Hi Im a worrier! having said that Ive tried not to allow my paf which Ive had since 2008 to stop my life. Its been successful mostly, apart from a couple of A&E resus episodes back in December. Prior to that I managed things at home. I walk 3/5 miles daily (and have done for years) and over the past week I have been stopped in my tracks literally with very fast heart rate of 160 but no af. The last episode was on Saturday after walking briskly for about 15 minutes. Sudden onset again of very fast heart rate which made me feel unwell and I found myself hanging onto a wall until it passed. on apixoban only, aged 73, bmi good but find I am now frightened of going out in case of another episode. Not like me as I try not to let this horrible condition rule my life. Does anyone else experience this? thanks for reading and any advice welcome.
advice please sudden onset of v fast ... - Atrial Fibrillati...
advice please sudden onset of v fast heart rate whilst walking
Good for you in doing your 3/5 mile daily walks. (Wish I could .. ). The obvious answer at the moment is try walking at a much slower pace to begin with. If it persists have a word with your GP. This happens to me but I'm not as fit as you!
than you Jalia. Even just hearing from you helps my head at the moment. GP does not inspire confidence and my next review with my EP is March 22. Its costly but I am going to try for a private consultation with him (EP). My concern is whether the arrhythmia is dangerous. thanks again x
Could you pass a message on your your EPs secretary? My high rates were A/tachycardia or flutter or simply sinus tachycardia
Yes I get that when I do too much, too fast. 160 HR may make you feel unwell but that’s a good message to remind you it’s not always possible to do what we used to be able to do. Slow down & do less is my only suggestion but don’t not do anything. As soon as you feel the slightest bit breathless rest for a few minutes, stop and admire the view. Try shorter walks more frequently?
thanks CDreamer. The thing with me is I am not out of breath before it happens. Just walking as usual. Comes completely out of the blue and thats when I feel awful. You're right about not not doing anything but like I said I am a worrier and now anticipate it happening when out and on my own. wondering about taking a beta blocker but my resting heart rate is in the late 50s.... hopefully the EP sec will call with an appt thanks again I appreciate you getting back
I was having turns while walking, I do not go out on my own often. The last time was the afternoon after my doctor told me my blood pressure was ok. We went to the chemist 20mins. I was ok going, felt faint coming back. I actually did faint, while sitting on a wall. I have been ok for the past month, might be the cooler weather.
When you say 160 with no AF, meaning you do not feel a flutter ?
Would recommend you ask your
doctor to wear a heart rate monitor for 2 weeks. Valuable info about your heart. AF is sometimes silent.
thanks mav7 but I actually wore one of those a few weeks ago for five days. I have not heard back from the hospital and assume nothing has been flagged up. also the two unpleasant episodes only occurred a week after I came off the Holter. frustrating.
Ask to have your thyroid checked. I had similar experience while hashimotos was developing and it’s stopped now. Just AF occasionally
I had similar experiences last year following an AF episode - My cardiologist had given me pill on the pocket beta blockers to take when I feel necessary.
thanks Spudly22 but originally my EP decided against pip of beta blocker as resting hr in the 50s. hopefully i shall get an appt soon to discuss.
My resting heart rate is also late 50/60 He said when I am not well, drink alcohol, coffee it can be a bit up sometimes so take one if needed. However they can take 30 mins to kick in by which time I could have settled .. I only used them last year and I would say mainly due to anxiety .. not taken any this year at all but deep happy I have them in my bag
I think it would be sensible to let your EP Consultant know of the change in circumstances. Mine likes too know what is happening if I have different episodes. When I had different episodes I had a heart rate monitor patch fitted fir 2 weeks Ibthink it was called Zito which picked up what was going on. I know it is expensive but have you thought about monitoring your heart rate. I bought an Iwatch, if I have a very fast rate I can easily do an ECG which I send to the EP. Although it is only a 4 lead monitor he can tell if I need to be seen it also helps build up a picture and constantly records the heart rate so again providing evidence to send. I am not good with IT but have mastered the sending easily. I hope things improve fir you.
