Have read so much most of which relates to rapid heatbeat etc...told I have AF 3 years ago and put on Warfarin when I was 80 years. But no one explained much in detail...my HR is ver slow and irreg especially at night in bed missing a beat every 3 or 4 beats..then goes back to around 65/75 as normal. Also on bisoprolol...don't quite follow the technical details discussed but have been told may need pacemaker later? Not seen this mentioned by anyone hardly what you need if you have AF with fast HR.
AF: Have read so much most of which... - Atrial Fibrillati...
AF
Hello George and to let you know, AF can come in so many different variations. It can be fast or slow and you are possibly lucky in that yours is slow so you do not suffer the frantic frogs dinner party that many do. Bisoprolol is a beta blocker which slows down the heart when you are in AF so it can take the rate down to a level where it can become too low. Missed beats are not necessarily AF by the way but often come hand in hand with it. If your heart rate fell consistently below 60 then you may need to discuss future treatment with your Cardiologist which could or could not involve a pacemaker. This won't stop AF but could make life more manageable. The reference on here to pacemakers is probably when people go for Pace and Ablate where the heart's natural pacemaker, the atrio ventricular node, is ablated after fitting of an artificial pacemaker. This is sometimes a last resort treatment for fast AF.
Hope that helps.
Bob
hi George I have af I had open heart surgery last year for a hole in the heart ,they were going to put a pacemaker in then but they changed there mind ,but I now found out I do need one because every time I get up from sitting my bp hits the floor ,and I have spoken at length with my g.p and she highly recommends it ,I am 59 years old and I to on warfarin .