post ablation murmur??

[nicolette1972]

i have a few issues going on at the moment so i have been back and forwards to doctors,i had a catheter ablation done almost a year ago for svt,a few weeks ago when i was being seen at hospital for a gynea problem the doc mentioned a heart murmur when listening in,could this have resulted from the ablation??i never had a murmur before this.........and what symptoms can a murmur cause as i have been very breathless at times and my voice has been hoarse for weeks.....i just have so many problems at the moment its hard to tell what is caused by what!!

[MariannaBP]

I had my ablation done twice for PSVT. They did go through my upper right chamber to my upper left chamber. They worked on my upper left chamber. I just got out of seeing a new cardiologist. He heard a heart murmur and told me he thought it was from the 2 ablations I had done (2 because they didn't catch all the extra pace makers I had in the first ablation). So now I'm getting a Echocardiogram to see how my heart is doing. I also got a stress test done, and a sleep apnea done. I'm also experiencing a skipped heart beat (irregular heart beat). Good luck to you. I know it can me a bit scarry, but hang in there. I will post what they found and said, once it has been done.

[nicolette1972]

thanks for your responses,yes the ablation was done on the left side for 2 pathways,took over 3 hours as they were previously unaware of the second one,it was well hidden and definetely on the left too,im sure the murmur is harmless,just a bit unsettling knowing that previously i never had one.X

[twinbee]

I have been asking this same question. In January 08 I had an ablation done for both a-fib and flutter. This past April I was at the doctors office and the PA was listening to my heart. All of a sudden she stated that I had a heart murmur. This took me for a suprise. I have never been told this before. For the past 5 years I have had echo's every 6 months, stress test yearly, and checkups with my EP every 6 months. Never before was I told I had a murmur. I asked my EP if my murmu was caused by the a-fib. She told me no. I also posted this question on the Doctor forum and Cleveland Clinic also said no, that a-fib does not cause a murmur. However, I posted the same question on the website jafib.com. in the ask the expert forum run by Dr Natale and I was told that there is a slight chance that my murmur could have been caused by the a-fib  and an even smaller chance that it could have been caused by the ablation itself. So different doctors seem to have different opinions. According to my EP my murmur is nothing to worry about. She will keep an eye on it during my visits, but she doesn't expect any major problems developing  because of it.

[ireneo]

I have heard of some ablations being done to the left side of the heart as well. They're more complicated and risky. But the catheter used is pretty small so I don't think the hole would result in a back flow situation. And after a year, it would be closed up.

Murmurs can be caused by many things: congenital, viruses, heart attacks to name a few. Most are completely harmless. I've had one all my life; it still goes whoosh but causes no harm. My kids had them while they were young.

If you can find out what's causing the breathlessness and hoarse voice, that may answer the heart murmur question too.

[nicolette1972]

thanks hun,i dont have a scheduled appointment until november with cardiologist so might phone up to see if i can be seen any sooner.........X

[Jerry_NJ]

I believe ablation for svt is in the right side of the heart, right?  That said, there was no need to "break through" to the left side, which I only guess could cause a murmur if it didn't heal properly.  Other than that, I can't think of any reason to believe there is any relationship between the murmur and the ablation.  I also think it a good idea to have a cardiologist to say yes, or no, on the murmur before I'd believe you have one.

Murmurs can also be caused by heart valves, where should not have been touched by the ablation, I believe.  Most of the time, to my knowledge, there are no symptoms with a murmur other than sound heard in a stethoscope.

Bottom line, talk with your cardiologist before you assume too much about the murmur statement.