I could use some help with my status, recently diagnosed

[37Polly]

Five weeks ago I landed in ER with clearly diagnosed a flutter. I was given iv diltiazem and after bringing the hr down some, discharged with eliquis and Cardizem scripts, still in aflutter. It lasted another four days with rates of 125+. Saw EP on day 5, he raised cardizem to 120. Four days later I Was in afib...rates 35 to 155 in minutes.

called EP and Cardizem was raised to 240. Twelve days later and an echocardiogram..EP.raised Cardizem to 360 abd added flecainide 100 mg twice a day. NSR in 24 hr! Since then I have had a stress test, and then a nuclear stress test. Now stable...but can hardly function. My hr rarely gets to 60. Resting rate often 34 to 38! ..and believe me at that rate resting is all I can do. Is this normal? Will I adjust? We are talking about lowering the Cardizem. Will that help? Anybody got a similar story? I am a senior woman who is accustomed to a lot more exercise and an active life. Right now I am afraid to walk to the corner.😕

[sue13hils]

Hi my advice would be keep going back to Gp or hospital until they get it right good luck.

[37Polly in reply to sue13hils]

Thanks...Will do.

[CDreamer]

The low heart rate is not normal and you should go back to see your doctor as soon as possible. Your meds may well need adjusting.

[37Polly in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks. Have a call in.

[EngMac]

Sometimes drugs can cause AF, or make things worse, so pester the doctor to figure out something better. Maybe you need to start with a clean slate again since you did not start with AF but acquired it after the drug cocktail. I am not aware of anyone on this site who has tried extensive chiropractic treatment but I know for certain that my heart beat problems are related to my back and neck and significant chiropractic treatment by the right chiropractor has made a major difference. I don't take any medication. At least chiropractic treatments do not have side effects.

I just read an article where a pacemaker like device is being tried to stimulate the diaphragm and eliminates sleep apnea 50% of the time. From my experience, it makes sense to me since the nerves in the spine are the instructors for most all our bodily functions; and definitely for the heart. Pacemakers are installed for the heart and have been fully proven. The theory is the heart itself has faulty wiring but I suspect it is the spine that has been compromised. I can now change my heart rate, stop extra beats, and often stop the start of AF just by altering my back. It is kind of cool but also a pain sometimes when it not convenient to do this or I miss a symptom. The need to do it is becoming much less. Hopefully, I won't need to do it sometime in the future. It takes a year to heal damaged nerves after the cause of the damage has been eliminated so it takes a lot of perseverance and patience and a competent, willing chiropractor to go this route. For some people, the solution might be less onerous than for me. Unfortunately, I don't think there is any proven process to achieve eliminating AF with chiropractic treatments so 99.9% of patients and doctors doubt what I have learned. Your body, your choice. The wild card in what I have been doing is a device called a Scenar which I use. It is supposed to affect the nerves and at times I have been able to stop AF by using it but this has not happened consistently. It also has helped with extra beats.

[37Polly]

A lot to think about here. I did not know that drugs might Preciptate AF. Thanks for your ideas.