So Friday night at 7-30 I got the signs that I was about to go into AF . I went into the kitchen to get a top up of flecinide ( specialist told me to do this) as I stood I felt strange and thought I’m going to go., which I did and remember nothing after that.
I came round And i was on the kitchen floor😥 where I had banged all my back against my cooker. I thought how have I get down here ... managed to shuffle on my bottom to get my phone , looked at the time and it was 8-30pm! So I’d been out for an hour ! I was so scared and couldn’t get back up as I knew I would black out again.
Daughter called the paramedics and my heart was still racing at 230bpm when the arrived ( 2 hours it had been going up to this point) I then got blue lighted to AE with my heart still beating 230bpm. This went on for 5 hrs in total , so to say I was exhausted is an understatement.
I’m now on a cardiology ward and having lots of test to explain the black outs , as I’ve had a further 2 whilst I’ve been in here.They don’t think my AF should cause black outs... personally I think how can it not be that? If your heart is going that fast then surely it would cause this to happen?
I’m hoping I will get my ablation as it was cancelled 5 weeks ago
I have many health problems and always manage to keep my head clear and just get on with it but this.... This has really scared me and if I don’t get this ablation I think it will stop me going out as I will be to scared it will happen again . x sorry for the long post guys
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GinaG73
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That sounds very scary! So glad you got to AE. I hope your ablation gets fast-tracked. The things we have to do to get attention, eh! Good luck to you.
Hi Gina, sorry to hear what's been happening to you. There have been times for me when I've been in AF that I've had to struggle to stay conscious, but I've never actually passed out. Just want you to know I really feel for you and can understand your concern. Thankfully you're in the best place now to get expert advice.
Have you any idea what your blood pressure was before you blacked out. Is your heart being constantly monitored now? If it is then that will show what's happened when it's occurred in hospital.
Please let us know how you get on. Will be thinking of you and hope someone here will have experienced the same thing and can give you more helpful advice.
Sorry to hear you are having such a tough time. I have heart rates similar to yours when in af plus horrendous chest pain and feel as though i am about to pass out but come round before i do. They are dreadful experiences, you have my sympathy.
I think the fact that you were unconscious makes a difference. When i speak with my cardiologist as i did yesterday for my cardiology app they ask very clearly if i actually pass out totally which i havent as yet. I am sure your team will get to the bottom of this for you. You are in the right place. Best wishes.
That sounds really frightening. I hopethey get to the bottom of this soon. All the best.
Sorry to hear this hope you get your ablation quickly.Best wishes
The fact that you have passed out is quite "normal".
When the HR increases, at first, blood flow-rate increases proportionally, and BP also increases. After the HR reaches certain value (different for all the people, depending on heart condition, say about 170-180 bpm) the increase in flow-rate stops.
With further increase of HR, because of problems with blood inertia, the filling of heart chambers gets lower and lower, so the blood flow-rate starts decreasing, followed by the BP drop. In your case, at the level of 230 bpm, the flow-rate was so low, that the BP went very low, and the brain got switched off.
Using beta-blockers, people usually keep their HR in lower range, so never have the trips over 200 bpm. Are you on beta-blockers?
I was always told that if my blood pressure got too low too quickly, and I went into a faint, it would take about 20 minutes flat on the floor for the blood pressure to recover. I think that an hour is a rather long time ........? I used to frequently faint...... briefly.... in similar situations. And of course, can't take beta blockers as a result.
Unfortunately, "We are all different!" I was just trying to explain why it is "normal" to faint when at 230 bpm. There was a lady in this forum, who claimed to had been at 250 bpm and she did not faint. Young ones can stand such a high HR, but elderly rarely...
Sorry to hear this. Agree with James snd Jean that something else may be going on so they need to investigate. The EP who is our support group medical director told me he has been asked to do ablation on people in hospital so I wonder if you can push for that if they do decide it’s AF that is the cause. Do let us know how you get on
Poor you that sounds so frightening. When I first started with PAF episodes I would feel as though I was going to pass out with blue lights starting to appear in my eyes but always managed to not actually fall unconscious thank heavens. I think it was the thought that the next few hours were going to be full of dreadful discomfort and pain that contributed to this and made me panic and tense. Try and relax and say to yourself this will be over soon . I know this is difficult but worth a try. On the subject of heart block, my husband suffered from black outs and the last one he had I got the paramedics and they diagnosed heart block rushed him to A&E where he was fitted with a pace maker and has been fine ever since. Do hope your symptoms improve soon💟
Very scary. So sorry that you went through this! I've passed out briefly but in my case it was BP, as Jean suggests. AF can send our BP all over the place and if it gets too low, down you go. Do you think you'd been in AF already before you noticed? Fingers firmly crossed that you get to the bottom of it.
My first, or at least as I know it, Afib was a five minute black out, unfortunately by the time medicos arrived no longer any symptoms, two years later I had another black out, not sure how long, medicos arrived and Emergency visit confirmed Afib.Prior to this I had no idea I was getting Afib, or what the hell it was!
Upon reflection I now can recollect many close calls, although never measured pulse, just put it down to fatigue, heat and dehydration.
Two years on, loop recorder, pacemaker and ablation six weeks ago hopefully I have my life back.
