Good evening, i had an ablation back in Jan-23 after being diagnosed with PAF in Oct-22. My avg resting bpm was always between mid high 50s-low 60s as I had exercised regular for all my adult life. I learnt its not uncommon to gain an 10-15 extra beats post ablation and my avg resting bpm did jump up to 65-70 for a good while- coincidently the best i'd felt in a long time . However, this last month or 2 its dropped right off to a resting avg of mid 40s to low 50s and have started with occasional symptoms of palpations/ectopics, dizziness/lightheaded and unsteadiness, some breathlessness/odd gasp for air walking and terrible sleep. I did have a bout of chest pains when i first started back at the gym after an easy 6/7 months post ablation so had a stress echogram which showed a slight enlarged heart(athletes heart?) but found nothing of concern at the time. Due to having bradycardia at the time of original PAF diagnosis ive not been on any rate control meds. I must also add ive had a recurring ear infection since last august and still on the ENT waiting list which my GP seems to think I should wait for before considering further cardiology investigations. In fact the last time i was at the GP I was made to feel a bit of a time waster and they seemed more focused on life and work stresses and anxiety- something ive never knowingly had an issue with. Anyway, i know theres not much of a question here but I guess I'm just putting the feelers out to see if im right to be a little concerned or whether I might just be having a bout of health/cardio anxiety?
I am relatively fit and have been since i was kid but Im also 52 yrs old and no athlete!
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Flutterby100
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You would be odd if your weren't! Anxiety definitely exacerbates AF or any heart problems as will any inflamation in your body so best get that problem sorted ASAP.
That said your rate is quite low and it is not unknown for such low rates to cause issues such as you describe. Baby steps but try to relax whilst putting some pressure on your GP to refer you back to your EP unless you still have their contact details.
My resting HR is always somewhere between 45 and 48 bpm, for decades (exercised regularly from 15 yo to 60 yo, then stopped, now 72 yo). But I never have any of the issues you mentioned (dizziness, shortness of breath,...). Echo, done 7 years ago, showed a normal heart structure. Because of increased BP (180/80) in the past years, I also would not be surprised to have enlarged heart, but never did an examination. How about your BP? Have you had any changes in BP since the Cov times and interventions?
I would definitely push your GP to refer you back to cardiology. Knowing you have a cardiac condition, your GP should be referring you back as a matter of course. Do you have access to the arrhythmia nurse, mine are so helpful and can arrange EP/cardiologist appointments. Failing that, I would contact the cardiologist directly if you can. We know our own bodies well enough to know when something isn't quite as it should be. Good luck in getting it sorted.
If you have issues with normal functioning ie: breathless when walking, there is normally something physiologically wrong. Does your HR rise when you walk? My learning is that doctors will take quantitive evidence ie: numbers written down on a chart more seriously than narrative.
I agree with all of above - push for re-referral to cardiologist. If you meet resistance then think about a private consult because just having someone take you seriously and listen to your concerns will help. At the very least your GP should ask you to do some self monitoring of HR & BP for a week and take bloods but you can do that anyway yourself with a smart watch and BP machine and O2 monitor. Suggest you also be your own investigator.
What medication are you on?I only ask as I experienced similar but HR only very low at night .However I had the other symptoms with increasing ectopics.I made a spreadsheet showing increasingly Arrythmias.They stopped my Diliatazim and it worked .
Obviously this is only something to ask the experts!
Hi, you don't say about medication, my personal experience is if I stayed on beta blockers after successful ablation it would knock me out, same as you say dizziness/lightheaded and unsteadiness, because my HR drops to around 40. For some people HR of 40 is ok, but for others it can wipe them out.
hi all, apologies for the radio silence, ive been in between phones!
Thank you all for taking the time to reply, greatly appreciated.
To answer a few of your questions...
I've never taken any medications other than anti coagulants which they stopped after the blanking period passed. When i first started with af i wore the 24hr ecg and my daytime bpm dropped into the 30s and as low as 20s through the night hence why they didnt want to put me on any beta blockers.
For my ear infection, i'd had several repeats of otimize spray that helped while i was taking it then 7-10 days later it would flare again so i was given a course of betamethasone drops which helped and ive been symptom free for around a month now.
Ironically ive felt better since i posted too. Apart from the poor sleep, few ectopic episodes and the bradycardia ive had no bouts of dizzyness etc. but it always has come and gone. My b/p has always been normal too- sometimes high normal but mostly 110-120/70-80
Ive had a few exercise induced rhythm irregularities but it always self corrects so the arrhythmia nurses not concerned.
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