Ablation

[G1703]

I'm having an ablation procedure next week and wondered what side effects I can expect and what the recovery time might be. I realise that it will vary from person to person but a general idea would be helpful. Many thanks

[jeanjeannie50]

Welcome to our forum.

If you look at the Pinned Posts section to the left of this page you will see an orange icon. Click on that and you will find links to documents that tell you all you need to know about before and after an ablation.

Please come back and ask if you have any queries, we're a helpful bunch of AF experts on here (well at least we think we are).

Jean

[G1703 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Many thanks for this information. There is a lot of information around on the internet but what really helps is hearing people's personal experiences.

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to G1703]

These documents were written by members of this forum to help other people, so you can trust them.

[Hidden]

Or click on the links below

heartrhythmalliance.org/res...

heartrhythmalliance.org/res...

Good luck and don’t forget to let us know how you get on.

[G1703 in reply to Hidden]

Many thanks for the information

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Hidden]

Smxxxy pxxxs!

[Hidden in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Moi....😂

[maryloo]

I had an Ablation in July last year (2018); actually an Ablation and Cardioversion. (I am in my late 70s). There were no side effects other than a little tiredness for about 10 days or so but that was possibly due to the anaesthetic. When I got home the heart ran fast a few times and in fact my daughter in law drove me back to the hospital about 4 days after the procedure, to have it checked out as I thought the Ablation had not worked as I still had AF 'fluttering' and felt exhausted. I was told there was no problem, to be more patient, and give it a bit of time. Within another week these symtoms had cleared up and sInce then it has been wonderful and given me a new lease of life. I have far more energy than before and none of the distressing AF symptoms. I would advise anyone who is wavering to have this procedure. I had a CT scan a day or so before the op. The op itself takes about 2hours, another few hours for recovery, and you need two days in hospital afterwards, and then another week or so REALLY resting at home. Don't be like me and think you can go home and just leap into normal life the net day. But within a month I had made a complete recovery, and last winter I was off travelling on my own and feeling great. Good luck!

[G1703 in reply to maryloo]

Maryloo thank you. It helps to get people's personal experiences following an ablation. Here's hoping it fixes my problem.

[Ppiman]

Mine was for persistent flutter, on June 9th. I’m still very much recovering and have quite a lot of uncomfortable symptoms but no flutter or fibrillation.

Steve

[G1703 in reply to Ppiman]

Thank you. What sort of uncomfortable symptoms are you experiencing if you don't mind me asking?

[Ppiman in reply to G1703]

The difficulty for all of us, I suspect, is being able to point a finger at just what it is that is causing us to feel poorly. Also, not many people have atrial flutter, so that might well make my own experience very different from what yours will be like. This means that to tell you about my own symptoms might not be useful to you as your own experience is likely to be very different.

Most people, from what I can tell, at least follow fibrillation ablation, seem to feel well quite quickly, so the chances seem very high that you will, too. The procedure itself isn't anything at all to worry about. Mine was done under general anaesthetic, but some are done under a local. I haven't read of many who find the procedure to be problematic, so you needn't worry about that side at all. I feel quite sure that you'll be glad you had it. In general, though, I gather a few months with some kind of symptoms is quite normal, what some call the "blanking period" when the heart slowly heals from the lines of burning the procedure causes.

To add to the difficulties of guessing what you might expect after your own ablation, the procedure itself might not be the cause of any symptoms - the heart's general condition or the medication might be the cause, instead. Some people are on other tablets, too, which might create extra problems. In my case, I take doxasozin, 8mg to help night-time urinary frequency. My cardiologist wants me to reduce this as he feels it lowers the blood pressure too much.

After my own ablation, which went really well apparently, I was kept on bisoprolol for a week, then this was stopped. Within days, however, I was ill again, this time not with flutter but with my first ever attack of fibrillation. That led me to be sent back to hospital and to be put back on bisoprolol (2.5mg). That stopped the fibrillation, but kept my heart rate and blood pressure very low (yesterday, for example, the rate fell to 47bpm, and at times my BP has been 95/55). Some of my "post ablation" symptoms have been to feel light-headed on standing, to have chest and sternum discomfort and light pain, to feel a strange "zizzing", pins and needles like feeling in my back between the shoulder blades, and, often, to experience masses of burping; sometimes, too, I'd feel somehow "breathless" as if I needed to breathe in deeply, especially in bed at night. There were other symptoms, too - especially that horrible feeling of anxiety and fear, as if a heart attack or worse was around the next corner. These all tend to blur into a general period of not feeling very well at all - with some days being far better than others. Overall, though, there's been a slow improvement.

Yesterday, my doctor has reduced my bisoprolol from 2.5mg to 1.25. I'm hoping that will clear up the remaining symptoms in the hope that these are caused by the low heart rate and blood pressure. I live in hope!

You'll be fine, I feel sure. It's not something to look forward to, of course, but it is a genuine step in the right direction to help you recover from a debilitating condition. I wish you well and good luck!

Steve

[Shcldavies]

Had my ablation in February and I have posted regular updates, please look at my posts to see how I have been (not all plain sailing but positive nevertheless).

[G1703 in reply to Shcldavies]

Thank you very much. I've looked at your posts and, combined with other stuff I have read, it seems that the recovery time may be a lot longer than I have been led to believe. I have my pre-assessment tomorrow and will ask a lot of questions! I was planning to take a couple of weeks off work and then get back. I think not!

[Shcldavies in reply to G1703]

Yes many on this site have longer recovery than the Doc tells them but many do not, so it’s impossible to say. Best be prepared though. All the best for tomorrow

[Hidden]

I had an ablation 2.5 years ago for AF and flutter. Procedure was performed under GA and took about 4.5 hours.

Had to lie flat with a nurse putting pressure on the entry wound for a couple of hours, for me with back problems this was the worst part.

Overnight stay in hospital, thankfully the remains of the GA helped me to sleep.

A few quick tests the following morning and released in to the wild.

No pain at all, very little bruising. Took it very easy for two weeks (sort of, we moved house at the start of the second week of my recovery)

I had to remind myself to take it easy as I felt pretty good.

It took at least 3 months for my pre ablation fitness levels to return.

Stopped some of my meds at the 3 month mark, and stopped bisoprolol at about 9 months post ablation.

My HR was about 20 bpm higher following the ablation, this is normal. It did settle and is now high 50's with no meds.

I still have palpitations as do a lot of other Afibbers following ablation, and the odd run of tachycardia , but that lasts only a few seconds.