Similar to what was said above by foxglove. I have a kardia alivecor device that I keep stuck to my phone and if I have any episodes of a fib or high or low heart rate I can record them on this in seconds and email them to the EP. A finger on each pad for 30 seconds and it's done. I think it's only approved in picking up and warning for afib officially, but as far as I know your EP would be able to read the ecg for other problems if any showed up. It's a single lead ecg and only cost around 130euro including delivery. It paid for itself in my case in the first week as I was able to have my afib diagnosed with it. Might be worth looking into. 👍 take care
Hi Foxglove,
I had a similar problem 3 months after my heart attack in 2012.
Out for a walk and HR would suddenly go up to 160-180!! Scary stuff, but there were no other symptoms.
Spoke with my consultant but I don't think he believed me, just told me to stop wearing my HR monitor and carry on as normal....not helpful.
I was having a test in hospital later on where they inject something to artificially increase HR and my HR suddenly went up to 200!.....'there you are' I said, 'told you I wasn't imagining it!' Panic ensued (not me) as they stopped the drug and told me to cough in an attempt to get HR back to normal.
After that they prescribed a tiny dose of bisoprolol (beta blocker) 1.25mg. and this pretty well sorted it, no more tachy attacks.
The reason they hadn't given me a beta blocker after my HA was because it slows your HR and mine was already low at 50, it then dropped to 45 but I'm fine with that and no probs for the last 8 years.
Hope this helps,
Good luck
Yes I do. Feel for you. I go with hubby and when I go to the shops I worry the whole time I'm out.
I get this frequently at the moment too. I was prescribed Metroprolol daily by a GP (can't get hold of my usual one) but it hasn't helped in the slightest and I have a telephone appointment later today. I find it most disconcerting too!
I still take bisoprolol as it doesn't really seem to cause me any problems, some people on higher doses liken it to a 'medical cosh' as it can rob you of energy, but not so for me.I haven't had a tachy attack for several years now so for the last year I have been halving the tablets, I'm now on 0.625/day, a tiny dose.
The one symptom I did notice is my hands get quite cold in the winter as the blood supply is reduced, I've got a heated cushion for hands and feet which is really good when it becomes uncomfortable, I can't take it on the golf course though....
I have similar events of pulse in 160s. Sometimes during exercise sometimes not. Doctor said it’s not dangerous as long as it is short duration but doesn’t know the cause. I have Afib and two other types irregular beats. Ablation stopped Afib but not the high pulse episodes.
Hi Jctga Just a further question, were/are your bouts new? and did your doctor tell you they were not dangerous having seen a tracing of them, or just assuming? I havent heard back with an appointment yet even though private and my concern is that they are dangerous. I its keeping me from leaving get house the not knowing. thanks for reading.
thanks everyone. makes me feel less anxious knowing i am not alone. Have not heard back from consultants sec with an appt but its Aug/Sept and perhaps away. Keep well
I have noticed since I had PAF last year that my HR shoots up to 180 when exercising often … but doesn’t stay there. I thought my new Apple Watch and Fitbit were both nuts.Someone (a doctor friend GP) suggested that Ectopics could do that… however a small dose of atenolol is keeping it in check now. But causing me to feel depressed sometimes… as Jody of them do. I’m going to ask EP to suggest something else.
Anyway I skyways thought it was my heart attempting to go kick back into afib or flutter…
Good luck to you- I also am afraid of going too far from the hospital (an hour or so) until I’m. Diagnosed. I think it’s normal to have some amount of fear in these situations … until we are sure if what it is….
Take care and hope you get this under control.
I had.an ablation a year ago and fortunately no afib since 🤞, but I do get occasional rapid heart rate. I had one extended episode for over an hour, but usually just a few minutes. I had a 7 day holter monitor and was diagnosed with SVT ( superventricular tachycardia) . It usually happens with no obvious trigger, but sometimes excercise ....as if my heart rate goes up and can't slow down. I was offered betablockers but chose to have them as PIP rather than ongoing. I was told not to worry unless high rate continues for too long or too high, in which case go to A&E. Offered a further ablation if gets worse. I suggest you get 7 -14 day monitor to diagnose as it could be something else
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