AF perhaps

Mum has AF and I am having regular bouts of very irregular heartbeats bats beating in my chest and neck,have apt with doc 31/10and wonder what to expect ,my heart is also beating at 130_150bpm past week and bp ranging 127_167/103_119 for past week too,chest feels like its full when the bats are flying and exercise is hard due to tiredness adifficulty catching my breath,all these things only started in past 8 weeks except maybe high bp whuch may have been there and unniticed ,I dont suffer anxiety normally!! Is there any tests I should insist on with doctor,thanks for reading,M

[teach2learn]

Sure sounds like afib to me!

[CaroleF]

Unfortunately, what you describe does indeed sound like AF. The one 'test' which will confirm this is an ECG. A test done in the surgery will only pick this up if you are actually in AF at the time so a 24hr or 7 day holter monitor is better. Though just taking your pulse if in AF would also show if your heart beat is irregular.

I suggest that before your appointment you keep a record of every event noting the date, time, length of episode, what you were doing at the time and how you felt. Make a note of any other symptoms too (eg breathlessness, dizziness, feeling faint, chest pain)

If AF is confirmed/suspected then you can be referred to a cardiologist where further tests can be done. If there's a really long wait for that then you could ask for a referral to an EP specialist and indeed pay (about £200-250) for a private consultation.

Here's hoping you have a treatment plan quickly and, especially if you are female, don't be fobbed off with 'it's all in your mind/anxiety' unless, and until, that's actually proved to be the case!

Good luck and do let us know how you get on.

Carole

[Hidden]

Hi. I think af is a strong possibility. Try to stay calm and don't worry about anything horrible happening suddenly, because it won't. Treat it seriously though and make sure you are prepared for your appointment by making a few notes / questions.

You'll likely be offered all the tests you need, bloods (thyroid + electrolites especially), ecg, heart scan, x-ray, etc. so unless something obvious is missed it should all happen. Ask if it doesn't.

Try to stay calm in the meantime as anxiety won't help. Talk to your Mum, who can hopefully reassure you based on experience. Try steady deep breathing if you're feeling stressed.

Good luck with it.

[JaneFinn]

Hey Marhayes, welcome! I'm sorry to hear the symptoms you're experiencing - and as everyone has said, they do sound familiar...

I totally agree with the brilliant posts before mine - great advice for you. In addition to that, i wonder if you might like to try to see your doctor sooner than the 31st? Not because it's urgent or worrying or anything like that, but just because it's good if someone medical can capture it (via pulse, ecg etc) while it's misbehaving. I had very similar happen to me in episodes over a period of 2-3 weeks, and I waited to see my doctor - but by then the arrhythmia had stopped & didn't happen again for ages, so it was harder to diagnose!

The other advantage of going sooner is you can get the blood tests etc out of the way. Who knows, there might be something simple at the root of this that can be identified and treated.

If you're happy waiting til the 31st then that's fine, but if you'd like to get things moving quicker, I'd hope any gp surgery would fit you in sooner if you explained your symptoms?

Anyway thinking of you and wishing you well Do let us know how you get on xx

[Hidden]

Hi All thanks soo much for your responses , I am going to wait for apt on 31/10 if possible cos dr is highly recommended and I'm new to the area , the last gp I was with for a sore ear from ear ring stuck in it asked me if I felt my heartbeat as she said it was seriously racing I said it was cos I was in surgery and she accepted my diagnosis !! but I now feel that a seriously racing heart maybe should have flagged to her to have a further look at my bp etc at that time rather than accepting my explanation , on another occasion after a very stressful period I discovered high bp and logged 2 weeks of it and brought it to my then gp who didn't look at it ,took my bp and said well its fine now, luckily having gone through and survived some traumas I feel more determined now and have no intention of being fobbed off by another doctor , I will be armed with family history , logs of erratic heartbeat sessions , bp and heartrate readings and I intend insisting on full work up of bp monitoring and heart checking cos I feel I have gone from feeling healthy and energetic 10 weeks ago to feeling like a poor 70 yr old today , waking wondering when I can go back to sleep - pathetic isn't it , will keep you kind folks updated and hope all are havinga reasonably good day

M

[JaneFinn in reply to Hidden]

Oh I do understand- getting the right GP is like finding treasure! Feel for you with all the symptoms and I think we all empathise with that 'age over night' thing Xx

[Hidden]

Hi all gp yesterday and bloods and ecg this am with nurse,no results,gp agreed heartrate and. bp are high,have bp monitor on next week and gp making appt eith cardio for me,as I write just over 15 mins of haywire heartbeat at 120_130 pm ,just going with the medical flow for now ,just said id update you and thanks for responses,question still remains fib or not ,