Catheter ablation recovery time?

[Panchinho]

I am an 18 year old male and recently got a SECOND catheter a couple days ago on 12/5/08, since my first ablation was unsucessful. Ever since I have been feeling PVCS but they not as agressively as before I had the second ablation done. I have not tried excercising yet since I was told to take it easy for about 2 weeks. Therefore I don't know yet if my heart will palpitate again due to my SVT issue. I wanted some opinions from people on how long recovery time takes or how long it took you after you had an ablation done.

[kcolly32]

I had an ablation back in October and for the first two weeks I took it easy, mainly because of the groin pain. After my follow up a month later and given the ok to start working out again I've been going to the gym 3x/week which is great since mine was exercise induced. I was tachy for a couple weeks but didn't really have any ectopic beats. Ive been exercising for the past 3 weeks and I'm just now feeling like I'm back into shape. Everyone varies though, and if you do too much your body will let you know!

[tom_h]

What was this for?  In my experience here, 115 burns is an astronomical amount...

[Nancytague1]

Just had ablation on 12/09/14, I had a 115 burns seems like a lot to me.  I am feeling a little better as far as discomfort in chest, had to sleep sitting up.  I have no energy. I know everyone is different in healing and it's only been 3 days..... Keeping positive!  Nancy fr nj

[MichelleP_3811]

What did your sister have ablated?  That can have an effect on recovery and cure rates.  I had avnrt which is extra muscle fiber which creates an extra pathway into the avnode that allows the signal to get caught in a loop.  After my ablation I had an elevated heart rate for 3 months and pretty heavy ectopic activity for at least a year and it took a second year for it to really calm down to having very few ectopics.  This said, I also had a pretty irritated heart by the time I went in for my ablation.  I was having daily symptoms so my recovery may have taken longer than others but the success of the ablation keeping me out of svt was immediate and so far permanent.   It was 3 years today that I had it done and have not had any svt episodes but I would not expect a perfect heart.  I think those of us with heart rhythm issues can expect to have some sort of oddness likely all our lives.  Luckily most of it is pretty benign so good for your sister not letting it hold her back.    

[rdsago]

My sister, who had an Open Heart Ablation done in 1987, underwent a 6.5 hour ablation in early July.   She's still struggling with the post effects, but in truth shes a go getter, and shes pushed the envelope a little bit much.
I was hoping to find someone out there that had similar issues where it took a little longer to recover, but did so eventually.  If you have any feedback,  can you post.

[tom_h]

You're welcome.  Yes, my EP described my procedure as "connect the dots".  He had to burn a series of dots next to one another to form a line across a wide area of conductive muscle.  I wanted to also say that I felt "breathless" with exertion for about a week or so.  I returned to work in four days, and after 9 days actually put my skates on and did some light laps with my son pacing me.  I see that you and I are of the same age, although we had different things wrong with our hearts.  I hope you recovery goes well!

[TLC1016t]

Thank you.  Your comment was reassuring as I thought I was the only earth to ever have that many burns and I really didn't know if this debilitating pain was there to stay for the rest of my life. Now your comments have given me hope.

[tom_h]

I had 17 burns for AVRT.  I can sympathize with you as I too had that dull "heartache" following mine.  I'd say that it took perhaps 2 weeks for it to go away.  My wife would see me leaning over rubbing my chest (like that would help), and nervously ask "What's the matter?". Heartache, I'd say and just stay that way for a minute until it subsided.  Advil worked to relive the pain quite a bit.  It's going to take a little while.  You heart's been through a lot and if you had left side work done, was punctured internally to get there.  Rest up!

[TLC1016t]

2 days ago i had my first ablation for atrial flutter with a sustained heart rate of 150 bpm for 3 weeks.  My electrocardiologist had to burn 22 pathways to eliminate the flutter.  Now my heart is awful sore and i am fatigued to the point of standing exhausts me.  When i called the dr last night he said it was not surprising because of the number of burns he had to make, he said that the pain and exhaustion would go away in 4 days to a week.  i can't see how this pain could go away that fast.  Has anyone any experience with recovering from heart dull ache after ablation? thanks, TLC

[banglamom]

The second ablation took longer to heal from than the first.  I was sore after 8 hours of the procedure and they did so many burns that I actually felt like I had been through a cheese grater.  Be sure you clarify what meds you are supposed to be on if any for controlling the rhythms that are your heart s response to the trauma it endured.  It will be a full 3 months before they can say for sure the net effect of the procedure.  Take it easy for now.  Don't panic too much if things aren't yet what you hoped for.

[klacaze]

I  recently posted this same question and got great feedback.
I had my second ablation on 12/9 and had lots of PAC's just hours after the procedure. Scared me to death!!

Since I have been home I have talked to my doctor and he has assured me that it is normal. Take it easy and let my body tell me when I am ready for things. If it doesn't feel good..DON'T DO IT! and I have been taking a half of my toprol xl every day just until my heart heals, to help control any issues.

Before taking any meds make sure it is ok with your doctor first...

The average healing time is 8 to 12 weeks.Don't get discouraged, from what I can tell a second ablation has a 95-98 percent chance of fixing the problem.

Good Luck. Hope you feel better soon

[Brooke_38]

Hello...

Recovery time can vary from person to person. As far as what you can expect...it is quite normal for you to feel skips and flips for awhile. It takes a good 3 months for your heart to recover from the procedure. Of course, over the next few weeks it isn't out of the norm for you to feel like your heart will flip into SVT.

I have been through this 5 times since Oct 06'. I personally found that after each procedure, it took a little longer for me to regain my energy. You are still early in the game and have your youth on your side:)

I'm sure that there will be many others who will post their recovery stories.

Best of luck to you:)