Just been diagnosed with Afib
Posted , 13 users are following.
After a heavy night drinking and a lot of food, I woke up with my heart rate at 90-150bpm. I went to the hospital and after 2 hours it calmed down without treatment, they put me on a heart monitor and few hours later, after a drip, they said i could go but said I have Afib.
The doctor didnt seem too concerned but said I need to reduce my alcohol and see a cardiologist.
Im currently working away and I'm due to fly back next week, my appointment is 2 months away.
However, I've been given no real information, looking on the internet the condition seems like a real nightmare. Can anyone offer any light?
I'm only 28. I've suffered from anxiety for a few years, been to A&E a few times but my ECG has always been fine, have suffered from palpitations for a few years.
Thanks
Andy
0 likes, 39 replies
Okapis andrew45288
Posted
No need to get into a stressed situation, one can live with AF for years with no problems. Episodes will self terminate. Stop what youre doing if it occurs again and try and go to sleep.
Looks like your AF trigger is alcohol so moderate your intake, or don't drink alcohol at all till you return. There are different triggers to AF - Caffeine, chocolate..we are all different, so try and take note of your intake if you have any more irregular/ fast heart beats. 150 over 90 is not a real problem..... Do you have a heart monitor?
2 months does not sound too bad really but if you have an episode of fast heart beat (over 160) that goes on for hours go to your GP who can refer you to a rapid access cardiology clinic (ie immediatly).
Paroxysmal AF is a pain to identify as it has to appear at the precise time you wear a Holter monitor (what they use to check your heart beat over 24 hrs).No garantee you'll have an episode on the precise day. Bring back the ECT output from the hospital you attended if you can..will save time here
andrew45288 Okapis
Posted
Thanks for the response. My resting heart rate is usually around 50-60bpm, so I thought 140 was quite high. I have an app on my phone that measures my heart rate.
Thanks
Andy
Okapis andrew45288
Posted
simon56380 andrew45288
Posted
Hi Andrew, Hanover's pretty much nailed it. Looking back, I had palpitations for years and ingnored them. I also suspect that I had paroxysmal AF for years and ignored that too. The end result of sticking my head in the sand was a tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy (a severely enlarged left ventricle that wouldn't pump very well) and persistent AF.
This is your body's way of telling you that it's had enough of overindulgence and it's time to start looking after it.
I'd advise googling AF risk factors and see how many of these apply to you and address the ones that are addressable.
Greatly reducing alcohol, losing weight/eating well, and regular moderate exercise will go a long way toward coping with AF.
I also had severe sleep apnoea, which also places extra strain on your heart, so maybe a sleep study would also help?
I now use a CPAP machine and can't believe how much better I feel for getting a good nights sleep!
It's not the end of the world, but you'll need to make some significant lifestyle adjustments, then all should be fine.
Good luck with it
Okapis simon56380
Posted
John5006 andrew45288
Posted
Hi Andrew,
?Best get good advice. Whether or not you are in Britain get onto the Atrial Fibrillation Association website and devour its content - including abiout an EP (Electrophyisiologist) near you - thats a specialist Cardiologist to deals in the hearts electrical circuits. The heart has two main bits - mechanical and electrical - bit like a car engine. Engine stops - car stops. Your heart - it stops - you stop. An EP is what you want. also read up on the vagal nerve - a main nerve which controls a number of organs - but especially the heart and digestive system.
I had palpitations for a year or so then right out of left field came AF - bang. Anxiety/stress is a good cause - booze and food can be in many sufferers dead cert triggers. sorry mate - cut out the booze - now ! Watch what you eat and see if any particular foods cause any digestive issues - if so give them away. Calm the digestive system and you calm the heart ! I've done it and haven't had any AF since April 2015.
Yes it can be a nightmare - if you let it.
?By the way, I was 65 when diagnosed, am 72 now, I hold a PCV (bus licence) I still work 30 to 40 hours a week bus driving AND I still pass my DVLA medical each year. I am active and often get out on the rugged and sometimes torturous Cornish South West Coastal Path - no problems.
You make it what you want mate.
BUT - get to an EP not an ordinary cardiologist !
?Cheer up, not the end of the world - just bloody seems that way.
