I haven’t had afib for one year ... two episodes in all ... do l still have afib? Does it go away? I feel as tho it has gone away?? I feel perfect. Just as before. No palps, no irregular heartbeats. Nothing. Normal blood pressure, high energy. Thoughts. When l asked my cardiologist what were the chances of it returning, he said excellent. Yet my ekgs are always perfect! It was almost as tho he wanted it to return?
Do l still have afib?: I haven’t had... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Do l still have afib?
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Janith
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49 Replies
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I agree John ... l think that it could have been a misdiagnosis ...I intend to discuss it with my cardiologist ... thank you incidentally... you are so very kind and caring. 😘
Jan
Sigh. I do hope your afib had gone away forever. I wished the same. But someone I know had first and 2nd afib 10 years apart, then after 5 years the 3rd, then 6 months later the 4th episode! I do want to see people give out examples that their afib are gone forever but yet to see. Good luck to you and all of us!
Sometimes I do think maybe the medical industry really don’t understand afib. Some say it’s a symptom of other issues, some say it’s a disease itself. The problem is, he medical industry deem it as incurable and saying once it happened all the remodeling are ongoing and there’s no way back. This kind of exclusive definition just doesn’t leave any hope for the patients and make us feel constantly anxious. Sometimes I think if the medical industry just twist the definition a little bit and tell people some afib is curable or some will just go away on its own, whether or not it’s a fact, but this will definitely give some hope to the patients and I believe many will benefit from it. As hope is very critical in battling this war and constant anxious will only do harm to it. Especially nerve system plays a big role in here, if people see hope and relax, I think the whole situation would change more or less.
Hi Janith,
I was diagnosed with paroxysmal AF in Jan 2010. About a year later I started a diet because I identified food as the trigger for my AF. This action reduced my AF and now I have had 1 AF event in the last 3 years, and that was mid February 2018 - and the trigger for that was sleeping on my left side - nothing to do with food at all.
My belief is that AF is all things to all people ............ and that sadly baffles the medical world, and I say that with over 8 years of reading posts on AF on this website and others too.
Again, based on anecdotal evidence, not medical or scientific, you have AF, it will stay with you .... END OF !
You maybe fortunate in controlling it and the best you can ever do is to listen to your body and treat it kindly and live a 'sensible' life style, loose weight, eat properly and sensibly, exercise regularly - all the usual stuff.
But you still have AF. It is there lurking, just the same as mine is.
John
Janith• in reply to
Thank you.
Hi Janith
My sister had AF with each episode lasting under an hour, this was when she was in her thirties. She never went to her GP for advice and I guess you could say she just ignored it and the rarely occurring attacks stopped after a few years. She's now late fifties with no problems at all.
So yes, she's an example that AF can just go away. I do sometimes wonder whether her attitude in not letting it worry her and not even talking about it was the reason it went.
Jean
I think so too. I drove myself the the emergency room. I didn’t think it was any big deal. The doc said ... very nonchalantly, oh, you’re in afib ... they put me on an iv and it just stopped four hours later ... then it happened one additional time ... identical to the first time ... never again ... l think that they dismiss it as no big deal??
Not all medics in the emergency room know everything about everything!! In your place I would want to find an expert who can give me some answers and reassurance.
Janith- glad to hear it went away. Do you have to take an anticoagulant now?
No l take one aspirin and other blood thinning supplements.
Wow. I want to do that so very badly. But my dimmer test came out positive for clots but the tests did not reveal any clots. And I wasn’t sleeping so well before I knew I had A-Fib. With the medication (Dilacor and Pradaxa) , I sleep through the night. I am 63, not in physical shape, with high blood pressure. Once I get in better shape, And lower my blood pressure, I may be going back to supplements. May take me a year.
I think she didn’t go to doctor and didn’t get an official diagnosis is essential. I bet many people were doing just ok even they experienced occasionally afib episodes. But once they got official diagnosis their quality of life drop significantly. The way the medical industry describes it just scare the heck out of people. I’ve seen many people’s lives suffer after knowing they have afib and kept being told once they have its it will happen again. Just dont give you a chance to breathe.
Janith , I have a similar experience. Ist attack August 18 non since . Was it AF or just a symptom of something else. None of the classic triggers seem to set it off. I have tested the parameters with alchohol & no my limit (now greatly reduced} . Just 2 to 3 glasses of wine on soacial events). I have asked but am told it probably will happen again.I suppose I am lucky & with only a couple of tweaks in medication including anticoagulant I can cope with the diagnosis.
PLease let us know if you get a different diagnosis.
I am in a similar circumstance. I had my first afib incident last summer. I believe it was caused by anxiety and possibly digestive issues. I was given flecenaide and NSR was restored. I went several months without any irregular heart beats. Then began to have ectopic beats. I began taking flecenaide again, but it made me feel really weak. So I had an ablation done just in case.
