Post cardioversion

[OldTown]

1 week post cardioversion and am in NSR, and no palpitations any more. However I am still feeling exhausted and steps and hills are a real problem ........anyone else had the same experience ?

[LordGabriel]

You should give yourself 2 weeks rest, no steep hills etc. just take it easy.

Slowly get back into the groove, no pushing it.

[BobD Volunteer]

Rest more and let your heart heal please.

[Ppiman]

If your heart was out of sync for a long enough period, especially if it was racing persistently, then my experience is that it will have become a little weakened and the mitral valve might have become less efficient. This is what happened with me in 2019 and showed on an echocardiogram. But when NSR was returned, in my case by ablation for atrial flutter, then so did the health of my heart - but it took a couple of months if not longer.

Let's hope the new year brings you the relief you need as the stress of feeling exhausted with exercise adds to the overall problem, for sure.

Steve

[OldTown in reply to Ppiman]

Thanks for the reply. Yes I have some mitral regurgitation according to the echo. It is all a learning curve.....

[OzJames]

yes pretty flat for a couple of weeks but please take it easy for that initial period. My cardiologist said take it easy for a couple of weeks. I then started walking on flat areas daily for about 20-30 minutes and built up after that.

[Jajarunner]

Yep, I've had 11 and always took me 7-28 days to recover... Hope you feel better soon

[OldTown in reply to Jajarunner]

11 cardioversions ! Wow. I had to wait 6 months for mine.Thanks for the reply. It is a comfort to interact with others who have been in the same position.

[Jajarunner in reply to OldTown]

I get fast AF so it's done urgently in A&E. So even though I may only be in AF four hours or so I always feel pretty cr*p as mentioned. But I suppose our hearts feels like it's been sprinting for hours or more!

[Soundmike]

I'm sorry but one week isn't enough recovery time . Like me were you sent away from hospital without any after op care . You need to have at least four weeks rest in my humble view .

[LKUK]

hello. When I had my CV in mid Nov 2021 I was still finding walking difficult six weeks later. But as suggested here I took it slowly but steadily increased walking and that sorted me out. I had been in constant AF for 14 weeks when I had the CV.

[OldTown in reply to LKUK]

Thanks for the reply. I was in persistent AF for 6 months until I had my CV, so I now realise that it may take some time to improve. The medics don't give you much idea of what to expect tbh.....or maybe it just varies enormously from person to person.

[LKUK in reply to OldTown]

Definitely seems to vary hugely among people. Both the experience while in AF and then after CV

[Rainfern]

We’re all different in recovery times. The one thing we do all have in common is the need to listen to what our bodies tell us. And patience!

[ObiDyer]

Took me a little while to get back to anything like normal but I felt it was down to loss of muscle tone/mass due to the enforced lack of exercise while waiting for the cardioversion! Better to take it slow and build up gently or risk early reversion though!