Relationship of A-Fib ablation with bigeminy § V-Tach

[Ramman]

3 months ago I underwent an ablation procedure for A-Fib. Since then I've had only one 5min episode of A-Fib and two 5min episodes of what I think was SVT (fast & regular). I recently felt something unusual and went to the emergency room. They detected some Bigeminy and suspect I may have had some non-sustained V-Tach based on what I told them it felt like in my pulse but they could not catch it on the EKG. I had never had problems with bigeminy or V-Tach before. I was told that arrythmias could accur for up to 6mos after the ablation. Could these be related to the ablation and a result of the healing process and eventually go away? Can bigeminy be atrial or is it always ventricular? My understanding is that bigeminy is not dangerous but the potential V-Tach concerns me. How dangerous is this? They have me scheduled for a 24Hr halter but is there a way to tell from my pulse whether I'm likely having V-Tach? Thank you.

[CCF-M.D.-RCJ]

Ramman,

Thanks for the post.

Q:"Could these be related to the ablation and a result of the healing process and eventually go away?"

It's hard to conceive of a mechanism whereby an afib ablation procedure would lead to NSVT, but the procedure is very new.  Be sure to let your doctors know -- they are probably smarter then me, and might be able to come up with some mechanism.

Q:"Can bigeminy be atrial or is it always ventricular?"

Bigeminay can be either atrial or ventricular (or junctional, for that matter).

Q:" ... but the potential V-Tach concerns me. How dangerous is this? "

VT in persons with a normal heart is almost always well tolerated.  But like my grandfather use to tell me, "don't put the cart before the horse".  Have the holter monitor before making yourself too upset.

Q:"...but is there a way to tell from my pulse whether I'm likely having V-Tach?"

No.  There are some physical diagnosis maneuvers that are sometimes helpful, but these require some experience and skill to master.

Best of luck.