Post AF ablation

[Salbie]

Hello,

My 65 year old father, who suffers from heart failure and AF, underwent his first AF ablation 3 days ago.

Doctors didnt really tell us what to expect during the recovery period so seeing my dad struggle that much is very difficult for me.

3 days post op, he is still coughing a lot, has a headache and most importantly he is out of breath. Are these normal reactions to this intervention or should we be worried ? What should we expect during the following days/weeks ?

Thanks a lot !

[Desanthony]

Have a look at the information in the ablation fact sheet and recovering from ablation fact sheet available on the AFA website it will tell you everything to expect. I haven’t had an ablation so can’t give you any advice but I’m sure someone will be along with some personal experiences and tips to help you and your Dad.

[Hidden]

Hello Salbie, welcome to the forum, your father is very fortunate having a son to look out for him. Below is a link to a factsheet which both of you should find helpful. It’s probably best to read it and then ask if there is anything your not sure about or need more information. The important thing is that he should do nothing for the first week and not much more for the second. Also, it takes around 3 to 6 months for the scar tissue to heal and during that time, he may experience all sorts of wobbles during that period but they should decrease over time. It isn’t an instant solution sadly!

heartrhythmalliance.org/res...

Just shout if you need any help……

[TracyAdmin Partner]

Good Morning Salbie, thank you for sharing your message on the forum. How is your father feeling today? It is not unknown that many individuals take time to recover differently, the ablation procedure can take many weeks to feel well. You may find the 'A F Fact File' helpful to download from our Patient Resources : heartrhythmalliance.org/afa... All our members have offered some great advice already, I would particularly like to highlight FlapJack's recommendation to download the 'Recovering from an Ablation' Patient information sheet. Take care and do not hesitate to contact me if you or your father would like further help.

[Jajarunner]

I'm a fit person and it took me months to get over each of mine. Time to normal for me (being able t walk a swift four miles) was about four months. But I'm always a slow coach. I'm 57 btw.If you are really keen you can read too much detail on my blog, just search, in speech marks, "hht and Afib athlete"

[angiek]

After my ablation I did nothing for at least a week, and it took me a few months before I felt totally ‘normal’. I did have an ongoing cough for a few weeks. Assuming your Dad had a general anaesthetic? I believe that a cough is a very common after effect of that process? As others have said read the info sheets, and fingers crossed he will be fighting fit in due course.

[Dodie117]

Think of it as a broken leg. It will heal but takes time and in the meantime he needs to be patient, kind to himself and basically read, watch lots of TV and get his children to rally round and spoil him!! Oh, it’s so hard🤣. Seriously, he has had a serious procedure and just cause you can’t see the wounds doesn't mean they are not there.

Too me 5 months to get back to normal and almost a year before resting heart beat returned to normal. But that was 2013 (I was 63) and I’m still free of AF. So we’ll worth it.

Good luck ☘️

[Snowgirl65]

Salbie, it's so early in the healing process, that the symptoms your Dad displays presently are normal. It took about two weeks to feel I could do normal routines after my ablation, about a month before I felt completely normal, and about three months where I no longer had a-fib episodes. Good for you in looking out for your Dad, and I wish him a positive recovery period.