I'm new to this forum, so i'll just provide a small bit of reference to my case...
Suffered with fast PAF and was regularly in fast AF which was triggered by yawning! (I know right... weird? something to do with vagal nerve?!) after waiting 9-10 months for a cryoabalation I was placed on bisoprolol, apixiban and flecanaide.
I had my cryoablation done 2 years and up until now I have been in NSR and med free. But recently I've been having hours of terrible ectopics, these thuds that wipe the floor with me and honestly terrifying that AF is coming back - it was so bad recently that I had to dial 999 and the ambulance caught these ectopics on the machine. The issue is, once at the hospital no one really cared "they're not dangerous, so don't worry..." which is increasingly frustrating as I'm sure as many of you here, you feel every bump and knock!
I've gone from being a very active 32 year old male, who does weight training and cardio to absolutely nothing, everytime I try to workout these ectopics come on and floor me, I'm just feeling awfully lost and not sure what to do.
My questions are :
* does these run of PACS mean my ablation has failed?
* i've requested to be re-referred back into the hospital, but these takes months especially during COVID times, is there anything I can try at home? i.e. magnesium/potassium (i've never tried either)
* Any advice to manage the PACs?
Sorry for the wall of text, any advice welcome thank you!
Jason
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Lazypeguin
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You need never apologise for asking questions, that's why this forum is here.
Yes, it's a good idea to try taking magnesium a lot of people on here swear that it has improved their condition greatly. It can be taken in pill form, sprayed on as an oil or sprinkled as a powder in your bath. I take magnesium glycinate capsules, there are many types of magnesium and that is one type that's recommended, also citrate and taurate. Have a look at Dr Sanjay Gupta's YouTube talk on this:
For quite a few months I've just been taking 1 every morning mid breakfast, but that's just because the magnesium citrate made my stomach sore and I'm cautious now. Warfarin makes my stomach sore too so I take that mid breakfast too.
There is a very good slow deep breathing exercise which heleps terminate ectopic acitivity. No it is not dangerous but can be terribly frustrating . Use the search box top right for ectopic breathing exercises.
I would also caution you regarding your exercise as it is well known that youngish men like yourself who over train often have rhythm problems. If you can't talk and exercise at teh same time then slow down.
Ectopics are not AF by the way so your ablation has not failed at all. Ectopics post ablation are very common as many of us attest.
Last point here, AF may not be life ending but it is life changing and we have all had to make some hard choices with regard to our life styles. Diet (less meat) , weight, no alcohol. good hydration at all times, stress etc can all improve our condition so read up as much as you can and do those life style changes for a better outcome.
Hi there, I was once told by a cardiologist to treat ectopics as an itch that you can't reach 🙄 I absolutely loath the things. I have them every single day without fail sometimes just a few & sometimes for hours. I take magnesium & do the breathing exercises which has helped & try my best to ignore them which is easier said than done
Hi are you taking any medication? I had 1000 PVCs a day but when I changed to Flecainide they stopped ( the ones that I could feel badly). My last ECG showed I now have predominantly PACs which I don't feel. But of course this is just my personal experience and certainly not advice. You are probably off meds due to the success of your ablation
Great! It seems many people suffer from ectopics after an ablation ( when you read some of the posts) Perhaps a continuation of the healing process. Have a chat to your EP or cardiologist. Perhaps they could suggest some treatment if they are really interfering with your life.
I know exactly what you mean. The magnesium taurate that I now take has stopped the ectopics which is great. My cardiologist approved, in fact he has been trying to get his mother to start taking them as she has AF.
Please don't become too disheartened regarding the ablation, it often takes more than one for everything to 'slot into place'.
I am not aware that ablation has anything to do with ectopics though, it is to assist with atrial fib/flutter. Hopefully things will start to settle down for you soon.
I am afraid something is irritating your heart and it may take time too get to the bottom of it.
As a few examples:
If its over exercise, stop exercising and see if they stop
If its lack of magnesium, take supplements (not oxide), you may have to try a few types to get the one best absorbed by you - we are all different. if its not a lack of magnesium you could take as much as there is and it will not help.
If its lack of potassium, take supplements but as above if its not a lack of potassium it would not help by taking supplement.
If its caffeine, if its alcohol - you get the gist of it by now!
May be worth noting that too much sugar is a trigger for mine.
All that said Magnesium and Potassium are a good bet. Unfortunately there is more to it, much more. For example if you take PPIs, magnesium will not get absorbed well, if your low in vitamin D, magnesium will not get absorbed well, if your low in iron, magnesium will not get absorbed well, if you have too much alcohol magnesium will not get absorbed well, if your under stress magnesium will not get absorbed well. I would try an Epsom Salts bath, use half a packet and soak for 20 minutes, if your feeling more relaxed after it may be a pointer that it is a magnesium shortage causing your problem.
Few of us find the magic bullet to fix us first time but it can be done, you have to persevere to get to the bottom of it as these damn PACS/ectopics or whatever they may be are really life changing. I also believe that if you do not get to there bottom of them, they may develop into something else like AF or Afl. I would be interested to know why you say their PACS.
Let us know how you get on with the magnesium glycinate. Hope they work for you. I have these ectopics as well and they are awful, but I cannot get hold of Magnesium Taurate, so am taking Mg. Citrate but I still get a few.
Did you find that they helped at all? How long did it take for them to go? From what I've read citrate is still s good form of magnesium! Fingers crossed for you
I am 7 months post-ablation and I still get ectopics daily. They are usually mild and almost always occur after I eat or if I am hungry. They can be especially bad the next day if I get heartburn on the previous day. I don't take magnesium anymore (it did not make a difference), but I do eat foods with potassium daily.
Yes, I exercise daily but not at the intensity that I did before I was diagnosed with AF. Elliptical, bike, walking and weight lifting is what I do now. I tend to work out for longer periods of time at a moderate pace. I can get bouts of ectopics during exercise, but it usually because I am pushing myself too hard. I used to strive for peak heart rate of 126, but those days are gone now. I can usually hit the low 100s, anything higher increases my ectopics. I also noticed that being full, either from food or just from drinking too much water will up my ectopics during exercise. Also, bending exercises increase my ectopics. Hope this is helpful.
I’ve been in permanent AF since at least 2010 and an ablation is very unlikely to be successful for me. However, a colleague of mine displays a very similar cardiac history to you. She had a successful ablation for PAF but after a year or two experienced similar disabling ectopic beats. After a second ablation she is now symptom free and has been for several years. You are a young man and your current symptoms must be quite life-changing. I hope you get treated soon. In the meantime, remember that your heart is a robust organ and you should take comfort in that it will be resolved in due course.
I had an ablation for AF in January and was fine until about 3 weeks ago, then, like you, I started getting bouts of horrendous ectopics which last for hours and make me feel dreadful, severe headache, brain turns to mush, chills, can't do anything. EP has changed my meds from bisoprolol to sotalol, been on it 2 weeks but no improvement as yet. I also started a magnesium supplement, magnesium oxide, 2 weeks ago but reading this thread I think I'll be changing to a better type. I also take PPIs so don't know how much will be getting absorbed. I've found that taking the dogs for a walk helps enormously and even if the ectopics are bad when I set off they are not really noticeable after a few minutes. I do 2 to 3 miles (I am an old girl) and then have a cup of ginger tea which also seems to help. I've started keeping a detailed log of when they happen and what I've been doing, eaten etc, to try to identify triggers in readiness for seeing the EP in August. Maybe a gentle walk might help you? Good luck.
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