A little help and reassurance needed!

[Janbaby]

I posted a couple of weeks ago about me going into AFib while having a spinal anaesthetic for hip replacement. I stayed in AFib for a couple of days then my heart flipped back to normal sinus rhythm. I had an ECG & ECHO while in hospital and both were ok.

I had another ECG at GP’s after leaving hospital and all fine.

The GP wanted to make sure so I had a 24hr Monitor fitted last week. Still waiting result that should be next week when I visit GP again.

10years ago until about 2 years ago I had times when I woke in the night and had, what I think were anxiety and panic attacks. Paramedics were called on one occasion and they said my heart was ‘all over the place’. I was taken to A&E for a few hours and all settled and I was fine and it was confirmed as anxiety/panic attack.

Two years ago I had Citalopram and some CBT that really helped. I’m no longer on this medication. I think the anxiety is due to the traumatic loss of my father many years ago and GP thinks part of it is PTSD. I have been left with shocking health anxiety. I also think the menopause didn’t help. I have noticed a few times over the past few years that my pulse does go a little crazy but settles after a while (minutes of hours).

When at the doctors my blood pressure is always raised and at all pre meds before hip op the same! White coat syndrome I thought.

What are your thoughts? Do you think the anxiety about the hip op could have caused the AFib at this time? I don’t understand that this hasn't been picked up before when Dr has listened to my heart and I’ve mentioned on several occasions that my pulse seems to miss a beat when I check it. Apparently the pulse miss is different to AFib.

I’m currently on bisoprolol that was prescribed after AFib diagnosed while in hospital with hip.

Does AFib always cause a rapid and irregular pulse? Mine is steady at about 60 bpm with the occasional miss.

Sorry this is a little long but I would love some opinions.

[BobD Volunteer]

Personally I believe that you may have ben miss-diagnosed with anxiety all along when you had AF. This is SO COMMON especially in ladies of a certain age. Paroxysmal AF (where it comes and goes) is notoriously hard to catch and often missed unless a patient wears a monitor for some time. I was miss-diagnosed with stomach problems for ten years before I moved house and GP and found a new doctor who's mother had AF and who recognised what I had. The missed beats are probably ectopics which are very common (everybody has them) but we AF people get far too aware of our hearts and notice these darned things.

[Janbaby in reply to BobD]

Thank you BobD. I will see what my GP has to say when I visit him next week and see what the 24 hr monitor results report. I’ll have to talk quickly in the 10 minute appointment slot!! So many questions to clear my head.

[meadfoot]

I agree 100% with Bob. Your experience has been like mine. I was years being diagnosed with just anxiety but now know arrhythmia was in the mix. I do wonder though in some cases if very anxious people also can have a predisposition to anxiety. We all know when in arrhythmia many of us have extreme anxiety too. Good to hear you are now diagnosed and getting treatment to help move you forward to a better quality of life. Best wishes.

[Janbaby in reply to meadfoot]

Thank you meadfoot. Hope you are going on ok.

[Bagrat]

I had panic attacks and health anxiety which a human givens counsellor linked to my husbands heart attack in 2005. The feelings were awful and different from the paroxysmal AF which happenedfirst in 2011. I can believe there is a link between anxiety and PAF but I found 3 sessions with a human givens counsellor helped me through. It's worth a Google. As Bob says something may have been missed but for me they felt distinctly different and for me the anxiety/ panic far worse. I practice mindfulness and breathing techniques also have treated myself to some uncommon knowledge ( Mark Tyrell) hypnotherapy mp3s

[Janbaby in reply to Bagrat]

Thanks Bagrat.

I agree - my anxiety/panic feelings are very different from AF. I was not aware of AFib until told recently at hip op and I think my previous horrid anxiety feelings made my heart go crazy as I panicked. It’s a very vicious circle of one thing or a feeling starting something else off.

I’m hoping this last episode was a one off??

[Ianp66]

I always had stomach problems which I think back may have been afib related, with excessive burping and feeling queezy, especially when extremely distressed or in high adrenaline situations. Mine didn't get diagnosed until 5 years ago, I think with age it exacerbated the afib duration and intensity. I'm sure of a link between gut and afib, strange thing our mind and body.

I'd get a second opinion from an EP, hopefully an extended halter monitor may show something up, mine was paroxysmal for years, and hard to pin down, not diagnosed until late 40s .

Ian.

[Janbaby in reply to Ianp66]

Thank you Ian.

Yes I think a longer longer holster monitor may be sensible. I did wonder why just a 24 hr one was requested as the chances of picking it up was less likely.

[Solara]

Started PAF in 2016 and after numerous tests was obviously put on warfarin. Have been on AF for over a year now and does not bother me one bit. Just got used to the occasional flip. Had my last check up nine months ago. I am also on medication for osteoporosis and steroids for PMR. I think PAF is more worrying than AF as you never know when it is coming.

[Hidden]

I think an awful lot of us, & not just doctors, have put our symptoms down to stress, anxiety, dehydration, overheating etc etc & our symptoms have probably fed our anxiety because we either didn’t present ourselves for possible diagnosis as we put symptoms down to something else, or by the time we did present, the awful paroxysmal beast had done a disappearing trick!

If you can get a 7daymonitor, some of them are small &neat & you can detach them to shower for half an hour, unlike the cumbersome halter. If your PAF continues to play hide & seek, you could invest in a Kardia which works with a smart phone to capture an event, or ask for a reveal device which gives a constant monitoring but has to be implanted under the skin of your chest (about the size of a memory stick).

I hope you get some answers & appropriate treatment soon.

Regards

Pat x