John
Okapis andrew45288
Posted
I operated a pill in the pocket strategy with flecainide for many years which avoided continuous pill taking. It was only when the maximum dose became ineffective that I went for a catheter ablation. Ugh..My life was on hold for 2 yrs plus as I had three ablations with sepsis after one of them. Bad luck that! 11 days in a cardiology ward undid the second ablation...
The first line of defence will be probably to put you on Beta Blockers (avoid atenelol) but you amy not need that if you go back to sinus rhythm easily after felcainide.
Blood pressure varies all the time depending on what youre doing so expect it to rise and fall. The important thing is not to continue doing anything strenuous through an episode.
Tennessee Okapis
Posted
How do you keep yourself out of perm afib. I was taking 100 mg flecainide twice a day then went into afib again and increased to 150 mgs twice a day. Just had a cardioconversion. Lasted 10 days. I had my first ablation in 2009. Did pretty good for about 5 years. Not completely the longest episode was the one before this one four weeks on amiorderone taken off amiorderone because I was scared. Then put on flecainide permanently then in afib again after about 4 months. Thought I was good. Increased the flecainide. Cardioversion a week later. Found out some very stressful info. Went back in afib 10 days later. Christmas Day. Don't drink, don't smoke, no caffeine. Am overweight, but was thin when I had my first episode, tachycardia since my twenties. Have been mostly overweight since 18. Am 65 now. I'm sorry. Telling my life story. My ep said he would do another ablation is I lost weight. Since this last episode he said he would He said the weight is not going any where. But, unless I convert back, I will have been in afib for three months or more before my ablation. U said perm afib is hard to fix with ablation. He also mentioned a pace maker. But that would mean destroying a part of the heart that won't go back. I guess it gets scared.
Okapis Tennessee
Posted
Loosing weight is tricky, especially if youre one of those people who are genetically disposed to make good use of their food and store it all over their body. I'm one. Sorting out the AF and Arthritis has allowed me to get a lot fitter with the aid of a dog! She walks me every day. I have slowly lost weight and continue to do so.
Success rates are not so successful for permanant AF. A pacemaker is one way back to a more normal life but extra weight does put the heart under more strain..So the question for you is what are you more scared of...living with Afib and all that entails or having an op that will help?
Have you had any help in trying to loose weight from a nutritionist or dietician? It really is the key to feeling better.
Tennessee Okapis
Posted
Thank u for that input. I have lost weight so much in my lifetime. Sometimes I think the crazy diets I went on when I was young maybe could have helped with my heart issues, tachycardia, pvc, afib. Started in my twenty. Since then always used ww or some reputable orgination. Last tim I lost 114 lbs. that's when afib started. Kept the weight off three years. Still down 30 from where I started. So about every few years I lose and plan on keeping it off but comes back. Had knee replacements on both within the last 9 months. Used to walk a lot but kind of put a damper on it. Lol. Maybe I should talk to a therapist, sorry. Afib is just scarey no matter what and my life is certainly not stress free, no ones is. But I have a lot of anxiety. Thanks you
reginald86759 andrew45288
Posted
Interesting. Why avoid Atenolol?
reg
Okapis reginald86759
Posted
andrew45288 Okapis
Posted
Im currently having small palpitations, but it may be because I'm hooked to the internet reading about this! Is that normal?
Also if I improve my diet (not overweight but eat rubbish!) and massively reduce my alcohol, I shouldnt expect a flair up and could possibly get by without tablets for a while?
simon56380 andrew45288
Posted
Well I guess while there are no guarantees, it's probably reasonable to suggest that every risk factor/trigger you address increases your chances of staying in rhythm.
Alcohol does seem to be one of the big triggers though. Since having my ablation(back in April last year- first one so far), my EP has strongly emphasised the importance of consuming less than three standard drinks per week (which is just about impossible! )
I'm starting to think that total abstinence might actually be easier!!😦
reginald86759 Okapis
Posted
The reason I asked is that I am weaning myself off atenolol as I suspect it may be making the AF worse so it is interesting to read your views. Palpitations are a common side effect according to the warning in the enclosed pamphlet.the medics don't agree of course. May I ask how you come to your conclusion please..
Okapis andrew45288
Posted
Okapis reginald86759
Posted
1) a medical brother.. atenelol is one of the old beta blockers and very cheap - get a newer one instead
2) Chief Pharmacist at a major London teaching hospital