My heart rate when in AF is 185-195. This lasts up to 55 hours. Last time it falls back to 90 bpm but the moment I stood up it went 190. Anyone have this?
What is everyone's heart rate while i... - Atrial Fibrillati...
What is everyone's heart rate while in AF? mine can go to 190
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Arksur
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Somewhere between 200 and 280 beats per minute for me and i feel dreadful with it including strong chest pain and feeling faint but not passing out.
If i can catch it in time then flecainide can revert it. On really bad occasions its blue light into a and e into cardiac care with intravenous flecainide and iv morphine for the chest pain.
That level of heart rate without intervention would not be sustainable. Its all about quick action.
During AF has gone up to 180-190... normal resting heart rate is 85-90 without meds.Currently on 7.5mg of bisoprolol and resting heart rate now is dropping lower each week. Currently between 50-60bpm and the odd time in the high 40’s. Thinking of reducing to 5mg of bisoprolol to increase the rate and reduce the fatigue a little 🤷🏽♂️
Asksur wrote
"My heart rate when in AF is 185-195. This lasts up to 55 hours"
Mead wrote
"Somewhere between 200 and 280 beats per minute for me and i feel dreadful with it including strong chest pain"
That's very high for both of you. Personally would I blue light it with 280 bpm and chest pain Mead.
Asksur - are you on a beta blocker ? 55 hours between 185 - 195 needs A&E I think. If it drops at rest then goes up like that when standing your BP is likely to increase too. I suggest talking to your doc about this. I was told by a doctor 125 bpm for 4 hours warrants a visit to A&E.
Paul
Edit - Mead wrote "On really bad occasions its blue light into a and e into cardiac care with intravenous flecainide and iv morphine for the chest pain. That level of heart rate without intervention would not be sustainable"
Your post came up after mine Mead hence my reply. Wise move I think !
I went into AF this afternoon and peaked at 130. Currently fluctuating between 60-100 (resting) and slowly dropping. I took an extra 25mg of metoprolol (in accordance with medical advice). My normal resting rate in sinus is between 50-60 and walking 75-85. I was in AF for 5 days about a fortnight ago but a full ECG on Monday showed NSR at 63. Highest I’ve recorded in the last year was 172 but it wasn’t sustained- more of a blip. Consequently am staying put until I hopefully revert . Couldn’t cope with some of the figures quoted earlier in the thread and would dial 999 if I had the same.
I shall email arrhythmia nurse with ECG from watch over the weekend if I don’t revert, as it’s part of their monitoring and data collection to determine whether I need any change in treatment.
Hi Arksur 
my HR in AF is a mere 155bpm during an episode which lasts for an average of 12 hours ever 10 days. It has been every 10 days for a year and a half it was less frequent before.
It's horrible but somthing I have learnt to live with.
This is almost identical to me! I am now on waiting list for pace and ablate as no more medicine options and unable to have another RF ablation due to rare complication last time. I am scared about this even though I am sure it is the right thing to do. I have pre syncope when in AF at this rate. X
Mine rarely rises above 100bpm when I am in AF, but then again I have heart conductivity disease and my resting NSR is circa 40 -50bpm.
Pete
in reply to pottypete1
You are not alone! Resting HR about 50, when in AF, rarely above 90. There are some others with similar values...
pusillanimous in reply to
I hope this does not sound silly, but how do you know you are in AF? I am symptomless - in my opinion the Bisoprolol is worse than the condition ! I was diagnosed by chance and my HR was 140 BPM, I check my HR and BP regularly and my HR is usually in the 60s, it occasionally is in the 80s - so how do I know I'm in Afib? - I have a couple of wrist devices (I find the upper arm ones too difficult as I have thin arms) and one will show irregular heart beat in one out of 3 readings and the other device always normal. I live in South Africa, so because of the pandemic I have not seen a specialist for over 18 months. The first one I saw told me if I did not get on with the beta Blocker I could change to Verapamil, but he moved away, so I saw a different one (there are not many here) and asked to change, but he said the Bisoprolol works directly on the heart and so no change ! I am seeing my GP next month for my six monthly check and I'm going to ask her to change my medication. I take 2.50mg Bisoprolol as well as Xarelto. Just to add my Afib runs in the family. my three sisters have it too. but they live in the UK and are able to see specialists in cardiac arrhythmias - we only have one in the whole province in which I live !
in reply to pusillanimous
I was never officially diagnosed with AF, but first read about it in this forum and, after a while, I realized that strange feeling in my chest, in the morning, lasting till about 9 or 10 o'clock, was actually Atrial Fibrillation. I had such symptoms (though mild) for some time, maybe a year or so, and never hit the idea that it is AF. I even did not know that AF existed. I had a bout of PVCs, lasting about 2 weeks and being very bothersome, when I was about 55 of age, so I started reading about arrhythmia and when I collected enough knowledge, I saw that I am in trouble. The signs which helped me recognize that I am in AF, were really irregular HR and the dependence of HR on breathing. Whenever I was in AF and would take a deep breath, my HR would increase the very moment I took the breath. There is another sign that the heart is misbehaving - the blood flow-rate drops to 60-70% of normal when in AF, so the limbs tend to get numb after a while. Not all of them, but when I am in bed and one of the limbs is pressed with the body weight, the blood circulation stops and the limb goes numb. It does not happen when the heart is in NSR.When AF is in question, there are no two same cases. When it comes, how often it comes, how long it lasts, why it stops, etc., everything is individual. So, you will have to get to know your case well, closely watching how your AF behaves.
