Hello all!
This seems like a great forum! All new to me and at 57 am recovering from a cerebellum stroke and waiting to see cardiologist at end of September. I just wonder how everyone ‘lives’ with prescribed AF? Do you exercise or relax? Do you monitor heartbeat and respond accordingly? A little unclear pending diagnosis of treatment. Currently taking APIXABAN, statins and Vitamin B.
Any advice welcome ,
Mark
Firstly I sugest that you go to AF Association main website and read till you drop and ask as many questions here as you like. Knowledge is power.
Diagnosis is always a little scary but it is important to understand that AF seldom if ever kills people and that provided that you look into abd address all he life style issues, like eating less meat and processed foods, abstaining from alcohol and caffeine etc and keeping your weight down adn yoru BMI under 26 then life goes on .
Regarding exercise the general rule is that you must be able to exercise and talk at the same time. Listen to your body and back off when it tells you to.
All and any treatment is only ever for quality of life (QOL) by the way but there are lots lof different strategies , drugs and procedures which can imporve that QOL
There is also a link for newbies on the right of the screen under pinned posts.
Regarding your qustion re monitoring. many people love to do this and buy all sorts aof gismos, creating charts etc . Personally I know when I'm in any kind of arrhythmia and feel that for me at least using such things merely increases anxiety and stress . I always joke that I only started to feel better when the batteries died. You have to get on with life.
A good mantra is "AF may be in my life but it is not all of my life".
Hi Bob,
Thank you so much for this. Really appreciate your time and valuable experience!
Hello Mark 
welcome...
This information may help you..
healthunlocked.com/programs...
I live with Paroxismal AF , I have episodes with unpleasant symptoms lasting about 8 hours approx every 10 days.
This isn't too difficult for me to cope with because I am retired and live alone, no one is making demands on me, my time is my own.
My family (a son with 5 grandchildren) know there are days when Nanna can't go out or do things with them . I only drive locally these days,
I only monitor my heart beat during an episode (with a Kardia monitor) to keep track of what is going on otherwise I get on with my life and that includes lots of walking and gardening 😊
Things that have helped me....
Changing my lifestyle and losing a few pounds, eating healthy home prepared food. cutting out alcoholic, learning breathing and relaxation techniques. getting plenty of sleep, avoiding stressful situations.
Most of the time my quality of life is good , I take Apixaban ,Nebivolol a beta blocker for rate control, vitamin D and magnesium taurate the latter because a magnesium deficiency has been found to contribute to arrhythmia and I don't think my diet contains the recommended daily amount so I top it up.
When first being diagnosed with AF it takes a bit of time getting used to 'the new you' but you do in time and 😊
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply! I really appreciate it! I will be sure to look to help others as I (hopefully) progress!!
Hi Mark- pretty much what Bob and Doodle have already said. I was diagnosed at 57, 14 years ago now. I went through the gamut of therapies and ended up with a Pacmaker which has improved my QOL dramatically as I haven’t had AF since implantation in 2018. There is no one fit all though and different people respond to different therapies and make different choices, we amend our lifestyle accordingly. I don’t travel (well who is these days anyway?) or exercise as I used to and now do Yoga rather than gym work.
Walking or swimming is the best exercise for the heart 15mins x 2 daily which gets your HR up but which doesn’t leave you breathless, moderate exercise is really important but it’s easy to overdo things so tune into your body and if it’s saying ‘tired’ stop and rest!
Just one tiny observation - its a lot easier to help others than receive help yourself and sometimes pride gets in the way so accepting a new norm and accepting offered help is often hard, especially if you are a ‘coper’ and more used to be helping and being useful but I have found this is my hardest lesson to learn - the teacher teaches what they most need to learn!
Enjoy your day and I look forward to reading your contributions.
Thank you! This site has some great people on it!!
It certainly has Mark when first diagnosed with P-AF (by letter) and having failed to receive any information or guidance from anyone I was in despair . Then I stumbled of this site full of people with a wealth of experience and knowledge and from then on I was able to learn about my condition and to cope ...
🤗
Hi Mark
I have had AF since 2017, my advice would be to look at all aspects of your lifestyle, diet, stress, sleep, weight, fitness etc, it's very much a western disease. When first diagnosed it plagued me every week, now it largely keeps itself to itself but I know if I wander off the path it will be right back. Find the cause (most people have one) and focus your energy on removing that if you can. Dr Sanjay Gupta has a very good you tube channel which is worth a listen.
Andy
Thank you
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