New to A fib

[Janau]

Hi forgive the long post. My very fit young for his age 73 husband has 3 weeks ago been diagnosed with A fib. It all started with extreme dizziness lightheaded. No pain. He was also fetching awfully but only white froth coming up. Paramedics called who thought he had an inner ear infection until they tested him and said he had high blood pressure and an irregular heart. By the time we got to hospital it had stopped but his heart was 147 bpm. Kept in overnight brain scan in case of stroke. Blood tests chest x ray. All clear. They put him on a blood thinner and 5mg of a beta blocker one a day at evening meal. Felt fine for just about 2 weeks ago. Sunday same again but profusely sweating and he was very pale. Ambulance again. Within an hour fine sitting in bed eating! They thought it was too high dose of b blocker so halved.Discharged at 11.30 pm. Been home 5 mins and it all started again. Not sweating this time tho. Paramedics said blood pressure fine was in sinus rhythm. They didn't understand it. They ecg again and said he had an ectopic pause in the rhythm. Off to a and e again. His heart rate this time anything between 60 and 38. All over the shop. It went from 66. 56. 38. 45.55 different every second! They have removed all b blockers. Sent home. Waiting for a 24 hour monitor and hes not allowed to drive. Any thoughts? Thanks for reading my essay!

[BobD Volunteer]

AF is such a mongrel condition I 'm afraid and we all seem to suffer it differently. Ectopic beats are just out of place and quite benign as everybody gets them but hardly ever notice. Once we have AF though we tend to focus on our heart a lot too much.

Beta blockers merely slow down the heart when in AF and the most common one used is Bisoprolol which many people find hard to tolerate even at relatively low doses like 5mg so it may not be unusual for him to react badly to it. Please don't let him stop taking the anticoagulant though as this is vital to help prevent an AF related stroke. These drugs don't thin blood by the way they just slow down the clotting process.

I'm pleased he has been told not to drive by the way but they may not have told you that you must now advise DVLA of this on Form H1 and also insurance company until such time as he is given the all clear.

AF is a long journey I'm afraid and things like blood pressure do contribute and need to be attended to so I hope he has been given something for this as well.

AF Association has a wealth of useful fact sheets on the websiteand I recommend that you go there and absorb everything you can so that you are prepared when you discuss the situation with your medical team. Having some background knowledge really does help at these times.

[Janau in reply to BobD]

Hi Bob. Thanks for all that. Yes hes still on the thinner. His blood pressure was normal on the last 2 episodes on sunday. I did wonder if he stressed himself a little on the first ever episode that may have elevated his BP. He is never ever ill normally doesn't even get a cold. No cigs one bottle of beer on a friday (😁) walks miles a day with the dog. He still works part time. He doesn't do illness at all so I think he did get stressed. He definitely did on the second one on sunday. It was so quick after being discharged. The last two his rate was not racing. I very occasionally get SVT so I understand electrical heart crazies but this is do different. I worked out long ago sugar is my trigger so its interesting to see some on here having found the same with a fib. Thanks again

[Bagrat]

I tbink your comment " he doesn't do illness" may well be the key. My husband who has permanent AF and other heart issues totally ignores the lot. If however he feels ill/ pain etc he now does not cope well at all. We spent a long night in A and E recently with nothing new or untoward found when he developed symptoms which were similar to heart attack ( hes had 2 one we didnt know about)

Any symptoms need CHECKING OUT but as I used to have anxiety issues, I know the physical symptoms it causes and how convincing the mind can be

[Janau in reply to Bagrat]

Hi. I totally agree. He does not cope well with it at all. I know it's all very new to him and has come as a shock. He always up until now told everyone how he doesn't take medication never gets a cold. Its like a badge of honour! He kept repeating this is ridiculous. And yes I think this can definitely add to it. Thank you for your reply.

[Dodie117]

He needs to start the journey towards proper treatment - not A&E. Ask GP to refer him to an electrophysiologist (EP) to get informed opinion. If you put another post on here telling us where you live people can recommend an EP in your area.

There are rhythm control drugs that might help ( as opposed to bisoprolol, a rate control drug) plus he can ask about ablation if this is starting to impact on his quality of life.

Get him to start reading the leaflets on AF website heartrhythmalliance.org/

Good luck 🍀

[Janau in reply to Dodie117]

Hi. Thank you! He is seeing the gp on friday. So I will tell him to do that. We are in cardiff. Will read those thanks. It's good to have a good range of things to ask for. He is having the 24 hour monitor on the 15th

[CPB10]

I have had afib for 10 yeas now and after ablation have been relatively symptom free. I recommend checking out a drug called Bystolic which has been successful with me with no side effects since my ablation 8 years ago. It is a rate control/BP med.

Strongly recommend ablation sooner than later. I fought through drug therapies for first 18 months, and ablation is the ticket.

[Janau in reply to CPB10]

Hi. Thanks. Yes I think that would be the way to go. Not sure how easy it is to convince the cardiology dept so fingers crossed. What worries us is we are usually very active away for weekends a lot. I am very anxious about that now just in case we get another episode. Also I am back to work tomorrow and hes on his own from 7 till 2. I've never worried about it before and I have my phone and I'm only 20 mins away if I need to get back but I'll still be worried!

[CPB10]

Well Good luck. Just remember, that if you are on the blood thinners, the AFIB in and of itself is debilitating but not normally life threatening. I went into persistent from paroxymal, so I was out all of the time. Still able to function, just not as well as I would have normally.

Unfortunately, it is one of those things that you have to adjust to.

[Janau in reply to CPB10]

Thanks. Yes between the 3 episodes hes had he feels as he normally feels. My biggest fear is if he suddenly becomes dizzy and falls especially on the blood thinner. Hospital cant seem to understand why he is so dizzy so quickly. He cant even stand within 2 seconds of it starting. Hopefully get some answers soon

[CPB10]

Is a journey. Hope all works for you two.

[john-boy-92]

The first symtoms sounded like a TIA without FAST indicators: I have had a full stroke without FAST and even the ambulance crew didn't diagnose it as a stroke. Was the head scan a CT or MRI and was it viewed by a Consultant Neurologist? Has he had a Troponin blood test to assess whether ther is any damage to the heart?

"Very fit" can mean several things: running 10k in 43 minutes; ability to cycle 70 miles,

medium / advanced yoga and Pilates classes, 'red line' Spin classes, weekly walks of 6 to 8 miles over varied terrain. If he has a history of cardio fitness, his normal resting pulse could be 48 to 55 bpm with a low respiration rate (I set off hospital monitoring alarms to the point that the nurse turns them off).