Suffering from flu and now heart playing up.

[blackcat123]

Has anyone else found their heart affected by flu? I'm really not well and heart all over the place. Lots of palpitations, ectopics and racing heartbeat. Sure Af episode not far away..

[Tako2009]

Yes me too. As soon as I succumb to any sort of virus or infection along comes the AF to keep it company. I’ve been working on strengthening my immune system to try and avoid going down with every bug 🐛 doing the rounds which is what’s been happening in the past year ( despite having the flu jab)!!

Only good news is that the heart ❣ usually settles down again after a couple of bad days

Take care and hope you feel better soon🤕

[Buffafly in reply to Tako2009]

Me too....

[Froggy]

Cold and flu medication can also affect heart rate. I have to steer clear of all of them - Sudafed is the worse one for me. Pheniline (?) is the culprit, I believe.

[doodle68]

My brother has AF too and he is on Warfarin. He had a bad chest infection recently and was prescribed antibiotics. Something either the infection or the meds played havoc with his INR levels which people on Warfarin have to monitor , it has taken a month to get the levels back to normal.

[blackcat123]

Thank you for the replies. I had the flu jab but seems it's not effective against whichever strain I've managed to pick up! Just taking paracetemol as I know a lot of medications either affect AF or my anticoagulant (Apixaban). Still feeling awful with headache, chesty cough, sore throat, aching body, no energy, can't sleep and a temperature of 102.2! F

Hopefully will feel better soon..

Judie. x

[Handbaghoarder in reply to blackcat123]

Hi. I was ill for weeks last year with flu - was told I picked up different strains one on top of the other - and according to my GP this is what kicked off my atrial flutter which I’d never had before to my knowledge All the usual symptoms plus nausea, loss of appetite , generalised weakness and horrendous breathlessness which just wiped me out It’s a horrible virus which should never be underestimated and left me debilitated for a couple of months, and facing weeks of uncertainty over my newly acquired/ discovered heart issues Rest up and take care of yourself

[opal11uk]

Any infection would affect my heart and medication always affected my Warfarin levels, now on Pradaxa which apparently isn't affected by medication

[Hidden]

Yes, I had a bout of AF on the second, probably due to a dose of flu on top of the Christmas over-indulging. And of course can't have a decongestant, which is a real pain...

[Mike11]

Yes. The mechanism is that the virus causes the heart to swell and electrical pathways that were separated come into closer contact with one another and you get extra triggers of the heart muscles - i.e. AF. Once the virus has gone it still takes a week or two for the heart to return to its original state but don't worry, it will do so.

[skybluepink]

Have found my CFS/fibro trigger points have spasms from chest to spinal spasticity due to weak heart pumping - heart failure .If stick out for penicillin [ one of the first to have at birth ] & withhold or delayed [ medication policy] the symptoms worsen then sepsis rears its head?

! Have the graph relating via a Urodynamics Professor with a very strong microscope ignoring symptoms because of his remit likewise Primary Care forbidden to test & give by LAs protecting their lack of assistance ?Surely this is madness when patient orientated research is no longer at the core .

Could this be why still have not the plans even when troponin found .If not showing up problems stable & unstable angina surely could be microvascular when angioplasty performed at MI eleven years ago to revive .Why are all the GPs deferring to the least experienced part timer& hospitals the GPs without the funding as let the unscrupulous LA have via CCGs NB urgency at presenting with cancer symptoms NB Cancer Research?

[Hidden]

It's very simple, any physical ailment will increase your stress level. Also many medicines sold over the counter for colds, contain decongestants and anti-allergics which can make you feel jittery and have palpitations. It’s better to avoid anything with those components if you suffer from AF.

[needlestone]

I am currently fighting the flu also, on day 5. the first couple of days when I had a fever my heart was really bothering me. Not so much after the fever broke though. I am assuming my heart just needed to work harder to help fight the virus.

[blackcat123]

Hoping it settles soon. It's such a nasty strain of flu as I'm sure you'll agree needlestone...