post ablation?

[peachtreepiggy]

Had an ablation in July this year. And so far, in November, I haven't felt any a fibs (except for tonite)...I could feel my old familar heart racing, but didn't get out the pulsoximeter to check. About 10 minutes, i checked my pulse and it was 110 , 112. My question is this: should I be getting any afibs this long after an ablation? And should I be worried? Yeah, I know, stress makes it worse, but......And my pulse is still higher than before the ablation. Used to be in 80s and 70s...Now it's in the 90s...Can lack of exercise create a higher pulse?

[Jalia]

This could be ectopics, not necessarily AF. Quite normal for heart rate to be higher for some time after ablation. Generally speaking, the fitter you are, the lower your heart rate

[BobD Volunteer]

Raised pulse as you describe is normal after an ablation as we explain in our fact sheet on recovery. It can take up to a year to reeturn to pre ablation levels.

[CDreamer]

Without a ECG you cannot say for certain that you are in AF, ectopics following ablation are very common - pesky things affected me more than the AF especially after exercise the point of which is to raise your HR but I found if my HR when exercising exceeded 120 then ectopics were sure to kick in. They gradually lessened around 9-10 months after ablation. Bending down also would trigger the ectopics.

My HR continues to be 5-10 beats more than it was pre-ablation but then I am 10 years older so I think age + other conditions is also a factor for me.

How are you feeling this morning? If after a good night’s sleep your HR is still raised I would have a quiet day, top up electrolytes with foods/drink and if things don’t calm down think about making an appointment with GP.

[Buzby62]

You can’t be sure it’s Afib by rate alone, only an ECG device can really tell you that unless you’re competent at checking your pulse for it. I’m 11 months post ablation and my rate is still higher than before in all circumstances and is still more susceptible to raising quickly in stressful situations than before. Ablation is not a cure but is a treatment to reduce Afib and its symptoms, some are lucky enough not to see any more Afib. As others have said, the fitter you are the lower your resting heart rate is likely to be. I keep an update on my bio of my afib journey.

Best wishes

[Cabinessence]

OK mine did the same and as it was 3 or 4 months after the procedure I was worried like you. You've no doubt heard of the blanking period of approx 3 months where scar tissue forms after the ablation, causing a block against the rogue signals being sent usually from the upper left atrium area. Well for some reason, although they warn you of the possible, but temporary reappearance of your AFiib during the blanking period, for some reason and counter intuitively, it's more likely to happen nearer the end of that period rather than the beginning. They don't know why. In fact it can occur up to 6 months according to my EP at Barts in London. So hopefully that's all you've got going on there. The scar tissue continues to form anything up to a year and more afterwards and some people experience an improvement in heart rhythm for some time after the official blanking period, so don't lose heart.

[peachtreepiggy in reply to Cabinessence]

Thank you so much for your answer.....I am a worrier by nature!