I am a lady of 54 years of age I have microvascular angina and now I was rush into A&E with AF as my heart beat was 200 hi was in emerncey room for 5 hours to bring it down .
I am due to have my first cardoiversion 20 Feb I am very worried and I am on blood thinners .they have told me it may not work as my upper chambers of my heart is to big .have anyone got this ?
so i am worried what's the next steps if u it don't work ?
so worried and scar I can't work because of AF any advice please
Cardioversion is not scary and many of us have had them. You will have a canula put in your arm and they put fairy juice into it and when you wake up a few minutes later your heart is behaving with luck. It is a useful tool to see if you can be put back into normal sinus rhythm (NSR) and can signpost future treatments.
Hello Shinedown, sorry to hear you are having a difficult time. If you look to the right of this page you will see a section headed “Pinned Posts”. If you click on the first one “Useful links for Newbies and Oldies” it will show you how to find a lot of information about AF and cardioversions. Once you have had a look, come back with any questions and we will be happy to help.
Do not worry about blood thinners (we prefer to use anticoagulants) as they are essential if you have a cardioversion so make sure you do not miss any doses.....if you do, they probably will not do it!
Hi, I am sorry to hear you had such a scary experience and hope you feel a bit better after treatment and the advice given here.
However, I would like to know how your microvascular angina was diagnosed? I was told when I was first diagnosed with AF that I might have it based on symptoms but I didn't have a specific test.
I have also had cardioversion and it's certainly nothing to be scared of.
Anxiety might also adversly affect your AF. Try doing some reading about AF and its treatments, the knowledge is usually very helpful to puts things in perspective.
You can also try some meditation which may help you relax.
You're in the right place here, we all understand AF and most of us have experienced the effects both physically and mentally.
For sure Shinedown - a CV is nothing to worry about. The worse thing for me was the worry the day before I had my first one. After that it's a piece of cake - honest. I'm not being flippant (please don't think I am) but there's nothing to it. Easy for me to say I know - however I've been there 3 times - worrying about it is far worse than having it done. There's no pain and you are asleep for a few minutes while they do it.
It may work or it may not. Even if it just works for a day it shows your heart can go in to sinus. Other treatments could well work for you. Great news.
I think you'll be just fine - you'll see 
Paul
I had a cardioversion 5 years ago after being in permanent AF for six months. I've had no recurrence since apart from some bouts of bigeminy (lots of ectopics) for a short period soon after. So while it may not be a permanent cure for everyone, it can be a very effective treatment.
Certainly nothing to be nervous about. I immediately felt far better than when I walked in. The only thing I noticed was some reddening like sunburn where the pads had been. Hope it goes as well for you.
I believe you meant to say persistent AF for 6 months. I had an ablation at 6 months persistent ( a cardioversion had lasted 3 days), and if I had not had it at the 6 months stage I would never have been able to return to sinus because I was one of the most complicated cases at the 6 month stage.
During the six months your heart has a lot of time to remodel so it is surprising you have not had to have an ablation. You must be very young unless you meant paroxysmal. May you have many more years AF free.
You will love it ... l was absolutely terrified! The two nurses came to get me and l thought, “well this is it ... my life is in God’s hands” ... l talked with the anesthesiologist and my two nurses ... then my cardiologist walked into the room and the next thing l knew was being shaken by those two darling nurses and it was over! It was NOTHING! Do not fear for one second. You will be just fine!
I read your post not that you are afraid of a cardioversion but that you cannot be brought back to sinus rhythm since "they have told me it may not work as my upper chambers of my heart is to big " and since you were inquiring, ".have anyone got this" with the this referring to microvascular angina .
So, let me address the fear of what you have been told. First of all, I do not know who the "they" refers to. But these "they" are certainly scaring you and looking at the cup half empty. Have they just blurted out a prognosis or did they back this prediction with some medical trials and statistics.? I find it terrible that they should scare you and stress you out. It is not good for your AF.
I had a similar experience when I finally , at about the 40 day stage, got an appointment with a cardiologist (my one and only appointment with him because for me, with AF, he was incompetent in AF.) He entertained that if I didn't go back to sinus I couldn't have an ablation -----this sentence when I was only 40 DAYS persistent. The fear, the strain, the stress that the cardioversion would not bring me back to sinus and subsequently no ablation was unbearable. I used my research skills, found a trial out of Seattle, Washington, that documented the success of a cardioversion relative to the time one is in AF. 40 days took me to the high percentile of success, so my fears waned. I was cardioverted with the first shock. I did and maybe still do have an enlarged left atrium ( I have had three ablations so I don't know how much shrinkage there has been).
On the cardioversion cot, I even asked the EP whether I could still have an ablation if the cardioversion was a failure. That was how frazzled I was all because fear had been injected by the cardiologist when I was already having the anxiety of AF. I can only say look at the cup half full.
Second, I do not know how microvascular angina impacts AF and restoration to sinus. ( I quickly googled microvascular angina and found there is treatment.) Knowledge is power and power will help you overcome your fear. I would suggest that you learn more about the interaction of microvascular angina and AF.
Have a very successful cardioversion and let us know how it went.
The need for knowledge
Af. Rapid pulse at rest
How much exercise is safe with AF?
Your experience of having Ablate and Pace please
