Absolutely sue

Can anyone describe what they feel in af because I keep feeling really weird same time every day but it feels more like anxiety to me can't feel my heart racing

[jennydog]

This is so hard to answer, let alone describe. I do not have a significant rate problem. The highest ever recorded was 135. My cardiologist described my rhythm problem as "classic AF." Pre-ablation a full blown attack would render me totally unable to function. I would have to lie down. It felt as if the oxygen wasn't getting round my body. I would invariably sleep it off.

Post-ablation the attacks are mild. I can feel an erratic pulse but I can keep doing my chores with the knowledge that Flecainide as a p-I-p will correct things.

[Hidden in reply to jennydog]

Jenny did it feel like panic attack did your head feel as though it wouldn't focus

[jennydog in reply to Hidden]

No. I could never establish a trigger. Often it started in the night when I wasn't anxious or doing anything. If I have a major worry about something then AF is likely to follow. Also if it's imperative that I am well for something important then the anxiety doesn't help. All in all the worry about having an attack makes day-to-day living a nightmare.

[Jason1971]

When I was experiencing weekly bouts of AF I was always anticipating the next episode. This made me anxious, but once in AF is was kind of a releif!! Strange I know, but the anxiety of waiting for an episode was worse than being in AF. I was quite fortunate that when I was in AF it really only stopped me doing energetic tasks.

[CDreamer]

Not always but often, I would have what I can only describe as an adrenaline rush, I wasn't consiously anxious and it happened when I was in a non threatening situation, but I felt the adrenaline rush in my body that one would feel during a life threatening situation.

I have studied emotional responses for the last 20 odd years so I understand the firing of the adrenal gland and the functions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic system and its' sensations very well and that is exactly what it feels like. It was always a precursor to an AF session. It feels exactly like a panic attack or an anxiety attack but without any cognitive worrying thoughts.

Interestingly this also became a regular thing when I drove down a particularly steep hill on my route home from work. This I associated with a childhood nightmare so much is that I changed my route I drove home.

Since my successful ablation I have never experienced these symptoms.

It is a symptom I have hear EPs talk about and when I described it to both my GP and EP neither were surprised. I took it as a very helpful warning signal that I must go easy and often if I then did some conscious heart calming meditations I could avoid or at least delay an episode,

[HastyHeart]

Hi Abisue! I also feel 'weird' at the same time every day now (since AF struck again in April). This time it's when I get up and start my day. It's like I can't get enough oxygen round my body and I feel a bit "shaky" inside my chest . My heart rate is fairly fast, with lots of ectopic beats, and sometimes a bit irregular. I take my Atenolol and Digoxin at breakfast and get on with my day, ignoring my early sensations, and hoping they'll settle, which they usually do as the day goes on. I think that the ever-present anxiety is not so easy to ignore, as my AF has always started in the early hours. The two bad episodes seem to have been triggered overnight after a long coach trip (2010 and then 2015) Why? I love coach trips and go on them quite often. Going to Durham today so got my fingers crossed! Another time in 2010 it was 2 months after the initial episode, after a nightmare of stress, booking airline tickets online for the first time ever. The relief after I'd succeeded, but oh dear...the next morning I was back in hospital with AF. My beta blocker dose was too small (25mg) and doubling it gave me the 4 1/2 years free of AF until this April. I think Jennydog's description could well describe my experience of AF but it's probably different for everyone, and even if we all had identical symptoms, we'd describe them in many different ways. "Each unto their own" as the saying goes! Have a good day in this lovely sunshine, in Lancashire anyway!

[pip_pip]

What time during the day ?

[struggling]

Hi. I didn't feel very much in AF, unless I was exercising - I will cycle 30-50 miles or do 60-minute cardio gym sessions on most days. When it struck, I'd immediately feel a drop in power and enter what I called a 'grey' state, where I had no 'go' and would just exist for anything from 10 seconds to 3 minutes. No awareness of my heart racing. Then, Zap! - I'd be back in the world very suddenly, and all OK again. When not exercising, I might feel breathless on exertion, and perhaps a little light-headed, unable to fully focus, but I'd never feel my heart racing. I had a week of this in April this year, and was admitted to hospital via A&E. Every couple of hours on the Coronary Care Ward I'd be approached or woken by nurses checking if I was OK because my AF (300 bpm) had triggered an alarm, but I could feel nothing out of the ordinary. I think that they thought that I was downplaying the symptoms, but I really felt nothing; lying in bed and not exerting myself, I wouldn't feel breathless or light-headed. Had ablation, and have been taking it fairly steady since discharge. Situation much improved. Good luck.

[CDreamer in reply to struggling]

All I can say is WOW! I am stunned you couldn't feel anything. I had same experience when in cardiac unit of nurse waking me when alarms set off, very annoying!

[Julie23]

Hi there when I have an episode of a/f its starts like I am having a really bad heat flush and I feel like I'm going to pass'out but I never do I also get out of breath that feeling your not getting enough oxygen in your body I then take my puls and know straight away due to the speed my hearts going I sit for s little while and I can feel my heart jumping around going fast slow and jumping frantically.

Hope this helps you.

[angiek]

CDreamer and Julie23 have described very well how my AF feels to me. I do not get these feelings at any particular time of day tho, or even only when stressed or exercising- they come at totally random times. But yes it does feel to me as if I am 'nervous' before it starts, physically not mentally, so guess that adrenaline plays a part.

[lofty1]

I have PAF and although my episodes are few and far between when they do occur they make me feel really unwell as if I am about to die. My heart feels like a jelly wobbling on a plate, I feel feint and for some strange reason it makes me want to pee urgently and frequently. Standing to pee (I am male) makes me feint. The attack lasts up to six hours and taking p-in-p shortens this by about half. Also the attacks always seem to happen at the most inconvenient time, like when I am on holiday in a remote region or as once happened on a BA flight 36,000 feet over the Atlantic, not good when the seat belt lights are on and you cannot stop wetting yourself. Everybody has differing experiences when in AF.

[CDreamer in reply to lofty1]

The frequent peeing is a symptom of AF, nearly everyone seems to get that I think. It is also a good indicator that you are in AF, even when you don't have any other symptoms - that is how I know when my husband is in AF, even though he hardly ever says anything.