I will keep you posted. I am planning a trip to Europe in several months ... l will see cardiologist prior to leaving ...thank you for your concern. We don’t have afib!!! Yea sure!! But we will see. I grant you,l have made drastic lifestyle changes. Little alcohol, zero red meat, practically zero sweets, lots of heart healthy vitamins ... dine earlier ... 5 at the latest ... try to drink lots of water, etc.
Thank you for again!
Jan
I'm glad you shared your thoughts on this, Janith, because I have the same kind of questions. Thanks also to those who have commented! Here's my experience so far:
Several years ago, during a time of prolonged intense emotional stress (caring full time for my much-loved husband with vascular dementia) I woke with a racing unsteady heart. Paramedics diagnosed it as afib and advised seeing a cardiologist - which I did a few days later, though was not in afib when I saw him. After a few tests the cardio decided it was paroxysmal afib and put me on Flecainide, Metoprolol and Xarelto. The medications knocked me almost into a stupor, which I reported to the cardio a month or two later, and he gave me a prescription for Amiodarone instead of Flecainide, but after reading up on it I was reluctant to take it. So dr reduced the Flecainide dose by half (to 50 mg twice a day) and said I could probably get away with not taking the Metoprolol as my heart rate is normally between 70 and 80 bpm.
Several months ago, with the dr.'s approval, because of continued side effects I stopped the regular daytime Flecainide in favor of the PIP approach (but continued the nighttime dose). Once in a while I get a very brief hop-skip-and-jump in my chest -- the kind that happens when you feel nervous about an upcoming stresspoint in life. When that happens I use my Kardio device and get a normal reading each time. Since then, I've stopped taking any Flecainide on a regular basis (making sure I always have it close at hand to use as a PIP), figuring that as long as I take the Xarelto regularly I'll be protected from stroke if an afib episode occurs. So far so good. This makes me wonder why doctors don't always take the PIP approach to treating paroxysmal afib, rather than putting the patient on a high dose of Flecainide twice a day right from the start. Is there a deciding factor or is it trial and error? Switching to PIP with Flecainide but continuing with regular Xarelto just-in-case, plus relaxation exercises to deal with anxiety, seems to be (so far) all I need . . . but perhaps I'm being too simplistic about all this? I'm scheduled to see the cardiologist in August but am wondering if I should see him sooner just to get his input on all this.
That’s why doctors are ‘practicing’ in their business, because they really are just practicing to see how the patients react. I’ve stopped seeing cardiologist and EP because they eventually agreed with my point on afib and said unless I want to do ablation or need more drugs, otherwise there’s no point to see them.
I’m not sure a highly qualified and experienced cardiologist/electrophysiologist working in a top London Hospital can be described as “practising” in the way you suggest. I have just had an AV node ablation to ease the discomfort of AF after many years of checks and reviews and the medication approach. I trusted him.
I love my cardiologist ... but he seemed flabbergasted by the fact that l have had no more episodes??? Perhaps l was reading something into his attitude that wasn’t there. He doesn’t “think” holistically ... l do. Nonetheless, l follow his orders ... kind of!
When I went three months without an episode after four in three months, my Ep just told me you WILL have recurring afib and it WILL only get worse. He even said you MAY have eight episodes the next month. He was wrong, I didn’t have any the next month but got two the month after. Any way I just signed myself off that EP that didn’t give me any hope and wasn’t willing to look into anything other than ablation.
I was prescribed daily flecainide by the EP but was unhappy seeing as, at the time, I had only had three episodes over 15 months. My GP agreed and I now take it as a PIP. I am also curious as to why my friend who was diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica was given such high doses of steroids when ultimately she managed on 10 percent of the initial dose. The resulting damage to her bones meant surgeons had huge problems pinning her ankle after a bad break.
Smart move ... l am going to give it a little more time ... planning trip abroad ... then if all goes well, l will do likewise. Thank you for the input.
There seems to be two classes of AF sufferers - those for whom it is a primary condition and those who have many other health issues, one of which is causing AF. For the primary sufferers, medication and/or surgery will usually fix the issue, but if AF is being triggered by other factors, then tackling the cause is extremely difficult and often beyond the remit of a cardiologist.
I suppose I was fortunate. My was a primary example and I was having AF episodes lasting up to 24 hours, which showed up on the ECG and, apart from AF, my heart is healthy and normal. An ablation appears to have cured the AF, but only time will tell.
Thank you! I am as healthy as a horse! I have only had two events in my lifetime. One year ago. My heart is seemingly healthy based upon all tests. I would never consider an ablation under almost any circumstances. I am now sitting on the terrace of my beautiful home, listening to the birds chirp ... watching my hummingbirds visit their feeders ... listening to classical music in the background ... after exercising this morning for two hours. Thank you Dear Lord for loving me as l ❤️ love you. Please take care of our precious group of caring people. Life is good and oh so precious!
