Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...
"A-Fib.com is a great web site for patients, that is unequaled by anything else out there."
Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
"Jill and I put you and your work in our prayers every night. What you do to help people through this [A-Fib] process is really incredible."
Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI
“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP.
Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017
“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD
FAQs A-Fib Ablations: Post-Procedure Symptoms
Catheter Ablation
“How long before you know a Pulmonary Vein Ablation procedure is a success? I just had a PVA. I’ve got bruising on my leg, my chest hurts, and I have a fever at night. I still don’t feel quite right. Is this normal?”
After a Pulmonary Vein Ablation procedure, some people feel great and are in perfect sinus rhythm. But for most of us it usually takes two or three months (called a “blanking period”) for the ablation scars to heal and for our heart to learn to beat normally again.
Doctors sometimes help this process by prescribing antiarrhythmic meds for a month or longer. You may also have to continue to take an anticoagulant for a while.
Right after the PVA(I) you may experience the following:
• Your groin will generally have two access site points, one on each side. After a Pulmonary Vein Ablation, some minor bruising is common at each site with minor soreness as if you had banged the area. Bruising may occasionally be seen to extend down the leg. This is normal, as is an occasional small quarter sized bump in the area. (If larger swelling or more significant pain occurs at the area, please contact the electrophysiologist who did the procedure.) One of the reasons for this bruising is the heavy dose of anticoagulants you were administered during your ablation procedure to prevent a possible stroke.
• After a Pulmonary Vein Ablation you may have some minor chest pain for the next week or so. The pain will often worsen with a deep breath or when leaning forward. This is pericardial chest pain from the ablation and is generally not of concern. It should resolve within a week, although it might increase for a day or so after the ablation. (This chest pain may be due to the heat from the catheter ablation burns which may temporarily irritate the Pericardium, the sac around the heart.)
• Your heart may beat faster than before. Usually your heart rate will settle down after the two-to-three month blanking period. But some people report a slightly elevated heart rate even after three months, especially if they have previously been taking rate control or antiarrhythmic meds.
• Low grade fevers of around 99 degrees are common in the first day or so post-ablation. (If you develop unexplained fevers exceeding 100 degrees anytime within the first 3 weeks post-ablation, you need to contact the electrophysiologist who performed your procedure.)
One or more of these symptoms is considered normal, but discuss any symptoms with your doctor during your post-procedure doctor visits.
Thanks to Marva Harp for this question.
Return to FAQ Catheter Ablations
Last updated: Thursday, April 28, 2022
