I have just been diagnosed with Atrial Flutter.

Hi Ken,

Do a search on the discussions for Atrial fibrillation and Bisoprolol and you will get a lot of our problems. Of course no one posts on successful treatments:-)

Ken, I was diagnosed with AF in November 2011 but after a few 'episodes' this diagnosis changed to paroxysmal AF (ie comes and goes). I was given Flecainide and Warfarin and am not aware of any side effects. After one episode in 2012 I was prescribed Bisoprolol (though I'm not convinced it was necessary). I haven't had any further episodes since Jan 2013 so the drugs must be working! I do have moments of tiredness during the day which some people attribute to Bisoprolol though I tend to think its probably getting up early to play golf! Overall nothing to complain about.

I have written a few comments on here but not really learnt much. My husband has atrial fibrillation. He has itall the time but never has any symptoms. I think the stress of being diagnosed with it and not getting any proper feedback has stressed him out! They say he doesn't need to take anything as he has no other problems (previous heart problems, diabetes etc) so his risk of a stroke are less than 1% . What no one has explained tome though (my doctor can't talk about my husband's problems...data protection etc) is if he has constant a fib,(his heart has slightly enlarged due to the extra work it is doing) and when he plays squash his heart beats at 200bpm, then surely his heart will wear out due to it....won't it? He plays squash because they say he can, even though the consultant said 200bpm was worrying! I have given up because husband gets mad with me and my doctor advised me to back off. So I have backed off, if he wants to kill himself playing squash he can!

Hope he is well insured and has a good pension to provide for you:-)

There are many other discussions on this site as I said to Ken

There is much information if you Google for it. You can set up a Google alert to get a weekly list of new information on line. The British Heart Foundation publish a series of booklets on about twenty cardiac conditions. They can also be downloaded in PDF form.

You should insist that your husband lets you accompany him to his doctor and consultants appointments. I knew two Guys who played squash with undiagnosed cardiac conditions who died relatively young.

A condensed article from a web site to show him:

The circumstances surrounding 60 sudden deaths (59 men, one woman) associated with squash playing are described. The mean age (SD) of those who died was 46 (10.3) years (range 22-66 years). Necropsy reports were available in 51. The certified cause of death was coronary artery disease in 51 cases, valvular heart disease in four, cardiac arrhythmia in two cases, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in one case. There were only two deaths from non-cardiac causes. Forty five of those who died had reported prodromal symptoms, the most common of which was chest pain, and 22 were known to have had at least one medical condition related to the cardiovascular system during life, the most common of which was systemic hypertension (14 subjects). Those dying from coronary artery disease had a high frequency of risk factors. Some of these deaths might have been prevented by appropriate counselling of players after prospective medical screening, which would have detected most of the patients with overt cardiovascular disease and some of those with subclinical coronary artery disease.

Thank you Derek. Very much! When I even mentioned the problem i was made to feel like a wicked scaremonger and he wishes it had never been diagnosed ( by accident due to a chest infection last winter). I have googled it but it doesn't talk about his condition (that is permanent a fib that doesn't have symptoms and that doesn't need treatment). I have had enough of the abuse that I get which is making me very depressed...and he is depressed too. We just now are so stressed that we've split up, it was just unbearable!

Hi Ken I was diagnosed with Atrial Flutter in September last year and prescribed Warfarin in various doses plus 5mg Bisoprolol plus 40mg Simvastatin for my high cholesterol. I have had a few side effects but don't know for sure which medication may be causing this. I am on a waiting list for an Ablation but at the moment I am not sure if I should go ahead with this as I have not had a reoccurrence of AF and at my age (78) I am wondering if it is the best thing for me. I play golf four times a week without any real problems. It is interesting to note that I was originally diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation at first but changed later to Atrial Flutter. My only real problem at the moment is getting a good nights sleep. My other observation regarding medication is the wide variations between those prescribed for other AF sufferers. If you trawl through these forums you will see what I mean, which can be confusing. Perhaps you could mention this to your GP and see what response you get. Regards Derek (Joiner)

Thanks Derek for the information.

I am seeing my GP this coming week, so it will be interesting to see what he prescribes for me. So far I have had no indication that anything was wrong, but had last week an ECG as I volunteered for a trial and my AF was then discovered.

I am well armed as my wife is on most of the druggs that have been discussed, gradually I have with her GP and Cardiologist managed to get rid of some or reduce the dosage.

Regards Ken.

Hi Derek the joiner, can you tell me why you have trouble getting a good nights sleep? Do you know? Is it your condition, the drugs or the stress of it? Lynn

Hi Lynn - One thing I am certain of Lynn is that before I was diagnosed with Atrial Flutter in September last year I had no sleep problems whatsoever. The causes are somewhat confusing but after reading about the side effects of drugs on various Forums, I feel it is the medication that is to blame. I am not stressed out and not having had a recurring AF incident, I have reached the conclusion that it must be the medication. I am trying to get my GP to have a rethink about it as my sleep pattern is steadily getting worse. Regards Derek