Upper chest pain 47 days post ablation

Hi everyone. I’m new to the forum.

I’m 47 days post ablation in Bordeaux. I’m 40 years old and have had paroxsysmal afib for 2 years.

This recovery period has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. I felt great for the first 7 days then at day 8 it was like hitting a wall.

My energy has steadily been coming back.

My issue starting today is that I’ve been having short “tinges” of chest pain below my collar bone on the left side. It will last for about a second and go away. I’ve had this feeling maybe 15 - 20 times today. It’s a quick dull ache

The only thing I’ve read about that sounds like what I could have is Pericarditis. Anyone have experience with this?

I felt something similar to this at about 2 weeks post ablation too. But, I only felt it when I inhaled all the way in. Had it for about a day or two. The feeling went away after a tylenol.

I’ll also note that I’ve been having ectopic beats since coming off of my Flecainide at day 30. I had one bout of afib that lasted about 2 hrs at day 41. I was trying to take baby steps to get back into the gym and did some very light machine chest presses (maybe only 20% of my normal exertion) and it pushed me into afib. Other than that incident and the ectopics, my heart has been in normal sinus rhythm.

I had a follow up with my local cardiolist a couple of weeks ago and everything was looking fine. I have my next in about 3 weeks.

Coming up on 50 days post op though…..it seems strange that I’d be having any pain and that the inflamation would be subsiding

What you describe doesn't fit anything clearly. I would call your cardiologist's office again and tell them you're experiencing chest pains. That should get you back in much sooner, hopefully the same day you call.

Thanks Carey. Today is Sunday so I will give them a call tomorrow if it doesn't go away.

Today I notice that the dull ache is there and I feel it depending on how my body is positioned (like if I roll over in bed and hold a certain position or am standing and roll my shoulders back, etc) Seems like more of the ache one would expect in the first few days post op.

I concur with Carey. Get in to see your cardio/EP ASAP.

I'm curious as to why you came off your flec so soon. The protocol for three of my ablations when I was on flecainide prior to ablation was 3 months min. My first ablation they kept me on it for 6 months.
Also the recommendation for abstaining from excersize was three months as well. I was always encouraged to walk but nothing more.

Three months Flec after ablation is the norm. Including at Bordeaux, and I speak from experience after having had an ablation the almost a year ago by Prof Jais. My recovery period was a walk in the park except for 20 hours of some horrible PACs and bigeminy (converted by itself) 3 weeks after ablation that I brought on really straining trying to undo/replace an old seized up tap in the back of an under sink cupboard. Still the odd few second run of PACs and occasionally days with a few hundred single PACs but other than that - touch wood - all good.

EDIT: thinking about it, I did have some mild discomfort along the lines you describe for a month or two after the ablation but only right at the top of a deep inhale. Better safe than sorry so get your own situation checked out ASAP wishing you good luck and please keep us informed.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/2019 01:18PM by mwcf.

Quote
mwcf
Three months Flec after ablation is the norm. Including at Bordeaux, and I speak from experience after having had an ablation the almost a year ago by Prof Jais. My recovery period was a walk in the park except for 20 hours of some horrible PACs and bigeminy (converted by itself) 3 weeks after ablation that I brought on really straining trying to undo/replace an old seized up tap in the back of an under sink cupboard. Still the odd few second run of PACs and occasionally days with a few hundred single PACs but other than that - touch wood - all good.

EDIT: thinking about it, I did have some mild discomfort along the lines you describe for a month or two after the ablation but only right at the top of a deep inhale. Better safe than sorry so get your own situation checked out ASAP wishing you good luck and please keep us informed.

Following my last ablation, last month, I was only sent home on elequis and metoprolol. I’m only to use the flecanide as PIP if needed. This was the first time for this. I suppose it’s due to the fact this was my protocol prior.

Thanks Rocketritch and MWCF.

I was told 30 days to come off of Flecainide by Dr. Jais and can come off of Eliquis in 60 days if I am doing well. I asked my local cardiologist about this and he confirmed as well. I'll ask him why not 3 months as you mentioned.

I'm going to lay off of any straining / muscle exertion for a while and stick to the walking and light stretching.

Well, the good news is that my chest pain subsided today.

What I didn't mention before is that I was experiencing some stomach issues as well (a cramping / bloated feeling an inch or two below my sternum). Perhaps the chest pain was connected? Like some trapped gas radiating pain in that area?

My digestion has been kind of wacky on and off during my recovery. Normally, I'm like a steel trap....can eat anything and digest it with no problem. I'm trying to adjust and eat smaller portions, eat slower, etc. I've read that people can have transient digestive issues for several months post ablation

I don't believe the ablations are responsible for digestive issues, despite I experience stomach issues myself (4 ablations).
The culprit is vagal tone, IMO. Digesting and resting involve vagal tone. Vagal afibbers, even after a successful ablation, still have a disturbed vagus nerve they have better trying not to irritate with heavy meals.

MWFC, did he prescribe Lanzoprazole for you? He prescribed to me for 60 days but I had to stop after 10 because I was having very bad bowel issues (20 times a day to the bathroom for 2 days)

The chest pain I mentioned a couple of days ago has not come back thank goodness.

Today is day 50 post op. The toughest thing for me has been trying to understand all the unusual things like this that have been going on with my body during recovery.

For a while I was extremely short of breath (whether taking a walk or even talking on the phone) That has subsided too.

Another issue I've been having over the last month or so (and having right now) is hoarseness in my voice. Never had this before.

This study: [www.ahajournals.org] says that:
"UGI functional abnormalities after AF ablation, as detected by functional studies, are common, occurring in 74% of the patients. These abnormalities are transient and resolved within 3 to 6 months."

I'm wondering.....can these issues like the hoarse voice be from GERD or other GI issue? I've never had these problems before. Hoping they will go away as I continue to heal

Quote
HBK

Another issue I've been having over the last month or so (and having right now) is hoarseness in my voice. Never had this before.

Just a thought, have they put a tube down your throat during the procedure? If so, did you have a sore throat afterwards?
Asking because when i had my hernia repaired they did it to me. I thing the anesthetist i had normally works for a vet

Hey Joe. They didn't do that during my ablation. But, I had a transesophageal echo about 10 days before. That's been about 61 days ago