After being in NSR for over 40 weeks, in August this year I suddenly and inexplicably reverted to af. As a result, I underwent my third ablation with toe under general anaesthetic 10 days ago. It was a longer procedure this time and included 3 cardioversions and my EP assured me that he had checked and double-checked every single area to try to ensure long lasting success this time.
At the moment, my Kardia readings are almost all NSR with the occasional Unclassified and a very few PAF.
Apart from one single incident of it being 102bpm, my heart rate is consistently between 52 and 65.
I know that it’s early days but my concern is that I am taking a long time to get back to anything approaching normal this time. I am finding it very hard to sleep and I have no appetite as I feel queasy all the time. I get out of breath just walking round the house and have absolutely no energy. And of course, the less active I am, the less active I am inclined to be. I’m trying not to obsess about the Kardia readings but anything except NSR causes me to worry. I just can’t bear to contemplate going through this for a fourth time.
Are my current symptoms normal and is it common to take this long to even begin to recover from a third ablation? And advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Written by
frankiec5
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Very normal. I was a zombie for weeks and didn't feel like my old self for months. It sounded like they may have done more burning this time than before, so a more difficult recovery is not surprising. Try and be patient and follow how your body feels, as opposed to pushing your body. You're early in blanking, so "unclasssified" Kardia readings or odd tachycardia's are expected. The good news is no afib. If appetite and queasiness persist report to your ep and they may treat you symptomatically. Sounds like your EP did a very thorough job so try and relax and be optimistic.
Thank you so much for the reassurance Jim. It’s just good to know that someone else has had a similar experience.
My recovery was rather quicker last time - hence my concerns - but as you say, it was a more complex procedure this time. I’ll try to just accept how things are and be more positive…. And patient!
I would have it investigated: Post ablation, I became severely ill with pericarditis, pleural effusion, and hepatitis, but it was not diagnosed for ages, and my heart beat remained normal. A GP finally ordered a full blood and found that my liver enzymes were sky high and also my CK levels were very elevated. This convinced my cardiologist to admit me that night to hospital, although the GP didn't twig to the situation. Subsequently various scans including a chest X Ray revealed an insane amount of fluid retention in those organs although none around my ankles. I spent 9 days in hospital on diuretics, had thorocentisis, and was discharged on diuretics. The problem gradually resolved with diuretics and I'm fine now. One of my symptoms was acute pain (close to 10/10) in neck and throat, especially if I leaned forward. I have read in only one text, no others, that that is a classic symptom of pericarditis, but it was news to my cardiologist.
Just ten days ago! You seem to be expecting a huge amount of yourself. Ten days after my ablation I was still in bed half the day! My husband was doing all the cooking and domestic work and friends were checking out on me like hawks to ensure I didn’t walk any further than 100 yards. It has taken me a full 8 weeks to get my energy back and I’m still making slow progress, step at a time.
You need to put your feet up and read the AF Association info sheets on ablation. You’ve been through a major heart procedure. It sounds like you’ve got a very good EP, taking a lot of extra time to ensure success. Now give yourself time to heal.
I believe my EP has done a pretty thorough job too, and like you I have had gastro problems. I got back to the arrhythmia team who suggested I make GP appt with possible endoscopy referral if it continued. By time I saw GP we didn’t think that necessary so I’m just temporarily on lansoprazole. It’s very common following ablation.
If you're not feeling any better by Monday I would see your GP. (If feeling worse before then go to A&E right away). I felt differently after each of my 3 ablations. After the first two I felt drained for quite a while, but after the third I was better immediately.
When I still had attacks of AF my EP told me I wasn't suitable for any more ablations. He said some people are helped by them and others are not. I had a few cardioversions over the next few years and after having two in one year and still going back into AF I was told I wouldn't be offered any more of them either. So I'm now in constant AF, I take Metoprolol and now have a constant heart rate that goes from 60-90bpm. I'm happy with the way I am and it doesn't stop me from doing anything I want.
Just a quick aside if you don't mind, when a patient is told "no more ablations will be offered" because "you are no longer suitable", is one possible reason that after multiple ablations a limit is reached on the amount of radiation a patient can undergo? Or doesn't this arise?
To be honest I really don't know about radiation. I was told after two ablations that I wouldn't be offered any more. My first in 2011 took 3hrs and second 6hrs. I was surprised that I was suddenly offered a third 3 years after the second one, didn't even know I was on the waiting list but had been in contact with my EP's AF nurses. I think my symptoms suited the new piece of equipment that my EP and his Registrar had designed this was inserted down the throat to the outside of the heart to see where the rogue pulses were coming in. I felt better immediately after the last one, but unfortunately went into tachycardia the morning I was due to go home so was kept in hospital. Went back into sinus rhythm the following day and went home. Have never had a really high heart rate since, though still have AF which generally fluctuates between 60 -90bpm.
Thanks for replying. It seems that repeated traditional catheter ablations do accumulate a cancer risk, but the articles I read are rather obscure about the actual risks. It seems more research is needed, but I was interested in whether your EP/surgeon, or anyone else's, had actually mentioned the radiation risks before the procedure, or showed any interest in adding up the radiation received over time with multiple procedures?
And related to this area, I just found this interesting article ...
I don't think I've ever heard anyone on this forum talk about radiation risk due to ablations. Certainly I don't recall my EP ever mentioning it.Will look at your link tomorrow.
Thank you for the advice. I’ll see how things go over the weekend but it does help to know that other ablation patients have taken quite a while to recover
Since recovery takes plenty of time I fail to see why you think it is slow. Our fact sheet explains it all clearly and at ten days I would not expect you to be doing much other than pottering and resting a lot.
Try not to be impatient , stay well hydrated and relax.
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