AF or Ectopics Post-ablation

[Sanpet]

Hi, I am more a reader than poster and have found the various AF posts very helpful over the years, so thanks all.I had a PVI ablation 2 days ago and am doing well recovery-wise.

I firstly must say that the care and attention from Professor Mark O'Neill over the last couple of years at the Cardiac Clinic and all the staff at the London Bridge Hospital last week has been exemplary, I would thoroughly reccomend him/them (and I don't do reviews!).

I have what I hope is a simple question: how do I tell the difference between ectopic beats (or runs of them) and the onset of AF during the next few weeks /months? It's something that has always puzzled me and I forgot to ask before I left hospital.

I hope some of you will be able to help. Thanks again.

Peter

[Finvola]

Ectopics generally have a rhythm to them. They appear in normal sinus rhythm and feel like a pause followed by a heavy beat - singly they go:

beat ... beat ...........THUMP .... beat etc.

They also have a p wave so are easy to spot on a Kardia or other ECG recorder. Heart rate overall is usually normal.

AF is chaotic and without any rhythm - it may be fast or very fast and there is no p wave.

I invested in a Kardia about 10 years ago to try to keep an eye on the various jumps and bumps - well worth the money.

[Sanpet in reply to Finvola]

Thank you for describing it in simple terms, that's what I needed.I have a Kardia, but tend to have used it just to confirm AF and give info to Cardiologist. I'll look more closely if and when I need going forward.

Being a newbie 'ablationist' I just am keen to know what's going on during the blanking period.

[Finvola in reply to Sanpet]

When you look at your Kardia trace, ectopics are like blips where the peak of the beat is offset but overall the peaks are uniform.

[mjames1 in reply to Sanpet]

If just ectopics, your Kardia will not say "atrial fibrillation". And if you subscribe to Kardia's "advanced determinations" program, it will tell you what type of ectopics you have. That said, the trained eye of an electrophysiologist is better than Kardia, so if unsure, always show the ekg to your ep. GP's on the other hand, not as adapt at analyzing ekgs, especially from Kardia like devices.

Jim

[Morzine]

I think the ectopics felt like tapping out a rythm with thrn a pause….it wasn’t erratic like afib .

Sue

[Sanpet]

Thanks for the replies, very helpful.

[John3333333]

You're likely to feel lots of unusual beats after an ablation. I certainly wouldn't get concerned about any short episodes (under 30 secs), unless you are experiencing other symptoms, such as dizziness etc.After my second ablation, I experienced bigeminy, trigeminy, atrial salvos, sinus tachycardia (out of the blue, whilst resting) and many other blips. It eased off after about 9 months. For most people who have an ablation procedure, it is part of the course.

[Nakesero in reply to John3333333]

Hi John,

I was very interested reading one of your replies regarding your experience of abnormal rhythms post ablation. I had mine 8 weeks ago but now have frequent but not constant irregular rhythms which my Omron BP reader is saying is Afib. I will get a Kardia this week, but how did you recognise different rhythms, how effective is the Kardia in this situation and how long did it take after your first ablation was the decision made to have a second - was your Afib the same as before?

Initially I was delighted with my ablation but am now a a little more confused as to what state I am in (I never had debilitating Afib to start with) so if you could afford any time to reply with your experiences that would be extremely helpful.

Hope you don’t mind my asking.

[John3333333 in reply to Nakesero]

My first ablation (for PSVT) was 10 years ago. Kardia, ECG and Holter monitor have captured my irregular rhythms.

My Kardia device is really useful, but I've found it often mistakes various ectopics for AF.

I guess we don't hear much from people who have successful ablations — they're probably just enjoying their lives. For me, there were good days and bad days after my ablation for AF. I wouldn't think too much about the blanking period, as everyone heals at a different pace. Things didn't really improve too much for me until about 7 or 8 months after the ablation.

[Sanpet]

Thanks. 3 days in I am learning that this is not going to be straightforward.

I think I was so focused on the actual ablation, I was blanking out all the information about the time subsequent to the event.