Jan
Gratitude is a great thing for all of us dealing with afib. Sometimes I think afib might be a psychological issue more than a physical issue for some people.
It’s a weird and awful condition. Very frightening. I try to be positive! With me, l think that it is very much psychological. Thank you! Have a lovely morning. It’s almost 9 pm where l am!
AF is physically measurable. It’s effects are real. Untreated it’s consequences could be serious. A heart with erratic rhythms caused by faulty electrics in the atrium needs attention. Blood clots could be created by the arrhythmia leading to a stroke or heart attack. Some people are lucky enough to only have occasional episodes. In my case they increased over ten years from just a few annually, which were easy to ignore, until they grew more frequent and needed preventative action. We just have to be sensible, find out all we can about the condition and trust the medics. After a recent AV node ablation (medication no longer worked) I now feel relieved and grateful for all the care I have been given.
Yes, your words are very nice and seemingly accurate. You are very fortunate to have received such TLC from your docs. May you become a centurion some day. Wise like the old owl who coos outside my window! Cheers!
Hi Janith 
you say...
[''I haven’t had afib for one year ... two episodes in all ... do l still have afib? '']
I think we need to be aware that AF doesn't always produce symptoms so we may not be aware of having an episode. I wrongly assumed that I had P-AF only when experiencing nasty symptoms until on one occasion I randomly checked my pulse and found it was irregular (but not particularly fast ) and that I was actually in P -AF without realising.
I had what I now know was my first severe episode of AF about 15 years ago, after that I was only aware of a couple of episodes over the years until 2 years ago when they became more frequent.
It seem I only get the severe AF symptoms when my pulse is both irregular and fast but I get lots of little episodes with just an irregular pulse which go largely unnoticed. I now wonder how many episodes I have really had over the years.
AF seems to affect individuals in many ways...
Thank you!
hi Janith. My first episode of AF was in 2011. Was cardioverted successfully and remained back in normal sinus rhythm without drugs or treatment for 3 years. Then it returned and my afib journey started. Meds, anticoagulants, another (unsuccessful) cardioversion. This was 2014. It's been a difficult journey but now I am stable, well-managed, well-controlled and comfortable with my AF. I don't even think about it some days. I believe you will get to that point if it comes back.It may not. No one knows and many of the AF triggers are not known yet so it can be hard to know what to avoid. If yours comes back it will take time for your docs to find the right meds, treatments for you but once you have a good care plan in place tailored to you , life will calm down and, for me, eight years later it is a chronic illness that, frankly, causes me less trouble than my diabetes has in the past or my thyroid situation is causing me now. There are people who have a lone episode of afib and then remain back in NSR (normal sinus rhythm.) I have a friend who had one episode some years ago, was cardioverted, and has remained fine. It's easy to say don't worry about it and very hard to do. Just try to take it one day at a time. And if it comes back there is some very good care available and a very supportive forum here with some very smart and caring people who will help you with your journey. Take care. xx irina😊
Irina ... you are so kind! Thank you so very much. Your words make my heart sing. Jan 😚
Thank you for posting this and the great replies it has prompted. From your comments, I think you are doing the right things. When I was first diagnosed with Lone PAF, I was relieved my heart had no structural issues. I then used AF as a tool to drive improvements to my lifestyle/diet/supplements and four years on I am much healthier and happier.As one reply said some days I don't even think about it. I can do almost anything I want and I think it is important to maintain that positive approach you have. I have always taken Flecainide but am loath to wean myself off just now as life is too good to risk it.
My husband had one episode over 15 years ago which ladted a weekend. On the way to anticoagulation clinic with no treatment yet started he spontaneously converted to NSR and didn't have another sign till 2010 when he developed petmanent AF. He ignores most ailments and wants little info. My last episode of PAF was 2013 but I believe I still have it ( or I wouldnt be commenting on this forum). 90% of time feel well if older!!! Mindfulness and moderation.
I am a 71 year old woman who has had 2 incidents of afib in 2 1/2 years and both times I knew it with extreme symptoms of racing,thudding irregular heartbeats and breathlessness,,,,,I was diagnosed in the hospital after an ambulance ride,,,I have experienced nothing like that in the last year for so,,,,I do have ectopics which come and go,but otherwise feel normal,,,,have been on warfarin and lopressor since the first event,,,,I feel fortunate so far,but live life assuming I will always have afib even if it is not currently active,,,,I stay away from caffeine and alcohol,stress, and extreme physical or mental pressures,,,,,so far,so good,,,,wishing you the best,,,just maybe it will not become more evident and intrusive!!!
Thank you so much!
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