AFib accidentally found during spinal for knee replacement surgery

Hi Randi. You may not have had AF years ago when you had your cancer treatment. Your first episode may have been just before your knee surgery or it could have been when you had it. ECGs only pick up AF if you are in it at the time- that is why they do a 24 or 48 hr holter monitoring to try to pick it up. Once you have had all your investigations the you can  see if something has cause it. The main thing is accepting it and learning to live with it unfortunatly. And also be on a blood thinner to prevent stroke. Hope this helps- we are all in the same boat and here to help you. Best of luck.

Yes  Calm is required!  AF is not the end of the world! Its not going to kill you. Its uncomfortable at times but can be chased off with pills or sleep.

I lived with it for 20 years before it became a problem. It is difficult to catch on an ECG or scan as its intermittent or paroxysmal. You probably should be on an anticoagulant so speak to your GP about this. Otherwise live your life as normal. If you have an episode - can you feel it? then take it easy. As said above sleep is a good idea.

It might help to learn to reassure yourself if youre in AF or not by being able to feel your heart beat. Take the index and middle finger of your right hand and feel under your jawbone, pushing into the neck gently until you find the beat. A nice steady beat should reassure you that all is well - in a normal sinus rythym.

My AF used to lurch all over the place and was unmistakable. Life can be normal so stop being anxious! Not heard of radiotherapy causing AF. Googled it?  

Sorry you have AF but a lot of people live with it relatively happily provinding its the episodic kind!

Hi Randi,

​The straight answer is no ! I haven't had your experience, but I've had some parallel experiences. My AF was diagnosed following a period of bending over - on and off - putting private papers through a shredding machine ! My feelings were, I had the symptoms of influenza. nothing about my heart at all...... UNTIL THAT IS, I checked my blood pressure which for a few hours went totally ballistic,then began to fall.

​HOWEVER, my Consultant stated? - in writing that I could be asymptomatic, that is, have AF, be in AF, without even knowing it. Not an unknown phenomena world wide.

​At the time, in January 2010 I was put on a beta blocker and an anticoagulant (Coumadin).

Interestingly, I had a partial knee replacement in November 2015 and had to come off Coumadin for the surgery, but as soon I was back in my room I had injections of Fragmin to help return my anticoagulation to a safe level. Interestingly, I had a general anesthetic - not a spinal. But I did declare to the surgeon and anethetist my AF even though my last AF event was in April 2015. I had no problems heart wise at all - so I wonder how you would have gone with a general anesthetic ???? My problems then after surgery for the knee was getting the knee bending and getting the flexion right.

​Do not be afraid, I am pretty sure you or others around you will notice if you have a stroke - it won't be asymptomatic - nor will a heart attack.

​I rather suspect that your AF is related to your vagal nerve and when you had the injection something with or in that process aggravated and/or inflammed the vagal nerve - thus triggering your AF. Also you may have a genetic predisposition to AF - look through your family and see if you can detect a tendency to strokes.

​Also 'Google' Vagal Nerve and search for diagrams showing where it is and how it wanders through the body. It is a significant nerve in the central nervous system, part of the communication superhighway from the brain to various organs in the body. Most notably it plays a significant role with the heart and digestive system. If it is your VN it might not have been damaged physically but it might have got inflamed by the injection process.

Your more important question to your surgeon is - can I have a general anesthetic for the knee surgery.

​In Sept 2012, I had to have a CT scan - again I had to come off Coumadin, and return to it later. no problems either.

Try and look at things rationally, with the head - not emotionally with the heart. hope this helps.

​By the way, I'm in Cornwall, Britain.

John

Hi randi, Welcome to the afib club where no one really wants to be but it's the best forum to air your worries.

I've had afib for 16 years and now flutter which is a fast rhythmic heart rate just as debillitating. The first thing to do is not worry, it will not kill you. The next thing is to make sure you are taking an anticoagulant prescribed by your doctor. When the heart goes into afib or flutter, it isn't pumping properly which can cause the blood to pool in the heart chamber which in turn can cause a blood clot.

Apart from that you can live your life normally and rest if you feel the need. Personally, I find that going for a walk or pedalling slowly on my exercise bike helps a lot to get the heart working properly again especially if the condition is anxiety related because you are using up the adrenaline by exercise. Also there are food triggers which you may notice causes the condition e.g. coffee, alchohol, sugar, smoking, chocolate, spicy food.