Short burst of A Fib.

[ETHEL103]

Evening all ,I had a flutter ablation 11 month's ago and today had a short burst of A fib followed by supraventricular ectopics.A bit concerned as I have had sinus rythmn for months.Any reassurance welcome.

[Jalia]

Ignore. If this continues to be a regular occurrence then mention it to GP. My feelings are that once you've had AF it's always ready to make an appearance , brief or lengthy. SVE s are very common.

[ETHEL103 in reply to Jalia]

Hi I thought I had a fib all through the pandemic but during the ablation they couldn't instigate it only flutter which was treated.

[Jalia in reply to ETHEL103]

Sometimes people mistake ectopics for AF.

[Ppiman]

I have similar, indeed last night I had a few minutes of what my Apple Watch told me was AF. Since my ablation in 2019, I get a great many ectopic beats and palpitations, with mild brady- and tachycardia. The ectopics are mainly PVCs and much less, PACs.

How does this make you feel?

Steve

[ETHEL103]

Hi Steve well it maxes my anxiety through the roof.I can feel every rogue heartbeat be it fast slow or skippy so it does affect me.I know this doesn't help .I was constantly pulse checking last night which I know is bad.Not sure how to handle it really.

[Meeksocini]

Like you I feel every single PVC, and they are mostly painful too. Having a fairly large amount daily atm at around 1k ish a day (albeit I am told it is not "a lot" unless it is 10k a day).

I've had them for around 16-17 years now. At the start they would come and go (sometimes weeks without any), but for the last 4-5 years they are daily. When particularly bad they stop me sleeping and still make me anxious despite having had them for so long.

Recently had another cardiac MRI to see if the structure of the heart has changed at all in the last few years due to them. Should have the results soon.

I suppose I am posting as a form of moral support to let you know many of us have similar and so long as you have been checked out by your GP/cardiologist, you are more than likely going to be fine.

[KMRobbo]

For me the best way to deal with ectopics is to ignore them. I developed a lot about 5 months after my AFib cryoablation. Sometimes they went on for days at worse 1 ectopic in 6 beats others 1 in 26 which if consistent you dont notice, but mine were all mixed up. Missed the 6th beat, rhen th15th, rhen the 11th/ etc) After a few months I decided they were not doing any harm and I just decided to ignore them ( as best as I could) and from that point on they got better. Partly I became desensited as I had got so heart sensitive with AFib I was listening for every irregularity, and that stopped, but I think the worrying about something a lot releases a lot of adrenaline, which over extended time can cause palpitations AND palpitations are ectopics! Its a vicious circle!If you have had these for ages and they have not caused you an issue then why worry?

At my 12 month review I asked my EP about them . He was not concerned, so I became even less so.

5 years on I still get ectopics but hardly notice them. Because I dont dwell on them I just get on with what I am doing.

Also note, if I get a bug I get more of them or they are more obvious, which does grab my attention a bit more, but not like it was.

Not medically trained, just what happened to me.

Ps. Everyone has some ectopics , just they dont notice if they have not had flutter for Afib.

[ETHEL103 in reply to KMRobbo]

Hi yes I know what you mean re ectopics but I had bigeminy for months and months day and night which I thought was a fib but on my ablation day they couldn't trigger them just flutter which they treated.Bigeminy was truly awful and my fear is will I go back to these .Thankyou for your reply.

[Speed]

I had a 2 nd successful Ablation for AFlutter Nov 21. Several months later I developed Paroxysmal AF. My EP was not thats surprised as it’s not that uncommon to develop AF after AFlutter Ablation. The PAF was initially just the occasional episodes but it did progress after about 8 months. It may not have helped that I continued to do a reasonable level of exercise, though by no means excessive. Now 1yr later, it is almost exclusively triggered by exercise. I’m on 50 mg Flecainide 2x daily and usually, if I keep my HR below 140 during exercise I can avoid triggering an episode. EP advises that probably Pulmonary vein location and straight forward Ablation should resolve. Will consider this if I can no longer control episodes. All about QOL.

[ETHEL103 in reply to Speed]

Thankyou,yours was Aytipical flutter on left atria was it.Mine was typical flutter in right atrium.Dont know if that makes a difference.

[Speed in reply to ETHEL103]

I believe my AFlutter was left Atrium and any pulmonary vein isolation ablation would also be left Atrium.

Not sure if makes a difference either but the one thing I’ve really learned from this site is the variety of ways in which AF manifests itself. Good luck, hope just a blip and no further intervention required.

[ETHEL103 in reply to Speed]

Ah so your heart septum was pierced .Mine wasn't.Best wishes to you .