Does A-Flutter Heart Rate vary with exertion?

Does A-Flutter HR vary with exertion?

Is there a way to determine if I am in A-Flutter based on my heart rate’s response to exertion?

That is: We all know that when in NSR the HR goes up with exertion in a dose-response manner. Does A-Flutter do that too? Or is the HR of A-Flutter “locked into” certain discrete rate “packets” like 75, then 150, then 300?

The reason I ask:

I had my index ablation 2 weeks ago. My resting heart rate is now 82 and regular. (It was 72 before the ablation.)

So I figure that my current 82 HR is either: NSR (with a temporary increase in resting heart rate due to the ablation’s stunning of the vagus nerve), or, perhaps my current regular 82 HR is A-Flutter. As you know, my Kardia can’t tell me which.

When I exert myself (pick up a heavy backpack and walk briskly through an airport) my HR goes up to 110 to 115. Does A-Flutter do that? Or is A-Flutter locked into certain ranges only (82 jumps to 164 jumps to 328)?

In other words: If someone was resting in A-Flutter at 82 and exerted themselves would the HR stay at 82?

I think it's pretty much locked in. I suppose if you have flutter with a normal rate (<100 bpm), it's possible that exertion could increase it, but it never worked that way for me. I experienced flutter at several rates over the years, one of them being 120, and I actually tried to get my HR over that with exercise because I'd found that exertion could sometimes terminate my faster flutter rate. Despite doing things I knew with certainty would get my HR over 120 in NSR, it never budged.

Keep in mind that a slow HR in flutter is usually due to heart disease -- a diseased AV node in particular -- because the only reason flutter would be slow is because the AV node can't respond fast enough to transmit every atrial beat. So unless you've been diagnosed with things a lot more serious than AF, I think you're worrying about nothing. It's just the usual increased HR following ablation. If you want proof, you'll need a 12-lead ECG and a cardiologist.

Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

I will assume all is well unless I get sudden onset of a very regular heart rate around 150 (that would be A-flutter, or at least one presentation of it).

I am in the process of changing jobs and moving (thanks Covid-19) so that is why I haven’t yet established a relationship with a new cardiologist to manage my after-ablation care. Hence all my current second-guessing self diagnosis.

Working on it. At least I was able to drive from Pennsylvania to Austin to consult the oracle. That is the one of the few positive things that has happened in this crazy year of 2020.

I am so thankful to this forum from which I learned about Dr. Natale and his world-class ablation skills and state-of-the-art EP lab center. Great experience. No regrets.