I was diagnosed last month with A-Fib, up to my 70th birthday I took no pills for anything! 2 weeks later I have a very fast pulse, and my husband rushes me into hospital, we live about 3/4 hour drive to nearest A&E so it would take even longer if I called ambulance. I was on drips etc all day in A&E, they were very kind and good to me, this was very scary, I knew nothing about AF before going there, and it was 4am when we left home! I have had no more attacks, (5 weeks), but every day I waken and wonder will this be the day? my husband is scared to leave me, in case I get an attack, I feel fine, the doctor has taken blood to see if I am short of anything, I just want to get back to normal, live as I have done for 70 years, I don't smoke or drink, I am now on beta blockers, and Eliquis, what do others do? I had never heard of this before I got it.
New to AFib: I was diagnosed last month... - Atrial Fibrillati...
New to AFib
Hello Af2017Hn
Welcome to the forum. You have landed in just the right place. Lots of information, advice and support on anything you want and need to know about AF
Have a look at the Patient information link on the right and ask away. Everything is going to be fine 🙂
Thank you
Hello and welcome. AF isn't as bad as you think it is when it first intrudes into your life. We all have our own version and our symptoms vary. Many people are not aware that they have it, but they are at risk from stoke and that's the big worry. Your Eliquis is to give you some protection there and the beta blockers may help to control the AF. There are stronger alternatives and various ways forwards.
AF is an electrical disturbance and not an illness and many of us have found that life can carry on much as before. I hope your husband will soon be feeling that it doesn't mean that you are made of glass and you will both gain confidence. It does take time to get the measure of it.
Hello AF....this is exactly the path that i took just into my seventies.
I came out of hospital on bisoprolol and amplodipine as treatment.
Now facing my 80th birthday I can say don't worry,take it easy don't
overdo the exercise or the wine.
You can get a BP meter from Boots that will keep a check on blood pressure
the pulse and the incidence or not of an AF.
Together with the advice on this forum about natural treatments such as magnesium
I hope you will find as I have that you can live with this and enjoy life and possibly avoid
any other treatment.
Hello, this is the best place to build knowledge, confidence and reassurance. Hardly anyone starts with any AF knowledge and its a steep learning curve but if you and your husband can brace yourselves and commit to sorting it out as a priority, then you are likely to loose the anxiety and stabilise. In fact, and this may sound a little weird right now, I believe the lifestyle/diet/supplement steps I have taken as a result of AF over the last 4 years will have extended my life. Persevere!
If it is any consolation to our web site readers ,I read a article on AF where it said that Barry Manilow the singer has AF ,also Tony Blair ,so it's seems we are not the only ones on this site.
Hello Af2017Hn
How are you getting on ?🙂
I wonder whether you had already started the beta blocker before you developed your fast heart rate? Which one are you on?
No I didn't know anything, I had had 2 events previously with a rapid heart beat, but they only lasted a few minutes, but I had told my GP and he said if it happened again, to go straight to A&E, which is what we did! I don't have the name of the pills, but they are tiny!!
Hi Af2017Hn . I started with AF in May 2017 and so far have had only the two attacks, the second in July. I'm now anti-coagulated and taking 1.25 bisoprolol daily to try and keep my blood pressure within bounds to prevent a recurrence (not that it was persistently very high!)
I too was very afraid at first, not having heard of such a thing and ending up in an ambulance blue lighted to hospital. All they did there was monitor me for several hours (midnight to 10am) but I reverted to normal in the small hours. I have since read up about it on here, and on the AFA main website, and feel that with knowledge comes acceptance and no more anxiety. AF will not kill you directly, and provided you take the correct care to be anti-coagulated and don't go mountaineering or something, you should be fine (until something else gets you!). Keep well, and learn all you can.
HAng on a minute! I am 77 have had AF for many years, managed with Metoprolol, and a very occasional Flecainide if I have an episode. FOur years ago I had an ablation, and since then I started taking Magnesium Taurate....no AF for five months. During this time I spent four weeks walking in the mountains in Switzerland. ALways check with your cardiologist, but mine said GO! Enjoy yourself, and if you go into AF take an extra Metoprolol and 50mg FLecainide, and drink plenty of water! So take your Dr's advice and enjoy life.....
Thanks for that, I think I would feel fine, if I knew when I was going to get another attack! its the constant worry, the hospital didn't help this, they said, when I was leaving, 'oh we will see you again, probably quite soon' I was feeling a bit overwrought anyway, - I had been driven in at 4am and had to be shocked to get my pulse in order! I was leaving there at 6pm the following day... My husband is very scared to let me out of his site in case I get it again.
so I enjoyed your info.
So you had an electrical cardioversion, you are now taking a beta blocker and an anticoagulant and by the sounds of it you have not had any more episodes of racing irregular heart, which in your case is called atrial fibrillation (AF)
Then someone in Casualty says we will be seeing you again soon which is of course very likely complete nonsense.
Not surprisingly you and your husband are very anxious now.
Well first of all, you are going to be fine, you haven't developed a life threatening disease and you are on exactly the right treatment and it is working.
There is no need to worry but inevitably you will be worried just like we all were when we got AF the first time. I was far more anxious than you I bet. I often don't notice my AF now.
You do need to start doing some reading about AF on this website as we suggested earlier then start asking some specific questions. No need to answer all the posts(messages)
If you were destined to live to a hundred before you developed AF, then you are still going to live to 100 now. Probably rather longer after BobD and his henchwomen have finished with you ! 🙂
Thanks
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