AFib attack

[123Abc123]

When people say, eg, my heart was beating so many times a minute, or, my AFib started so I went to bed / to the hospital ... do you ‘just’ mean you could feel your heart beating or are you meaning you were so ill you couldn’t do anything? I can feel my heart beating fast, especially if I lay on my left and I can tell that it is in AFib by taking my pulse. I find it annoying and depressing when it lasts a long time but I don’t really know how fast it is going and I don’t take any more medicine (more than I am prescribed).

[Deb1838]

I have been in afib since beginning of September and I have got used to the fast heart rate but if the afib gets really strong that’s when I am really aware of it it some times goes 46 96 straight after one another and that feels like my body is being thrown from side to side. I have learnt to avoid leaning back on anything because i tune into it. My worst is the breathlessness which I am learning to pace myself

[123Abc123 in reply to Deb1838]

Thanks. I’m beginning to think that the effects of AFib is different for everyone. Sometimes at the gym the machine hb reading will go from 70 to 160 but although I am aware of it, I often hardly feel it at all while other times I am definitely aware of the fast beat, but that is often because I have eaten too much.

[Buffafly in reply to 123Abc123]

Gym machines aren't very accurate if you are in AF, same with a Fitbit or blood pressure machine. When people go to A&E it is because they have chest pain or severe breathlessness, dizziness etc. Directions from doctors also vary greatly and it also depends a bit on whether you are anticoagulated or not. As you say, everybody's AF is personal!

[123Abc123 in reply to Buffafly]

Thanks. I know the gym machines aren’t accurate; I tend to use them as an indication of AFib rather than the exact reading.

[HiloHairy in reply to 123Abc123]

Not only are gym aerobics machines not accurate, some of them will briefly display double the real heartbeat. This happens to me at least twice a week on an elliptical or treadmill at the gym I go to.

[123Abc123 in reply to HiloHairy]

The ‘good’ thing about gym machines from a personal perspective is that I kept getting high readings. The staff at the gym shrugged this off but I was concerned enough to go to the Drs - at which point I was diagnosed with AFib. I definitely think that staff at the gym should have some knowledge about this as most of them have training in exercise routines and using the equipment.

[Dee1982 in reply to 123Abc123]

Yeah it’s very noticeable and you could feel every beat it can be scary at times

[Dee1982 in reply to Deb1838]

I to get breathless with my AFib

[Padayn01 in reply to Deb1838]

Do you mean leaning back in your chair? Does that set it off?

[Hidden]

Do you feel your heart beating fast and regular or very irregular?

[123Abc123 in reply to Hidden]

I feel my heart beating fast but can feel it is irregular if I take my pulse.

[Hidden]

There are digital blood pressure machines, complete with an arm cuff, just like in your GP's surgery which not only record blood pressure but also heart rate and will also tell you when you are actually in AF. Some brands and their models are endorsed by NICE for the purpose of recording AF.

Two brands which come to mind are highly reputable, i.e. Omron and also Microlife. Such machines ARE accurate. they will record all data (including an AF event) in the device memory up to around 250 readings and have the facility to download to your laptop or PC so that results maybe printed off and taken to and discussed with your GP.

Not all manufacturers devices (models) will record AF and I doubt the accuracy of many more gimmicky (and much cheaper) models (even made by these reputable manufacturers) that say, might just clamp on the wrist or whatever.

John

[123Abc123 in reply to Hidden]

That may be an option at a later date but at the moment I would really worry if the hb was high! It’s bad enough looking at the uncalibrated results at the gym. Thanks for the info though.

[Hidden]

The speed at which the heart is going in AF matters. If it is below 100, then the general advice is that you don’t need to call an ambulance. If it is above that, then you are supposed to- although there has been much discusssion here concerning the feasibility of doing this in practice. As for measuring the rate, just count your pulse over 30 seconds and double, or use a Kardia. Some pulse oximeters will also measure this, although they may struggle with a fast irregular beat.

[123Abc123]

Thanks. That’s interesting, haven’t heard that before.

[dani777]

When I get bad palpitations, it's not so much my heart "beating fast." It's weird fluttering, or quivering, or flip flops, or feeling it's not beating in time, and it's very scary and distressing when it doesn't go away straight away. And it's very difficult to do anything else while it's happening, least when it's bad. I have previously described ongoing palps or flutters as "like a form of torture." I've often just gone home or to bed when it's been bad just to escape it. I was recently diagnosed with PACs after wearing a holter monitor for 48 hours and they aren't sure if it's A FIB given whilst wearing it, the episodes of the palps weren't "long enough" to diagnose A FIB. I personally think that for palpitations that aren't constant, or where really bad episodes don't happen every day or your palps aren't always long lasting, a 48 hour monitor is a bit silly. You need it monitored for more like one month. Because what doctors tend to do is diagnose you based on those 48 hours, which again we know doesn't always pick up A Fib. So you can be told you "don't have A FIB" when you actually might do, but you just didn't have an episode in those 48 hours.

[momist]

Everyone's AF is different, from what I've read on here over more than two years. Also, everyone's reaction to having AF is different as well. I've become quite 'laid back' about having AF attacks, and just rest/go to bed or whatever when it happens. When I had my first event, I was scared I was about to die, and didn't know what was going on. Anxiety makes it worse, of course, and my heart rate recorded on the portable ECG machine in the ambulance showed 280 bmp briefly. With their reassurance, and the fact that I lay on a trolley in the corridor for an hour before being seen by a doctor, calmed me down a bit - I know if it was serious I'd have been seen sooner!

Within a week I'd found this forum and read verything I could find about the condition, and sent off for a Kardia device. Since then, I've never sent for an ambulance, but did press for referral to an EP and have been on his waiting list ever since.

The pulse monitors on gym equipment and smart watches/step trackers etc. don't show all the heart activity, only the pulse, and they generally can't function properly when the pulse is erratic in AF. The Kardia, the Apple watch and the Withings MoveECG watch can all monitor the heart's electrical activity for a 30 second (or more) interval to record a proper two wire ECG trace which reveals both AF and other heart abnormalities.

[marcyh]

I didn't go to/stay in bed in the beginning but my shortness of breath has gotten so bad I can't walk without feeling dizzy or faint. So I go to bed, or stay in bed, take my med until it settles. Nothing else I can do.

My pulse oximeter has been more helpful than my BP monitor. I keep it beside my bed.

marcyh