Recovery time from cardiac ablation

[Sus56]

Hi. I had cardiac ablation a week ago. On my discharge I was unable to speak to the Dr. and the nurse just told me they did 1/2 the house and that the other 1/2 still needed building (on the discharge paper it read something like "she will need pulmonary vein isolation/ablation". I was discharged 1/2 hour after waking up from gen. an. .My heart was beating 120 pm but was given a tablet and then asked to go home. I was asked to rest for 5 days, including no driving. 9 days on I still don't feel good. I attempted 2 short walks but yesterday's one got me feeling tired and at night I started feeling pain in my chest, which I still have now, similar to that I had during ablation. It would have been useful is someone could have advised me on what to expect and how long will it take before I can go back to work. Initially I was told I only needed 2 days off! My admission was for electrophysiology study and radio frequency ablation, but no one has told me what they actually did. In clinical details it also mentions: Atrial turly + AF. Investigations: provoked. Could someone please assist? I've contacted the hospital but still wait for feedback.

[ireneo]

So they gave you general anesthesia? That's unusual. I've had 3 ablations and only had conscious sedation (didn't feel conscious, just drifted in and out) and pain medication to control any discomfort I might have felt during the procedure.

I'm not familiar with "atrial turly." I know about AF. Ablation for a-fib can be more complicated than for general atrial tachy. Any idea how long you were in there? The longer you're in there and the more zaps they do, it takes longer to recover. My second ablation took about 7 hours lab time. Then there was the recovery time. I did have fatigue and chest aches for awhile but was still able to do general everyday things.

You do need to sit down and have a talk with your cardio EP. They need to explain it all more clearly (yes, they can tone it down so you'll understand what's happening) and tell you the options ahead  of you.

[twinbee]

General anesthesia is becoming more and more common with ablations. I just really  am surprised that they let you go home so soon due to the fact the you were totally put out. Usually they like to monitor you for alittle while to make sure you have no reaction to the anesthesia.

My ablation for a-fib and flutter took almost 8 hours. I did have some chest discomfort after. My chest pain went away in a couple of days, but everybody is different. I was told I could return to work in a week (desk job), and return to normal exercise in a month.

Is your heart rate still at 120? Can you call the doctor who did the procedure instead of waiting for the hospital to get back to you? Your whole situation is really strange to me.

Good Luck with finding answers and your recovery. I wish you well and I wish you enough...

[Sus56]

The procedure took about 1 hour. General anesthetic was given to me following provoked tachycardia using drugs as they needed to bring my heart back to normal beat. I wasn't sedated during the procedure. Heart rate between 74 and 90 at the moment but I've only rested so far. Took 2 weeks off work as I teach in FE and it takes all my energy when I am in class, so I felt uncomfortable challenging my body this far. I just wished someone told me what they did and what to expect etc. I can only contact the doctor via his secretary.

I might contact the forum again when they call me in for pulmonary vein isolation as I don't wish to go through the same experience again and really want to know all the pro and cons. So far, I got inform. mostly from the web.
Thanks for your feedback. Much appreciated.

[mariop]

There's something strange about the doctor not giving you better information.  You should get a copy of the written record.  When an ablation is performed the doctor writes down in the report pretty much exactly what he did.

pulmonary vein isolation is another ablation.  This means that the firing spots that trigger the arrhythmia are located in that area of the pulmonary vein.  It is not unusual for people to have more than one ablation.  For different reasons than yours, I have had 4 ablations.

[tia77]

My ablation was pretty uncomfortable and failed due to the bad signal being to close to the main artiery of the heart.  They feel since I have a "lazy" lead that there is a slim chance that it will go into tac.  I did not have a very pleasant procedure and did have very bad chest pain and pvc's and pac's the day after and still have a year later.  I was admitted 4 days after the procedure for chest pain and recieved intervience "motrin" forget what it's called that really helped and i continued to take motrin at home for a week.  I had a longer recovery than what they told me.  Just run down and I think pretty upset about the whole thing.  I think in shock.  I got diagnosed on a tuesday and was in the lab on Friday for the procedure.  Keep being insistant on what went on and move on to a diffrent doctor.  I wasn't satisified and wound up at University of Pennsylvania and what a diffrence in just the way the doctor talks to you and any questions you call and the nurse or assistant calles right back to find out whats going on.  Move on and get your records sent to the new doctor and you will get you answers you are needing.  

[Sus56]

Thanks again. I am in the UK and it seems obvious that it depends whose care you are under. I have now received an appointment to have another ECG 24 hours in 3 weeks' time and then to see the cardiologist at the end of June. Also today heart played up again, so I don't know if this is normal or how long it takes before one can say if ablation is working or not.
Thank you all again.

[ptadvoc8]

Sorry to hear you are still uncomfortable. I absolutely second those who suggested you insist on speaking to your physician -- and if he is not responsive, then insist on speaking to one who is.

From what I have seen and read, it is not uncommon to have some chest pain, tiredness, elevated heart rate and some PACs/PVCs, or even short runs of arrhythmia, after an ablation -- especially when ablated for AFib. Studies suggest it can take as long as 3 months for the heart tissue to heal from the lesions they make inside your heart wall and patients do commonly report needing from as little as 2 days to as long as a month or more to start to feel better afterward. I'm really sorry they didn't provide you with more accurate and usable information before hand since I think that would have helped you in your recovery. Because EP specialists do this type of procedure so frequently it has been my experience that they may sometimes be a bit blase about the whole thing and forget that while it may seem minor to them, it IS a major deal for the patient!

However, that being said, if YOU feel uncomfortable, anxious or just plain lousy, then you (or your family/friends who may be able to help advocate for you) need to insist on being seen and heard by someone who is familiar with your case in particular and/or ablation procedures in general.

