Is shortness of breath a common AF symptom

[Mickhall]

Is shortness of breath a common AF symptom or is it associated with side effects of some meds?

[Hidden]

The quick answer is YES and YES. Sometimes it's impossible to distinguish which is causing what. Subject to the approval of your doctor, if your pulse rate and blood pressure are lower than the norm, there may be a case to reduce the dose. However, we are not medically qualified and this MUST not be done without your doctors consent because there may be other factors which influence your prescribed dose.

[Mickhall in reply to Hidden]

FlapJack I ask because I was told at the hospital this morning she/he didn’t think it was a side effect of meds as if it were I wouldn’t only get it when I exert my self climbing stairs. I’m not critical of them as they were nice and gave me a lot of time over an hour and covered a lot of ground but I just thought I would ask in what type of situation have other A F sufferers had breathlessness.

[Hidden in reply to Mickhall]

It is difficult Mickhall, particularly as we are all different, added to which, the majority of medics we see are probably not taking beta blockers or have AF so it will be interesting to hear what other forum members say......

[CDreamer in reply to Mickhall]

My experience at the beginning of my AF journey was exactly as your hospital described - if in AF I was breathless regardless, if a symptom of meds it tended to be mostly, but not exclusively, on exertion ie climbing steps/stairs or steep incline.

And a some of the time I really couldn’t tell which - especially as the AF progressed and almost daily bouts became more symptomatic. Solution for me was no meds at all apart from anticoagulants as I felt much better without them and I can put up with the symptoms of AF when it’s only some of the time whereas the drugs gave me symptoms all of the time.

[cassie46]

Same answer as Flapjack Yes and Yes. AF does cause breathlessness, with me it is not all the time but walking up a hill will bring it on. I have permanent AF so probably have it more than someone with PAF. Some probably do not suffer with it at all. Beta Blockers such as Bisoprolol are known to cause breathlessness, but not in everyone that takes them. I changed from Bisoprolol to Nebivolol because it was causing problems and since the change breathlessness has improved a great deal. Regarding the medical doctors some accept that beta blockers can cause breathlessness others will say it does not, the cardiologist at my hospital tells me that Bisoprolol was not causing my problems, I went to see EP privately and he said it was causing most of my problems!!!

Cassie

[Mickhall in reply to cassie46]

Cassie, what you and CDreamer have described could be me stairs and steep inclines and I start puffing like a steam train I said to a friend yesterday perhaps I should move to a desert or flat wetlands and live in a bungalow when I challenged the medic about AF meds not causing breathlessness they said perhaps it is something else wrong with your heart we will get you back in to check it out. I thought bloody hell cheer me up mate!

[wilsond]

I am currently being investigated as to whether I can tolerate bisoprolol,as it does make me very breath less on any exertion,worst is stairs,to the point where a few weeks ago I burst into tears at the thought of hav ing to go back upstairs for something I had forgotten!coupled with terribly heavy legs,and hr between 45-50 ,I had enough and started to make noises.I have been taking it for a while but sure effects got gradually worse!

I hope you get to the bottom of it,or course af itself can also make us exercise intolerant too....!!

[Mickhall in reply to wilsond]

Wilson’s, thanks for replying, I am sorry to hear you became upset but I understand why. One of our colleagues here once described AF astutely as a journey, what he could have added on this journey many of us experience the odd car crash. All the best.

[wilsond in reply to Mickhall]

Thatsa good way of putting it! Hope you get on ok Mick.,and thanks xx

[doodle68 in reply to wilsond]

Hi Wilson you shouldn't have to cope with that keep pushing your doctor to review your medication with a view to finding something that suits you.

[wilsond in reply to doodle68]

Im currently away with hubby for a few days in Stratford,but have an appointment with gp when Iget bqck,and also contacted my EP. Thank you doodle, Im not going to try to keep soldiering on now....! I was also told by arrythmia nurse that if one betablocker gives me problems,its likely all will,but members here have put me right on that!

Thans for your support xx

[Hidden]

Unless it’s listed as a “frequent” side effect -you could check this on the leaflet accompanying the meds- I would agree with the hospital that this is more likely to be due to the Afib. Some people with Afib have breathlessness with their Afib, some don’t- it’s very much an individual thing. If you have not already had an ultrasound test it would be a good idea as this might shed some light on the possible causes.

[Fruitcake100]

Hi Mickhall, I have had exactly the same worries, what is causing what, I eventually persuaded my GP to change me from Bisoprolol to Nebivolol, I now feel loads better, I do still get some breathlessness on exertion particularly stairs but nothing like before and with my new found energy can cope well, before I was like the lady above and became tearful especially when on holiday and faced with loads of steps to climb. One does have to take into consideration, age and weight, none of us gets any younger but I am not ready to give up yet. I am having a problem now deciding if the runny nose and bad cough I have is related to heart, lungs , allergy’s or the pills, or as is so often the way, a mix of a variety of things.. Good Luck , I am sure you will feel considerably better when you are sorted, all tests are good, knowledge is power and do a lot of your own research , no one is as interested in your health as you are.