As for Bisoprolol, do not blindly trust to doctors and experiment to find the dose that suits you best. It may be that a very small amount of this medication is sufficient, so why to take the large dose...? It may also be, that the dose should be adjusted with the time, depending on the stress, physical activities etc, so try to find it out. In my province (Serbia, lol), there is also little help to be gained at Drs, so we will have to accept it and be our own doctors. I do not complain... There are a lot of people who have more problems with AF than I do...
Wishing you all the best,
Petar
pusillanimous in reply to
Thank you for taking the trouble to reply.
Hi homeboy. Hang in there.
Hi Palpman, I'm a home girl! but I'm English and am just a permanent resident in South Africa! I hope you are doing well in old Blighty 😆.
Ppiman in reply to
I think you are right that it is better to take the minimum effective dose of bisoprolol, but when its purpose is to prevent future left ventricle myopathy, I don't think it is wise to go against the advice of a specialist or even GP.
I gather, too, that bisoprolol is only slowly absorbed and metabolised and has a non-linear dose response, which makes altering the dose problematic.
Steve
Mine has topped out at 200 in AFIB. I’m in it Constantly now
Yes, sounds familiar! Do you know what your BP could be? I had PoTS and very low BP with AF which caused HR to race up to 180-200.
Mine can head towards 250bpm but can settle in 140 s stubbornly. Hence my tally of 20+ dccvs
Sounds like some of you should talk to your doctors about getting a pacemaker/ICD inserted. It will keep your bpm from falling below 50, but it also can be set to give you a little shock to restore normal heart rhythm if you beat gets out of control. Mine is set to defibrillate me if my bpm reaches 180, but I have never been anywhere near that -- my problem is going too slow. I would totally freak out if I even went over 100. But those of you with rates like that regularly should definitely talk to your doctor about getting your own personal little defibrillator inserted. It could save your life!
Resting heart rate 45 or in the night 33. In AF about 100 the duration varies between 20 and 30 hours
33 wow that’s low. I’m getting worried cause mines been dropping as low as 48
They were not concerned in cardio and say it’s normal for me and both my son and daughter are exactly the same and they are in their 20’s age wise. I have read though that a very low pulse puts you more at risk of afib. So when I say I am 100 in afib that’s quite a jump from my resting heart rate
When I was a young athlete, a resting HR of 30 BPM was not a problem - but, when it dropped to 30 overnight (as recorded by my pulse oximeter) when I was in AF, I would wake up paralysed from the eyelids down. They told me that my bradycardia (low pulse rate) was more likely to kill me than my AF.This was about a decade ago - and now my AF has been fixed with three cardioversions and two catheter ablation - and my bradycardia has been fixed with (two) pacemakers.
Mine has gone that high and if is certainly uncomfortable and ruins the next day due to fatigue. So far I’ve gone back into rhythm in less than 12 hours.
Mine clocks in at between 140-170, with feeling light headed & dizzy. Historically it's needed IV in A&E to resolve the situation. Had cryoablation just over two years ago and so far all is good with no episodes since. Finger crossed this will continue! Last time I was in A&E I was ticked off for not calling an ambulance but to be honest I live close enough to the hospital for hubbie to drive me there probably as quick as an ambulance would get to me. The longest I've left it thumping away was about 2 days .... got ticked off for that too.
Hope your heart settles down soon.
I am same too 180 2 hrs then 38 and unstable often last over a few weeks intetmittently.....tended to hold off but AE or blue light....got ticked off for that at hospital which is only 5 min drive away. Eventually got internal loop recorder fitted and it has found serious as symptomatic AF as well....now stable by using drugs but man am I so debilitated and weak....life has changed but this is much better and safer having a clamped heart rate it just means I am physically clamped too very thankful have avoided stroke or heart attack.
Yes from 70 sitting to 140 as soon as I move. Even turning over in bed can send it soaring. I have flutter and a fib. Not officially diagnosed as can't see a cardio yet but had 2 ecg which showed different things s oh joy.
At worse 250+ but that was not a frequent event, thankfully and that did bring me to the point of collapse. A normal episode now would be 150-180 but not for days on end. Mine tends to bob up and down. Had an ablation 3.5 weeks ago and hoping it has sorted me out.
It is reassuring to know others experience high heart rates and unpleasant symptoms for long periods I have never been to A&E during an episode of P-AF, to do so would suggest I expect some action to be taken and all they can do is observation and cardioversion if it goes on for too long so I reserve this action for later. I would go instantly if I had chest pain.
