AFIB and HEART RATE

Might be some mix up in terms, perhaps you had atrial fibrillation, and now have developed atrial flutter? They are different. Presuming your Doctor is using an EKG to determine the atrial flutter diagnosis, and perhaps medications are being used.

Hope you doing well and obtain treatment for the a flutter soon!

Apparently atrial flutter can appear some months or years after ablation for atrial fibrillation. https://www.ajconline.org/article/S0002-9149(19)30992-0/abstract

In the educational process and consent for ablation to treat atrial fibrillation, was mention made of possible later appearance of arrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation or flutter or tachycardia?

I hope you update us later on treatment(s) and results.

Best wishes!

Fib and flutter are different. There are 2 basic tupes of flutter, typical which occurs in the right atrium and atypical which occurs in the left atrium. Flutter is a re-enterant circut so basically a loop that feeds itself, imagine a cirular road. The term used for flutter is regularly regular. The atria are beating 250-350 per minute.

Fib is chaotic and termed iregularly regular and usually happens around the pulmonary veins. The atria rate is 350-450 per minute.

Both run the risks of clots bc the atria contract so fast blood coagulates and forms clots in the atrial appendage so blood thinners are necessary.

Both are diagnosed via ECG. Cardioversion might work for fib but not too much success for flutter.

Typical flutter has about a 95% cure rate with ablation. Atypical flutter circuts can be difficult to find and fix.

Actually, usually flutter has an excellent response to cardioversion, usually 50 joules will do the trick. Last week I was 5 weeks post ablation and got my novavax shot. I've had those shots multiple times, no problem, but never got a shot 5 weeks post ablation. Boom, next day, stuck in flutter. I've had flutter before, but never the classic sawtooth typical looking stuff and it usually flipped into afib. Took 5 days to get the cardioversion done, one shock did it. I was lobbying for Ibutilide trial since my first cardioversion failed and left me with a horrible swollen burned chest that took 2 weeks to heal but they said "nah, 50 J will work". My ablation, now 6 weeks ago was complicated, I had fib, flutter and svt. The EP did "a lot of work" and I was awake for the first hour of it (yes, it sucked). They found a reconnect in my pulmonary veins from my first ablation, a nasty spot on the septum and a bunch of PAC spots on the posterior wall. They didn't ablate the tricuspid area since they couldn't trigger anything there. SO, was this all just inflammation from the shot on the bed of an already ticked off post fried heart? Or is this an ablation scar atypical flutter or just garden variety easy to ablate right sided tricuspid zippy zip that reared its ugly head? In the meantime, my heart rate is 37 this morning and I'm supposed to take metoprolol and flecainide. Oh boy. I'm considering wearing my bike helmet around the house. My HR is about 47 right now, 20 minutes post metoprolol, in one hour metoprolol should peak. Don't anyone diss those shots, my one and only covid infection is what trashed my heart. I have a feeling I'll be an ICU patient if I get Covid again. Huge fan of filters, masks, outdoor dining, monitory carbon dioxide, testing at social occasions and yes, that annoying vaccine.

Not that it is going to be useful, but I agree with the responses: AFL is more highly responsive to corrective measures, and it often takes place shortly after an ablation. It's easily ablated in the right hands if a cardioversion doesn't take. If it happens months out of the first year, by which an ablation is deemed to have succeeded (that particular topic is not so cut 'n dried), it should respond well to treatment and is not necessarily a fallback or precursor to a recurrence of AF itself.

Even so, the electrically disordered heart is on a journey. It might be ploddingly slow, it might be quick at times, but there is 'progress' going on. The unfortunate fact is that almost all ablation procedures will ultimately have to be repeated or counted as the last that should be done for a number of reasons that would be explained to the patient.

Hang in there and get good help. AFL should be easily managed for the heavy majority of patients.

Your narrowing pulse pressure- the 15 point difference between your systolic and diastolic B/P should be brought to your team’s attention if you haven’t already. It can mean your heart is having trouble pumping enough to supply O2 to your body. If you’re feeling lightheaded or woozy please sit and let them know. Stay safe & good luck.

@diane987654321 Wow! Thanks for sharing. I had asked the PA I am dealing with on this about getting a Cardioversion. He had a consultation with the head of the Electro department following my EKG , who said that the Cardioversion would not last long enough to make it worthwhile. So right now I’m on a rhythm med, waiting to get scheduled for an Ablation.

@babheart Great to know- Thanks!

@tallbackhip My EKG was this past Friday. I’m told that it is definitely Atrial Flutter.
They put me on a rhythm medication and we are working to schedule my getting an Ablation. Thanks!

@beebo I did okay my first couple days of flutter but by day 3 and 4 I was gray and was getting dehydrated despite drinking a lot. I was sweating way more than usual. My mitral regurg was getting worse, I could hear my murmur, usually I can’t, and my ejection fraction went from 62% to 52% and my TAPSE from 2.2 to 1.7. My gray coloring alarmed me. I’m sad about only being able to take metoprolol. I failed amiodarone, heart rates in the low 30s and trying to faint, and my resting heart rate of 47 rules out tikosyn.

@beebo i had typical a flutter and im 20 days post ablation. It appears to have worked well. Other than the occasional skipped beat I feel well and am back to normal activities. Just completed a a 25 minute swim an hour ago. Building back to 40 minutes. I had a 3 months wait for ablation but I understand why due to demand. I was on Amerodone for almost two months but dropped my hr to 26. I wish I’d never taken it. Hope to drop Eliquis in a few weeks. My loop recorder is reporting all good things. Do most people have the recorder removed?