Recovery time after first af

I don't know if it's rejevant but I'm 35 and I had to be shocked back into rhythm - I'm not on any medication atm

A up steve wunt like to say pal but its one club tou dont want to be in ive just rejoined it after nearly 6 months without it and i would rather not be in the af club it sucks but get well stay well and hope its just a one off episode

HI Steve

Normally the first time they won't put you in medications until you start having them regularly. I had 3 cardio versions before they decided to put me on any drugs and now I'm just recovering from an AF ablation of my right Aetrial chamber. I first got symptoms 7 years ago from a bout of stress and excess drinking. I learnt to control my stress and curb my drinking and would only get the odd occasions of AF.

if you want to stay off drugs and not progress worse try and maintain a stress free lifestyle if you can. This condition gets worse as you get older but it can strike anyone at any age.

personally I could not the drugs as they made me feel weird. I'm on Xeralto now which is a blood thinner and hoping my first ablation has worked.

if your still getting some flutters I would go back to your doctor. The pain could be a combination of the Cardioversion you had, but best to be safe than sorry. Hopefully this is just a one of episode and you won't have another one. 

Good luck! 

Hi. I was diagnosed in January (I believe AF began previous Octobers) and was put on Dabigatran. I had  Cardioversion 5 days ago. It has worked but I have been warned the AF will probably come back at some point. It took me several days to start feeling good, but today I really do!Long may it last. I am a 62yr old female in UK. 

hello   well how long before you feel back to normal very hard to say ive had af almost a year some times it last a short while and another time a day or two although im on medication which is a great help its much better i dread it coming on been offered ablation but i really dont want that at this moment, do you find af comes on even when you sleep  stress is not good for af atall

Hi Steve,

I'm only 5 years ahead of you at 40.  I had small bouts of afib since my 20's once per year or so.  I never knew it was afib and would auto convert out of it after 10 or 20 seconds.  Last November I went into AF for 2 hours straight and had to be shocked.  That worked and I instantly felt fine.  I was working out the next day.  However, as a pilot I'm grounded until this gets figured out.  I tried a few different meds with varying doses and the final one worked well.  That process took 3 months to tweak the meds.  During that 3 months I had daily evnts with several different arythmias including afib and it was maddening.  I talked to several pilots that had the ablation and for most of them it worked for years after only having one procedure.  I had the ablation 3 days ago.  For me it was worth the hastle of the procedure/risks for the possibility of lessening/eliminating this nasty heart issue.  As others have said, this will very likely worsten as you age and meds may keep this at bay.  I wanted to give myself every possibility I could to reduce the arythmias so I had the Ablation and have meds in case that doesn't work.  Your're a young guy and if the afib continues the abaltion is a perfect solution as your body will handle it relatively well.  Best of luck to you.   

Hope your symptoms have settled down and stabilised Steve. I hadn't ever heard of AF until September last year, when I had a dreadful experience and for the following 6 months felt that life wasn't going to be worth living as I felt so dreadful with the meds I was given. They brought my 200+ heart rate down with a drug, rather than shocking, but after that I'm afraid I can't praise the NHS for making me battle for a diagnosis and plan of care. The greatest lack of attention was my psychological state as it seems, like others on here, that you've had a close shave. If you don't feel that your Consultant and GP is listening to any worries or addressing the problems you're having with the meds I'd suggest considering changing your GP for one with a special interest in cardiology. I was so worried about the long waith for an echocariogram, holter monitor and E.P. study that I paid for the echo myself to set my mind at rest. The bisoprolol made me feel so cold even with the heating on and lots for warm clothing I still felt cold, but was told nothing could be done. Will be interested to hear of your progress.  Good luck.

Id just like to thank everyone for taking the time to reply to me, Thankyou for all your best wishes and advice. It's now been nearly 4 weeks since my first af and I feel like I'm improving slowly but surely, I've had a few bad days when I think I've gone into af but it's sorted its self out after an hour or so, My chest still feels tight some days and I still feel quite tired. I'm booked in for an echo scan in 2 weeks time then have an appointment with a cardiologist in 3 weeks so hopefully il keep improving until I see them. Thanks again everyone

Hi Steve

I normally get back to normal after two weeks.

Although I am unable to eat much, a spicy curry alleviates my a-fib. I think its the tumeric and cayenne. They are good for the heart. Especially cayenne, you should research it.

Take care

Hi Steve I'm a 48 male living in South Australia. Without wanting to appear rude, Your question is a bit like asking " how long is a piece of string?". 

Afib has many variables associated with it, and it seems to be difficult to generalise. All I can do is tell you my story & what worked fro me. Also, I recommend you do lots of internet research & make a list of questions for each time you see your cardiologist.

I went to hospital on Dec 7, 2014 with what was diagnosed as 'a tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy'. I was in afib and had a pulmonary ademia (fluid in my lungs). Subsequent tests revealed that I had a severely enlarged left ventricle with an ejection fraction of only 25%,  and a moderately leaky mitral valve.

I was put on a variety of meds and had an electrocardiogram prior to being cardioverted for the 1st time on the 17/1/15. The ECG showed that things had only slight improved during this time and my ejection fraction was 27%. 

I only stayed in rhythm for a few days after the cardioversion, so was put on a stronger antiarrythmia called amiodarone. I had to wait 3 weeks to be cardioverted, as it took time for my Amioderone levels to build up in my system.

I was cardioverted again on the 17/2/15 and am currently still in rhythm (YAY!!!). 

I had an MRI on the 17/3/15 and my cardiologist (he was quit exited!) called the other

day to say my ejection fraction had increased to 54%!!!!! Which is on the lower end of normal.

I attribute this quite remarkable recovery over the last 8.5 weeks to the very diligent, multi faceted approach that I took toward my heart failure. This is what I did.

My cardiologist gradually increased my meds to the maximum levels.

For years, wife had been telling me that I stopped breathing for long periods in my sleep, so I did a sleep study & was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I have now addressed this issue and get 7.5 - 8 hrs of quality sleep each night (which I have found out IS REALLY IMPORTANT!) with the help of a CPAP machine.

As advised, I eliminated alcohol and caffeine from my diet and went on a low sodium diet (I was very dilligent about this).

I have also been off work and taking it easy (Reduced Stress levels).

I firmly believe that doing all the above (and of course, being in rhythm for the last four weeks!) has essentially saved my life!

Recovering from heart failure is a journey, I wish you luck and good fortune on yours.

All the best,

Simon

 

Hi guys - update for you, I had my first appointment with my cardiologist yesterday and the good news is that my heart is fine. I've not been put on any medication and basically have been told to see how I get on so I guess I've got to try and forget what's happend and live my life although it kind of feels like I'm giving up as there's nothing proactive I can do except live a healthy lifestyle so I guess il just get on with it. I asked the doctor about an aviation as I would rather take the risk and fix the problem rather than wait for things to deteriorate but he's said no one would touch me having only ever had one episode of af so it seems things will have to get worse before they get better.