Heart racing

[g00dfellow]

Hi my name is Kath and I have had AF for years, after three ablations I have been fine. I am not on any meds now but recently I am having dreams where I want to get to my destination but can,t and I have started to wake up in AF .

[jeanjeannie50]

Hi Kath, have you ever considered you may have, or have you been tested for sleep apnoea? How long are your AF episodes lasting for? Hopefully someone who has sleep apnoea may be able to advise you more on that.

Jean

[Paulbounce]

Hi Kath.

The first question would be - are you taking anything to help you sleep ? Melationin for example is a great sleep aid but is likely to give you vivid dreams.

I think anxiety about sleeping can cause problems - if your worried about sleeping then it `kicks starts` the problem.

I had a very real dream last night as it happens - I was falling from a great height and woke up scared - it takes a few seconds to come to and know it`s not real.

However I`m not sure if this would put you in to a-fib. I always find my HR goes up at night without exception. This could be a combination of eating (always up`s my HR) and even lying down.

Is it worth you having a monitor and checking if you are in a-fib at other times other than sleeping too ? I could be totally wrong but I doubt if it`s just when you sleep. However it could be due to you getting stressed before you sleep - just worrying about it can bring an attack on.

Good luck with it anyway. I would suggest having a chat with your doctor and see if he / she can suggest something to help you relax before you go to bed. I use a low dose of Valerian (500 mg) to help with sleep and relaxing before bed. Do your own research first though and speak to your doctor - larger doses are not recommended if you have a-fib.

Best,

Paul

[Kingslip]

Hi Kath. Glad to hear your three ablations seems to have helped for a time. Sadly stress is a trigger for fibrillation and flutter and it’s sounding like you are feeling stressed by your dreams. Maybe finding out the meaning of the dream would help, but it may be that the AF was going to trigger anyway. I think it’s well known that it can return after a couple of years. Maybe ask for an EP referral to discuss. The longer this goes on, the more stress for you and regular episodes of AF again. Good luck and praying you get a solutions quickly.

Kingslip