Atrial Flutter

I know little about flutter, but a gentleman I know fairly well, a retired professor, who sings in the choral society I enjoy, found out he had flutter when he saw his GP for something else...a frequent story. He had recently been hiking and kayaking...he and his missus are very active for seniors. He told me he had no idea because he felt fine. Long story short, he underwent an ablation within 10 days because nobody knew how long he had already been in flutter, and the heart is still a muscle that can tire...and it can 'remodel' itself by enlarging and developing fibrosis in its substrate, the underlying tissues. So, it was urgent, but only in his case.

Flutter is a common result of an ablation for atrial fibrillation, as are PACs (premature atrial contractions). We don't know, or you haven't said, that you have AF as well, but it's possible. What you need to know is that once a heart goes into flutter, it stays there preferentially. Not so with AF. So, yes, an ablation is probably going to fix you, and it tends to be more permanent than an ablation is with AF. So that's good news.

All I would advise is that you spend some time selecting an electrophysiologist who is highly experienced and who enjoys a very popular reputation within about 100 miles of you if you can stand to travel and maybe stay in commercial lodging for two nights.

Good luck.

Anticoagulant therapy can be used to prevent the risk of thrombosis and stroke

Are you doing anything to possibly cause the flutter? Such as consuming anything with caffeine? Coffee, tea, Mountain Dew, colas, chocolate, energy drinks?

Hi Dave , I have had flutter 3x, I have had 12 hours worth of ablations (different times). I live in Panama and my cardioligst her, who I have seen for 10 years, and changed his opinion on getting an ablation for flutter. "Tim, I think these ablations are dangerous, You have someone poking a wire around your heart not knowing exactly what they are looking for and it didn't work for you. If you go to your NY doctor, he will tell you, you need an ablation." I still have flutter. So, I have been diagnosed w/ ventricular trachycardia and fibrillation. I take Concor as needed for rapid hear beat. But my doctors tells me unless it is interfering w/ the quality of life, to leave it alone and live w/ it. I am on blood thinner, Garligin, that works as well as Eliquis with no side effects and cost 1/7 of Eliquis. So I live with it and get along fine.

From my research, Garligin is a supplement made from garlic and ginger. According to webmd, "Garlic has been used for blood vessel disease (atherosclerosis) and high blood pressure (hypertension). Consult your doctor for more information if you have heart or blood vessel disease or high blood pressure. Some herbal/dietary supplement products have been found to contain possibly harmful impurities/additives. Check with your pharmacist for more details about the brand you use. The FDA has not reviewed this product for safety or effectiveness. I haven't read anywhere in a medical review of Garligin that it acts as a blood thinner. How do you know that it does work as one?

As an update to my 13/30 24 post, on 2/7, 60+ days after being diagnosed with Atrial Flutter, I underwent a heart ablation that was to last between 1.5 & 2 hrs but took almost 4.5 hrs. Once entering the heart, they found that I didn't have "Typical Flutter" but an "Atypical Flutter". They did 3 ablations to these, than a Cardioversion. After this, I then went into a "Focal Atrial Tachycardia" which was also treated with an ablation which took care of the arrhythmia.

For starters I called the company, they told me if taken 3x a day it will work as a blood thinner. I have been using it for 3-4 years because I din't like the side effect of Eliquis, headaches for me, nausea, I know it works because when I have cut myself shaving or small cuts I bleed and bleed. I also fell off my bike, bled a lot to the point my docotr in the emergency room asked if I was on blood thinners, yes. He told me to stop taking them for 3 days.

I would love to find an alternative to Eliquis since it's sooo expensive, but I need more than the word of the seller that it is an effective blood thinner. Each to his own I guess.

My first experiences with arrhythmias started with Aflutter. My first one was 300 BPM. In the ER they couldn't even figure out what it was until they shut down 1 side of my heart. That was scary cause there was 10 people in the room and they were not there as students. Aflutter does not produce clots as much as Afib. It has a more rhythmic timing to it. I only used aspirin for Flutter. After having intermittent Aflutter for a couple of years aflutter started converting into Afib. My cardio thought this would be a good time to ablate the Aflutter. So he stopped my Aflutter. Aflutter is much easier to "cure" because it is an easy place on the heart to access. The surgery is only an hour. But after he completed the procedure he pushed my HR up to 150 BPM and I flipped into Afib. So he said Afib would most likely be in my future at some time which proved to be correct. I got a couple of years of relief and then Afib began.

No, I think it prudent to be cautious. Be skeptical of all claims, trust your instincts, trust your wallet, and make the wisest choices you can based on veridical information.