Afib ablation 3 months on.

Hey,

So 3 months since I had my pvi ablation for afib. It's been a bumpy road and one I hadn't expected.

Basically I spent 2.5 months going out of my mind with worry, exhausted and out of breath with a far worse case of afib than i went in with. 🙈

I really felt like my ability to exercise was gone forever and that i'd made a massive mistake! I couldn't get up a flight of stairs without getting so out of breath I had to take a break while gasping for air and I'd feel a flush of blood run through my arms and legs. Was really worried about the possibility of heart failure.

The last 2 weeks however have been a milestone 🙌🏻🙏

The fatigue and shortness of breath has vastly improved to the point I can get out running, cycling and swimming again. The difference has been pretty drastic and to say I'm over the moon at the prospect of regaining my health and fitness is an understatement.

My afib is still present and no better than pre OP but the way I have felt over the last few months I am more than happy to be getting back to where I was before the OP ,as things took a nosedive for me post OP.

In my ignorance I believed being young (35) I would recover quickly and I hope I dont cause offence when I say this, I mean no disrespect, but I felt that my experience would be smoother and my recovery quicker than the older patients this condition usually affects! Boy was I wrong 😂😂

I'm nowhere near 100 percent but definitely moving in the right direction at last. 👍

Anyway just thought I'd balance the scales and share a bit of positive news as the last time I wrote here it was pretty negative.

Take care ✌❤

[Bennera513]

That's great news. Hopefully to continue towards that 100% mark. I've noticed the same thing. I really thought I'd be an outlier and be right back to training and such. It didn't work out that way. Even though I'm in NSR, I was floored by the ablation for the first 4 weeks. I got out and walked, but anything past 2 miles on the flat absolutely took the wind out of my sails. A huge turn around week 6 that continues to pay dividends to week 8, currently. Sorry you are still battling afib though. Any talk with EP now that you are at the official end of blanking (Some say 6 months to a year, but my EP office targets 3 months), about a second attempt?

[Hidden in reply to Bennera513]

Hey Bennera, glad to hear things going well for you now. 💪My consultant was happy to go for a second ablation but with the recent improvement in my symptoms I've decided to wait it out for a little bit before going ahead with a repeat even though im still having afib. It comes and goes itself so i can manage that but the effect the OP had on me has made me a little less eager to rush things. Ill give it until February before making my decision. And itll hopefully give the body some extra time to adjust and recalibrate.

Take care I'll be interested to follow your progress

[Cutts]

It took six months for my heart to restore proper sinus rhythm following cardiac ablation. Overnight it went from irregular to sinus and has not missed a beat since. That was five years ago. Don't be too hasty to have a second op. Give it a chance. Some scarring takes longer to heal in different people I guess.