Afib or a flutter?

[Lahodges10]

Hello all, me again! 🤦🏻‍♀️ Hope you’re all well?

So I saw the cardiologist today. I have nice healthy heart and it’s the electrics which are the issue (which I did know) the doctor I saw originally said I had atrial fibrillation but the doctor I saw today said I have atrial flutter, I’m staying on the same medication but a slow release one, and he said see how I am in three months time and will do ablation if symptoms are still troublesome in 3 months. Feel quite happy on the verapamil and hoping all settles down for the foreseeable future. He did say I’m the youngest person he’s ever had in his clinic lol!

I just wondered what your thoughts were...afib or flutter? I suppose not that it really matters but I find it funny how different doctors read the traces differently.

I’ve attached a pic of a trace when it has happened, this is the one I’ve been told to carry with me at all times. The doctor I saw today looked at this and compared it against my other tests and said it’s flutter not afib.

Lauren X

[BobD Volunteer]

We are not qualified to comment on such matters and in fact many GPs seem to have trouble interpreting ECG traces and one should never trust computer generated diagnosis . Flutter is much easier to ablate by the way so a much quicker procedure.

[Lahodges10 in reply to BobD]

Thank you, that’s good to hear re op.

And of course, I wouldn’t expect a diagnosis from here. I don’t think I worded myself very well, it was actually two different cardiologists that think different diagnosis. I don’t suppose it really matters and like you say if the op is better for flutter then I’d rather that lol! Thanks for the reply ☺️

[Gowers]

I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation & when the highest dose of Verapamil stopped working was put on various other meds. Which didn't suit me. Following ablation in October I was told by cardiologist at 6week follow-up I was in flutter, & that the pattern & type can change. I have a reveal device fitted which gives very accurate readings so he was able to compare the readings. I felt fine on Verapamil with no side effects just the af got worse. I think (??) Someone on this site said a flutter reading looks like crocodile teeth - I'm not qualified but, maybe others will know.

[wilsond]

I have flutter and afib. I'd say that was a definite read. Easier to disguise symptoms by ablation than AFib.does not stop it but we no longer recognise it. If it bothers you or makes you feel very I'll I'd go for it otherwise go down the drug route..either as daily dise or as required xxx

[wilsond]

It's a sawtooth pattern

[Omniscient1]

I was misdiagnosed by my GP briefly off AF onto flutter until I queried it and someone else re-read the ECG. I'm not saying this happened in your case but the ECG monitor incorrectly, automatically, diagnosed flutter. They are two separate things, so maybe worth making sure. Ask your doctor how the change happened (if it's real) or why you originally had a misdiagnosis of AF.

Best of luck

Gary

[Hidden]

Since you are so young, you might be able to stop any flutter or afib on your own without meds. Try this and see if it works for you - it has for many others:

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After 9 years of trying different foods and logging EVERYTHING I ate, I found sugar (and to a lesser degree, salt – i.e. dehydration) was triggering my Afib. Doctors don't want to hear this - there is no money in telling patients to eat less sugar. Each person has a different sugar threshold - and it changes as you get older, so you need to count every gram of sugar you eat every day (including natural sugars in fruits, etc.). My tolerance level was 190 grams of sugar per day 8 years ago, 85 grams a year and a half ago, and 60 grams today, so AFIB episodes are more frequent and last longer (this is why all doctors agree that afib gets worse as you get older). If you keep your intake of sugar below your threshold level your AFIB will not happen again (easier said than done of course). It's not the food - it's the sugar (or salt - see below) IN the food that's causing your problems. Try it and you will see - should only take you 1 or 2 months of trial-and-error to find your threshold level. And for the record - ALL sugars are treated the same (honey, refined, agave, natural sugars in fruits, etc.). I successfully triggered AFIB by eating a bunch of plums and peaches one day just to test it out. In addition, I have noticed that moderate (afternoon) exercise (7-mile bike ride or 5-mile hike in the park) often puts my Afib heart back in to normal rhythm a couple hours later. Don’t know why – perhaps you burn off the excess sugars in your blood/muscles or sweat out excess salt?? I also found that strenuous exercise does no good – perhaps you make yourself dehydrated??

I'm pretty sure that Afib is caused by a gland(s) - like the Pancreas, Thyroid (sends signals to the heart to increase speed or strength of beat), Adrenal Gland (sends signals to increase heart rate), Sympathetic Nerve (increases heart rate) or Vagus Nerve (decreases heart rate), Hypothalamus Gland or others - or an organ that, in our old age, is not working well anymore and excess sugar or dehydration is causing them to send mixed signals to the heart - for example telling the heart to beat fast and slow at the same time - which causes it to skip beats, etc. I can't prove that (and neither can my doctors), but I have a very strong suspicion that that is the root cause of our Afib problems. I am working on this with a Nutritionist and hope to get some definitive proof in a few months.

Also, in addition to sugar, if you are dehydrated - this will trigger AFIB as well. It seems (but I have no proof of this) that a little uptick of salt in your blood is being treated the same as an uptick of sugar - both cause AFIB episodes. (I’m not a doctor – it may be the sugar in your muscles/organs and not in your blood, don’t know). In any case you have to keep hydrated, and not eat too much salt. The root problem is that our bodies are not processing sugar/salt properly and no doctor knows why, but the AFIB seems to be a symptom of this and not the primary problem, but medicine is not advanced enough to know the core reason that causes AFIB at this time. You can have a healthy heart and still have Afib – something inside us is triggering it when we eat too much sugar or get (even a little) dehydrated. Find out the core reason for this and you will be a millionaire and make the cover of Time Magazine! Good luck! - Rick Hyer

PS – there is a study backing up this data you can view at:

https//cardiab.biomedcentral.com/a...

[diannetrussell in reply to Hidden]

That link reverts to some home improvement site, not a cardio site. Have you got a better link?

[Hidden in reply to diannetrussell]

I just tried that URL and it gets me to the glucose/Afib research paper. You might want to try it again. Also, the URL works for me (I'm in the U.S.). If you are outside the U.S. then perhaps you need to add a .UK or something to the end of it, don't know.

Anyway - Happy New Year!!

- Rick Hyer.

[dwright12]

I was diagnosed with a flutters and had an ablation over a year ago. I'm doing fine.