Given what I've read here over the weekend in various places, I was wondering how old were you when you began your AF journey?
By that I mean not how long had you lived with it in total, but how old were you when it was confirmed and begun to be managed/treated/controlled?
I'm curious to know how young people were as I myself was only 31 when it was confirmed and became a regular problem, technically I was 28 when I had my first episode which was believed to be random.
Fifty five for me 
65
H Jed not an easy question for me because I didn't recognise the AF when it started as a 'one off' episode, I must have been about 55.
Officially confirmed a year ago when I was 68 and began treatment then so I think I have had AF for 14 years.
47, but I believe I'd had palpitations and possibly short runs of AF for a couple of years before that
I suspect now on reflection that I've had mine at least a year longer. I had niggles that I ignored because they were over in a couple of minutes. And a few times the heart rate monitor on my fitbit had a wappy few minutes that I put down to it playing up. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
57
37
high 50s when diagnosed but ten years previously at least when it started.
Diagnosed 2 months ago at age 44...
First noticed funny turns at 63 - diagnosed at 69.
Exactly 4 years ago, aged 67.....kinda remember it well....😩
I was 44 when it started.
I am now 71.
Pete
Always love your replies pottypete1 - they give me hope!
Funny that, I was 68 when it started, now I’m 42.....😂😉👍
Diagnosed at 55 but Im sure I had it for up to 10 years before.
57. Same as I am now. Never knew I had it until PCP found it while taking my pulse.
It started in 2012, when i was 49, with occasional short HR peaks (which I ignored because they caused no problems). It became more regular when I was 52 and I managed to self-diagnose. It was three months later just before my 53rd birthday when the Dr. agreed with me. Now 55 and in NSR after 2 ablations .
Thirty nine, although I had to wait 8 months for it to happen again and get captured on ecg, which led to getting Flecainide PiP and going on the waiting list for an ablation. Had an ablation at age 41. Three months ago today, in fact.
Diagnosed aged 70yrs but undiagnosed episodes since I was in early thirties. Bearing in mind nobody was interested in " strange heart events " until fairly recent. Often put down to depression , anxiety , your age or anything else thought appropriate lol !
Jean x
Diagnosed at 54 but had short bouts intermittently for a few years before that.
Diagnosed at 55, but afterwards realised I had it long before then probably from age 40. I used to get periods of extreme tiredness when I had no energy at all. I could never understand why when doing a weekly cross country run I was always at the back of the group, same when with a club cycling.
Jean
I remember some of the more unusual remedies for AF that have been on this forum over time. One lady said she put her hand over her heart and spoke to it in a loving and soothing way saying all was well and that method had worked for the last 6 occasions. Another said she could stop her AF by lying on the floor and putting her legs up a wall. I've told this story before, I tried this while lying on my bed and almost passed out. I wondered what they would have thought if I'd been found unconscious in that position!!!! My attacks used to be so debilitating that I would try anything that had worked for other members.
Jean
Got any photos ?? 😉
I wonder if the lady grew plants with a similar technique
51 when diagnosed, soon to be 56 ( 2 days to go!)
48.....now 73.......never been the same since ! 😕
As an addendum I would say that it changed my whole life and not for the good. I accept this as my lot . There are far worse things to get. It is always there ....i am about to go on a cruise in a few days ( hopefully) ..last year's had to be cancelled with b....y AF.
57 am now 61 and have had 2 ablations
57, now 73
67 - addmmited to hospital with heart failure, was in hospital for 12 days. lots of tests scans ect and told I had AF as well. But I think I have had it for many years looking back now. Now 71.
Cassie
Diagnosed recently at 65 but actually had the odd bout since I was 55.
OK I'm pretty sure I'm the youngest ! :\
You certainly started something!😀
Been interesting to see ages etc tho!
Diagnosed in 2001 when I was 58 but had had problems for some years before that I put down to hormone problems.
47, but sure I have had symptoms a long time before and put if down to a hard gym session or tiredness now I know more about it.
I was 35 and it's ruined my life just takes iver very scary for me. And they till dont know why I had it and after ablation last year can back a week ago yay!!!!!
I know how you feel. You are me when I was diagnosed. It is life altering, restrictive and scary in the beginning then turns life influencing, prominent in the mind and inconvenient later on in life!