[doodle68]

I am breathless when having an episode of P-AF and when climbing hills/lots of stairs but not otherwise so know my breathlessness it is not due to medication but my heart being unable to pump blood around my body efficiently under certain circumstances.

I have found since losing weight, starting beta blockers and increasing the speed at which I walk on my twice daily walks (when I also do breathing exercises ) my ability to climb hills has improved slightly which hopefully means my heart is coping better and under less stress .

My AF episodes have decreased in frequency too

[Mickhall in reply to doodle68]

Doodle 68, I don’t mean to pry but you wrote about becoming short of breath due to your heart ‘being unable to pump blood around my body efficiently under certain circumstances.’ Do you know why this is happening.

[doodle68 in reply to Mickhall]

Hi Mike I am aware that when in P-AF my heart is beating fast and erratically and not filling up with blood as it is supposed to do in order to pump it around to meet my body's needs. This can result in symptoms like shortness of breath and feeling faint.

I am not a doctor but guess anything that interrupts the heart's ability to fulfil its function of pumping oxygenated blood around the body can cause breathlessness and this includes some forms of medication for some people

[Cocofluffs]

Mickhall, I look at it this way. When you have af you generally have a faster heart rate than usual. This means that there is not time enough for the ventricles to fill up with blood normally before they discharge the blood around the body so that you are having a lower blood volume than normal each beat. This may not matter at rest, but if you are doing any exercise (eg climbing up a hill or steps, walking faster than normal) you do not have the 'normal' amount of blood carrying oxygen to the muscles that need more than normal due to the exercise, and so you feel breathless.

[Mickhall]

Cocofluffs, that sounds logical, so it's AF which makes some people short of breath and not the side effects from certain meds. If that is true how do we explain when some folk with AF suffer from breathlessness, change their meds and it often stops or at the very least lessens .

When I consider how many people suffer from some form of AF, over a million I'm told, which for younger folk of working age or with young families it must be horrific as at times it can be very debilitating, yet the medical treatment available is hardly cutting edge, a pair of jump leads, a prescription for drugs which may or may not work, and an Ablation opp which to me seems very last century.

I was only diagnosed with permanent or persistant AF as some call it at the end of last year, how long I have had it who knows, so my knowledge is a work in progress, but to paraphrase the great detective for me AF is a case of a conundrum within a conundrum.

Thanks Cocofluffs for replying to my question it is much appreciated.

[Brizzy5000]

Hi came off my heart meds last week after a successful ablation in May, went for a nice long walk this morning and didn't get completely breathless like I did on the flecinide and bisiprolol, so personally yes the meds made me very breathless.

[didunth]

I was diagnosed as having Afib after going on a cycling holiday and I was getting dropped on the hills. It is normal to get breathless if a hill is steeper/longer than one is used to, but it seemed worse than it should have been. I was given bisoprolol, amiodarone and xeralto by my generalist after conferring with a cardiologist by phone. I found that walking uphill was much more difficult, and my generalist said ah yes that will be the bisoprolol, take half the dose, i.e. cut the 2.5 tablet in half. Previously and since I have not really noticed anything much in terms of symptoms.

[skipabeat in reply to didunth]

Keep your eye on the amiodarone, make sure you have your doctor performs proper tests. it can be extremely helpful but needs monitoring.

[Finvola]

AF episodes, tachycardia and ectopics all make me breathless when they are happening. Beta blockers - and probably Flecainide too - make me short of breath all the time. I recently changed from Bisoprolol to Nebivolol and the constant breathlessness has gone. If I am daft enough to rush upstairs or up a long hill, I can feel my heart pounding and I have fleeting breathlessness.

I agree with a previous poster about the apparent blinkers which some cardiologists wear when faced with the combination of Bisoprolol and breathlessness. But, I suppose, we have a condition which can cause the lungs to function less effectively and drugs which interfere with the pumping ability of the heart, so some degree of breathlessness is inevitable. It was the awful zombie-mode that I couldn’t stand.

[skipabeat]

Hi, I had breathlessness on and off, so I had good days and bad. I have permanent AFIB. Well, recently I have found it to be all the time when exerting myself. I decided to have have some tests done -long story condensed- I have anemia, low iron, still testing for hernia and gastro issues and absorption issues. Funny thing is my EP had these findings when he did my blood work but it ended there. We fibbers need to have good outstanding blood because of obvious reasons. Good luck!

[Mickhall in reply to skipabeat]

That is very interesting thanks I haven’t had blood test for some time, next due in Dec might ask GP to bring it forward.