After years of afib and aflutter, with multiple lifestyle and medication interventions, I finally pulled the trigger and had an aflutter ablation yesterday. I know a lot has been written here about recovery after an afib ablation, but an aflutter ablation is a much smaller procedure, so I assume the recovery process is different. So for those of you who have had this procedure, how did you feel after and how soon did you go back to normal activities, exercise, etc? Also were their any med changes after the procedure?
By way of background, I have both afib and aflutter, but aflutter has been the bigger burden over the past few years. My choice was to ablate both at the same time, or choose the smaller aflutter procedure first and see how much that helps. If it does, great. If not, then an afib PVI would be up for consideration.
The procedure itself took about two hours and was told it went well. It was done under conscious sedation but I don't remember anything.
Hope this finds everyone well, and Happy Holidays!
Jim
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mjames1
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It might be a shorter procedure but it is still an assault on your heart so go wioth what we have already written and you won't go far wrong at least for the first few weeks.
Thanks Bob. Makes sense. I know you have referred people in the past to some literature on ablation and recovery. Could you point me in that direction. Thanks.
Not sure how useful my advice would be as I had a cryoablation for AFib. For me the best advice is get as much rest as possible and lock away your Kardia for 3 months 😀
I had both done at once, so my result may be different. Had NO flutter since (6months) yay,as you say awful for me ,worse than fib.Had couple of minor fib blips,and one longer.
Now,I dont know if recovery from flutter alone is different but Id err on the side of caution!
I have both as well but got rid of flutter in April until my cardioversion this October failed in less than a month. Right now I strictly have flutter atypical I was told. The problem with it is mapping it to make sure you got the right spot. I’ve had cryo and rf and The end of April I had a very aggressive vein of Marshall and ablations and other spots all at the same time. I never recovered from that except for losing the flutter but I was so sick I didn’t even know it was gone. You sound like you’re doing great. I just had a cardioversion fail Tuesday. I was supposed to be on a new med none of it turned out because of the cardioversion failure. I’m glad to hear about your flutter ablation because I think that is next he is still not sure if he wants to try one because of scarring or go to pacemaker. You just gave me a glimmer of hope I don’t really want the pacemaker until I have no choice
Please take it slow trauma is trauma remember we are talking about our heart not that big and soft and squishy lol it needs to rest and so do you. If you push yourself you will regret it baby steps please
Hi Dawn, Thanks for the advice. I will take it slow. My ablation was on the right side for typical flutter. Sounds like your problem is on the left side since it's atypical. Not that familiar with Vein of Marshall but did you also have a PVI? A lot of times the PVI will take care of atypical flutter, or maybe they can just find the right spot with an ep study. Wishing you well with your decision.
Yes it is on the left. When I met my new EP he made it clear he was not thrilled about another ablation. Evidently atypical is difficult to map. Because of all the previous work in less than two years especially the one in April, he doesn’t want to do if he’s not sure he’s got the right spot. That being said we already know the odds are never 100%. The other day although I was still drowsy he told me we would talk ablation in two weeks I can guarantee you there is a BUT in there. He shoots from the hip like I do and really shook me up when we met because he was so honest. I want him to explain why a pacemaker is the best thing for me because we are all different. I don’t get the idea about him that he just goes down the list like some doctors do. Heart Institute of Eastern Texas seems to have a good reputation and I did not meet one person who did not rave about him. My cardiologist asked me to see him I had picked out a different EP the funny thing is same hospital different branch and if you look at their profile it looks like they were cloned lol I mean that in a good way. As he was leaving my cardiac nurse and the others all agreed he was already thinking about what he could do next to make me better. Tune in for the next soap opera event of As your heart flutters lol
Hi I had a flutter ablation in May and felt better immediately apart from very sore throat and cough as I had GA.I sat on sofa for a week and only used stairs to bed once a day as I was following the ablation recovery form on here.Its been 7 months now and have just started to get ectopics daily.I do feel everyone which I didn't feel with the regular flutter high heart rate however I did feel week and sweaty when it was happening.So all good.Have a great x.as and take it easy.
I can’t give any advice to you, but just wanted to wish you all the very best and hope it is really successful for you. You’ve been very helpful to me in the past ( you ‘analysed’ one of my Apple ECGs and I won’t ever forget that) - Good luck 😊
I had atrial flutter (right side) and had an ablation 2 years ago. I took it very gently for 2 weeks, then returned to work. I was cautious and had gentle walks. I gave up caffeine and alcohol and have remained on anticoagulant, although my GP and Bart’s have both said I could stop if I wanted ( still not sure what to do about that!). I have had tachycardia a couple of times since, once post Covid and during a period of stress. I found that I ‘felt myself’ about 6 months after - everyone is different. I am prone to anxiety, so do my best to manage this - it was that side that took longer to recover than the physical. I check this group every day and have found the advice incredible. Wishing you well and a Happy Healthy New Year.
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