Hi all - I’ve been to a&e this morning as I woke at 5.30 and found my right eye was blacked out for the lower half - it’s called amaurosis fugax. I called the hospital and they spoke to registrar and he advised to go into a&e. They did various tests (strength, speech sight etc) plus a head scan. All looked ok. The blanking of half one sided eyesight had resolved itself in a couple of minutes when I sat up in bed - it sort of drained away from top to bottom. Had ecg and normal. Didn’t feel any arythmia at all. Discharged home and told to go back if it happens again. Can’t drive for four weeks. Got to have an appointment at tia clinic and a carotid Doppler done soon.
Anyone got any thoughts or experienced similar? Could find much on here although the recovering from ablation fact sheet mentions migraines and blind spots. Didn’t have a headache or visual migraine although have had vis migs over last ten days.
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Migraine aura can be scary if you have not experienced it before and can make one think of blindness. Never heard of what you describe though. For what it is worth, the timing is about right from my experience. Sounds like you are in good hands.
Hi Bob - yes I agree but I’d had migraine auras before so knew this was different. In fact I had the amaurosis fugax once before in 2014 and after investigations showed all ok (carotid artery, ecg, blood tests etc etc) it was classified as a tia. I was put on warfarin for a year as a result. Interestingly (which I’ve only thought about today) I’d had around five visual migraines/auras in the previous few months and after being on warfarin I didn’t have another until this last ten days. I put that down to being on blood thinners but now am wondering if the amaurosis somehow was the culmination of the auras and somehow they’d resolved when that happened. Wondering if today’s amaurosis will mean the end of vis mugs for me this time. Do you follow my thinking?
Yes I was pretty spooked by it. Knew I was in the right place at the hospital. It’s classed as a tia as far as I know. I think it must be connected with the vis migraines and they are connected to ablation. Just got to keep my fingers crossed😳. I’m on rivaroxaban so hope everything will be ok🤞🏻
Hi , I’m 8 days post Cardiac Cryo Ablation , worst bitbfor me was in recovery, extreme pain in my chest , lasted 3 hours before settling . Was released the next morning after ablation and as I was about to leave , my vision in both eyes went funny. Best described as black hole vision like part of my vision we’re missing , dr said was more likely onset of a migration ( which didn’t happen ) , so yes it appears a side effect is vision issues, maybe related to a difference in blood supply
Hi Steve - thanks for reply - yes was readin up last night and it appears that visual disturbances are something that is a consequence of ablation for some. It seems that the puncturing hole of septum between right and left atria is the source. Good luck with your further recovery.
Hi. I had this about 7 years ago. It happened twice and was pre AF diagnosis. I was away in France when it happened and went away about 20 mins later. I was watching tv when it happened and suddenly could only see the bottom half of the TV. I went to optician when I returned to UK who didn’t think it was anything to worry about. Then I was diagnosed with AF and when I described it to EP he thought it was TIA. Sent to stroke clinic but no damage as far as they could see but agreed probably TIA. I am on apixaban now and has not occurred since.
My husband had amarousis fugax back in 2005. It was very scary he was put on asprin as well as warfarin as he had artificial valve fitted that same year. Dr said TIA but all checks like you had done provef all ok. Could have been a clot tgat had gormef when he had valve replaced or soon after. He is still on asprin to this day. He now has Irregular heartbeat but has just had second cardioversion 3 weeks ago and is in nsr at monent. Hope you get some answers and help soon.
Amaurosis fugax is a TIA in the eye, cause by decreased blood flow from the retina, usually stemming from the carotid artery. Thus, it sounds like you had fantastic doctors and are getting the very best care!
One major cause of this is vasospasm, which occurs regularly and with vigor during the post ablation migraine period.
If all of your tests come out negative, that would be the culprit. And if the tests show disease in the carotids-great! You will get early, lifesaving intervention. So either was, this is a big win for you! Might as well get it all done now while you are in your healing phase, then be done with it. Good luck to you!
Thanks for that quilafizz - you sound knowledgeable - this forum is so good to use. I did have a carotid Doppler done four years ago and they were fine so hoping that they will not have changed too much. Find myself veering from catastrophising it to thinking it’s just a blip after ablation. Hoping for the best😳. Thanks for your good wishes and hoping for your continued good health.
Thank you! Remember..no matter what they find, it will benefit you. Worst case scenario, your carotids are blocked and need surgery. Very safe, minimal downtime, and you will avoid a major stroke or death because they caught it early. Keep us informed as to your progress!
Yes I had a similar thing a couple of days ago, felt odd, a bit confused, eyes going a bit strange. Went to take contacts out, looked in the mirror and could only see one half of my face, quite spooked.
Rang Dr and they decided it was a TIA , I have had two before, all different. I had had my INR done that morning as I am on Warfarin, my blood was a bit thicker than normal and they had upped my dose of warfarin so decided to take the extra one then and there. Anyway all settled down and no probs since. Dr didn’t suggest any further tests or meds.
I do hope yours is all sorted, these things are quite scary . Good luck
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