We wish you a speedy recovery. Here is some important information about caring for yourself when you go home.
Traveling home
During your ride home, please stop every hour and walk for 5 to 10 minutes.
You will not be able to drive for 24 hours after the procedure. Your doctor will tell you when you can drive again.
When to call your doctor
If you have any questions, call your physician's office and ask to speak to a nurse.
Please call right away if you have any of the symptoms listed below.
- Lump develops at the catheter insertion site or gets bigger.
- Abnormally low blood pressure (top number lower than 90 mm/Hg).
- Symptoms get worse.
- Mild shortness of breath, fatigue or chest discomfort that lasts longer than 5 days.
How will I feel?
You may feel discomfort at the catheter insertion during the first 24 hours after the procedure. Your doctor will tell you what medications you can take for pain control. You may also have mild chest discomfort, shortness of breath and fatigue after the procedure.
Extra heartbeats, a racing heart, atrial fibrillation or skipped heartbeats are common after the procedure. They should stop within 5 to 7 days of the procedure, but can be on and off for up to 8 weeks. If you have these symptoms as you recover, use the telephone transmitter (home monitor) to record your symptoms and call the Arrhythmia Monitoring Lab. We will give you more information when you have your procedure. Call your doctor if symptoms are severe or prolonged.
When can I take a shower?
You may take a shower the day you leave the hospital. Avoid extreme water temperatures. Do not take a bath, swim or soak in water for 7 to 10 days after the procedure or until the incision sites have healed.
How do I care for the procedure site?
Keep the procedure site clean and dry. Do not scrub the area. You do not need to keep the area covered with a bandage. Do not use creams, lotions or ointments on the procedure site.
Look at the area every day to make sure it is healing properly. If you notice any of the signs of infection, call your doctor.
Are there any activity restrictions?
Follow these activity guidelines for the first week after your procedure:
- Do not lift anything that weighs more than 10 pounds.
- Avoid activities that require pushing or pulling heavy objects, such as shoveling the snow or mowing the lawn.
- Stop any activity before you become overtired.
You may go back to your normal exercise and activity routine 1 week after the procedure.
When can I go back to work?
Your doctor will tell you when you can go back to work. You will likely be able to get back to work within a week of coming home. If you have flexibility at your job, ease back to your regular work schedule.
Follow-up Schedule
Follow-up with your local doctor
Please schedule a follow-up visit with your local doctor within 1 week after the procedure.
Take your anticoagulant medication ("blood thinner") as directed until your follow-up visit. Your doctor may make changes to your medication schedule at your follow-up appointment.
You will have a follow-up appointment 3 to 4 months after your procedure. You will have a CT scan at this appointment. We will send you an appointment reminder card.
Please bring your telephone transmitter to your 3- to 4-month follow-up appointment.
You may have other tests at your follow-up appointment, including:
- 2-D echocardiogram (echo) or transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE).
- Electrocardiogram (EKG).
- Other blood tests/lab work.
You may need to have a creatinine blood test before the CT scan. If so, the blood test will need to be done within 60 days after your follow-up appointment.
If you still have atrial fibrillation at the time of your follow-up visit, you may need another ablation.
CT scan
A spiral computed tomography (CT) scan is used to check for narrowing of your pulmonary vein.
You will have this test during your 3- to 4-month follow-up appointment.
DO NOT eat or drink anything for 6 hours before your appointment.
Let us know immediately if you are allergic to shellfish, contrast material or dye. A dye will be injected into your vein during the test. If you have an allergy, we will give you medication before the test begins.
Managing your condition
The pulmonary vein antrum isolation (PVAI) procedure is only one part of a comprehensive treatment program. It is also important for you to take your medications, keep your follow-up appointments, make all lifestyle changes your doctor suggests, and be an active member of your treatment team.
Arrhythmia Monitoring Laboratory
24-hour transmissions: 216.444.5062 or 800.223.2273 ext. 45062
Call any time you have atrial fibrillation symptoms and at least once a week using the telephone transmitter to document your heart rhythm for a routine rhythm check.
