Haven’t posted for a long while, as after being diagnosed with paroxysmal AF two years ago I went a whole year without an attack. Now I’ve had two within a few months and been hospitalized. It’s been such a shock, and my confidence is rock bottom. The first one I “sat out”at home as I’d read that many of you manage to do this. I admire your courage , as it was terrifying! My heart was not only racing 200 bpm, it was also jumping and shaking completely erratically, and I honestly couldn’t believe it could take this without stopping completely...
It started to calm a bit after 100 mg of Flecainide and a bisoprolol, and today I’m back in NSR but exhausted.
What I really want to know is , is this how your heart feels when the rest of you dear souls are having an attack, and is it safe to try to sit it out at home ? It is so terrifying. Can your heart take it ??
I’d be so grateful for your input .
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Janna501
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Many doctors I have spoken to like you to go to A and E when your heart rate is so high. It's better to be where you can be monitored. Mine is sometimes 160- which makes me feel rough= whereas 130 is quite OK. 200 is very high so I wouldn't let that go for too long- also go on how you feel in general
I think it’s part of how you feel and it’s warning you that your heart is reacting vigorously and combined with a very high rate should, in my opinion, be monitored!!!
That sounds familiar, but I don't think I would have the nerve to stay at home with a rate of 200bpm. Good that the medication worked as expected this time though. I'm sure you don't fancy too many repeats so maybe you would need to take medication all the time instead of PIP until (hopefully) you are offered an ablation?
The signs that your heart 'can't take it' are much the same as a heart attack, chest pain, faintness, nausea, breathlessness, and should send you to hospital ASAP. I tried to 'sit it out' (put the laundry in actually 😁) with those symptoms and was given a ticking off by my GP when I phoned him!
Thank you for that . I thought I would try to (sit it out) having read that quite a few long suffering AF ers manage it. I found it terrifying and my panic only my added to it ..
Hi Janna, I have PAF and I got told by the ANE dr that there are different types of AF some people stay at 80bpm and don’t feel a thing . However I like yourself get a fast PAF and was told to go strait to hospital when having another episode. The only good thing about a fast one is at least we feel it and can go get checked out . I would rather feel it than not . Definitely get it checked out 👍🏼
mine have always been somewhere in the middle of what's been described here. I think my heart rate maxes out at about 160 when in AF, and it wasn't pleasant but neither was it completely awful. When I took the Flec and Bisoprolol it dropped to a slower rate within about 30 minutes, and then normal rhythm in a few hours.
Personally I'd be going to hospital with symptoms like yours, if they were going to last more than 30 minutes / when the pills kicked in.
I think when episodes are quite infrequent they are more of a surprise. When you get them every week or every day you become much more familiar with the symptoms, and with that familiarity comes the confidence that you can wait them out.
I went to A&E the first couple of times, because I was told to. Then once I had been given my PiP prescription, the next time it happened I went to minor injuries and got them to monitor me whilst waiting for it to go. I had to convince them not to send me on to A&E!
Since then I was told to go to A&E if the pills hadn't stopped the AF in a few hours.
Oh, that's no fun. Once my rate started to lower it stayed low. The rhythm sometimes took its time but once it settled it stayed settled.
I think long term we should all be looking to minimise the strain we put on the NHS, but at the beginning of the AF journey, especially if you are particularly distressed, pained, or incapacitated by an attack, I see no problem with seeking prompt medical attention.
I would try and get advice from your doctor as not knowing what you should and shouldn’t do in terms of A&E is distressing already. Your description of how you feel is similar to mine. My bom tends to range from 190 to 242. I also get mild chest pain and dizzyness. My cardiologist previously had said go to A&E after 2 hours or if chest pain go immediately. I take flecainide PIP and tend to sit it out for 2 hours if chest pain mild as usually what happens is that by the time I get to A&E and they have given me an ECG it has stopped.
And then I feel as if I’ve wasted their time.
But listen to your cardiologist advice and add the other thinga you mention i.e. should a high Bpm mean you should go immediately.
Hope things settle soon. I know how you feel when it happens after nothing for a while. It’s so dissapointing abd depressing.
Thank you Elsie. Your BPM 242 gets even higher than mine, so it’s really brave of you to try sit it out( knowing how terrified I am! I guess it comes with experience. I will ask the cardiologist as you suggest. Could I ask what dose of Flecainide you take when it happens? I took 100 mg . I’ve otherwise been told to take 1.25 bisoprolol twice a day .
Hi Janna, I understand totally how your heart felt. It's like its flopping/jerking around and trying to get out of your chest! The first time I had it I felt I would surely die and I agree it is terrifying, but here I am years later after a third ablation and taking Flecainide so much better.
Now I don't get such severe attacks and my heart rate when it goes into AF rarely goes over about 110, before it would go so fast that I once had to fight to keep conscious and sweat poured off me.
Don't try and sit something out as awful as what you had, next time take your medication and if your heart hasn't returned to normal after an hour or so then ring the NHS 111 number and ask for advice. They would always call an ambulance for me. If you are feeling dizzy, faint, sick, sweating or have chest pain get help immediately.
Some people have no idea how awful PAF attacks can be, they've never experienced it so bad, so just do not understand.
I have had both kinds: what I call the 'mad bunny' or else the 'butterfly' which can be so gentle I hardly feel anything! So I can understand that if you only have one form you are on a different planet from someone with the other one.
Thank you Jean , your discription is exactly what I get, and I’ll take your advice about getting help. It’s hard to believe your heart won’t stop altogether...
I have the same symptoms as you sometimes accompanied with chest heaviness and have been advised to take an extra dose of flecainide.( I take 50 mg twice a day ). If that does nt settle it after 1 hour or so I should either phone an ambulance or go to A an E to be monitored .
I can only say yes to everything you mention. My PAF followed same order over 3 years before diagnosis then all the fears feelings and speeds you describe. The good news is that it is still PAF but worth considering an ablation as the success levels are higher whilst it is at this stage. You are right to be in A&E with it being at 200 and as I have mentioned before, your hospital admissions are a consideration for ablation. I like many others sat out countless episodes but only when 130bpm or less. Problem with PAF is the diagnosis time since it has a tendency not to play up when you are connected to the ECG machine. The Ambulance and hospital ECG's are perfect for your consultant to work with.
Best wishes and please make sure your GP hands you over to a heart consultant. That feeling you get of life is great again but with exhaustion after an event is the same following an ablation, only difference being, you won't feel exhausted.
Thank you so much. I hope to eventually get that “ life is great again feeling “one of these days instead of being in a state of anxiety in case another episode is round the corner. I feel as if I’m letting life slip through my fingers, instead of getting out there and enjoying it ..
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