Palpitations and Tachycardia

[Hugh-Childres]

  I had an ablation performed 2 years ago.  The procedure was successful in preventing those wonderful trips to E.R. to stop my 280 - 300 beats per minute rate.  After the procedure though, I had constant Sinus Tachycardia. (rate 120) My doctor advised me to stay on the Lopressor I had been taking. This works very well at keeping my resting rate around 75-80.
  I have always had infrequent palpitations even before the ablation. Recently though, I have had some heavy bouts with palpitations that occur sometimes every 2 - 3 minutes for hours on end. I even awake in the morning with them during these periods. Most of the time these last for a week or less then subside. I also notice sometimes a slight twinge of pain with these.  Should this be something I need to address with my doctor, and are there long term effects ?
    

[CCF CARDIO MD DLB]

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Dear Hugh
Yes, you should address this with your doctor. No, there are no long-term side effects from an ablation. There are bad effects on the heart from having a heart rate that is always too fast - it can lead to the development of heart failure. Benign PACs and PVCs cannot harm the heart.
I hope this has been useful. I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to write back.
Information provided here is for general purposes only. Specific questions should be addressed to your own doctor. If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.