A cautionary tale...

[50568789]

With a week to go before the end of my 3 month blanking period without any sign of AF, I was feeling pretty good about it. Then a day ago I submitted to having a bronchoscopy at the local hospital, investigating source of occasional blood in sputum (convinced it's anticoagulant related). Procedure all went smoothly. Middle of the night, yes you can imagine, the familiar irregular heartbeat etc. Next morning, BP tests showed low systolic and diastolic levels and fluctuating pulse rate up to 125 (normally 50/60). Wife said she could see heartbeat through my shirt. Phoned GP, asked to come down immediately. Did all usual tests, ECG, confirmed in AF , gave me referral letter and sent me off to A+E in local hospital. 3 hour wait later, saw doctor, had ECG and saline drip. At the end of it all, they had no magic answer why PR had been swinging up and down but things were settling down and they would refer me back to cardiologist. Discharged, back home, early to bed, good sleep and feeling much better this morning. Except, I read online that studies have shown a definite link between bronchoscopy and arrythmia . So it was a known trigger, wish I and what's more the medics who put me through this had known about it beforehand. Has my ablation "success" gone to pot after this? Are we back to square one? Will be interested to hear from local cardiologist, but will now contact arrythmia team / EP where ablation done to see their take on it.

[BobD Volunteer]

Far too early to start thinking like that. As we explain in our fact sheet on recovery, the three month period is arbitrary and should be considered a minimum. Many people are still improving at six months or a year.

[50568789 in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob. Just a bit peeved that all was going well and a probably unnecessary procedure threw a spanner in the works.

[Cabinessence in reply to 50568789]

As Bob so rightly says, three months is entirely arbitrary. Everyone heals at different rates and this extends to scar tissue. I had a bout just at the end of my 3 month period and my EP was totally unphased and said she didn't know why, but temporary AFIB relapses tended to happen more in month three to six than beforehand, which is when logically you might expect them to happen. Chin up mate.

[Buffafly]

Best wishes for the results of the bronchoscopy

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi

Your story and it's contents sound 'crazy'.

But early doing the procedure by a week would hardly have made the difference. Waiting 6 mths probably much more sensible.

Depending on the urgency of the test.

I for one was told I would need to wait 6 months to have a thyroidectomy for Papillary Thyroid Cancer but Surgeon & Anaesthetist jointly changed that to a.s.a.p. Anaesthetist had had cancer removed for Thyroid some years earlier.

So it ended up at 4 months but still too late to prevent cancer showing up in 2 of the 12 lymph nodes removed.

And sad because there are another 2 which could be cancerous at 4 years postoperation where 12 were removed in all.

AF and how we are all different and feel different living with it make each one of us unique.

I'm so disappointed that this has happened to you.

What you do now will be with informed experience of what just happened to you. My experience has shown there are no pamphlets given out on operations, what is expected to happen after and procedures to avoid. My PET/CT SCAN without and with contrast was poorly arranged. I asked about prep, on day, after. Nothing to do on the day prior. WRONG I read no carbohydrates or glucose, or strenuous excercise and keep to low iodine diet. No fish. But whn I asked about my thyroxine tablets in early mornings I was told that they were OK. But it read that a high TSH was better. Leave off them for a week. I left them 2 days only.

I still don't know what is best to do. That is inconcceivable because the above as it is ridden with glucose the RA Iodine infusion, to show what is happening in the muscles etc. Re cancer.

cherio JOY. 75. (NZ)

[Ppiman]

Bad luck. eh? Life is a trial with arrhythmia at times! I don't think this points to much at all from reports I have read and that all will settle. Often, it seems, it can be many months before the scars heal well enough to stop all ectopic activity (some of which leads to AF).

The trachea and likely left bronchus (as well as the oesophagus) are all very close to, if not sometimes pressing against, the atrium and its ablated inner area, that even in people without ablation, this can bring on ectopic beats from, say swallowing, being or stretching.

I have read that physical stretching of the heart from natural pushing and pulling against other organs can set off arrhythmias and is likely a more common cause than the many triggers people often ascribe to their AF. Even eating a meal, gassiness or constipation, can, I gather, push the stomach high up forcing the heart to be somewhat displaced.

Steve

[50568789]

Sounds about right, thanks. Not had alcohol for a few months but maybe the fizzy non alcohol beer I had didn't help!

[Singwell]

Hi. I don't think you should say it's a failure because of this event. People have events after the blanking period and then settle down. I think it depends on a lot of different circumstances and an intervention such as an oscopy of any kind might be a trigger because your system is disturbed. Glad all is well now, and hope things settle back down into NSR for you.

[Banquo]

It's taken almost a year since my second ablation to start seeing noticeably fewer ectopics in a daily count and more trouble free sleep time, etc. My heart rate has never gone back to pre ablation levels and is higher in rest and exercise than I was used to...there is a certain amount of time and adjusting to "new normals" to allow yourself. And honestly so much is still a mystery to even the docs who have treated this stuff for decades. Just play the odds and get your lifestyle factors as good as possible...all we can do.

[MikeThePike]

I can understand if you are annoyed but what would have been the alternative to bronchoscopy?