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Chest pain after pulsed field ablation
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: 4 days ago | Replies (3)Comment receiving replies
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I assume by RF ablation you meant radio frequency ablation? My understanding of pulsed field ablation is that the risk of inadvertent burning of nearby tissues was much less. And yes, I am monitoring myself and hopeful that this issue will resolve and it is as you say, a bit of pericarditis. Interestingly, my heart rate has not increased at all post ablation.
Replies to "Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I assume by RF ablation you meant radio frequency ablation? My..."
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Yes, PFA is much safer, even to the extent of obviating the need for a TEE (trans-esophageal echocardiogram, like an endoscope put down the esophagus). Even so, it is damaging tissue. Otherwise, the spurious signals that make the atrium fibrillate would still pass over the PFA'd tissue. It's the scarring, or fibrosis, that makes the signal stall...it can't get over that tissue like it can healthy endothelial tissue.
It's a good sign that your heart rate is near normal, but an HR nearly 90 would not be cause for concern, not in the early weeks after the procedure. An EP might want to consider an intervention if it were at or above 90 for more than a few months, but I am out of my depth on this. I just know from anecdotal reports that a significantly elevated HR is to be expected for many/most of us.