Sorry me again lol ! So I’m Part time AF at present , how long do have to be out of Af to stay as part time ?

[mjm1971]

So I’m in and out of AF but was wondering if I’m only out of AF for say 5 minutes a day and I still classed as part time or permanent

[rosyG]

I love the "part time" definition!! Yes you are -(paroxysmal)- permanent is only used when both you and your doctor decide you are inAF all the time and no treatment will change this.There is also persistent which means continuous for ( I think) 7 days or longer. Someone else will confirm latter Hope it is not too troublesome

[BobD Volunteer]

Ok-- school time.

Paroxysmal AF comes and goes on its own and self converts to normal sinus rhythm without intervention. It can last up to seven days without changing status.

Persistent Af lasts more than seven days and needs intervention (such as cardioversion or strong drugs like felcainide ) to convert to NSR.

Permanent AF just means that both patient and doctor accept the futility of trying to gain NSR and accept rate control and anticoagulation going forward.

Hope that helps.

[baba in reply to BobD]

AF that lasts longer than seven days and self converts to sinus rhythm without intervention?

[BobD Volunteer in reply to baba]

Still paroxysmal I would say but maybe moving towards persistent.

[mjm1971 in reply to BobD]

So every time you go back to Nsr the 7 day counter starts again ? Regardless of how long you stay in NSR

[BobD Volunteer in reply to mjm1971]

Yes but it isn't that regimented. If you are going in and out of AF on your own it is paroxysmal. You are focussing too much on 7 days.

Beleive it or not people in long term persistent AF are actually better off as the body adapts and the extremes of switching are not there. So long as rate is well controlled and the person is anticoagulated for stroke prevention it makes no difference to long term outcome.

[mjm1971 in reply to BobD]

But you have less chance of an ablation working if you are full time AF ?

[baba in reply to mjm1971]

If you are asymptomatic you may not need it

[mjm1971 in reply to baba]

Hi Baba , what do you mean ? Surely I’m just going to get worse with time ? I’m only 50 so have a long time yet to live with this . I am part time at the moment

[BobD Volunteer in reply to mjm1971]

Any and all treatment for AF is only ever about quaity of life. It is not a life threatening condition (unlesss you are stupid enough to try and run a marathon in AF).

Provided that rate is well controlled and one is anticoagulated for stroke prevention it makes not difference which of many treatments are used.

Ablation may well not be effective if a person is in permanent AF and cardioversions have failed to return NSR but that is a long way away yet for you.

[baba in reply to mjm1971]

You mentioned that you have few symptoms. You may not get any. Ablation is usually performed to relieve symptoms. You will need anticoagulants when you are older, regardless of symptoms.Stop worrying and live your life.

[Desanthony in reply to mjm1971]

If you can be cardioverted either chemically, or electrically, into NSR no matter for how long there is a greater chance that ablation will work for you. I am in persistent AF - as far as I know I never had any paroxysmal AF before being diagnosed with persistent AF back in 2017. However, I have had 3 successful Cardioversions (CV)which at best have kept me in normal sinus rhythm (NSR) for over a year. Therefore I am awaiting an ablation which I should have had back in April last year and has been cancelled a few times because of Covid. When in AF although I can cope I get very fatigued, breathless and have trouble sleeping so hope an ablation will help me in the time I have left to live the life I want - at 77 that's not much mind!

[MarkS]

I used to be in AF 1 day in 3. It wasn't until I had an ECG with Prof Schilling that he said my AF had crept up to 80% and was on the way to being persistent. It was at that stage that I decided to have an ablation as Prof Schilling said the odds were much better even if you self converted back to NSR for only a few minutes. The ablation, 12 years ago, was successful though I have started to get very occasional short runs of AF over the last couple of years.

[Sarah57]

HiHave complete sympathy for your concerns.

AF , however it occurs , is a miserable scary condition what anyone says!

I think the "Part Time" scenario is particularly difficult as when it comes and goes you never know when "it" is going to hit.

I was in "part time " AF for 20 years

Gradually it became more frequent particularly during menopause years....

Had a so far successful cryoablation in 2016 improved the quality of my life by 100%!

No medication anymore apart from 50 mg Thyroid meds as they discovered I had an under active thyroid just before my ablation through blood tests.

(GP suitably useless and never checked my thyroid..)

Beta blockers do make you feel rubbish too I found.

I was on Soltalol as a pill in the pocket then eventually daily.

Felt like I was walking through treacle!

For me, ablation was well worth it.

Please contact if I can help further as I don't like taking drugs either particularly when they effect you badly.

Some people seem to be ok on all different kinds.

Constitutional make up is different for us all I believe.

Cheers

Sarah

[seasicksurf]

Doesn’t really matter what classification you are if your AF is that persistent. Your issue is stroke risk and should be on anticoagulant .

[Snookersteve]

Hi, I would really recommend reading the book The Afib Cure by John D. Day and T. Jared Bunch. I've got the Kindle version and the hard copy and am going to try to follow as many of the recommendations as possible. The authors are two very experienced Electrophysiologists from the US who give a comprehensive account of all aspects of AF and what you can do about it if you are determined to follow their advice. Many people have put their AF into remission by following the lifestyle changes in this book. Steve