UKC

Hi, anyone out there had catheter ablation to treat AF? I had it just over a week ago and am desperate to get out on my bike or go for a run but wondered what other people's experiences might have been regarding returning to activity following this procedure.

In reply to blackmountainbiker:


My initial post was:
"And when you had the detailed discussion with your surgeon last week and they consented you regarding risks and discussed recovery trajectory, and you mentioned getting back to exercise, what did they say?

Imagine you burnt your forearm quite nastily on an iron. How long before you want to flex it again?

Generally, if you are fit beforehand, it's fast - brisk walks in a week. If it twinges, don't push it."
And then I saw you were asking for others' experiences.
So I'm a moron. Sorry.

In reply to JJL:

The surgeon was very vague with regard to returning to activity as people respond differently to the procedure. Certainly off the bike until the leg wound is fully healed but I wondered if anyone else had experienced this.

In reply to blackmountainbiker:

Ha! your reply crossed with my edit. Duly humbled.


But you should be fine as long as it doesn't twinge

In reply to blackmountainbiker:

No personal experience myself. However I have had a incident with a pal who during a overnight winter trip announced he was having AF problem. Had to bundle him up in a tent so he could administer his medication in a better situation and await the morning........

Not a great day out!

In reply to blackmountainbiker:

My diary tells me I climbed reasonably gently 18 days after the op itself - some 10 days after coming out of hospital. However it also says that I'd been on belay duty a week before that, so obviously I'd managed to walk up to a crag then. As I remember the limiting factor was the healing of the entry points of the catheter rather than the heart.

In reply to blackmountainbiker:

I had an ablation for Wolf Parkinson White syndrome on a Thursday and was on the Turbo spinning gently on the Sunday and back on the road on the Tuesday.
My surgeon said keep moving to help prevent a clot.

In reply to jon:
My biggest concern initially was the catheter entry wound as I had a BIG bleed in hospital a few hours after the op which shook me up a bit. That seems to have healed pretty well now. I still feel quite tired and have some chest discomfort. I was given the option of freezing rather than burning which overall I think was a good call but I think the catheter is significantly larger than for burning and it knocks things around a bit more. Your experiences sound encouraging, thanks for sharing.

In reply to jayme: Wow! Good going. Did you have any problems?

In reply to blackmountainbiker:

I guess it might depend on the situation of the entry point(s). Mine were in the groin, both sides. Maybe other points - arm for example - would be less at risk?

In reply to jon: Mine were in the groin as well, but just one side. However, a few hours after the op I popped the blood vessel trying to get a cream egg out of my bag. There was a pretty impressive blood fountain which resulted in a nurse standing with her fist and body weight pressing into my groin for 10 minutes. It was quite alarming, very messy and has left me a little weary.

In reply to blackmountainbiker:

No Problems.
I was lucky that my surgeon at Blackpool is an Ironman competitor and was very helpful in getting me back on the bike.