Stumbled upon the forum via a Google search as I been looks like diagnosed with PAT.
I am a 27 year old male, with a partner who is nearly 9 weeks pregnant.
I left the hospital on the 11th this month and I feel the after care has been frankly very poor, all I was told by a cardiology doctor was about an ablation, I have been put on Bisporolol 1.25mg daily till I see an EP to do an Echo of the heart.
Nurses told me it is AF and on my discharge letter it states P.A.T, from my limited research PAT is better then having AF no? I'm slightly worried I anot on any blood thinners either
I really don't know how to handle the stress and anxiety, I have a baby on the way and I am feeling I won't be the best Dad I can be due to this disease.
Written by
Kamil121
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Karim you will survive I'm sure. We all do and after a while you will get used to and understand the problems we face. Read as much as you can about AF from the AF Association website. Do not worry about anticoagulation (often called, quite wrongly, blood thinners) because at your age your risk is probably very low. Worry won't help.
It feels worrying to have a something not right with your heart but please don't feel too doomed. As Bob says, you will get used to having a condition (it's not really a disease) that affects the heart's electrics. AF is not a one size fits all sort of thing and it can affect people who are very fit and healthy indeed. Lots of athletes get it. Some of us have had it for many years and I'm not a lot worse now (I'm 70 this year) than I was 25 years ago when I first noticed things were sometimes not quite right in the rhythm section.
AF is typically an irregular heartbeat whilst paroxysmal atrial (or supraventricular) tachycardia is more a fast regular heartbeat. People with PAT often move on to develop AF. AF can happen occasionally and then disappear on its own each time, or it can need treatment to get the heart back to normal rhythm or it may be a permanent thing. There are various ways to treat both PAF and AF and you are already on a low dose of the medication most people take. Ablation is another way forward and there are other types of medication to improve the situation. Anticoagulation is not recommended for younger people but by age 65 it is seen as unwise not to be taking anticoagulation as risk increases with age.
Paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, Pip - i.e fast beating in the atria that's not there all the time. Someone will correct me if I am wrong it saying it is also known as paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia or SVT.
Everyone stresses on diagnosis, it takes quite a while to adjust and adapt. Whether or not it is AF or PAT, the effect and the treatments will be similar. Neither is worse than the other, some people are more symptomatic whilst others aren't even aware they have anything wrong with them. The EP will be much better placed to give you an accurate diagnosis, after they have seen the test results so a little patience is called for.
Sounds like you have actually quite a good plan - you have an initial diagnosis, you are referred for tests to make sure there are no underlying, structural issues - the echocardiogram - and you have a referral to an EP who is talking about ablations. I would call that a result - took me 6 years to get that far!
Whichever it is PAT or AF they are both treatable, neither is life threatening and treatment is to improve quality of life as arrhythmias can make you feel absolutely crap and as though it may kill you - but they don't.
Every single first time poster says they cannot cope with the stress, and they do, just go back and look through the posting list - there is not one day that goes by without the scared, anxious or frightened by diagnosis in it.
By the time your baby comes along (best wishes for that by the way) you won't be thinking about your heart because you will hardly have time to! Distraction is a good thing and the fact you are worrying about being a good dad means you will be a fantastic Dad.
There are plenty of strategies for coping with stress - exercise, meditation, yoga, art therapy, music, CBT etc etc. Pick one that you know you will enjoy - endorphins created from enjoyment are the antidote to stress - anything that makes you smile, laugh or relax will do it! Babies and animals will have a similar result.
Apart from looking at the AFA website I would also suggest looking at lifestyle and how you might support yourself - things like alcohol intake (if you do), caffeiene etc - as these can tend to be triggers for episodes but also some people find particular foods may trigger or lying down or exercise so good idea to keep a detailed symptom diary to see - there are plenty of apps to help you there!
It sounds like excellent and appropriate care. You could always arrange a private cardiologist (yes agree electrophysiologist would be better) appointment if you want to discuss and understand your managements better.
Make sure you see the right specialists. Take magnesium and perhaps look at life style things like alcohol and exercise maybe too much or too little. My AF proved, so far , to be a twice off but t scared me enough to be cautious and listen to body. Watch dr Sanjay Gupta on YouTube he will help
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Why did AF happen to me?
Dr tells me AF is caused by a 'flabby' heart' !
What's an AF nurse?
