Atrial Flutter corrected in time to prevent more serious heart problems

[diamondrn]

While I was seeing my VA Oncologist during a scheduled appointment, he and my wife noticed that I was not being as responsive to my surroundings as normal.

He listened to my heart through a stethoscope and then took me into another room across the hall for an EKG, where it was discovered that I was experiencing an irregular heartbeat.

The doctor called an ambulance and I was soon on my way to the emergency room at Carolinas Medical Center Main (Atrium) in Charlotte.

I was hooked up to an EKG machine in the ambulance and I could see on the monitor that my heartbeat was very fast and erratic.

The EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) started an IV in my left arm so he could administer some drugs to try to get my heartbeat back to normal.

As soon as I had received about 100ccs of normal saline, before he could even administer any meds, my heartbeat pattern on the monitor returned to a normal sinus rhythm and stayed that way all the way to the hospital.

The diagnosis in the Emergency Room was that I had experienced an Atrial Flutter event; and that I was severely dehydrated, which accounted for the arrhythmia and some extreme nausea.

(ADT patients, like myself, are well-acquainted with dehydration and nausea.)

They put in 2 liters of normal saline to replenish my fluid level and some Promethazine for the nausea and watched me for a couple of hours.

I went home around 5 PM. Everything seems to be back to normal this morning,

Praise God.

Link to more info about Atrial Flutter at Mayo Clinic >>> mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...

[Javelin18]

Thanks for the post and information on what to look out for. So glad you were in the right place when it happened

[diamondrn in reply to Javelin18]

Thank you, Javelin18. I give God the credit for putting me there, at the right place at the right time.

[CAMPSOUPS]

Thanks for sharing. In my case it is yet again a reason to make more effort to hydrate and yes I think I occasionally have cardiac flutter.As with many of us rather than incontinent I cant completely empty my bladder so frequent trips to the bathroom ensue.

I have realized that I subconsciously and sometimes on purpose shun hydrating myself for fear of increased trips to the bathroom.

[diamondrn in reply to CAMPSOUPS]

Been there and done that, CAMPSOUPS

[Hidden in reply to CAMPSOUPS]

No bueno amigo . We need to run a river and flush out the poisons like adt .

[CAMPSOUPS in reply to Hidden]

I know, I know man. Thanks for the push. The concern thanks.

[Hidden in reply to CAMPSOUPS]

We are all the same in this. Everybody is dehydrated . Drink up! Be well soup! Tgif

[dhccpa in reply to CAMPSOUPS]

Have you tried lemon/lime juice with water? That seems to help me. Black coffee, on the other hand, seems to aggravate it.

[MrG68 in reply to dhccpa]

Have you tried decaf? Maybe the caffeine is having an effect. You should also be aware that decaf has an amount of caffeine in it as well, just less of an amount.If you go for decaf, I suggest you go for one that is Swiss water processed. It’s removes virtually all of it.

On a side note, if you hydrate yourself on water only, you’ll potentially deplete your electrolytes. I believe that this can lead to AF. I’d consider using a little fasting salts here and there when hydrating. At the very least you can add a sprinkle of salt to your water.

[dhccpa in reply to MrG68]

I do not like decaf. Other mild forms of caffeine (like cacao or tea leaves) don't seem to have the black coffee effect. Of course, I squeeze lemon into tea. I've worked around the issue by starting out with black coffee, then shifting to lemon water. Seems to work.

[bean1008 in reply to CAMPSOUPS]

I’m right there with you… I am not fully voiding my bladder and it is so annoying! And I have to force myself to even drink a liter of water a day but I should probably be having three!

[diamondrn in reply to bean1008]

We need to be careful about electrolyte levels all of the time; not just during the summer.

[MrG68]

Yeah, it can give you a real scare, right? I used to get AF frequently a few years back. The thing that worked for me was actually replenishing my electrolytes. At the time I actually used some fasting salts and then found by trial and error and at it looked like low potassium. I take potassium citrate now and then for this reason. I believe the citrate also deals with oxalates which is why I don’t use fasting salts anymore. On a side note, I’ve read on a few places that AF can also be down to some back issue. I asked my chiropractor about that and he said that can be the case. So if you have had a back trauma in the middle of your back it might be worth looking at that. Wasn’t the case for me though.

