high pulse still after ablation & ? re touchup

Hi,

It has been 14 months since my index ablation with Dr. Natale. Lots of times I feel racy & a little short of breath. My pulse runs high pretty often, like in the 80s. I've been sitting at the computer for maybe an hour (no activity) & I feel kind of a burning in my chest & took my BP 111/71 & pulse 82. I do not know what my pulse ran before the ablation; I did not pay attention.

Also, I am wondering - since I have had flutter a few times, last being 8 months after the ablation, I am told I will need another "touchup" ablation eventually. How long is it we have to be on a blood thinner before this & after this? Also, if blood thinner recommended forever (?), would a Watchman be indicated & paid for by insurance?

Thanks.

I don't have your symptoms, but my pulse rate was higher after my ablation. My ablation NP was unconcerned but recommneded cardio exercise. I procrastinated more than a year before starting cardio, but now that I'm doing it, my pulse rate is often about 10 bpm lower than before I started cardio.

Well my pulse at rest (Or resting heart rate) was increased from 60-70 before my first ablation to 80 - 95 after for at least 1.5 - 2 years. Than it gradually decreased. So you are probably fine.

My hr is way lower since ablation in September. It’s in the low 60s at rest. However any lifting (even a gallon of water) or dragging a hose to water will jump it up to the one teens. Once I sit back down and rest it drops down.

That is perfectly normal too Susan for an initially elevated heart rate post ablation to gradually reduce toward a more normal pre-ablation resting HR level fairly soon, but for their still to be a prolonged period in which your HR can jump up quickly when you go from a resting space to suddenly jumping up and/or increasing exercise .. etc. It is all just part of that gradual resetting of the Heart rate (HR) autonomic tone post-ablation.

Such longer term manifestations, such as the quick elevations in HR after jumping up into activity from a previously steady resting state, can take a good deal longer to self-correct. However, usually all such manifestation of this overall HR autonomic tone fully resetting itself can take from as little as 4 to 6 months up to a rough maximum of 2 to 2.5 years for the more subtle signs of this resetting process to still be vaguely noticeable at all.

However, for the vast majority of folks, this whole HR resetting process typically runs its natural course within the 4 months -to-one year time frame, and for the vast majority of these folks the HR issues become a very minor issue early on, and most typically the 4 to 6 month range, even though subtle elevations might still be sensed to some degree for a good while longer before it all gradually resolves back to a resting HR roughly the same as your pre-ablation resting HR range.

It is actually a good sign that one sense's moderately elevated HR for some time post-ablation as a key indicator that effective ablation lesions were, indeed, created as intended during your ablation.

Cheers!
Shannon