What is happening to my pulse?

[Uniform96]

Hi , I posted recently , that I was having long spells of what I perceived to be episodes of missing beats lasting for a short while followed by a similar time of steady beats, this has been constant for three days previous to this they came and went since Sunday night, on my Kardia( only recently purchased) it says possibly Afib and my first question is does it say that when its not sure or does it always say that when Afib is present and has anyone else experienced this.? My pulse rate is not raised or chaotic as it was when I was diagnosed however it does feel more forceful at times. I am prescribed Flecainide and now taking 50 MG three times a day since yesterday to see if it makes any difference. I was told I could up it from 50MG twice a day when I was having fast runs.It just seems a long time to be going on like this .I will add that I don't feel dizzy or breathless but then I never did just feel very anxious. I know that you are not able to diagnose, but any experiences would be greatly appreciated, many thanks.

[doodle68]

Hello Uniform here are 2 videos describing the different kind of heart beats in detail to help you to distinguish what yours may be....

youtu.be/8sJIjPbzHro(Not working as expected?)

youtu.be/nmq7PRoO3y8(Not working as expected?)

With regard to the Kardia, I don't have one but there is a Q&A section on their website which may be of help to you...

[Uniform96 in reply to doodle68]

Thank you so much, for your reply,and video link, best wishes.

[Gtmoshi1 in reply to doodle68]

You are very amazing dr for sharing these videos. I was diagnosed with afib 2 years ago @ 38 years old. Since then, I have had 2 more occurances that I was able to reverse back to sinus rythum simply by sitting up, and controlling my breathing. I was 391 lbs 6’ tall, now 310. My goal is 230 lbs. I am wondering if you recommend an ablation once I lose my weight? Other than my afib, I am completely normal, with regular blood pressure, good low cholesterol, and not diabetic. Thank you for your time @ yorkcardio.co.uk

Elven Moshi

[val757]

Hello Uniform. I have a Kardia and it has always said ‘possible AFib’ when I’ve definitely been having an AFib episode. That doesn’t mean that it’s certain to be AFib of course. I havent used it for a long time since my ablation in January 2017 put a stop to the episodes, I just keep it as back up in case it returns. Val

[pottypete1]

Sounds very much like ectopic beats I.E missed or extra beats.

It is very common for us and is normally benign.

Pete

[Uniform96 in reply to pottypete1]

Many thanks for replying to me, pulse is going one two then a very quick one two , then one , then quick one, all very confusing! Up to this session I've only had the odd what I would call missed or extra beat .Best wishes, Pete.

[pottypete1 in reply to Uniform96]

Sounds like AF now to me.

Maybe a good idea to take some advice if it continues.

Pete

[cjsabc in reply to Uniform96]

Sounds very like ectopic behaviour. I had it really badly aged 38. None of the docs could fix it... tried beta blockers which made me feel as if I was falling off a cliff. Was missing 15+ heartbeats per minute which left me feeling a bit panicky. FINALLY I was directed to an American homeopath in NZ (not into that much). He said 'it's easily fixable'... . Told me firstly to eat lots of raw complex salads (red cabbage finely chopped, soaked linseeds, chopped dried fruit, feta etc etc -i.e. not just ettuce and a bit of cucumber n tomato), together with brown rice. Both big helpings. Second, he told me to get some vigorous exercise, so I got back in the pool and swam and swam... 20-30 twenty five metre laps as quickly as I could. Thirdly, he told me to calm down with meditiation. I did all this and to my absolute astonishment, the ectopic beats stopped on the 7th day and didn't return. Plus I was feeling amazing. None of this advice can be bad for any of us and can be easily followed. It's low-cost, it's prescription-free, it brings on gentle but certain weight loss and in my case the changes worked like a charm.

Hope that helps.

[Uniform96 in reply to cjsabc]

Thank you cjsabc, I would try some of the diet , the exercise sounds a bit too energetic for me!

[Uniform96]

Hello Val , many thanks for your reply, I believe I must be in AF because now

The episodes are just irregular and no regular runs although still not high, not quite sure what to do as I will have taken all prescribed medication, and obviously it's the weekend .

[Uniform96]

Hello Pete, yes I think it probably is. Why is it always the weekend?"

[etheral]

Get a Holter monitor prescribed and find out for sure.

[Rebma in reply to etheral]

How long do you wear the Holter monitor? My neighbor wore a cardiac for two weeks. Thank yiu

[Uniform96 in reply to Rebma]

Hi, I have just finished wearing a event monitor for 7 days , so I am hoping to get some feedback. Next week.

[etheral in reply to Rebma]

24hrs is usually sufficient if you are ecperiancing these abnormal heartbeats daily. If no arrhythmias are experienced during this time several days may be necessary.

[Gizmo1980]

Hi I had ectopic beats for over 2 months in and out of docs and hospital they couldn't do anything it was driving me mad cuz I was worried I was gonna go back into afib and low and behold I did just over 2 weeks ago now. Unjust had a bit feeling it was going to come back and it did. But everyone is different so be very aware of it...

