2 weeks post surgery- heart flutters--what to do?

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drivetopless

drivetopless

VR.org Supporter
Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2008
Messages
650
Location
formerly Atlanta, GA.
Hi, gang-
2 weeks ago yesterday I had surgery and am doing really great with the recovery. Lung capacity has returned to better than presurgery. I'm sleeping well and taking short walks throughout the day.

However, tonight I had the first weird symptoms that caused a little concern and I wanted to run it by the group for advice.

This evening I started having the flip flop in the throat/chest feeling at rest. It seems to be an irregular heart beat (strong to soft pulse, irregular beats). This has been going on about 4 hours now. Up until today, I feel my pulse has been very strong, but very regular, with minimal flutters.

Also, I have had 4 waves of nausea/lightheadedness with my face/ears feeling hot, sort of like I might faint. They passed in a few seconds.

What are the possible causes? Dehydration? The 3 week timing where this seems to appear post AVR based on others experiences that I've read?

Do I need to go to the emergency room or should I wait it out to see how I feel tomorrow? If you had these symptoms post surgery was it urgent to seek treatment or could it wait a few days?
 
At 3 weeks I wouldn't have messed around. I would call my doctor and or head down to the ER. You need to know what's going on.

You know the saying.."when in doubt, get it checked out"
 
An irregular heartbeat should be checked out with an EKG strip or at least a call to your doctor.
At 3 weeks postop I was back at the ER to get my crazy HR checked out. It happens.
 
How do they fix fib? Is it just a medication adjustment? Good luck Tracey! We're thinking of you!
 
I agree with Freddie, make the call and if they want you to, make the ride to the ER! If for nothing else, piece of mind.

I’m kind of reflecting on my own situation here, so don’t get me wrong….don’t know why us OHS people are so afraid to call the doctor at the first signs of trouble? It’s almost as though calling the doctor or the hospital is an admission of defeat on an otherwise speedy recovery (at least it is for me). From the first moment when they pulled the tube out of my throat, it became my goal to get out of the hospital before anyone else. Than to get breathing capacity back faster than they said, than to get off the anti-biotic and stool softeners ASAP, and than get on a stationary bike bla bla bla.

Now what I am doing at 8 weeks is battling with a cold and sitting around with sore muscles from over-doing it after trying to repair the safety latch on a car hoist yesterday at work! I figured that I would be back at 8 weeks, faster than anyone else. Well guess what, not going to happen! The hoist is fixed, but now I am broken and home paying the price for pushing it.

My brain has ideas on how things should be going based on how I got through the toughest 5 miles of my last rollerblade workout (push harder, skate faster, you can do it, no pain no gain, the pain makes you stronger etc) but my brain and my chest cavity are on two clearly different timetables for recovery. I have to keep reminding my brain that IT did NOT get operated on, my heart DID so just shut the hell up! (Great, Im arguing with my own brain!)


Take it from all these folks, make the call, be patient with yourself and remember, you’re not going through anything unusual after OHS. If you count me, we all want to be out doing what we always did with no restrictions ASAP, but for now, allow yourself to be at the mercy of your friends, family, doctors and yes, your own body, who truly want you to achieve your goals of normalcy. In the mean time, we are all here for you when you need to get consensus, but remember, other than any doctors who may cruse the site, we can only give opinions and tell you our stories. For what your feeling, you need to make a call.
 
At 1.5 weeks I got afib too. I went to the ER also and they started amiodarone in the i.v. and it was gone in 10 minutes.I stayed a couples days for observation.That was all it took for me.It was gone and didnt come back.It is quite common and is one of the "bumps in the road" that many of us experience.They will get you "fixed up" and you will feel alot better very soon.
 
Had surgery on 01/05/11 and same as you, suddenly has palpitations and fast heart beat (160/170 /min) around 2 weeks after surgery.
I went to the ER right away: The IV drugs did not work and they finally did a cardioversion (small electric shocks).
It happened 2 more times after that. Then I started taking Amiodarone pills and now it is gone.

Each time I went to the ER and the doctors told me that it was the right thing to do.

Bottom line: A-fib seems pretty common after heart surgery. I wish that the hospital staff had warned me upon discharge.
It seems that the heart needs time to adapt to the new environment.

Clement
 
I went into a-fib a couple of weeks post surgery ... went it to the hospital and was cardioverted (out patient) ... never has returned ... I wish the same for you ... good luck:thumbup:
 
I went into a-fib three weeks after surgery. I had it twice in one day and then I was put on Sotalol, I'm still on it because I get atrial flutters but I'm on a very very low dose and haven't had full blown a-fib ever again, just up to one minute runs of flutter. It is still annoying but I can deal with it.
 
Thanks for sharing your stories. It helps to know this is a typical event. They have tried the following so far:
Mg supplement
Potassium supplement
Steroid shot
3 days of Cardizem Iv
1 IV bag of amiodrone on day 2
Increassing daily Lopressor from 75mg to 200 mg.

Slowly progressing. Lopressor is working best but PAC/tachy comes bac as next dose of lopressor is due.

Going on my 3rd full day in hospital.

May get cardioversion soon. Should I push for trying amiodarone pills first?
 
This was posted on Tracy's Careingbridge page
Sunday, January 30, 2011 10:57 AM, EST
Still in the Hospital

Progress is being made and the drugs are helping but slower than expected. Tracy’s heartrate is down around 100 but irregular. She was able to sleep last night after being awake for 38 hours. Ouch. She describes the irregular heartbeat as “it feels like you’ve had too much Starbucks”. She’ll be in the hospital for a few more days. Thanks for your support & kind wishes. Mom & Dad are in route
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