Atrial fibrillation and feeling panicky

Hey John, I've had A Fib for six years now and yes the palpitations or PVC's can be quite unnerving. I try to stay as calm as possible although it can be hard sometimes. I found that the beta blockers made them much worse for me. So I was switched to flecainide and I feel much better even when I do get PVC'S it seems to lessen the feeling of them. If you don't respond soon to the medication I would go back to your doctor and have them try you on something else. I've had two ablations for flutter so that is fixed but the actual A Fib is not. My belief is that it is food intolerances/vagus nerve/stress related. I can control things for the most part through removing food issues, stress etc. Although sometimes I will still get breakthroughs. Do you have any stomach issues or food sensitivities? Hang in there my A Fib friend.

Hi John, I'm 37, so of a similar age.

I have also had recurrent afib episodes, I know entirely how you feel.

No energy at all (I felt like I was running at 50% maximum), worried about the constant flipping in your chest etc. The last time it happened to me for a long period (4 months), I really couldn't live my life properly. 

The bad news is that because 48 hours have passed since the onset, the hospital would not be able to do a cardioversion right now(where basically, your heart is shocked back into the correct rhythm - it's not scary and is an immediate short term fix for your problem). So you will need to wait until approx 4 weeks before they will consider doing a cardioversion.

The good news is that you are in no real danger, but (for me) it is a massive inconvenience.

What blood thinners are you on? If it is warfarin, this may significantly increase your waiting time for cardioversion because it really does take quite some time for it to become effective. Hopefully you are on something else such as Rivaroxiban,

If you are experiencing symptoms, and unable to live your life properly (eg go to work, play with your kids, have a "normal" social life), then I suggest that you make this known immediately with your GP and ask to be referred to your cardiologist asap. Because AF is not a life threatening disease, the NHS are in no hurry to treat you. You HAVE to make sure they know that it is affecting your life in a bad way.

Long term, there are a few ptions available to you to reduce the likelihood of this happening in future. You will no doubt hear more about these over the coming weeks and months, so I won't go through all of them here.

Hope you get sorted soon.

Dom

John, I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis. The rest of this is upbeat. I am 78 years old and have had afib for forty years - episodic at first then chronic (all the time) for about twenty years. In the early stages I explored every treatment I could, I took four or five different rhythm control drugs, I had a right sided ablation, and I worried myself sick. Here's the deal: this stuff won't kill you. You can live to be 100 if you have the genes for it, you can exercise within your limits (my wife and I take a bicycling vacation every year), and the longer you live with the condition the less it intrudes on your life. You must control your anticoagulation which lessens your risk of stroke. There is a device called a Watchman, which is a plug which a surgeon can put into the left atrial appendix to keep clots from forming, but I have opted for medical anticoagulation and a MedAlert bracelet so the ambulance personnel will know why I am bleeding so copiously when I fall off the bicycle. Hasn't happened yet, though. Afib people run marathons from time to time (can't imagine why, though), and perform all sorts of feats. 

I would never suggest that you quit exploring all treatment alternatives, but if they all fail, you will be left with a life that is just fine for going the distance. Try to spend as little time as possible worrying about death because you have a very long time to wait for it. Hang in there.

Hello John!

I can well imagine how anxious and panicky you can feel about this. Anxiety (especially GAD- General Anxiety Dirsorder) can leave you feeling very tired and low. I'm writing to reassure you because I have had very much the same responses to the AFib diagnosis as you are.

Be reassured though. Unless you have some clear and measurable heart-defect (and it sounds as if you don't), this is something that might even clear and go away of its own accord or you will come to accept and realise that this is NOT the end of the world and that you can and WILL have a pretty normal life with it.

Two things to check.

ONE>

ARE you likely to have anxiety problems? If this is the case try CBT Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. I'm a cynic about things like this but worked for me and has done wonders.

TWO>

Is there some connection between this incident and general stress and worry like work or home-life and are you having any tummy issues with the AF? There is mounting evidence that tummy disorders, especially those connected with stress can irritate the Vagus Nerve and that this in turn can lead to episodes of AF. There is a forum here dedicated to that.

I'm 73 and have had ectopic episodes for 30 years and episodes of AF for almost 4 years. I have had no procedures and feel basically as fit as a fiddle. Try to relax and get some help with that anxiety of yours! EXCERISE is fantastic for helping with anxoiety AND good tummy and heart states!

Best of luck!!

Edward

Hi John I think the panic comes in because you can't control it I have afb and a heart flutter mine hit 225 beats a minute it's normal to feel scared I've been admitted twice I get really down as I was very active

Hiya John - I was 35 when I first found out I had af so I know exactly where you are right now - people can tell you not to worry until there blue in the face but that probably is'nt going to make you stop worrying - I found the biggest battle was the psychological one and the best advice I can give you on that is to get plenty of sleep, eat and drink heathy and get out walking/running - I started with walking about a mile every day - take it easy and go from there - after a month I was running a few miles every day - Id never run before and didn't particularly enjoy it but I found it a massive benefit to my state of mind as I no longer felt vulnerable, I knew that if I could run 2 miles without a problem then my heart was good, I just had a rythsm problem - good luck mate - stay calm, stay strong 👍