Talking with others in the same language is a great gift

[Maitha]

Even I'm suffering like others in this group but I feel good since at last I'm not alone

Previously I used to complain a lot from symptoms nobody can understand it even doctors

I really started to believe I'm mentally ill and I was on depression medication for six months to prevent panic attacks which they were AF attacks actually

Even it is not easy case but I feel relaxed at last when my cardiologist who is treating me for 15 years look at me with a smile saying : you are right , I can see a flutter in your EKG this time so pls stop your depression drug ! And he refer me to EP

I did not hear about it before at all , even I didn't know what EP means

I discovered that it s very common , I heard about young patients even teenagers suffering from AF as well as adults

Is it known long back or it is new due to modern life stress? I'm sure stress is playing major part in the cause

Just having a chat with myself before going to sleep

Good night and sweet dreams to all of you

Maitha

[Hidden]

Goodnight Maitha,

Sweet dreams and remember 'The stars cant shine without the darkness'.......CX

[Maitha in reply to Hidden]

You are so sweat really , awaiting your meeting outcome with the doctor

Hope you feel better today

Thank you

[feejbee]

You are so right. I suppose because AF is difficult to diagnose unless it's captured on an ECG it doesn't exist ! Therefore it becomes a panic attack - even more so if you are a woman.When I had a bad attack and was taken to hospital I had an ECG but it didn't show anything .They sent me home and I did feel they thought I was imagining it. It still wasn't diagnosed for several months and only because I wore a Holter moniter for a week ,that then gave them plenty of evidence.

Sleep well and have an AF free night ,hoping that the ablation works for you

Fi

[Maitha in reply to feejbee]

Happy to hear that you are recovered quickly , and pray for you that it will be the last attack ever

Apnea my trigger it as I read in addition to asthma as my case

Regards

[BobD Volunteer]

Hi Maitha, pleasant dreams and good sleep.

Regarding the "history" of AF , for many years doctors considered it a benign nuisance only and told patients to go away and get used to it. Around the early nineties radio frequency ablation was discovered and much later cryo-ablation where they use freezing to make the scar tissue. Around 2007 they made the link with stroke and that is when things started to take off with particular attention to stroke prevention from anticoagulation. That formidable lady Trudie Lobhan had been working on Arrhythmia Alliance to get heart rhythm disorders added to the national frame work for NHS here in UK and with the majority of arrhythmias being AF related also started Atrial Fibrillation Association. Since then AF Association has spread through the world and at last year's Heart Rhythm Congress I met representatives from USA, China, Sweden and many other European countries.

Regarding the reasons for the increase in AF I am inclined to believe that this is mainly due to better diagnosis as many people never found out they had AF until maybe they had a serious stroke. Modern life does sometimes add to AF , for example endurance athletes who train hard and long tend to be amongst the younger people who have AF and one often reads in the press of such and such an athlete who has been diagnosed. In UK it is believed that there are about 800,000 diagnosed cases and probably another half million undiagnosed. In USA the figures are probably four times that a least so you see you are not alone.

Sadly we still hear of people who have been ignored by their GP and fobbed off with anti depressants for panic attacks. Rome wasn't built in a day they tell me but sometimes I wish we could go faster to help more and more people around the globe. We can all do our little bit by as you have, offering the hand of friendship to others on our journey through AF

BobD

[Hidden in reply to BobD]

Bob, you may or may not recall that I have had paroxysmal & persistent AF + A/ flutter for over 20 years now & my kids used to refer to it as '' mum's funny turns'' -- even though I had been diagnosed with AF from the beginning. This led me to believe that the ' funny turns ' attributed to women over the years, not always relating to the menopause, may well have been AF but of course the docs were not as informed as they ( mostly ) are now. I believe my grandmother was such a victim & went on to have a fatal stroke , albeit in her 80's .

Sandra

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Hidden]

Yes I am sure you are right. Male chauvanism at it's best! I was only diagnosed when I moved house and changed GPs as my new doctor's mother had AF and she knew about it. Proir to that I had been treated for stomach problems for years!

[Maitha]

Thank you for being around during these difficult days , and wish you all AF free life , and thank you Bob you are doing good job here , wish you all the best

Yes Feejbee I tried the holter around ten times during three years and no flutter shown at all , only ectopic beats !

I'm planning to talk with the hospital here to form a support group , since I never met AF patient here , really it helps a lot to know that you are not alone

I used to talk about my suffering to my family and friends but,,, they just feel sorry for me and even my husband and brother ( men !!) always highlighting that it is mainly in my mind and nothing actual , only my sister keep on telling me it is impossible a panic attack and I'm not that type of ppl

Hope there is online chatting here to talk more about us and support each others more

Regards

Maitha

[skary]

It's such a shock when you know you have symptoms that do not fit into the hole that doctors try to put them; I was treated for years for panic attacks. On top of that even when they did diagnose it as AF I was given the * you'll get used to it* talk.

Thankfully things are changing and now we have a much better chance of being treated properly .... but it's still a little hit & miss especially where the need for anti coagulants is concerned. This site has given me the will and determination to get the best treatment therefore having the best chance of a reasonable life.

On top of that is the friendly way information is freely given & the support when we all have a downtime moment !

thank you all ....

Nikki

[Maitha in reply to skary]

So you also had been diagnosed earlier as panic disorders

I think it is normal to get panic due to AF as a welt not the opposite

Working together to support each others during those downtime moments

Maitha

[squirrel21 in reply to Maitha]

I was diagnosed with panic disorder after SVT attacks and these were cure with ablation . But panics remained and I could not tolerate antidepressants. Then I had my first big AF treated successfully with cardioversion within 12 hours. Now imam on bisoprolol being reduced to 0 and rivaroxaban for 3 months. My panic disorder is being traded with CBT - hard work! Regards Eva

.

[skary]

yes it makes such a difference .

Nik