For now 'staying calm' at home seems the best choice of action to help my misbehaving heart.
190+ That was typical for me - if I went into AF it was always what the medics called ‘fast af’. I was told to take 3 50mcg tablets of flecanide that I had as a PIP at onset and if I hadn’t reverted within two hours to go straight to A and E.
When I had Afib i was always high, up to 195 resting, but often variable.
My local hospital told me anything sustained above 130bpm resting , go to A&E.
I interpreted "sustained" as if I could not fix it in 8 hours. My experience was I would be 4 to 6 hours in A&E then I would move to MAU ( medical assessment unit) then 4 hours or more there, , so 18- 20 hours already in high rate high fib. Then they will try to organise a DC cardioversion. , probably 8 hours, ie next shift . If you are not on A/C you only have a 48 hour window to get one done. So you run out of time.
Also AFIB begets AFIB, you want keep away from having it or it will progress.
The last major afib attack I had eventually lasted 8 days with 135 to 195 resting BPM. I actually left hospital once as it went below 130 but 24 hours later I was back in. I ended up finally in the CCU where a flecainide infusion eventually put me in NSR.
I WAS ASYMPTOMATIC in afib, no pain or anything else, but 8 days at mostly 165 to 195 resting in VERY tiring and I do not recommend it. Your heart has run a lot of marathons at sprint heart rate in 8 days!
It was at that point which was my 12th AFIB episode in 20 months, and attacks were more frequent, I decided to have an ablation.
So my advice is when I high rate go to A&E sooner rather than later.
The other reason to go to A&E IMO, is that every AFIB attack you have, if you ride it out , no one medical knows you have had it. So no one medical will suggest a change in treatment, so you will continue to have attacks and AFIB begets AFIB. Most of my attacks I dealt with, which in my view now, with hindsight, made the progress of my AFIB inevitable.
My heart rate in afib goes up to anything between 140 to 240 . Sometimes it drops suddenly and stops for a few seconds and l blackout. I used to go a week or longer between attacks, but now it is only a few hours and l am back in it. I don't know which is worst, the blackouts or the erratic high heart rate when l have pains in my chest, arms and head and other weird horrible feelings. I have been offered a pace and ablate which l am terrified of as l will be completely dependent on a machine but l can't go on like this as these attacks completely incapacitate me and l am neither use nor ornament.
I am scared of the pace and ablate too but I think without good reason. There used to be an EP who lurked around on the site giving very helpful comments and he always said that if he had AF he would be tempted to go for pace and ablate as the first option . His name was Jonathan PittsCrick( or something similar) I could just do with his reassurance right now but can’t find him on the site .Maybe he will see this and respond. Fingers crossed. Wishing you all the best. X
Heart rate between 150-180 in afib. Rather than take an anti-arrhythmic like Flecanide, I take Dilitiazem and Metoprolol at the onset for rate control which is similar to what they often do in the ER. These two drugs bring my heart rate under 100 in 2-5 hours. Dilitiazem alone will bring my resting heart rate down but I need the Metoprolol to bring down my ambulatory (walking around) heart rate. I usually convert in 8-48 hours. Ask your doctor if this approach would work for you. It keeps me out of the ER.
Jim
Wow, i dont know how you can stand that. What would happen if you could start excersising on an excercycle hard out then gradually slow down ? I remember 40 yrs ago a workmate had open heart surgery. He used to go in for checkups after. One day his hr was off the scale and they told him to run up the stairs, then told him to fo it again. It made his heat quieten down. Old school ?
Newbie to AFIB prior to meds loop monitor recording showed 180bpm for 10 hours. EP unsure how much of that true AFIB and how much ectopic beats. Put on Sotalol 40mg twice a day but couldn’t tolerate the fatigue so switched to Bisoprolol 1.25mg daily. I see EP next month so will be interesting to get feedback. Finding Bisoprolol ok but still have left-side tremors and getting indigestion (or is it chest pain)? I was severely constipated prior so happy that one side effect is better bowel movements! Also overheating and then get chills. One-two episodes of dizziness on standing but at least not passing out! Bonus
My afib is just irregular heartbeat. Always around 60. Seems like a common misconception that afib must include fast heart rate.
110 resting heart rate, but I can get that down to 75 by relaxing and slow breathing. 115 getting up and walking around. 130 climbing stairs, 165 exercising mildly, 180 exercising more vigorously. That last thing I avoid when in Afib. I’m on Flecainide ‘delayed action’ ( Apocard retard) 200 mg and Bisoprolol 2,5 mg daily. When Afib hits me, sometimes daily, sometimes with 2 to 3 months interval, I take an extra 200 mg of Flecainide (direct action, called Tambocor) which will stop the episode in between 2 and 5 hours, with a very noticeable pre-syncope.
One of my best friends is a retired cardiologist who has Afib himself and whom I can always call on the phone. So it is easy to get a ‘second opinion’. He tells me I can live to be 100 with the condition. 😉
Hope this helps, all the best!
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