Hi all I have been experiencing more excercise intolerance & having lots of Arrythmias.More Arrythmia readings than no abnormalities.
So contacted Arrythmia nurses and sent across 3 readings.
Quick reply.
Atrial ectopic with pause afterwards.
Not of real concern but can be uncomfortable!
Anything I can do? Will it get worse? How do I cope!
Your helpful comments always appreciated.
Feeling almost as bad at times as before ablation
I could have written this! Since having trouble with my knee and not able to go to my sports, I’ve had no episodes. Definitely a trigger for my AF
Ectopics are common after ablation and usually will go away - eventually. Sometimes they last for months and occasionally they don’t go away and you may need to talk to your specialist if you find intolerable but they are considered benign and unless they become established all of the time, not just when you exercise, I doubt you will have a treatment plan.
Worry and stress will increase the frequency and the intensity of ectopics so relaxation and breathing techniques will help. I had ectopics, both ventricular and atrial, for about 9 months following ablation and exercise always made them worse so I had to cut right back on exercise and became a fan of exercise ‘snacking’ ie: instead of going to the gym or a swim or any strenuous exercise I limited exercise to very short bursts of intense exercise for 90secs then rest throughout the day on the advice of my then physio and a GP friend. The worst thing to do is press ups lying down or any exercise that has you face down on the floor - so changed to standing press ups to adapt. That worked.
My best advice - listen to your body and if ectopics appear - experiment with what helps - rest, change in routine, what you eat, when you eat, impact of worry thoughts, breathing long, slow and light through the nose, sleep patterns.
I’m exactly the same! I’ve been monitoring all ectopic episodes over last few months as I had to stop work due to stress causing ventricular ectopics which were as debilitating as the AF and more recently been having atrial ectopics which is impacting exercise tolerance and I’ve put it down to things I’ve been eating, more so having bread and sugary items which I do generally try to avoid. Last night I’ve had run of 6 hours atrial ectopics because I ate some gingerbread and custard! And woken with awful headache. I don’t understand how my Flecainide dose of 100 mg last night didn’t help though. They seem to break through my regular Flecainide. Do you find the same?
Remember that Flecainide can be a pro-arrhythmic for some people in some situations. I was much better when I stopped both Flecainide and Bisoprolol.
I tried reducing my dose back in Feb at guidance of EP but it increased my ventricular ectopics so back on my full 100mg day and night again. See him next month so will discuss again
When I have AF breaking through my daily 200 mg of slow release Flecainide (Apocard retard), I take an extra fast-acting 200 mg, which will convert me to NSR in between 1 and 4 hours.
just to note that's 2 years now since my AF ablation and I’ve been left since with ectopics which has been just as difficult to deal with. AF episodes have decreased. Had 10 last year and only 1 this year. EP reckons my ectopics are forever going to be something I’ll need to deal with. Stress was my main trigger and I’ve not worked as result for last 4 months.
Me, too - I could have written much the same. Ectopics can feel nigh on as bad as the much less frequent AF that I suffer, and that has increased a lot this year. Luckily after a month or so of ectopics (PVC / PAC / couplet / bigeminy / trigeminy), and increasing my bisoprolol to 2.5mg each morning a week ago, this past two days have improved. Coincidence? Well past experience shows these things to wax and wane - but I have my fingers crossed.
Steve
⁷Hi, kkatz, im same . Aflutter. Can get short breathed, excersise intolerance, also pretty intolerant to drugs for this. Ive been an athlete all my life. In particular. Road cycling. Im struggling at the moment with finding a suitable blood thinner that doesnt give me intolerable side effects. The best thing is get down to a gym and jump on a stationary cycling machine. Do only light intensity gradually building up to half hr each day. I keep my heart rate at no more than say 75% of your max heart rate. Dont go higher. You will experience a calming effect on your heart after each session . Remembe you have afib so its not going to be easy to build up to high intensity stuff. Your best chance is keep it easy . You may break through at some point. All the best.
Never could do bike at gym .75 now so not going to start.Never been one for anything other gentle to medium.I was feeling so good & looking forward do not been limited.I.e .3-5 mile walks & not having to plan fairly flat walks & being able to do a full lawn bowls match in the Algarve.We will see
How we go.
NSR After Cardioversion 
Dizziness, light headed and flashes in eyes 2 days post ablation 
Blood pressure 5 months after ablation
Unexpected AF episode after 3 months
Experiencing higher sleeping HRV after stopping Flecainide
