Dear Dr. Roach: I had an ablation procedure for atrial fibrillation. Can a person drink alcohol after an ablation procedure? — V.

Answer: Electrical ablation is a potentially curative treatment for atrial fibrillation, an abnormal irregular heart rhythm. There are many risk factors for atrial fibrillation, but alcohol use, especially heavy alcohol use, is clearly one risk factor. I did find a study that showed that all drinkers are more likely to have poor outcome with ablation than nondrinkers. For people who have had a successful ablation, I would recommend against regular alcohol use; however, a rare drink is unlikely to be a major risk for going back into atrial fibrillation.

Dear Dr. Roach: If the treatment for shingles is acyclovir, and you are on a herpes-suppression regimen and take acyclovir every day, can you still get shingles? Or will the antiviral in your system protect you from it? — K.M.B.

Answer: I can’t find a definitive answer for that. My guess is that the acyclovir, taken to prevent genital herpes (HSV-2), would reduce the risk of developing shingles but not eliminate it entirely. The dose of acyclovir for suppression of herpes is lower than the treatment dose for shingles, so it’s possible that the shingles still might develop.

As I mentioned in a previous column, people taking acyclovir (or other antiviral, such as valacyclovir (Valtrex) for HSV, need to be off the medicine (at least 24 hours before and two weeks after vaccination) in order for the shingles vaccine to work properly.