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Afib after pfo closure

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Posted 6/28/2015 5:10 PM (GMT 0)
I am 42 years old, previously healthy, and female. I had a cryptogenic stroke and a pfo was found. We decided to close the pfo with a gore helex, and two weeks later I started having a lot of afib and flutter (which I still have). Has this happened to anyone else?
Posted 6/29/2015 2:50 AM (GMT 0)
hi and welcome. i hope you get some feedback here. i have not had this done. many healing thoughts. i am sure others will pop in.
Posted 6/29/2015 11:32 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Happy Turtle! I saw that there were other PFO repair threads on this forum, should I post my question there too?
Posted 6/29/2015 12:41 PM (GMT 0)
yeah. the forum is slow. the older threads tend to go to the wayside. you never know who is going to come on!!! there are some real bright sparks with good diverse info. i have a little. a little about a lot of stuff. i have a keen interest with the ticker, and i enjoy saying g'day. and i am continually learning too. that's why i am posting. cheers.
Posted 7/6/2015 5:07 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Jodie- I am 26 years old, healthy female. I had a stroke in March 2015, and they found a PFO, which I had closed on June 25, 2015 (mine is the Amplatzer implant). I have noticed flutters at night sometimes, or if I walk upstairs too fast. It might be too early to tell for me since I just had the procedure a little over a week ago, so maybe it will get better with time. My doctors said it is normal, but if it starts happening often to you then I would let your doctor know. How long ago was your procedure?
Posted 7/6/2015 7:56 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Caelry,
Thanks for replying. I actually felt well myself for the first two weeks post-procudure, and then my heart started having a TON of Afib and flutter. (And yes, a bit of it is normal, but not as much as I'm having). I of course have been in touch with my physicians; my internist, regular cardiologist, and cardiac interventionist have all been collaborating in my care. Since I first posted, I learned that apprently in about 4% of cases (I'm one of the unlucky ones!), the device placement can either trigger a new onset of Afib, or the stroke was caused by undetected subclinical Afib to begin with, and the device implantation aggravated it. Unfortunately, there is no way to really know. It is unlikely in my case that Afib was present before because I have previous heart monitoring data that did not show any Afib, so most likely, my heart is more sensitive and will take longer to heal from the procedure.

I have a PhD, so I did a little digging myself and found many natural ways to help: daily exercise, yoga, and meditation have help tremendously in the last 2 weeks! I've also reduce my workload (cut my office hours in half) to reduce stress, have made some changes to my diet, and started taking multi-vitamin and mineral. I plan to start fish oil supplements today (I used to take all that stuff before, but two years ago when I got pregnant I got so sick that I couldn't even take vitamins, and then never started again).

Hopefully I will continue improving, but I do think I'll be one of those patients who takes 3 to 6 months to recover.

Thanks for your support!
Posted 7/7/2015 4:18 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Jodie,

Thanks for your response! Glad to hear you are taking care of yourself :)

I'm sorry to hear about the new afib you are experiencing. I wore a holter monitor for 30 days prior to the procedure which did not show afib, so hopefully the symptoms I'm noticing will subside in a couple weeks. I guess time will tell, but it is good to know that it's not entirely uncommon.

Thank you for the advice re: natural remedies. I'm happy to hear these things have helped you! I think reducing stress helps a lot- I am going to try yoga when the doctor says its OK. Sounds like you are doing everything right. I hope your recovery is speedy!
Posted 7/9/2015 4:34 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks! The 30-day holter was a smart idea from your doctor. I read that ager my procedure and find it odd that none of my doctors (7 of them!) suggested it.
Posted 1/22/2016 12:57 PM (GMT 0)
I am trying to communicate with Jodie 333 regarding her experience with PFO closure. How are you now?

I am scheduled to have PFO closure in 5 days.
I am 55, had a cryptogenic stroke in May 2015.

I am healthy, no signs of cause of stroke when looking at usual causes, and so the medical team thinks the it is going to reduce the possibility of a recurring stroke, by 75%.

I asked to be tested for nickel allergy as the gore device contains 50% Nickel. I was told it is unlikely I would be allergic. Then I tested positive. I was told it is unlikely I will have a reaction, but NO GUARANTEE.

I tested for LOW sensitivity.

I am feeling my options are to trust destiny, hope i do not have another stroke by the grace of nature.... OR, have the PFO closure and trust a team that has done 1200 procedures with 2% or less complications. The Surgeon has done 400 procedures.

I am reading about the afib which concerns me. I am concerned about the possibility of having the device explanted, in the case of a reaction to nickel.

I am interested to hear from anyone who has thoughts or experience they would like to share. Particularly the progression of healing from Month 1 to Month 6 post surgery.... an I welcome also the stories of anyone who has ideas or is several years past procedure.

Thanks you!
Posted 1/22/2016 3:07 PM (GMT 0)
Big Picture, if you don't get a response from Jodie in a day or two you may want to copy & paste what you have written above & put it in a new thread. A lot of times people will overlook these threads. Take care.
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