Catheter ablation is a 'big deal'. If you have suffered some and gotten worn down with AF, you're that much further into the red coming out of a successful surgery. So, expect to recover, but not by Monday. Reports that it can take a year to regain full normalcy, including a former resting heart rate, are numerous across the various websites. Your heart has damaged tissue, and there is a high likelihood that adjacent pericardial tissue is also damaged, and maybe even your esophagus as been 'softened' up a wee bit by the burning. It's why my EP ordered pantaloc, sucralfate, and rest for several weeks. Those two concoctions minimize the risk of stomach acids further compromising the esophagus if the esophagus has been slightly burned.

A week from today, you should feel a lot better and be raring to go. Just take it easy on the heart rate. Walk, but monitor your maximum heart rate and keep a lid on it. Do this for at least the next six weeks, but work up to the point where your eventual Holter Monitor (usually between 8-12 weeks out) will show a truer picture of your heart health and how well the ablation has worked. In my case, I made sure I climbed the famous Goose Spit steps a couple of miles away, and then hoofed it up a steep hill not far from the end of my walk. I wanted the assessor to know exactly what I was doing (you will keep a diary for this assessment), and how well my heart handled it. Just go easy for the first three or four weeks and work at getting more capable.

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