[diamondrn in reply to MrG68]

I just bought a bottle of Pedialyte, MrG68

Now I need to figure out how to work it into my diet and keep the balance between too much and too little.

I was not aware of the spinal injury connection. I have metastases at T-4 , T-9 and L5-S1.

Xofigo is supposed to take care of those so they don't get big enough to cause spinal compression problems.

[CAMPSOUPS in reply to diamondrn]

Just curious. Did your Dr. have any recommendations ?

[diamondrn in reply to CAMPSOUPS]

Not yet, but I am scheduled to see him in about a month.

[j-o-h-n in reply to MrG68]

Well if you asked most chiropractors if AF was caused by your ears not being pierced they would agree that's the reason why and then throw you on their therapy table for a treatment. Money, Money Money..... don't leave home without it......

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Sunday 03/27/2022 8:20 PM DST

[MrG68 in reply to j-o-h-n]

It’s funny you say that actually. I had an issue with my lower back. My chiropractor sorted it on 4 visits. Gave me exercises and stretches to do and told me not to come back unless they didn’t work. He could have easily had me back another 4 times.Contrast that with my previous pcp. My annual checkup, they did an ecg, and recommended that I go on statins because my ldl cholesterol was ‘high’. They also tried me to get to see specialists during my visit. When I refused they sent in another doctor who tried to convince me for the next 30 mins. There was other stuff as well. They really put in the hard sell.

Never even attempted to discuss how to lower my ldl. Straight through to drugs. Our conversation got a little heated when I started to ask questions.

FWIW, I have no issues personally with ldl. IMO lowering your ldl is dangerous. Taking statins is a really bad thing to do. I have relations who take these and had suffered multiple heart attacks.

[j-o-h-n in reply to MrG68]

It's a good thing they didn't try to sell you some swamp land in Florida. Should I say at least your relatives aren't fighting our Beast (a blessing in disguise?)........

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Sunday 03/27/2022 9:57 PM DST

[MrG68 in reply to j-o-h-n]

He could also have tried to 'sell me a bridge'. He'd have stood more chance with that than me taking statins. 😀

[j-o-h-n in reply to MrG68]

You mean to tell me you didn't buy the bridge? Wow did you miss out on an opportunity....Put up a toll and just think how much you would have earned (minus the periodic holdups) by the traffic going and coming from Brooklyn. Live and Learn......“🌉”

P.S. We have a NYC borough dedicated to the lowering of cholesterol. It's called Statin Island...... (Unfortunately not serviced by the Brooklyn Bridge).

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Monday 03/28/2022 3:41 PM EST

[Hidden]

Oh mama! Praise God indeed that you made it. Please don’t do that again . We are all hit down by treatments ,especially the heart . Dehydration is sweeping the nation. I watch my adult friends and see most don’t drink enough water . We just don’t realize it . I’ve gone to lab Corp a few times where they could barely and slowly draw blood .. Us Drinking lots of spring water is the key .. I’m drinking a glass for you right now . 🙏👏👏👏😎

[Tall_Allen]

My best friend is having cardiac arrhythmias. His doctor attributes it to Covid19.

[Hidden in reply to Tall_Allen]

That covid is a brute….good luck to him!

[diamondrn in reply to Tall_Allen]

Is your friend in the hospital for COVID, T_A?

[Tall_Allen in reply to diamondrn]

No - he got Covid last year. He had some long-term lung problems that have cleared up. The heart arrhythmias are new. He wore a sensor for a few weeks with a bluetooth connection to his iphone. Next month he will either be put on drugs or a pacemaker. The latest innovation is radiotherapy to the places in the heart that causes the fibrillation.

[diamondrn in reply to Tall_Allen]

That's tricky stuff, Tall_Allen. I can't imagine spot-welding something in your heart.

[Tall_Allen in reply to diamondrn]

It's fairly new. SBRT can be tuned to submillimeter accuracy (as it is in the brain):

acc.org/latest-in-cardiolog....

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/n...

