Posted by Steve Giddings on April 27, 2001 at 15:17:26:
In Reply to: Palpitations posted by Joseph Costa J r on April 27, 2001 at 15:16:00:
I had the MAze procedure ("minimally invasive")done by James Cox, MD at Georgetown in January, 1999. I was in the hospital for 12 very boring days post op. I felt fine after the third-fourth day but had had a persistent junctional bradycardia post op. Once sinus returned my pacer wires came out and I left. I was back at work the last week in January (but I don't do physically demanding tasks for a living). I've had frequent APC's since surgery. I don't notice them unless I'm checking my pulse. They occur with greater frequency with fatigue, stress, caffeine intake and disappear with exercise. If one occurs in just the right place at just the right time, they can potentially trigger a persistent rapid heart rate. I have had one episode of persistent atrial flutter, which according to Dr.Cox can occur if a path involving an area of the coronary sinus (the major vein draining the coronary artery circulation) is incompletely interrupted. I believe I'm only the third patient of his to have this happen in the last 4 or 5 years. It can be fixed by radiofrequency ablation if necessary. In my own case, it has only happened once in 2 years, an acceptably small rate for me. I'm still very happy to have had the surgery.