I am really surprised at how little information and support you report being given after discharge. In the US we do have "same day" ablation procedures, but it is equally common to hold ablation patients at least overnight for telemetry monitoring. While it is unlikely that anything is wrong, you have the right to be provided with support and more information about your condition and recovery, no matter what country you live in. It may help to call your usual physician and explain your concerns since they may be able to reassure you or get you in to see a cardiologist sooner. It might also help to have your family and/or friends advocate for you and make the calls since often medical staff will listen to them even when they don't listen to the patient and an advocate can fight for you when you are feeling badly or when you are concerned about "upsetting" the medical staff.

I believe with AFib ablations it can take as long as 6 months to say with some certainty that the procedure was "successful". Some studies speculate that the continued episodes are caused by the heart recovering from the lesions and from the heart trying to "re-map" itself as it finds the electrical impulses may not go down the paths they used to after the ablation. If you need more information, there are some excellent sites about this on the internet - here is a link to start with http://www.a-fib.com/Overview.htm Some studies report that patients who are not "successfully" ablated do actually find a lessening of their symptoms and it is not uncommon to require a second ablation, especially with AFib. But, you need to get this sort of info from YOUR Cardiologist so do consider doing a follow-up sooner than your currently scheduled ECG and June appointment if YOU feel you need to.

Best wishes and I hope you are feeling better soon!

[Sus56]

Thank you so much for the information. I am definitely going to ask lot of questions but also make sure they don't rush me into things again. I normally tend to ask in any case. It is just the way things have unfolded so rapidly during admission to hospital and then discharge. Without being pessimistic, I don't really wish to be just a case study for them. I also read that if you undergo too much ablation you may need to have a pacemaker inserted as the heart's tissue becomes too scarred and therefore less functional. This is something I don't wish to have to do, really. I will also ask if it isn't too soon to do an ECG to establish the outcome of the ablation. The problem, at least here, is that when you start asking too many questions (and I do try my best to be diplomatic) many doctors take this as a challenge and then feed you with either jargon or adapt an attitude. I am not saying that it is the case with my cardiologist as I haven't had the chance to actually speak to him yet, but I have experienced this with other doctors.
I will post updates in due course, in case my experience can also be informative to other patients. Heart still playing up yesterday and also so far today. It more or less feels again as it was prior to ablation, but let's wait and see.

Best wishes and thanks!

[misha_AL]

It is extremely frustrating to have a doctor that is not available for discussion.  Especially when they don't allow the nurses to give you any information.
I had a non-communicative doctor and started googling tachycardia, post-ablation side effects, VT, SVT, etc... to find out anything I could on after affects.  This website has been the most informative.  I actually found a website this morning but now cannot find the link that actually gave the most complete explanation of the procedure, before/after instructions and possible issues and any warning signs.

Your BPM is a bit high.  My cardiologist thought it best to put me on certain medications that could lower blood pressure AND regulate the heartrate.  It took two different medication attempts before one worked.  However... the side effects were pretty bad for me.  Some people have no problems but the worst might be fatigue and brain fog (cannot think).

For me, it wasn't that the heartrate was about 110 it was the heavy beat of the 110 that drove me insane.  It felt like that Edgar Allen Poe short story Beating Heart... ehhh.

[Sus56]

I spoke to on of the cardiologist nurses yesterday and she told me that it will take up to 3 months before the heart heals from ablation, also because I had problems for a long time (but then on above cited websites it can also take as long as 6 months...!). BPM now between 64 and 85 but it has now started missing  beats and sometimes I still feel it pounding in my chest. Since about 10 days now, when missing beats it also hurts and it hurts for no reason time to time. The nurse said it is normal because of the burns and that it will take a bit of time but to go to A&E if it gets worse. I went to A&E wednesday night and they did ECG, blood tests and also chest X rays but told me that all came out ok. I am waiting to see the outcome of 24 hours ECG on 15th. In any case I don't think they will do pulmonary vein isolation before 3 months if it take this long to heal.
Thanks all for your support again

[stutterheart1]

That sounds like a rediculous discharge! Where'd you have this done? You need to talk to your EP as soon as possible. I doubt they would discharge you if there was any danger but the fact that they didn't thoroughly inform you after is alarming but not unusual.
I was up and about right after my ablation but everyone is different.

[Sus56]

I had it done in Eastbourne (uk). Third day back at work today and, whilst teaching, the pain increased when missing a beat and I felt like fainting. Have agreed with college to teach less hours. Went to see my GP and he also said to take it easy and only do what I feel I can. The way the whole thing is being managed still seems odd to me. I sometimes feel I'm making a fuss, but trust me, I really felt bad today and still do  bit.

[misha_AL]

Just an update, my ablation finally after about 7 months felt normal.  However, now in my 10 month I am starting to feel the heavy beating again but I think I may just be sensitive to low potassium and dehydration.  I still freak out when it relates to my heart.  I am refusing at the moment to go back to doctor as I got SOOO angry at him for his lack of compassion and bedside manner (lack there of).

I had such problems with the meds that I finally (against my advice to anyone) "fired" my doctor and really researched several supplements.  I was taking CoQ10 (gel form only) anywhere from 400-600 mg daily broken down into 200 mg twice or thrice daily along with multivitamin and ATP.  It helped immediately but after several months of the CoQ10 it REALLY helped.  With weight loss, blood pressure, heart rate lowered, sugar more normal (I am diabetic type II).  My regular doctor is amazed at my success and annoyed because I refused to go back to cardiologist.  In my town there is basically only a small handful of cardiologists and they won't usually take another cardiologist's patient.