[Uniform96 in reply to Gizmo1980]

Hello Gizmo, pulse is still uneven, but after seeking advice have been told as long as rate is okay don't worry! Very irritating though. Thank you for replying.

[momist]

Can anyone tell me how to post a file on this forum? If I can, I'll put up one of my Kardia files while I was in AF.

[doodle68 in reply to momist]

Hi Momist you can 'add a picture' if you start your own thread then you could post a link here to your thread like this

healthunlocked.com/afassoci...

. I can't see any way of adding anything mid thread....

By putting this into Google...

Guide to Kardia Mobile ECG recordings and what to do with them.

....you get a list of examples but it won't allow me to link to them..

[Dangerousdriver]

Hi Uniform,

I purchased Kardia last week too and from my understanding even if you were in AF it wouldn’t say “you are in AF” it will say “possible AF” and that’s to cover themselves as if you read the instructions on their website it say it’s not be used as a diagnosis tool! Well why else would you buy it?!

So in answer to your question last night I had an episode in bed and took a reading and it said unconfirmed. Which can mean you are suffering with eptopics or Atrial Flutter which can show up as “unreadable” there is a setting you can change to show those readings as an event and not unreadable.

Good luck

[Uniform96 in reply to Dangerousdriver]

Hi Dangerousdriver, my readings say unclassified so does that mean i have a different arrhythmia? I have been told by a doctor that as long as pulse rate is not high dont worry! Seeing Cardiologist Friday so we will see! Best wishes.

[falah12345]

Hi there

I had similar episods with normal pulse rate ,kardia reported possible AF my cardiologist called them Slow Af and he advised me to check the blood pressure and was asking if I had any symptoms associated ,his advice was to take the PIP and if didnt go back to SR after 8 hrs then consider going to ER

Hope you get well soon

[Uniform96 in reply to falah12345]

Hi Falah, doctor told me it was AF but as long as pulse rate was not high dont worry , but it is not very comfortable i must say, many thanks for your reply.

[Dodie117]

Keep copies - you can email the trace to yourself or your EP and they can interpret them.

In my experience when kardia said possible af it was always when I had an af episode.

[Uniform96 in reply to Dodie117]

That's a very good idea, I will do that, thank you.

[Mugster]

I was in persistent AF for 18 months with missed irregular beats all the time .my only symptom was feeling tired and having heavy legs. If your No and HR are under control I wouldn't worry about it

[Uniform96 in reply to Mugster]

Hi Mugster, I think that is me at present,though I don't know why things suddenly changed, Best wishes.

[houghlana]

I have the same problem with missed beats. My machine says irregular heartbeat. My docs never confirm afib and don’t seem concerned like me. I take flecanide twice a day (50). Once my pulse went down to 40 beats. So I take it every 14 or 15 hours I also take lisinopril and eliquis. I used to take cardizem but went off of it.

[Uniform96 in reply to houghlana]

Hi Houghlana, I have increased my Flecainide to 50 mg three times a day but so far no change.Thank you for replying to me.

[KathFrances]

Hi, Kardia always says 'possible AF' when AF is showing as they aren't allowed to make a definite diagnosis, only a suggested one. You need to email your Kardia reading to a doctor for definite confirmation of AF.

[Uniform96 in reply to KathFrances]

Sorry I meant send ECG to Kardio doctors ,thank you.

[doodle68 in reply to KathFrances]

Hi Kath can you clarify a point please, when you say 'a doctor' do you mean pay and send it to the Kardia doctor for analysis or to the patient's own doctor. I have read varying opinions about asking the Kardia to do an analysis.

I don't have a Kardia yet but am heading that way .

Thank you

[KathFrances in reply to doodle68]

Well you could do either, but I prefer not to pay Kardia, but to send it free to my own cardio - then he can deal with it and advise on treatment. I can't see the point of paying and sending it to a Kardia doctor, when they can't treat you.

[doodle68 in reply to KathFrances]

Thanks Kath I have never seen my 'appointed Cardiologist' only his assistants and the last was disinterested and just suggests I have an ablation which I don't want at this time . So I pretty much look after myself unless my situation deteriorates hence my intention to get a Kardia..

[KathFrances in reply to doodle68]

Yes . . . understand! Am also looking after self at moment, having seen cardio a couple of times initially. Kardia is great for this, but luckily I haven't had any unclassified readings, so I'm either in AF or normal.

[Uniform96]

Hi, so when the Kardia says unclassified could that be a different arrhythmia and if i sent it would they diagnose it? ,many thanks.

[KathFrances in reply to Uniform96]

Yes - doctor or cardio could either diagnose it or ask for more tests if the diagnosis isn't immediately clear

[cjsabc]

When I had full-on Afib, it was accompanied, for years, by a pulse of 115-130. The docs gave me once-daily Diltiazem which reduced it to under 100. No bad side effects at all. Don't like meds much at all n was delighted to be entirely free of them soon after the ablation. In October it'll be 5 years since the op.

[Uniform96 in reply to cjsabc]

So pleased for your good outcome really hoping the same for myself as I also don't like taking meds. More to the point they don't seem to be working, best wishes.