AFib during spinal anaesthetic

[Janbaby]

I have recently had a hip replacement and now at 6 weeks post op all is going well.

When I was in recovery after sedation and spinal anaesthetic I was aware of the nurse talking about beta blockers!

Apparently as the anaesthetist was performing the spinal anaesthetic my heart went into AFib.

I had an ECG & ECHO done whilst in hospital and both were ok. I was discharged on Bisoprolol. I had a check at the GP a week later which also showed heart had flipped back to normal sinus rhythm. I am having a 24hr monitor fitted next week to check further.

I do have health anxiety and was obviously anxious before my op. Could this have been the reason I went into AFib do you think? On a few occasions previously when anxious and panicky I have noticed my pulse going a little crazy! It took a while to settle but it did. Could this be the same thing ?

I would appreciate any comments

[Hidden]

Were you aware you had AF before your hip surgery? Many of us on here have realised that they have had symptoms for some time e.g. palpitations (being acutely aware of heartbeat), skipped beats (ectopics), faintness or actual faints (syncope), racing heart, irregular beats. I put mine down to things like stress, dehydration, over exertion, but then had a big episode last July diagnosed in A&E. (interestingly 6 weeks post knee replacement - spinal & light GA).

I see you are having a 24 hour monitor, an Echocardiogram is usually done too to check heart is structurally ok, you should ask about this.

Pat x

[Janbaby in reply to Hidden]

Hi Pat

Thank you for your reply.

No I had no idea. I always get white coat syndrome if blood pressure done at Drs or in hospital and it is high but is usually ok when at home. I get missed pulse beats but apparently this is different to AFib. No fainting. As I said I’m anxious about health. When the Dr has listened to my heart before all was ok.

I had an ECG and ECHO while in hospital due to problem while having anaesthetic for hip and it was normal. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time and they sorted it.

I do have a stressful home life which I know makes me anxious too so who knows what’s caused this.

[Buffafly in reply to Janbaby]

I had a spinal fusion op with spinal a anaesthesia and GA. I was told before the op that I was likely to go I to AF because of the anaesthesia, which I did, but was quickly sorted. Possibly you have a slight predisposition to AF, several people have posted saying they had AF during an op but never again so hopefully you will be lucky too 💚

[Janbaby in reply to Buffafly]

Thank you Buffafly for your reply. I hope so as it’s making me very anxious. I know we shouldn’t Dr Google but it’s hard not to. I’ll see if the 24hr Monitor shows up anything so fingers crossed it sorts itself.