Particularly being young, active job, active days off walking 5-17 miles in the Peak District..... yet people sitting on a couch smoking and drinking to excess, not caring about lifestyle get off "scott fee" took a long time to come to terms with.
It as well and truly took iver my life and I hate it.. if been working hard lost 3 stone in weight was feeling great about myself and then iver a few weeks started to feel like rubbish.. run down to the point I thought I was depressed as I wasn't sleeping. And the found out I had afib 😭 since that day I am scared to go to sleep in case I wake up in afib.. sick of feeling so down and scared not fair on my family either. And am sick of people saying you are young to have this 😣
57yrs when I was diagnosed and that seems to be a very popular age for It!
I first noticed problems with my heart rate and rhythm when I was in my teens, but it was thought to be 'anxiety' and ignored by doctors, so I tried to ignore it. Things got very symptomatic ten years ago, but I was told it was probably a hernia and not to sleep on my left side then discharged. I became so ill with AF early last year and after several A and E visits and hospitalisations, was finally diagnosed correctly and began the usual cardio/EP visits and trying various meds. I'm now 53.
Diagnosed at 56
52 ..... the 50's do seem to be a reoccuring number.
Hello everyone , well for me my forst episode was on my 20th , my second one was last year on 32 .
Can imagine how you felt being a young a-fibber myself!
Well it's a nightmare to think why it happened and why it's me and what i have to change in my lifestyle and live like a very old man in my 20th no alchool no smoking no partying hehe am sorry if i said old but the truth
Yep whilst other "oldies" who smoke drink and be merry and drink coffee get away with it!
Oh my , coffee , i missed it a lot , do anyone here think that we could get better and get cured one day ?
Decaf coffee tastes OK. You can also get decaf tea and there are a zillion herbal teas with no caffeine.
Right , but the taste and the effect of the coffee that i missed , i havnt tasted any decf coffee that it is tasty . Well am really surprised this anomlay has been since a veryy long time and with all this technology and medications nd treatments , they did not find a cute for afib ? Cancer is close to get a cure but afib no
My cardiologist asked if I drank so I said I had a small sherry every evening (which is true but I didn't add the odd glass of wine, prosecco etc) and when he wrote the letter to my GP he quoted that! I still drink coffee once a day too because I refuse to make myself miserable over a miserable condition. I might feel differently if I was young and still working. I never smoked and my BMI is perfect so that's not fair!
61
I was 62 now 71
early 50's
51 but reckon I had from about 48 ! My own fault before I had it overweight, smoked 20 a day and crap diet..... now non smoker 20 pounds lighter and almost vegetarian !
Confirmed 2013 when I was 54, but I know I had it for years before,just didn't know,thought symptoms were stress related,5 close family died in rapid succession etc.
I first had AF in the mid 1980's and I am now in my mid 50's so about 28 years of AF
I am so sorry you have this when you are so young. Life has not dealt you a good hand. You have to make the most out of what you can do. Stress only makes things much worse. I think the best thing is to concentrate on what you can do rather than what you cannot. Try to stay positive. You will find as you go through life that doors close behind you all the time and all you can do is to accept it. At a very young age it is too late to become a champion ice skater, and then the chance to become a doctor, or heart surgeon has gone, etc but new opportunities arise appropriate to your age and capabilities.
Mine started when I was 70, 5 years ago, and it came because I had prescribed omeprazole which induced anaemia. The omeprazole was supposed to put a lining on the stomach to prevent stomach ulcers. The anaemia meant the heart was trying very hard to get the oxygen to the cells. That thickened the heart, which went mad. I am so lucky that although I still have paraxismol AFib post my ablation it is now miles better for which I am grateful. I wonder how many out there have heart problems because of reducing stomach acid far too far? More doctors should be aware of the possible dreadful consequences of prescribing this drug particularly to some older people. I am sure others need it.
That's interesting. I've been on ibuprofen semi-regularly for years and was prescribed Omeprazole cover. And my AF kicked off about 3 years after that.
I suggest you ask the doc for a full blood count for red blood cells, haemoglobin, haematocrit, iron, vit B12 (which you need). You need to check if you have anaemia. I was prescribed the omeprazole because I had been taking ibruprofen about 2 or 3 times a week for aches and pains to reduce inflammation. It took about 6 months for it to affect me so badly but then I am much older and I now realise that low stomach acid runs in my family and anyway it usually decreases with age.
