Heartburn following ablation?

Hi,

I had my ablation 2 weeks ago...in order to reach the area they needed to ablate they had to go in through my chest with a catheter (epicardial approach)...one thing I have noticed since my procedure is that i have the worst heartburn. I think I could own stock in rolaids and tums :)... I have NEVER had heartburn before this.  I am taking 325mg of aspirin per day for the next 6 weeks.  I suspect that the aspirin may be the cause of the heartburn but I thought I would just put the question out there to see if any one else has experienced heartburn after their ablation...other than some swelling at one of my cath sites, I would say this would be the worst side effect I have had from the procedure.  Considering...i'm not really complaining, just more trying to figure out the cause...

Thanks for any help!!

:)

[Brooke_38]

Hello...

Having been through 5 catheter ablations myself, I do not remember experiencing heartburn post operatively. It could very well be related to taking aspirin. Are you taking coated aspirin? If not try switching to a coated form to see if your heartburn symptoms subside.

It is only 2 weeks since your procedure so hopefully in the upcoming weeks this will improve. :)

[Jerry_NJ]

Aspirin could be a contribution cause to heart burn.. are you taking the aspirin with food?  That should help so long as the food is bland.  I can get by taking aspirin with just water, but try to take it at breakfast, with a bland high-fiber breakfast being the "rule".

[mylilcalla]

I had my first Ablation in November. That very night I had the worst heart burn imaginable and it continued for the next few weeks.  I told my doctor about this and he said that this wasn't new to him. He said that the nerves for your stomach are close to the ones that they work on and in some people it causes heartburn. He gave me something for it and it has helped. The heartburn was gone after about a month.  I don't take aspirin by the way.

Tomorrow I get the pleasure of having my second Ablation because the first one didn't do the trick.  Yipeeeeeeee!

[ffmedic11]

Thanks for the info...

Good Luck tomorrow...hopefully this one will do the trick :)

[sissillian]

I had an ablation on the 21st.  I have had pretty intense heartburn since then, but it didn't start until about 5 days afterwards.  My guess is that the TEE they had to do beforehand irritated my esophagus and in anticipation of that, they had me take 20 mg. of Prilosec for a few days before and then told me to continue for 30 days after.  
I'm hearing this is a pretty common after-effect.  Last week, it was so bad they thought I might be having an actual heart attack; got out the nitro and oxygen for me.  I had just gulped down 2 raw hot dogs and then lay down for an ECG and BINGO!  Heartburn from Hell!  
So now I just avoid anything spicy, processed, caffeinated, and definitely do NOT lie down too soon after eating.  I'm also using Maalox and baking soda in warm water to combat episodes.  They tell me it will pass.