Long overdue, concerned update..

[Styggy]

Hello everyone.. I haven't posted an update on here for ages.. sorry.

Had my ablation in June last year and have been doing really well since then. Moved house (and country) got a new job and everything. Not so much as a flicker from my heart in that time. Came off all the meds apart from ACs.

Just recently though, I've been getting the odd run of 'flutters' maybe one every few days! Only last a few seconds and then all is fine. It's been happening for a week or two.

Really worried the AF going to kick off again and will be back in meds and looking at a 2nd ablation..

Trying to convince myself it's stress related as I am about to loose my job (got another lined up already though), Christmas and my 50th birthday coming up.. The flutters started shortly after I was told about my job and after I had a Hernia repair operation.

Is this something to be expected? The EP said it would probably return at some point, but 20 months it toooo soon!!

Stay well

Styggy...

[Hidden]

The simple answer is don’t know but one things for sure (as I know from personal experience) the more you worry and stress, the more likely the flutters will get worse. Trouble is, none of us have an OFF button for stress. I wonder why your EP was so specific, did you have a cryoablation? Hopefully it will settle down as it often does, but if it continues, think about taking magnesium taurate as this often helps to calm the heart and maybe, purely as a precaution, see if you can get your thyroid checked as an overactive one can sometimes be a factor. There are other things you can do like making sure you keep an eye on all the lifestyle issues which can easily catch up on us at this time of year. Perhaps the anxiety will abate once the career issues are resolved....fingers crossed, hope this helps....

[Padayn01 in reply to Hidden]

Hi flapjack why does the AF come back after abalation, is it because the scarring comes undone and the erratic signals come through?

[Hidden in reply to Padayn01]

There is a variety of reasons and what you have suggested is one of them (ish). A cryoablation, is when an expanding balloon is used to freeze the tissue around the pulmonary veins, and the balloon may miss tissue if the veins are irregular in shape. A second, RF ablation is then carried out to burn the missed tissue. I’m not medically trained and I’m certainly no EP, but I’m not sure that scarring comes undone as such but over time, break through’s can occur which make further treatment necessary......

[Padayn01 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for this flapjack any reason why scarring comes undone? Or just one of then things that happen?

[Hidden in reply to Padayn01]

Not much more I can add I’m afraid......

[CDreamer in reply to Padayn01]

Comment from EP at Patient’s Day in answer to this exact question - ‘we burn, patient’s heal some patient’s heal quicker than others’.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Padayn01]

As was said at HRC this year EPs burn and patients heal. There is also the view (one of mine) that if the patient does nothing in the way of life style changes to help themselves nothing the poor old EP can do will work forever.

[cuore in reply to Padayn01]

The tissues may reconnect. Mine did. My right superior pulmonary vein was ablated three times, that is, during all of my three ablations. In other words, it reconnected twice.

[Hidden]

This is one of the most frustrating things about AF- one can never know that it has gone for good. Even when an ablation is “successful” there is always the prospect that it will return one day. It must be extremely dispiriting. One thing occurs to me: *if* it is the case that AF is starting to break through again, is it possible that it can be controlled with medication? I assume you are not now taking anything other than, maybe, a NOAC. In other words if medication is able control the new symptoms, another ablation might not be necessary.

[Dodie117]

Hi. It might come back but maybe not. I had my ablation in 2013 and am still AF free. Like you I get off bouts of erratic beats lasting seconds but do far the AF has not returned. So I appreciate every day without it and stop worrying that it might return.

If it does we will manage it as we did before. Good luck🍀, stay well and learn to relax.