I was 58 years old when I first experienced AFib, but it’s not so much about age I feel as circumstance. I started not long after I was widowed in a traumatic way.
My true regular AF came through after a marriage breakup in the February and a subsequent house move, plus switching to 12.5 hour shifts all around the same time. So that would also make sense.
57 when diagnosed last year. Previous 10 years had odd episodes of racing hr/feeling exhausted which must have been start of it- prob stress related then.
I was 40.
57
I was diagnosed at 29 but looking back knowing what I know now I imagine undiagnosed episodes maybe 24yrs old maybe even slightly younger.
58 when diagnosed , probably 57 when I felt some palpitations.
41 but had experienced a few isolated events of palpitations prior to this.
59 it was diagnosed but probably had spells of AF on and off for 10 years prior to being diagnosed, first one was at work sent to A&E they put it down to too much caffeine
My first visit to A&E was at 8am on a bank holiday weekend morning. Unfortunately the AF disappeared whilst I was in the waiting room so it went undiagnosed. I was told it was probably just ectopics, and I then got a lecture from the Dr about drinking too much alcohol.
I had had half a bottle of wine at home with dinner the previous night, and surrounding me in all the other A&E beds were comatose drunks. I felt pretty annoyed to be put in the same category as them.
Yeah I felt similar when I shut down the cardiologist on call when I told him I don't drink and never smoked and all he could lecture me on was my weight, which I was losing, whilst looking over his large belly at me.
First picked up 55 but has became symptomatic 59. I'm now 60.
May last year was my first, and diagnosed, event. I was 67. I don't believe I had any undiagnosed sessions prior to that, but who knows?
25 when happened my first episode. 31 second episode followed by ablation (in the mean time i had for 6 months treatment for fast rithm). Now I am 32 and currently having psychotherapy sessions because I can't cope with the ideea, even if i am currently cleared of af.
60 ish when it was finally confirmed but looking back I had it for many years before that.
I was 50 when diagnosed, but had episodes for a year before that.
AF was diagnosed at 63 , but believe I had it for a long time. Often had a th ready irregular pulse accompanying an infection, but the doctor passed no comment and didn't offer a diagnosis, so I was under the impression it was part of the infection and would rectify itself once cured. Had palpitations as a teenager when engaged in sport.
I was 64
55 years old when I was diagnosed. However I was asymtomatic and I only realised i had an ussue when my garmin gps hr monitor picked up a 165 hr when i was sat down and was not doing exercise so I could have had it earlier and not realised.
61 I was diagnosed with AF about 3 weeks ago .Doctor rang me from hospital with my results Awaiting appointment now
Guys i have a question that is somehow related to af and age , as i saw before i'm 33 now and not married yet , and honestly i'm afraid to , and the question is , what is the effect of af into the sex life , or can i have sex while i know that i have af ? Ot is it safe to have sex with af ?
Well, we managed to get pregnant etc with me in AF. Some medications do have unfortunate side effects including being tired from episodes of AF which can be a bit awkward.
You have to treat it like any other form of exertion like prolonged lifting, gardening, walking etc and pace yourself, don't over do it and maybe give it a miss if you've had a particularly active day in other regards.
56 or 57, had successful ablation at 60. AF just returned at 67.
First episode at age 27. Heart attack at age 31. 3 stents at age 45. Afib progressed throughout the years. Took Sotolol for quite a few years. Went into persistent afib at age 50. ICD placement and Tikosyn. Age 55 put on amiodarone then two ablations within a year and a half. Tried Multaq for a while. Both ablations failed. Back on Tikosyn. Working well for now at age 56. Will try hybrid ablation in the future. Ablate and pace as a last resort. It’s a lifelong battle but it’s very manageable. My advice is ablate asap. The longer you wait the harder it is to stop.
Diagnosed last year after my stroke at age 62 but I think now I was around 50 when it started I always avoided the GP if I could and I regret that now.
40. Ablated within 2 weeks of diagnosis secondary to aggressive course and failure to respond to medications. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to “fixed” so quickly so that I could get back to normal life!
