Atrial fibrillation....

[recycled sixtie]

Any advice on how to handle it? My doctor has me on meds for it. I get it about every ten to fourteen days. Seems to be caused by alcohol(I do not drink any anymore), overdoing it with exercise, too much driving, too much of anything.
Thanks,
Guy

[onewhippedpuppy]

I occasionally had it, mostly associated with food. I started paying more attention and ultimately concluded it seemed to coincide with very carb heavy foods like pizza and heavy breads based meals. I have transitioned to more of a keto diet because I also need to lose some weight, and haven’t noticed it for several months.

[billybek]

My wife has AF on occasion.
No rhyme or reason to when it occurs.

Good luck getting it sorted, Guy.

[cabmandone]

A relative is on ablation number 3 for it. Another person I know has had 3 ablations as well.

[masraum]

The only thing that I've heard of is the valsalva maneuver. You take a big gulp of air, hold it, and then squeez/bear down on your core as if you were trying to push out a stubborn BM.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/23209-valsalva-maneuver

[IROC]

I had almost daily episodes for about 6 years. Come to find out mine was due to stress. Changed jobs (careers) and the afib went away.

Does it resolve on it's own? In less than 24 hrs? If so (IMHO), it is more annoying than anything else and not really life threatening. I was not on any medication (per doctor's recommendation).

Anyway, identifying your specific triggers and avoiding them is key. But...also to relax and remember that you're not going to die (which is what I did at first).

Good luck. Not fun.

[Bob Kontak]

My sister just had an ablasion process. Six weeks or so ago and her (similar) symptoms had started some four months ago. She just texted me this second after I asked her how it was going and she had her first episode yesterday morning. Ugh. She said it was better in an hour after taking an "extra" Metoprolol. That she could not do that before.

I have chronic AFIB which I will describe as chronic atrial flutter with AFIB episodes. I am ok when the episodes hit but no exertion allowed as I will be sucking wind and feeling like if I kept it up I will faint. I take 200mg of metoprolol but my brother (Dr) says that you can can be prescribed up to 500. My episodes last for a week or so and happen a couple times a year. No pain/angina. My cardiologist says "Oh, that's not your AFIB, that is some other thing. My regular Dr says she's out of her mind.

How much discomfort is there when you have an episode?

Originally Posted by billybek

My wife has AF on occasion.
No rhyme or reason to when it occurs.

I can usually associate it with something stressful.

[gsxrken]

A proper ablation will solve it, but that’s easier said than done. Not all electro-physiologist cardiologists are the same, and identifying the path the short is occurring on is still as much art as science unfortunately. Might be worth getting yourself to the Mayo Clinic in MN.
But I’d go that route, multiple times if necessary, before I’d go a lifetime of blood thinners. That stuff is awful.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

My sister just had an ablasion process. Six weeks or so ago and her (similar) symptoms had started some four months ago. She just texted me this second after I asked her how it was going and she had her first episode yesterday morning. Ugh. She said it was better in an hour after taking an "extra" Metoprolol. That she could not do that before.

I have chronic AFIB which I will describe as chronic atrial flutter with AFIB episodes. I am ok when the episodes hit but no exertion allowed as I will be sucking wind and feeling like if I kept it up I will faint. I take 200mg of metoprolol but my brother (Dr) says that you can can be prescribed up to 500. My episodes last for a week or so and happen a couple times a year. No pain/angina. My cardiologist says "Oh, that's not your AFIB, that is some other thing. My regular Dr says she's out of her mind.

How much discomfort is there when you have an episode?



I can usually associate it with something stressful.

Thanks Bob for the reply. I also am on a low dose of metoprolol plus apixaban. My doctor does not seem too alarmed about it. Yes I think stress can bring it on. When I experience it is when I go to sleep. The next day is a writeoff. My doc says listen to my body so I take it easy the next day.

Yesterday's stressor was closing a deal on a second hand Lexus. Sticker shock leads to ticker shock , Plus a whole bunch of driving around. Well at 78 years old, old age is a luxury. The alternative is not worth thinking about.

[berettafan]

Been there once. Alcohol (not much though), stress and lack of water in the system are what i think did me dirty. I was 40 iirc. Docs were asking me how bad my coke habit was. I was like mother****er test me for anything you want, i've never touched the stuff! After getting shocked back into rhythm I became a true believer in adequate water every day. Your heart is an electrical appliance. Screw up your electrolyte balance and bad things can happen. At least that's how i understood it.

it is very common and of course the danger is blood clotting when the ticker is fluttering instead of pumping. Metoprolol is, or at least was for me, a supremely beneficial drug. I learned that stress isn't always obvious and can be very, very sneaky. It hides in the back of our minds. That's where the metoprolol, for me at least, fixed things. It slowed everything around me down to the point i could easily see and comprehend and work with it.

I've long since been taken off the beta blocker and thinner and no repeat AFIB (at least that i know of) but i won't be sorry to go back on metoprolol one day.

[MBAtarga]

My chiropractor friend has it. He says ablations are only like 60% effective and damage is irreversible?

[berettafan]

Ablations, at least 12 years ago, were a guessing game. Maybe they got it maybe they didn't.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

You haven't almost died if you haven't been electroverted for AFIB.

What stopped mine so far for 2 years was having a Mitral valve clip installed to stop the regurgitation between heart chambers.

They go up your femoral artery into your heart and pierce the chamber wall and then they position the tool to install a clip on the middle of your beating Mitral valve.

[rsa964]

I have an ICD, 10 ablations, moderate MV leak, watchman installed. Still have Afib. Been on most of the meds available at one time or another. I still play basketball 2 or 3 times a week. If anyone would like to discuss offline just pm me.

[stevej37]

I didn't see anyone mention it above....but is Atrial fibrillation the same as a 'panic attack'?

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by stevej37

I didn't see anyone mention it above....but is Atrial fibrillation the same as a 'panic attack'?

I googled it and it said that atrial affib is to do with the heart and panic attack is more to do with brain circuitry and emotions.

It is encouraging that atrial affib can be prevented if certain behaviors are avoided. That applies in my case.

[berettafan]

AFIB is part of the hart fluttering instead of pumping. It is out of rhythm and because of the flutter can be cause of blood clots. For some it happens frequently and they go back into rhythm on their own. For others either a drug induced or paddle induced shock is required to get the heart back into rhythm. A doc can hear or you can tell by checking your pulse. Even some blood pressure monitors can detect it and of course now the apple watch i think can do it.

I can tell you the drug method can be scary. They tried twice giving me a drug that stops the heart with the hope that it will restart correctly. Felt myself sinking into the table....friggin scary.

[stevej37]

^^^ My younger sister has had problems with panic attacks....maybe they were misdiagnosed?
Anyway, the last Dr. visit ended with her being referred to a specialist to do a heart ablatiion.

I think she is set up for it in a couple weeks.

[pwd72s]

I was diagnosed 7 or 8 years ago. Think they were setting me up for an ablation, but they wanted me to make repeated visits to a care complex about 20 miles away...a place of steep hills and almost non existent parking. So, when a upspeaking girl called to set an appointment with the specialist, I explained that I was 74 years old, that all my close friends had already died, so no thanks to getting repeatedly shocked back into rhythm, which may or may not work.

Think I may be having a little episode as I type...It'll pass. Oh, now I'm 81...hey, I got some years without doing anything. I've learned to not always be so obedient to the medical complex.

[monoflo]

Electroversion
Doesn't work for everyone or I should say last.
Worked for me and has lasted 12 years.

Ablations work fine depending on the or if you have underlying causes.

Blood thinners suck- get it done.