AF At Night

[picman2007]

For the past couple of weeks I've gone into AF soon after going to bed but it has flipped back to SR either before I awake or shortly there after. These episodes have woken me and are mixed with ectopics and flutter as well. I currently take Amiodarone 200mg and Bisoprolol 2.5mg. Does this happen to anyone else?

[Dave1961]

I'm on metoprolol (same as bisoprolol) 50 mg a.m. 50 m.g. p.m. My 50 mg equals 5 mg of bisprolol so your dosage seems kind of low considering you are on 1/4 of my dose?

I was on 50 mg of metoprolol in the a.m. but after several p.m. AF attacks my doctor added in 50 mg at night as metorpolol is really only effective for 12 hours.

I don't know if bisoprolol is the same i.e. only effective for 12 hours after taking but it's worth investigating with your doctor?

Also google AF and magnesium - you should consider supplements to help get your AF under control. Its been a life saver for me!

[picman2007 in reply to Dave1961]

My doctor offered me an extra dose of the Bisoprolol so I could take them 12 hours apart but the higher risk off a slow heart rate has put me off taking it, my heart rate often drops to 45 and I've been told for my build that is bad!

[Flaka in reply to Dave1961]

I have been taking Metoprolol 25 mg twice a day but EP has now put me on an extended release Metoprolol 50mg that I only had to take once a day which works much better for me. I am going to ask him to put me on a once a day anticoagalant also instead of the twice a day Pradaxa I have been taking. Too easy to get busy and forget the second dose or be away from home and not have meds with me. I also have been taking a magnesium supplement as well as taking a bath in Epsom salts everynight and also taking Taurine and L-Arginine and they have helped tremendously. My episodes are few and far between now and they don't last very long.

[Dave1961 in reply to Flaka]

Isn't it great to have discovered magnesium and see what an amazing diff it can make. 3 months now and I have only had 2 very quick 10 minute flutters which disappeared just by me deep breathing and relaxing as opposed to ending up in A&E! My cardio tried to force me completely off 200 mg Amiodarone 18 months ago (with nothing to replace it) which I refused to do so we negotiated to halving the dose and 3 weeks later had a major AF attack and landed in hospital. Upped back to 200 mg and have stayed there but now that my heart feels so much more stable with the magnesium I dropped back to 100 mg yesterday. Fingers crossed as I would really like to get of Amiodarone completely but I'm going to wait at least 3 months on 100 mg before I drop it. Have an appt with my cardio in a month so hopefully all good by then on 100 mg.

[Flaka in reply to Dave1961]

Yep magnesium is great. You should try the other 2 supplements I mentioned, a Taurine and L - arginine as they have also helped me.

[Dave1961 in reply to Flaka]

Is taurine the same as magnesium taurate? I'll check out the arginine for interactions with my current drugs but from what I have read quickly it sounds good!

This study from the U.K. actually talks about ELIMINATING arrhythmia with a combination of these two. VERY interesting reading...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/167...

[Spud12345 in reply to Flaka]

What is taurine and l arginine?

[Hidden]

I can't sleep on my left side and sometimes not on my back. I have to sleep on my right otherwise my ticker goes all over the place. I understand that this can be the other way round for some.

Koll

[Spiritji in reply to Hidden]

I am the same.... It is better to sleep on the right side..... I am in Afib 99 % of the time but still it seems worse if I sleep on the left side which I prefer.... If Instart off on the right side I can switch a bit later to the left side and it is sort of ok

I don't think the cardiologists know this but it seems common knowledge

[Viv2015 in reply to Hidden]

I have exactly the same symptoms as you Koll,laying on my left side is a no no.

Viv

[Eddiesue]

Sorry but it always seems that I am talking about myself but here I go .

I have had the same thing for many years , it starts after 2-3 hours liying down in bed

First it starts with tremors and quickly turns into AF - Palpitations.

I suffer also with CFS/ME - Fibromyalgia and cannot tolerate beater blocker and the likes , I have had two AV node ablations but still i feel it at night and wake up on a regular basis with AF to the extent that I have CFS/ME because of sleep deprivation .

After years of up set and constant begging for a sleep test I was finally given a POLYSOMNOGRAPHY test that showed I have complexed sleep apnea that wakes me up every two minutes from deep sleep , sadly the CPAP will not work for me .

I have had private tests that put my problem down to the Autonomic nerves system

And it is starting the AF . Now I have drawn a blank because the NHS don't recognise this problem .

My advise to you would be to start with sleep apnea tests and go from there , when

The heart goes into AF it doesn't meen that it is something wrong with the heart , it could be trying to tell you there is something wronge somewhere els . With me they were give me beater blockers to control my heart when in reality it wasn't my heart that was at fault.

Eddie Barker .

[Polski in reply to Eddiesue]

Magnesium might help. Losing weight may help too, if you need to. My heart goes out to you.