Hi Gina - so sorry you are suffering. It can be scary when you pass out and don’t know why. I had similar experiences when my AF was at it’s worst and was in the Acute Cardiac Unit for 3 nights, things resolved and I was soon out and about again.
I recall from your post 3 years ago that you had some other complications? Did you find out further information and could there be a link between that and what is happening now?
There are many reasons for Tachycardia - fast heart beat - other than AF and you are in the best place for monitoring and for the doctors to make a diagnosis. My black outs & tachycardia were as a result of Autonomic Dysfunction and another underlying condition other than AF so sometimes one thing affects another. Now treated, I haven’t had a problem for some 5 years, even though I’ve had quite a few AF episodes since then.
Patience and positive thinking. Let others do the worrying and working out and you try get some rest and recuperation, best therapy.
I and my brother both have AFIB. He gets fainting spells with his ... and I have had them, too, but not lots of them like he has.
A quivering heart just doesn't pump blood to the brain properly .... hence syncope, medical term for a temporary loss of consciousness usually related to insufficient blood flow to the brain.
Also, I've had orthostatic Hypotension, which is very common in older people. It's where you stand up too quickly and start walking and you feel like passing out. In fact, I awoke from bed quickly last year .. started walking and passed out and hit my head. Had a moderate concussion. The cure is ... now whenever I stand ... I wait 5 seconds for the blood to make it to my brain before I make any moves.
Good Luck! to you. And, of course, it could be medicine related.
So sorry to hear and it is scary. I pass out and have a 1 min warning when it happens. I was shopping at the till and felt strange, hot and wobbly, woke up on the floor. Has happened mainly at home and even GP doesn’t know why it happens. Must be blood pressure related I’m sure of it, get well soon.
So sorry to hear about your problems and I hope you soon get an answer. You must have been so scared. I had a couple or so similar episodes and so now have a pacemaker. Do let us all know how you get on.
That sounds so frightening, way outside my experience, but hopefully the hospital won't discharge you until this has all been sorted out and you have a comprehensive treatment plan in place. Very best of luck, please come back and let us know how you get on.
I am in permanent AF and my 'normal' resting HR has always been 60BPM but "Cardio Induced Syncope" had me on the floor a few times blacked out with my Loop Recorder showing that my heart had stopped for up to 15 seconds - result = a pacemaker and on we go!! That is not always the answer but it works for me. Have you visited the British Heart Foundation website? this link to one item may be helpful bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...
When my Afib starts, it is usually when I am asleep, flat out in bed. My heart rate is usually recording between 220 -250 beats, well not really beats, but probably the ecg picks up the electrical impulses being sent. When it goes this high, I will often end up passing out. Last time it happened, I couldn't get a blood pressure reading nor a pulse. I wasn't even able to sit up properly without my head swimming. I did have to get up to go to the bathroom but the next thing I knew was hearing strange voices. My husband couldn't rouse me and had called 999, the paramedic had arrived and I could hear him say, to look out for the ambulance, he couldn't get a pulse nor a blood pressure reading. I was trying to speak and move but it took me a few minutes to actually be aware of my surroundings and they were able to help me up. Obviously ended up in hospital and it was put down just to the AFib again.
Started Sotalol last week. This time last year had sudden eyesight loss (returned in minutes), then a month later had palpitations for hours. Went to bed with it as didn’t know what was happening (kinda become dazed). When I woke up thought I was ok but on jumping into the shower I suddenly couldn’t breathe, felt nauseous, starting losing eyesight like shutters going down in slow motion before slinking to the floor. It left me cold and shaking and I crawled back to bed! I had mitral valve stenosis dx but told that not my issue and sent to neurologist who couldn’t shed light. Five months later again had palps and collapsed... no one concerned about it except me so started investigating POTs as had experienced a few dizzy episodes previously on standing/dipping head when gardening etc. Luckily GP sent me to cardio electrophysiologist who inserted loop monitor and found I had AF. Took two years for a dx!
Hi Gina, I’m sorry to hear about your situation, I have experienced this as well. I was also on flecanide at the time , came off it straightaway and was fitted with a loop recorder because my EP wanted to establish why I had the blackout. Since then I haven’t had any further episodes and I’m fairly sure the flecanide had something to do with it. It happened a couple of years ago.
Some time back the Cardiologist suggested I should try Flecainide to reduce the AF episodes. Two days later I just managed to look at my Polar heart monitor and register 220 bpm before collapsing onto the bathroom floor. Blue light ride to A+E followed by a CV and then whilst on the ward a visit from the Cardiologist who apologised and suggested that I should not use Flecainide again. Forward 14 years 2 more CVs and 4 ablations and my EP (excellent guy) suggested I try Flecainide again. Six weeks later another blue light ride with SVT and indicating 180 bpm.I'll give Flec a miss from now on, I've concluded that it might not be my thing.
My blackout was caused by flecainide too. Had worked really well for me as PIP for a few years, but suddenly stopped working causing fainting and atrial flutter resulting in 2 hospital admissions last year. I hope they are getting you sorted out now Gina.....it's really frightening and took me a good while to settle down again. Best wishes to you. Please let us know how you get on .
Hi GinaG73 how are you doing now how is everything gone for you GinaG73 I’m going through similar things but lucky enough I only passed out once so I hope you are doing well and take care of your self
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