OK today is the second week anniversary of my ablation for atrial tacycardia so a few more observations.
Having the procedure has been useful as it has reminded me of all the things I keep telling people and why, particularly regarding recovery.
This last week I have done a little more including a couple of local drives but still not resumed work in the engine shop. My tally of Lee Child "Jack Reacher" novels is rising but I'm not sure that these are condusive to relaxation. I am back to waking at 4 am again which is annoying but usually manage to doze off again for an hour or two. At least I am retiring earlier now.
The inital erratic pulse with a rate of mid fifties (low for me) and quite a few pauses finally gave up and I went into tachycardia at 140 over last weekend. Not overly worried but took propafanone and e mailed EP who agreed with this strategy. I am waiting for a 48 hour holter which is being arranged at Exeter during which of course I will stop drugs to ensure something is recorded. My HR is currently mid eighties and stable which is expected (Read the recovery fact sheet) .
What does fascinate me and is often the subject of many queries is the question of palpitations. Now medically palpitaions just means that one is aware of one's heart. It does not mean it is racing, irregular or anything. Just you are aware of it. There are many things which can influence this. What I have noticed is that laying down tends to increase the possibility of this situation. Since I usually sleep on my front when I wake up in the night I am often aware of my heart because of feeling it in the V where my ribs meet the breastbone. This is probably the pulse in my aorta? . I have pulsatile tinitus as well and can tell if I am in rhythm or not so feeling this when in NSR checked by manual pulse checking may appear illogical. Similarly I sometimes feel this in the carotid arteries in my neck. As I mentioned we often get people worried about this sort of thing thinking they may be in AF but I think it is just that we all get far too aware of our hearts. I am still trying to work out how to tune it out of consciousness as all it does is keep me awake for no good reason. Duing the day when there are plenty of distractions I don't notice it.
Any way all on schedule as far as I can tell. Had a lovely morning. Breakfast at Wetherspoons (Eggs benedict) followed by a ride out to Woody Bay and a short ride on the steam train before home again for some more Jack Reacher.
Bob
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Sounds like it's going good Bob, am a fellow pulsatile tinnitus sufferer and tend to over listen to my heart and its foibles at times. Years on the dyno I was told the reason for the tinnitus! , yet I only started after losartin was increased and bisoprolol introduced. I too had that steady 140bpm but mine was when I had that bout of flutter, which has settled, so far! thankfully.
Sounds like a good steady recovery and can't beat a Weatherspoons dirty breakfast,
Fifty five years of motorsport and those rotary Mazdas hurt when they went past even with cans on.! I want a 787 on Mulsanne played at my funeral to make sure I'm dead. Wouldn't change it mind.
You may remember, my husband following his ablation had many a night when he couldn’t sleep due to hearing his heart beating. It was getting to the point that he started fretting about going to bed.
His EP suggested taking phenegan to get him back into the habit of going to sleep quickly enough for him to not be hung up about hearing his heart . Worked for hime. Thank goodness or I might of finished up in the psychiatric dept !!!
Interesting observations Bob and good that you can think it all through in such a calm way, is that the logic of an engineer in you I wonder. Nice way to be able to rationalise all that you are experiencing. Keep trucking. X
Oh goodness I haven’t heard anyone mentioned phenergan for years. Reminds me of the time a kind friend suggested we give that to our two year old as we started an overnight long haul flight. Unfortunately she didn’t mention - and we didn’t spot- the small print that said that in a tiny percentage of kids it has the opposite effect to a sedative. You can imagine the rest! That night is etched on my Memory !!
Still make sure you return to normal duties slowly.
I totally agree that our condition is responsible for a heightened awareness of our hearts. Before any of us had AF or AT problems we must have had raised heart rate for all sorts of reasons and I don’t remember feeling palpitations then.
On the subject of palpitations we took 3 of our Grandchildren to Brooklands Museum in Weybridge today. We all had a vintage car ride on a section of the banked track.
Even at only circa 30 mph driven by a septuagenarian volunteer in white overalls it seemed at lot faster and certainly got the heart racing (excuse the pun).
Good to hear from you. When I was working, engineers and servicemen as patients were always a challenge. "Follow logical instructions by the book and it will be fixed" Shame the hooman body doesn't always get that.
Sounds like you are making a slow but sure recovery Bob. I hope all goes well for you - I'm sure it will
I had pulsatile tinnitus after AF a couple of times. It did eventually go (after about ten days), so hopefully yours will too. It can be worsened by-or even the product of-too much wax in the ears, so it might be worth having that checked. Don’t try to remove any wax with cotton buds but use olive oil. Hope you feel better soon.
Had that problem for years. Very narrow canal in that ear. Have touse H2O3 and have it vacuumed by a specialist from time to time as hearing aid compounds the problem. Not the reason for my tinitus .
To true bob,, in bed I have these little battles in my head telling myself to stop hearing to my heart, all it does is keep me awake.....never gave that beating machnine a second thought all my life till last year!!! Glad you are on track......take it easy
Lovely to read that things are progressing well, make the most of the down time. You live in a great county with loads of places to enjoy a stroll and of course an ice cream!
Glad to hear you are progressing well. Mention of Woody Bay brings back many good memories of when I lived in Lynton - not that long ago. I miss it terribly.
Dont know if this would be relevant but I have discovered recently that I wake in the night with high HR which my watch proves. I have woken up for years like this and I think I have found out why. It turns out I breath through my nose. I have discovered I may have mild sleep apnoea. I am now wearing a nose clip and not waking so much with only getting occasional higher HR which only lasts seconds. My recent ECG was completely normal.
Im told by doc because Im thin I wouldnt have it and my Epley score is only 5 so NHS wont do sleep study!. Of course there is plenty of evidence that says thin people can get it. If only Id known about this years ago I could have saved all those sleepless nights!
I work at Exeter hospital and know there is a delay with with monitors and things but hopefully you will get one soon. Might be worth phoning to see if they have cancellations?
Hi Bob... I match some similar symptoms to you... When I lay on my left (on the couch), is when I got my flutter and pulse of 150. My 'defect ' is in the left atrium, so it may be that I am crushing that when I lay on my left. Palpitations... I have noticed them after a big meal recently but when I check my pulse with my blood pressure monitor, all is stable at 63 (with 25mg beta)... so yes it's just 'heart awareness' ie psychological.. I dont like a low pulse either as my heart stopped 5 times for 5 seconds each when it got to 49... Much rather be at say 73, but with the betas it is a very reliable 63 and has been since my first episode of flutter and tachy in early April... Seeing the nurse practitioner here in Wisconsin in October and will ask to get off Eliquis anti-coag, though I bet she says no. When I said "I hope you understand Yorkshire without an interpreter", she replied with a straight face, "We can arrange an interpreter if you want". She was totally serious... In this humourless PC world one cannot joke around, either at airport security OR the doctors...
Thank goodness you are starting to feel better. I find that if I have the radio on quietly on a timer so that it turns itself off after a while it is distracting and therefore I am not so conscious of what the heart is doing while I am trying to go to sleep. It helps me anyway.
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