Af episode

[Di58]

Having af episode now.a wee every 20 minutes heart racing 100 to 150 .will not give me the pill in the pocket as i have slow heart rate as a norm.im on bisoprolol And riveroxaban should i take a extra one now.

[CDreamer]

Rivaroxaban is an anticoagulant prescribed as a prophylactic treatment for the increased risk of stroke for anyone with AF - taking an extra dose could be very dangerous so if your question is regarding Rivaroxaban then NO! You must stick to the prescribed dose and take at the same time every day - with food.

If your question is about Bisoprolol then again - stay on the prescribed dose.

Never deviate from the prescribed dose of medication unless your doctor has specifically said this is advisable and given you precise tolerances of what you can and cannot do safely.

May I suggest that you use the breathing techniques to keep calm, keep very well hydrated with water + something like watermelon or coconut water, apples are also good.

If you feel very ill or if your HR increases to 200, you feel faint or have chest pain - do not hesitate to call for medical help.

Best wishes and hope it stops soon for you. Been there many times and the calmer you can stay, then the better you will cope.

[Buffafly]

I am in the same boat as you - HR sometimes too slow and I have had pauses so when I asked my cardiologist if I could double up on my very low dose of Diltiazem during fast AF he said no. The only thing I can do if AF is causing bad symptoms is go to A&E to be given medication while on a monitor.

I hope you are back in NSR now but if you are feeling very ill I suggest you call 111. I wouldn't ask a GP for advice because I've discovered they don't know much about arrhythmias!

[Hammerboy in reply to Buffafly]

I'll second that, my GP admitted he had very little knowledge of AF and advised I consult my cardiologist. You'd think with the amount of folk with this condition they might he a tad more informed

[Gillybean123 in reply to Hammerboy]

I have found this with GP’s. But it’s not always easy to speak to your specialist. And if you are having a bout of AF you want to speak to someone that same hour not next week or something. I sometimes find that I am telling my GP about AF and know more than them. But I think they should know all about it. More and more people are being diagnosed with AF.

[Hammerboy in reply to Gillybean123]

Couldn't agree more

[RichMert]

Do not take extra Bisoprolol without speaking to Doctor as Bisoprolol is a heart rate reducer to my knowledge. If you have PAF then you do go back to a normal rate at some point and that current normal rate is being reduced by the Bisoprolol. I would speak to consultant about an ablation. Only pill fix for my PAF was Amiodarone but you only want to be taking that if AF becomes persistent and only for a very short time in the lead up to an ablation.