On my ecg it had accelerated junctional rythmn instead of af which it normally shows. Arythmia nurse said I’m in af, I’ve googled it but makes no sense ! Anyone know what it means?
Really upset as he said there’s nothing else they can do, can’t have ablation I’m too overweight for , unless I can lose it in space of a year as they won’t do past two years and had 6 month already. Not sure if losing 4 stone is doable in space of a year! I’ve had a few tears upset with myself for letting myself get this weight. I’ve lost a little but need to carry on be more stricter. I’m going to try exercise and going to do dust down exercise bike give it a go.
Any suggestions for exercise That is safe with having permanent Af.? I do bit walking thanks to school runs
Also been taken of diltazem and amiodarone put on verapamil instead so hope feel as good as I’ve felt on the amiodarone .
Thanks I’m advance
Written by
Janelr
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Worrying stuff when you are told these sort of things Jane. However having permanent a-fib can be a blessing in disguise.
Here's why.
When a-fib comes and goes it can really hit you. When it's there all the time your body tends to adjust and the effects aren't felt. I most likely had a-fib for a few years before I was diagnosed and hadn't got a clue. Now I can tell if I go back in to it within seconds (about 9 months with 2 'attacks').
With rate control med's I would be much happier than having it on a permanent basis than having a-fib intermittently. When my cardiologist told me that if a few more treatments didn't work they would leave me in permanent a-fib, I felt a sense of relief. For me your body adjusts and life continues as normal.
Make sure your rate is under control and I think your life will soon get back to normal even if you are in permanent a-fib.
As for exercise ? For sure - get stuck in but in moderation. Build up slowly and have a chat with your doc to decide the best way forward for you.
Most likely you will be going on a Cardio Rehab course - these are great as quite often you get some nutritional pointers as well. At the ones I went to we had a physio and a specialist heart nurse and also visits from dieticians etc. Good Luck. Just read that you are thinking of going vegetarian with your son - although I am not vegetarian I eat very little meat now and with your son helping you I am sure you will manage this.
Hi .. it was reassuring for me to read of your two episodes of AF and how it certainly hits you .. I thought it was just me overreacting but as you say you can tell within minutes when it kicks in … thank you for sharing it made this 66 year old man realise others suffer the same way as me
Hi. Feel for you but dont get disheartened. My friend lost 6 stone in 16 months on slimming world. And the food is pretty good! You can do it online too x
To understand the complex information, you will have to familiarize yourself with the parts of the heart especially atrioventricular node and sinoatrial node, plus the QRS complex. A diagram of the heart will locate the nodes for you. The QRS complex labelling is vital to reading an ECG. Just look at a diagram that labels the letters for now. Hopefully , you will get an overview. As I am not a medic, far be it for me to try to explain.
In terms of losing weight, other than exercise, you might want to try counting the number of carbs you intake daily, and not just calories. The Keto diet was recommended for a friend of mine by her doctor. She lost enough weight to go off insulin. I tried it somewhat and did lose weight. You might want to look at some low carb recipes. Caution not to stay on that diet too long because you still need to get your nutrients.
I believe you are saying that you have been persistent for 6 month, not permanent because that's a different ball game. Let us know how you are getting along because you sound so vulnerable. You have our support.
Thankyou so much for that I kind of understand like qrs and p waves thanks to Kardia library on the app, from what I read it seems like it is a arythmia.
Oops thought I was permanent when does it go from persistent to permanent? Will look at keto never heard of that one. Trying not to feel sorry for myself and letting the I’ll show them take over !
That’s brilliant thankyou like the tip on eggs I love them .I’ve joined Slimming class today when I was telling the leader why want to lose weight I had the usual “Atrial Fibrillation “what’s that!
Newly diagnosed AFFirst recognition of AF irrespective of duration and symptoms
Paroxysmal AF*AF that spontaneously reverts to sinus rhythm, usually within 48 hours, although it may extend to seven days; includes AF episodes successfully cardioverted within seven days
Persistent AFAF lasting more than seven days
Longstanding persistent AFAF lasting one year or more when a rhythm control approach is chosen
Permanent AFAF refractory to cardioversion, and which is accepted by both patient and physician and entails abandonment of rhythm control strategy with a focus on rate control. A change of therapeutic strategy because of a change in patient choices entails a switch back to longstanding persistent AF.
"
The term persistent is used when one has 24/7 AF for a year. Post one year, the term is long-standing AF. The term permanent refers to the time period beyond a year when both the patient and the physician agree that nothing further can be done.
In terms of losing weight, I find a steady consistent goal does the job. Because I am Canadian, I don't think in stones. Converted, 4 stones is 56 pounds. There are 52 weeks in a year, so by my calculations, you need to lose 1.08 pounds per week. A gradual healthy reduction is not more than two pounds a week, and your goal could be one pound a week, half the amount. It's manageable provided you keep steady at it, provided you not strive for more too quickly or you might become discouraged and get off track. You could log the amount of reduction per week to keep yourself on track. You can do it.
It would be worth your while to examine Keto.
Your feeling of sorry could be knocked aside with your concentration of the job at hand- a systematic, gradual, healthy reduction. My last encouragement: you are doing it for yourself; not for them. Good luck!
Try this and it might stop your afib, or at least keep it less severe:
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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:
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