When you have a catheter ablation to treat atrial fibrillation they call the three months following the procedure the “blanking period.” It takes three months for the heart to fully heal from the procedure. During the blanking period, you may have varying degrees of afib episodes or episodes of other arrhythmias such as atrial flutter. And you may experience other side effects from the procedure. Most of these things are considered normal during the recovery time so if you experience […]
READ MORECatheter Ablation Insertion Spots: One Poke In The Neck and Two In The Groin
For my ablation they poked me in the neck and two in the groin. I read that these insertion spots can be sore and even bruise for a few days after the procedure but I didn’t experience any of that. I didn’t experience any soreness, pain, or bruising. The only part that was uncomfortable was the tape they use to keep the swabs in place. I have no idea what kind of tape it is but it almost fuses with […]
READ MOREMy First A-Fib Ablation Experience
I only slept for about an hour the night prior to the procedure. It wasn’t so much that I was nervous, I was just anxious to get the ablation over with. We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. sharp. I should point out that the day before the procedure I went to the hospital to do all the pre-op paperwork and blood work. They like to have all that done the day before the procedure. You just sign some […]
READ MOREThe Weeks and Days Leading Up To My Catheter Ablation
The picture of this poor high school kid collapsed as he literally crawled past the finish line during a cross country meet symbolizes my own crossing of the “ablation finish line.” While my finish might not have been as dramatic as this kid’s finish, I wasn’t exactly running through the finish line with my arms raised in victory! The “Sick Scare” It all started three weeks before my ablation. My daughter came down with the flu. She was vomiting on […]
READ MORETalking About Atrial Fibrillation With Your Kids
One of the hardest things for me to do was tell my kids about my atrial fibrillation. My daughter is 10 years old and my son is going to be 8 soon. I’ve had afib for almost 9 years and my kids just found out about my condition a few months ago. They had no idea I was battling the beast. When they were young it was easy to keep it a secret because I was only having an episode […]
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