[Hidden in reply to Tall_Allen]

Boy, I hope that he can escape it all . 🙏

[Boonster in reply to Tall_Allen]

I do not have heart disease, but as a prophylactic measure, my cardiologist implanted in my chest wall a cardiac monitor. It is a remote follow-up system that allows him to upload and manage data from the monitor daily. Since I'm on ADT, I find the monitor to be a reassuring presence!

[Hidden in reply to Tall_Allen]

An electrophysiologist is the surgeon who does flutter or a-fib ablation surgery. I know an excellent one in the Phoenix area. Very highly rated.

[Hidden in reply to Tall_Allen]

I have a history of atrial fibrillation. I was prescribed rythmol (propafenone) which was effective against a-fib but produced a-flutter instead. This was years ago when a-fib was a lengthy procedure and there was a long waiting list to access the special operating facilities for it so I was given flutter ablation, a less invasive and shorter procedure than a-fib ablation. I continued on rythmol for years until that failed at which point I was treated to a-fib ablation surgery which these days is a quicker surgery and the waiting list isn't a problem. For any kind of heart arrhythmia I suggest taking CoQ10 and magnesium supplements.

[timotur]

Atrial flutter is tricky. Mine has occurred usually as a result of too much caffeine or dehydration. The worst episode put me in ER-- manifested by sharp palpitations every two hours. I had run on a hot day, and became severely dehydrated. An IV fixed it. A few years later, after PCa dx, Zytiga caused high BP made the situation worse-- the palpitations were much stronger and had to stop taking it after five months.

[diamondrn in reply to timotur]

When my BP went up while on Zytiga 'Tall_Allen' suggested upping Prednisone to 10mg/day.

That brought my BP back to normal.

A few months later my PSA started going through the roof and I had to get off the Zytiga.

[Hidden in reply to timotur]

When my atrial fibrillation was poorly managed by drugs pocket Kings was enough to trigger an episode !

[London441]

Good ending to that story! Especially that dehydration can play such a role. Seems we are all similar re hydration. I used to do it effortlessly but it seems like 200 years ago.

Are you able to exercise? Ironically, I can only imagine getting dehydrated to that extent if I didn’t.

[diamondrn in reply to London441]

I have a lot of pain due to a bone metastasis on my left hip that keeps me from being able to exercise. I sometimes have to walk with a cane because of the pain.

I just finished a 10-day course of EBRT about 3 weeks ago that is supposed to help alleviate pain.

Other areas on my back and Ilium are responding well, just not that one on the hip.

The Oncologist and the Radiologist both agree that they can give that area another radiation hit, if things don't get better in a month or two.

[Hidden in reply to diamondrn]

I can relate ,that hip pain can disable one . I hope it will knock that pain out . If not zaparoni again , anything to stop that pain . I’m thinking in two weeks you will feel better ? Its a tuff way to make a living . Feel better! 🏜

[Duk26]

Glad everyone was so proactive and that you are doing well. Thank you for sharing so we can be on lookout for similar problems.

[Jack71]

You need to monitor your heart to detect any return of A-fib. If it turns out to be intermittent or continuous, you should be on blood thinners (Coumadin, Eliquis, etc.). A-fib is very serious and can lead to a stroke, as the irregular beats can cause clots to form in the heart, which can get pumped out into your blood stream. A-fib can start as a rare, short time event, but evolve into a dangerous condition.

I speak with experience, as my wife had a terrible stroke due to A-fib. Her doctor detected A-fib, put her on Coumadin, and then decided to take her off of it. Very bad decision as shortly after that, she had a stroke and is paralyzed on her left side and has very limited vision. Her A-fib since then has evolved from intermittent to continuous, and she is on Coumadin and later, Eliquis, ($$!) to keep her from having another stroke. Our lives have been forever changed. She is severely limited, so I have been her full-time care giver for the past 20 years.

Talk to your doctor about a monitor for your heart, and also get a good blood pressure monitor that can detect A-fib. Use the device often!

[diamondrn in reply to Jack71]

I have been referred to the Cardiac Clinic at the VA in Charlotte for follow up.

[Hidden in reply to diamondrn]

They will help you !

[Hidden in reply to Jack71]

So sad to hear that, as I have dealt with atrial fibrillation for many years and was lucky to avoid such a terrible stroke event.