PAF worry

Hi Ronnie. It's all very frustrating in the beginning until you get things sorted. don't give up! Have you noticed any triggers which set you off? It will help if you keep a food diary. for me l got AF after ingesting food and drinks with preservatives in them . food would take up to 24 hrs to affect me but drinks were much quicker. I was in rapid af whilst doing my stress test and the vigorous exercise actually converted me back to sinus rhythm! AF seems to be different for everyone. Do some detective work and good luck with it all. You are not alone. Robyn

Would expect your GP to refer you to a cardiac specialist as you have history of PAFib.The specialist would then consider whether to control your PAFib with medication (seems that he/she already has) or if the effects are serious enough for an ablation. Sotalol is a beta-blocker and is designed to slow your heart down , presumably you're taking this every day. Apaximal I don't know but Simvastatin is a cholesterol lowering drug. You don't say how often you get episodes and how long they last but if they worry you get your GP/consultant to refer you for an ablation.

 

Hi Ronnie, i live in Australia. I was on carvedilol when cardioverted for the first time back in January. Unfortunately, I only stayed in rhythm for a days afterwards. 

My cardiologist then put me on Amioderone in addition to carvedilol, and I had to wait 3 weeks for the Amioderone levels to build up before being cardioverted for the second time on Feb 17/15, but am still currently in rhythm!

As I understand it, Amioderone is an unusual drug that is in a class of its own. It is regarded as a strong antiarrythmia, and does have some potentially nasty side effects.

My Google research says that two thirds of people who are on Amioderone are still in rhythm 12 months after being cardioverted.

It is also my understanding Afib begets Afib, and the reverse is also true, the more/longer you are in rhythm, the more likely you are to stay in rhythm. My cardiologist wants me to remain on my blood thinners for the time being so if I go back into Afib, I Can be cardioverted straight away.

Longer term, my cardiologist wants to get me off Amioderone (or on a very low dose)because of it's nasty potential side effects, but right now it's working for me.

I also addressed my sleep apnea, which is also a potential cause of Afib. My wife had been telling me for the last decade that I often stopped breathing for long periods when I was asleep. I did a sleep study and was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and now have a CPAP machine. After a couple of days on the CPAP machine, I felt like a different person! I won't sleep without it now.

I currently think that the Amioderone and the CPAP machine have been the two main things that have helped me stay in rhythm for the last 6 weeks, and am keeping my fingers crossed that it keeps working.

Obliviously I am off caffeine and alcohol at the moment as well, just to safe.

Hope this is of some help to you.

I wish you luck with it all.

Hi Ronnie,

At first when I was diagnosed my medications actually controlled af pretty well. One of my drugs is also Sotalol.  Then over time af became more persistent so I was constantly going into Emergency and of course there was always a different doctor on duty and each time I was prescribed different medication to no avail unfortunately.  I have had 3 cardioconversions which for awhile helped. The end result now is right or wrong I do not race down to Emergency I actually just sit it out. and eventually I convert to NSR.  I think I have tried every medication that is at hand and it is Sotalol that helps me somewhat.  Maybe a visit to your doctor to discuss a change in medication. 

Thank you all for your comments, it has helped and made me feel less anxious. I have noticd one or two triggers but they seem a bit wide ranging, alcohol, caffiene, and yesterday when I went into AF it seemed it was after doing some work around my house and garden. I also sat through it and luckily I went back into rythem within a few hours. Maybe the tablets are working better now as that is the shortest period I have been back in AF and my heart rate was slower but irregular instead of fast.

It is frustrating not seeing the same people when I have had to go back into hospital my questions seem to have different answers which has confused me somewhat but I guess it is the nature of this condition, it seems slightly different for each individual patient. In October when I was diagnosed I was given an appointment at the hospital's cardio clinic for July this year, it seems a long way away now, let alone back then when this was all new and rather frightening. I am hoping the cardiologist can shed some light on my condition and what it may mean for me in the future. Thankyou once again, you have helped.

Ron.

Thank you all for your comments, it has helped and made me feel less anxious. I have noticd one or two triggers but they seem a bit wide ranging, alcohol, caffiene, and yesterday when I went into AF it seemed it was after doing some work around my house and garden. I also sat through it and luckily I went back into rythem within a few hours. Maybe the tablets are working better now as that is the shortest period I have been back in AF and my heart rate was slower but irregular instead of fast.

It is frustrating not seeing the same people when I have had to go back into hospital my questions seem to have different answers which has confused me somewhat but I guess it is the nature of this condition, it seems slightly different for each individual patient. In October when I was diagnosed I was given an appointment at the hospital's cardio clinic for July this year, it seems a long way away now, let alone back then when this was all new and rather frightening. I am hoping the cardiologist can shed some light on my condition and what it may mean for me in the future. Thankyou once again, you have helped.

Ron.

10 months seems a long time to have to wait for a follow up appointment. Any possibility that you can speak to your GP and get them to bring it forward. I thought I was hard done by waiting from September to February to have an EP study carried out.  Also suggest that you go back to your GP and ask them to seek a second opinion from a Cardiologist regarding the 'cocktail' of drugs you have been given to ensure they're not cancelling each other out.

Hope you're feeling better today.

PS: I have been advised not to have any alcohol or caffeine but would welcome views from other followers as to how sound this advice is.