[Hidden]

Mine comes on at night as well, not as frequently as yours but almost inevitably at night, and it often goes when I get up and start moving about in the morning. As Koll says often the heart seems to dislike it if you sleep on the left side, that's when my AF tends to start up...

Lis

[DBoy]

I have not been diagnosed with full blown AF although I did have had periodic heart racing for which I take Sotalol....I also experienced fluttering most nights when going to bed even after ensuring that I was relaxed beforehand

I also take a Statin for my Cholesterol... after reading about CoQ10 helping with tiredness etc. attributed to taking Statins I consulted my GP about taking CoQ10 and received the OK

After a week or so of taking CoQ10 I experienced more of a 'feel good' factor...the change was subtle but I also noticed that the heart fluttering at bedtime has ceased.

A double bonus for me

[Dave1961 in reply to DBoy]

Nice to read that CoQ10 had good benefits - just waiting for mine to arrive in the mail

[rosyrosie]

I have a pacemaker now since June last year. My AF now farless common but as soon as I lay flat in bed I can feel a change. When I have had pacemaker check ups there is evidence of AF at night. Pacemaker was necessary after a Cardioversion caused extra slow heart beat. During the day I feel absolutely fine now and getting back to my previous fitness and getting my weight down.

[picman2007 in reply to rosyrosie]

Hi rosyrosie can I ask what your heart rate dropped too?

[rosyrosie in reply to picman2007]

My heart rate was between 30 and 32 but also stopping regularly for 7 or 8 seconds. Rest of the time 48 at the most. At hospital they thought I was worrying too much. However after a monitor for a week I was rushed in urgently and had to wait 4 days till my INR was ok to operate. It was a relief to be in hospital. They used to wake me up at night to make sure I was alive as computer monitor showed no heartbeat. Now I feel fine.

[EngMac]

I used to have this and I thought it seemed to always occur when, sometime during the day, I ate what I perceived to be triggers as it always happened on nights when I ate a trigger during the day. Fact or fiction; who knows. It could be that the heart tends to beat slower while sleeping and maybe this is why it stutters and kicks into AF. Watching the EKG printout shows the beats stutter when the heart enters and leaves AF. The heart tries to continue in sinus but fails and enters AF or it leaves AF and returns to sinus but it usually takes a few tries before either happens. Also anti - arrhythmia drugs can make AF worse according to one study I read. I think it said vagal AF. This drug impact happened to me. I am still off all drugs but on lots of supplements and avoid my perceived triggers and I have avoided AF for a few months now. My heart seems to be acting better as well - less interrupted and slow beats. Here's hoping something I am doing is working. I really think it is difficult to figure out which supplements might help the heart if drugs are in the mix but this is just an assumption. Maybe the drug supplement mix can be effective for some people and this is really all we are trying to achieve.

[picman2007]

Thanks everyone. I too sleep on my right (seems to be the bad side). I go back to the cardiologist in may so will see what he has to say.

[Wightbaby]

This is sort of relevant so not taking you off at a tangent......please can you tell the diffrence between ectopics and flutter?

[picman2007 in reply to Wightbaby]

Yes the ectopics I've been told is when it feels like my heart has missed a beat or stopped for a split second and the flutter feels like palpitations only regular and not irregular.

[genorm]

Am I right (very possibly not right though!) in thinking that to be in AF, I have to have a significantly fast heart rate? This is something I have never experienced, but my symptoms are absolutely flutter and ectopics. Thanks.

[jennydog in reply to genorm]

No, that's not right. We are all different. I have what is described as 'classic AF' but I do not have a rate problem, just a rhythm problem.

I have often thought how ghastly it must be to have a rate of 180 or so.

[picman2007 in reply to genorm]

No it doesn't have to be fast just irregular. Although the first time I went into AF my heart rate was 258 and the second time 256. It has been lower on several times since, anything from 84 to 130. Are you on any meds for it?

[genorm]

I was given bisoprolol, which was not a success. I could not function like this (totally lethargic) and hold down my job - my heart rate has never been rapid and my bp is always on the low side of normal. I stopped the beta-blockers and am seeing my gp next week. My next cardio appt is in june. I need to get across to the professionals that my problem is not that I need a rate reducer, I feel that I need to try to correct the arrhythmias. The missing beats are quite constant now, with an extra beat less often. No anti-coagulants were suggested at my initial appt. Can I ask, please, which medications the 'slow-rate' contributors are on?

[Mar1lyn]

Hi genorm - according to my Alivecor readout I had Bradycardia (hb in the 40's) and AF at the same time. I take 2.5 Bisoprolol am and pm. My heart rate generally is in 40s or 50s and I feel ok most of the time. My problems with PAF and tackycardia/bradycardia always occur at night, waking me up. They are always HORRIBLE - very fast or slow, double ectopics atrial and ventricular, banging and crashing in my chest, making me feel nauseous and a little breathless. Then I get very cold and can't stop shivering. Waiting for EP appointment and ablation (second time round). Hope you stay well.

Regards M