Skipped Beats w/ Light-Headedness After WPW Ablation

[Jon79]

I am 27 years old and had an ablation done because I was diagnosed w/ WPW this past summer.  I had a form of tachycardia where I'd get runs of fast beats every so often, but it wasn't that frequent (nevertheless scary).  I had the procedure done in Jun-06 b/c I was told there was a small chance that people w/ WPW could die suddenly.  I didn't know that after the ablation I'd end up with a different, more unnerving problem.

I now have what I believe are "skipped beats", where I can feel my heart flutter in my chest, sometimes followed by a feeling of light-headedness (not sure why?).  This has been a problem since the ablation, and now, 10 mos. later, I'm having the skipped beats even more often.  At first I noticed it mostly during the cool-down period post exercise, but it also happened while inactive.  The post-exercise skipped beats remain today, but occurrences while inactive increased dramatically in the last few days from 3-5 a week to about 1x every couple mins.

I had an event monitor for a mo. previously & did a stress test (of course the skipped beats didn't happen during/after the test at all), and my EP says everything is "normal" and the skipped beats were "normal".  They weren't "normal" for me...I never had them before!

I've since worn a halter monitor for 24 hr. constant monitoring, & later another event monitor for a mo., with results yet to be heard.  Other than a few episodes, I don't predict them seeing anything other than what they consider "normal".  I was hoping they would subside w/ time, but I'm now getting more skipped beats than ever, immediately after I returned the monitor!  I'm not an emotional person, but any time you feel your heart beat irregularly it's not something you can just ignore like they tell you to, so it is an emotional challenge.

What options are there (if any) to decrease/eliminate the skipped beats I'm having post-ablation?  Also, why do I sometimes feel light-headed when they occur?  Is my BP dropping?

[ireneo]

Your doctor is aware of your "skipped beats" but did s/he tell you what they are? It sounds like they're PVC's. If you scan over many of the msgs on this board you'll see there are plenty of people out there with PVC's. When the electrical signal comes a little early often there's a longer pause between beats. As that happens the heart will fill with a bit more blood than normal. When it beats again, wham! you feel a real thump and what I call a head rush. This sudden surge to my throat and head that makes me feel a bit off. I've never passed out from one but it's pretty odd feeling. Not all PVC's hit with that much force but some do. I'm glad your ablation worked. Now you're left with some heart hiccups but it's still an improvement from your WPW. Scan some of the other msgs here to see what works for others to reduce the PVC's. Good luck.