59 for me
Age 72 (2.5 yrs ago) after receiving 33 radiation treatments to the left breast for cancer 9:00 position, then a diagnosis of Radiation Pneumonitis along with the afib. It was difficult getting a diagnosis and treatment. Now a pacemaker also.
diagnosed with 54 with an ordinary checkout, but supposedly started at 52.
permanent lone AFIB
37 but didn't go to hospital till I was 41 as it went from very occasional to daily. I had an ablation in January. Good coffee keeps me in rhythm.
23 yo. I'm 53 now.
23 yo. I'm 53 now
It hit me at 49 out of the blue in March of 2017. I had no idea what was making my heart race occasionally, and it would go away for at least a month at a time. Finally caught one mid-episode in July of 2017 and was diagnosed with PAF. I was highly symptomatic, with HR bouncing between 68 and 220 each episode, which then would resolve in 10 to 12 hours initially. My EP wanted to attack it early on to give me the best chance at "permanent" relief, so I had my first ablation (cryo), in October 2017. That lasted about 2 weeks when the Afib came back with a vengeance on a daily basis along with now developing flutter simultaneously. I had a second RF ablation 4 weeks after the first on Nov 7, 2017, and have been both afib and flutter free since. My HR is now back to just about pre-condition levels, and I am not on any medication anymore.
Went into stomach surgery at 69 never a heart problem. Came out of surgery with AFIB was it the anesthesia Dr who screwed up my vitals? Still don’t know but have been suffering with amiodarone and cardio conversion ever since. In a good sinus rhythm now but who knows how long it will last
Late 50s, now 70
66
Was 45 now 49 permanent ad straight from the start now 5 weeks free
55 had one, 57 had one....none since.
Diagnosed 2014 at 67-just had second ablation in ten months five weeks ago. After first ablation EP said it probably started eight years prior when I was troubled with skipped beat and then would do a catch up. The year was a stressful year and I believed it contributed to the palpations. Started Metoprolol in 2008.
Hi, I’ve had bouts of AF since my early 40s and chronic AF since 50. I’m now 64 and managing really well. I don’t have to tell anyone how amazing the human body is. I still work, travel and exercise frequently (pilates!). I take beta blockers to manage my heart rate and an anticoagulant - these days, I’m not even aware that I’m in AF. The most important thing is not to ruminate and worry - it will make your condition much worse. 💕
Was 64 when Afib began and was diagnosed. I am 67 now
57...but looking back probably early 30’s when it started or sooner...high BP and elevated heart rate diagnosed when in my early 20’s ..meds controlled it but had episodes of racing when off meds while pregnant .....
57, now 60, 1 Ablation, older sibling (by 2 years) also has it.
58
65
41 now 68
Became aware of being in AF at 56. Investigations revealed that it had probably started quite a time before that - I just didn’t have symptoms. Count myself lucky that it was discovered when it was.
55, had successful ablation fifteen months ago Now 60.
67
I am going to join join BobD in banging on about correct terminology! The term 'palpitations' as used medically means 'awareness of the heart beating' and covers all such feelings until the doctor has established what the cause is. Patients should not take offence out of ignorance. I recently had an an appointment with a cardiologist and his first question was 'I believe you have had some palpitations recently?' When he wrote the letter to my GP he said 'her episodes of palpitations .........are indeed atrial fibrillation'. As a scientist he didn't take my word for it.
Rant over 😀
Diagnosed at 38 but had been having symptoms since I was 33
43, today actually. My stress test was clear my Echo was clear but my holter showed AF 3 episodes, I have had SVT for a couple of years now.
72
Had a handful of episodes in my twenties had no idea what it was it was out of sight & mind so never followed it up. Then it came back with a vengeance a few years ago still waiting for formal diagnosis, got appointment mid july with cardiologist. Ironically its been behaving itself recently
When I was 20 I experienced strange palpitations as I was falling asleep and sometimes on waking. A Dr informed me I had a murmur and I had numerous tests and 24 hour heart tapes etc and nothing was apparently wrong.
Roll on to 2007 when I was 28 and I had my first AF which went away on its own.
I am now 39 next week and have had 4 AF episodes, one of which required fleccanide in hospital as it didn't stop and I felt particularly bad. In A and E my heart rate was measuring 180bpm plus lying down.
Hi. I was 40
AF query
pets and AF
