Palpitations but Kardia said no sign of AF

[Coachv]

I had palpitations last night for about 40 mins. I took a 40mg verapamil as per cardiologist. Took a lot of readings with Kardia to try to capture it but they all said I was in normal rhythm.

I had been feeling anxious as had just bought a blood pressure monitor and it recorded high BP, especially after I did some exercises. Could it have been anxiety not AF?

I had stopped taking verapamil every day 1 day before on medical advice as it was making me dizzy.

Called out paramedics last night but they said ECG was normal and BP went down a bit so was reassured. It was first time I tried to deal with AF symptoms at home so still learning.

Going to see GP today

[BobD Volunteer]

AF is an irregular non rhythm. If kardia said NSR then it was merely a fast heart beat. If you exercise you get a fast heart beat. If you get anxious or stressed, you get a fast heart beat. If you eat a lot ditto ad nauseum. You blood pressure will likewise rise during exercise or stress. If too fast then the Valsalva manoeuvre can help at such times. Take a deep breath. hold your nose and keep you mouth shut and then try to blow out as hard as you can whilst keeping everything shut.

Using home monitoring equipment has been know to increase stress levels in people who are already anxious. You are early in your AF journey and obviously have yet to come to terms with it so these things will happen.

For what it is worth palpitations just means that you are feeling your heartbeat. We AFers do become far too focussed on our hearts and often need to step back and re-appraise what is going on. Not easy when this is all new to you but remember AF won't generally kill you even if it feels like it sometimes. Try not to focus , try not to get stressed and always stop and take a few deep diaphragmic breaths or ten. Make sure that you are well hydrated at all times is another important factor.

Good luck

Bob

[tibetan36]

Bob's right.

Kardia only picks up AF , which is what it is designed for. It's a very good monitoring device however really only a guide.

Palpitations will usually show as unclassified or normal which means it's not AF. If you look at the readout you will notice the high points can be spaced at different places along the chart or just be equally spaced as well. Many people get palpitations.

I've never become paranoid with my Kardia, it helps me recognise and confirm that I'm either in AF or not. So when the doc asks me I tell him that Kardia helped me to confirm I'm in AF.

[trtoothdr]

Next time that happens (palpitations, but Kardia reads normal) send it for a reading by an Alivecor cardiologist ( only costs $19 U.S.)