It all started today !

[Leatherworker]

I have just been confirmed as having AF and been put on 5mg Apixoban twice daily, am waiting for an Echocardiogram and because I'm 69 won't be offered ablation so I'm just hoping to read others' experiences ! I still work full time and have no intention of stopping !

[Aprilbday]

Welcome to the club. I am on Pradaxa and Dilacor. I am not a candidate for ablation but plenty people here much older have ablation. I am 63. What happened that caused you to be diagnosed?

[Leatherworker in reply to Aprilbday]

Dear Aprilbday, decades of Ventricular ectopics to start with and I imagine that the atherosclerosis they diagnosed would have contributed as well as high blood pressure ! A few years ago a friend who was a retired GP felt my weird pulse and said, "You need to get this looked at !" but then it was 'simply' ventricular and the doctors thought that because I'd had it for so long that it was 'just me' ! I had lots of tests and ended up on bood pressure tablets only.....until yesterday . An echocardiogram will show up any structural defects and presumably decision will then be taken as to what to do next. L

[diannetrussell]

Have they given you an anti-arrhythmic drug too? I take Flecainide to basically keep the rhythm right, and it's only rarely that I have a breakout into Afib. That's usually because either I have a gut issue and don't absorb all my meds, or perhaps it's been in car or handbag too long and lost potency. I'm 63, started Afib 9 years ago - caused by pericarditis (inflammation & swelling around outside membrane of heart) caused by infection with a parasite that came from rats and infected a house I rented. Left scars that act like extra pacemakers!

[Leatherworker in reply to diannetrussell]

Dear Dianne, they have yet to prescribe anti-arrhythmics and I presume are waiting to see what the echocardiogram shows up ! I've heard about the rat thing you poor thing !L

[Flaka in reply to Leatherworker]

I don’t take any Antiarrhythmic drugs as the side effects out weighed the benefits. I take Pradaxa and a beta blocker Coreg and works for me. I have learned to live with the A Fib when it kicks in every few days as it doesn’t last long. Thinking of changing to Eliquis instead of Pradaxa. I have recently got on a natural vitamin protocol from Standard Process that I am hoping will reduce the Afib episodes.

[Aprilbday in reply to diannetrussell]

Wow!! See, before people judge A-Fib and other heart ailments on “lifestyle” they need to just be quiet. They don’t know what they are talking about. My A-Fib came from an allergy treatment. Now I’m on heart rhythm and anti-coagulation!! We all can agree that exercising, eating right, staying positive and refraining from risky behaviors improves ANY health challenge. But as individuals, A-Fib affects young, old, skinny, fat, healthy and unhealthy people.

[diannetrussell in reply to Aprilbday]

True, Aprilbday. In fact, the 'don't judge, just get the facts' is a good rule of thumb to apply to every situation in life, no matter what people might look like or what they might be doing/not doing. Saves a lot of grief and sadness. And opens the opportunity for people to understand each other more deeply. When you really know what's going on for someone, without the foggy screen of judgment in the way, you can see how we are all in essence the same. Then love and togetherness can increase, and we become so much more supportive of each other.

[jennydog]

Being 69 years old is no reason to prevent you having an ablation. My EP draws the line at 80 but I have seen reference to even older people having the procedure.

[Leatherworker in reply to jennydog]

Dear Jenny, as these are early days I'll have to wait and see what decisions are made !L

[dmac4646]

Surely they will try drugs and lifestyle changes first and if they don't work - ablation - 69 is young.

[Leatherworker in reply to dmac4646]

Dear DMAC, I'm sure they will. One problem is never seeing the same doctor twice as they all work odd days which don't necessarily tie in with mine !

[Finvola]

Welcome to the forum Leatherworker. Sorry that you find yourself here, if you know what I mean!

I hope you get a clear echocardiogram and can start getting your AF under control. I agree with jennydog - 69 shouldn’t prevent ablation being a consideration. My friend had his at 76, with a touch-up second ablation at 78.

[Leatherworker]

Thanks Finvola...I am in the hands of the medics and coming at this from a position of ignorance so totally reliant on their knowledge and opinions !

[EngMac]

Hi Leatherworker, your last comment may not be the best way to proceed. Many of us have learned that we need to put some effort into our treatment which includes lifestyle and knowledge so we can question and evaluate what medics think is the best for us. Only "Us" really knows the impact of their recommendations.

If you are a leatherworker and sit or stand for long periods of time with your head and back leaning forward, you may wish to have your back and spine checked for subluxations. This is definitely what triggers AF for me and getting it resolved is not easy, at least for my situation. As a result of chiropractic adjustments, my symptoms change. Sometimes AF starts while laying down and now it starts more often when I get up. Getting in the shower can start it but I can usually stop it by flexing and manipulating my back, if I do this right away. Once I found out my back and neck were a big part of the problem, I could always affect my heart rate; but now I can do it more often and more easily. Sitting bent over on the computer or doing something that requires this position will cause irregular heart beats; and if they get too irregular, I will get AF. Now I know the feeling and manipulate my back so the irregular beats stop. I have learned several ways to do this. Otherwise a 30 minute walk will stop AF if it starts. The chiropractor says it is the motion that frees the impact on the nerves that control the heart. The goal of course is to change my back in a way the nerves can heal and not be impacted.

Unfortunately, there are no studies being done on what I experience and chiropractors in Canada are not allowed to say that they can help, even though they know they sometimes can. Heart doctors don't believe this can happen even though they know the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves control the heart. Since health care is so compartmentalized, the specialists don't seem to work collectively to solve the total problem. So as a patient, you have to take what you can from each specialty and try and find the best solution for you. Most people don't want to do this and rely on one specialty to find a solution which proves to be somewhat challenging for most people.

Good luck! You will need it.

[Leatherworker in reply to EngMac]

Thanks for that ! I am so new to this that I realise that there is a lot to absorb ! I stand for most of the day and have done so for the best part of forty five years with no problems ! In fact I have no problems at all considering that many people my age have retired and lead sedentry lives ! I am totally fine apart from a dodgy heart !

[momist]

Whilst I would doubt the chiropractic treatment for myself (not saying it doesn't work for EngMac), I agree with him that you need to look out for yourself with this condition. I was 67 when first diagnosed, and after my second attack I saw an EP at the NW heart centre in Blackpool who has put me on his 12 month waiting list for ablation. I'm now 68 and will be 69 when my name comes up on that list. I'm still wavering about whether to go through with it, as my attacks are months apart and I seem to cope well with them when they happen, and let them peter out of their own accord over 6 to 10 hours, usually in the small hours of the following morning.

"because I'm 69 won't be offered ablation" must be a local decision, which you could get changed by insisting on a second opinion at a different heart specialist centre. If you are in the UK you have the right to ask for that. I found that our local hospital 'Respiratory/ Cardiac Clinic' were pretty useless when it came to AF, and had to ask my GP for a referral to a specialist EP.

[Hidden]

I am a Saddler and have spent my life bent over a pair of clamps hand stitching and it has never occurred to me that this could have caused my AF I shall see if a bit of manipulation might help me

[Leatherworker in reply to Hidden]

I stand all day and as I'm self employed that can mean from 8am til 11pm so who knows Kineton ! People are looking for causes when it could just be genetic or those bacon sandwiches or the odd glass of something flavoursome ! Keep stitching ! L

[EngMac]

Leatherworker, you may stand but I suspect that your head is tilted down. This can cause problems with T1 and T2 in the thoracic spine. Anyway one of the many options to consider.