skipped beats and tachycardia after ablation

[annie2417]

I had a catheter ablation for avnrt 5 weeks ago.  I am still experiencing occasional skipped beats and also some rapid beats (2-8 in a row) that feel like the old svt. These rapid beats occur about every other day.  Today I also felt several irregular beats before starting into several seconds of what felt like svt. Is this normal?    Could the irregular beats have been several skipped beats in a row?   They only lasted a few seconds, but I had an episode of a-fib a few weeks before the ablation, which the ep felt was probably caused by the svt, so I am worried that the short irregular beats could have been a-fib again. I know that skipped beats and rapid heart beats can occur for a few weeks after the ablation, but I'm getting concerned that this is going on too long.

[JoKelly]

The anxiety following an ablation is very real and probably not good for the heart but is almost impossible to prevent.  Every little bump or flutter has you thinking the whole thing has failed.  You find yourself constantly checking your pulse and thinking - oh no!  My first ablation did fail almost immediately but this second one, two weeks ago, has been steady sinus since it was done, but it doesn't stop me checking and worrying.  How long before you can say it is successful?

[ajc57]

Hi,

So happy there are others our there that have these issues.  I have had 2 ablations in the last 4 years (one for SVT s) and the last one for ectopics.  No more SVT episodes but the ectopics are daily and nightly!  Make me crazy and very hard to get to sleep. You are not alone.  Go to my EP in a couple of days.  Let's support each other .Thanks!

[MichelleP_3811]

I understand the incidence of afib coming back is a bit higher than other svts but the worse thing you can do is stress out.  The stress itself may be causing the tachycardia.  I would say try to avoid the main triggers like caffeine or sugary foods as well if you have any stomach issues like acid reflux address those and do whatever you need to do to address stress in your life because it very well is contributing to your symptoms.  Finally do your best to keep your heart healthy with diet and exercise and you in the minimum strengthen your ability to tolerate what is going on.  I wish you the best moving forward.  Try to stay positive and focused on your heart remaining afib free.  You might also want to post your questions to a new thread because sometimes these older threads do not get answered as people have moved on.  Take care.

[MarioN25]

I am 25 and i had ablation 3 years ago for af.I had 2 times 24h holter and it was ok with no af but 1-2 svt (117 beats max and 67 beats min).I worry if my af will come back because yesterday i felt my heart racing while sitting.i check my heart rate with blood pressure monitor and it didnt detect af only 115 beats.Its awful because each time i feel my heart rate increase i panic and the things may get worst because i am full of stress.
Any advice is welcome.

[tom_h]

Hang in there.  I had shorts runs of SVT along with skips for almost a year and a half.  I still get an occasional brief run of SVT; perhaps 6-12 beats.  Remember, the path is still there and that it has only had a barrier placed across it.  If the path isn't totally severed or if conductive muscle forms over the barrier, you can get it again.  But for now, you need to give it lots more time.

[Shasara]

I just had an ablation for AVNRT this June of 2013.  I have been going through almost the exact same thing as you described.  Almost every day I have a few short runs of SVT.  Some are even a couple of minutes.  It's not as fast as it was before the ablation, but it is just as uncomfortable.  At the ER they said it looked like sinus tach.  The EP says it is hard to tell at this point and we are waiting to see if it subsides.  It's 6 weeks since I had it and so far it's not getting better.  I almost regret having it done.  So I'm wondering if you have seen any improvement since you posted a year ago.  I would love some encouragement.