a few weeks into recovery I thought it’d be ok. In my experience, alcohol consumption has NEVER been brought up by any of my a fib doctors.

[Oldiemoldy in reply to Lisa54]

Try “googling” alcohol and atrial fibrillation or alcohol use after ablation. You’ll find lots of information and opinions. Not all will agree. Also, check out the writings of Dr. John Mandrola- a USA cardiologist based in Louisville Ky.

I very reluctantly gave up all alcohol for the next 3 months, and if I can’t honestly stick to a one drink limit only 3 days per week after that will probably stay abstinent.

The docs just are either too busy or too focused on the main goal of doing the surgery competently to give us good information about many important topics. We have to educate selves and each other..

[Jonathan_C]

Alcohol is a known trigger. It is not necessarily a trigger for everyone. My cardiac nurse told me the night before I went in for my ablation that red wine is good for the heart. That’s the same person that wheeled me into the theatre and into the ICU.

Re going into a fib so soon after an ablation is quite normal. It happened to me and I was cardioverted and put back on flecainide and gradually weaned off it.