Advice about AF needed!!

So I’m currently experiencing my 4th ever episode and it scares the crap out of me!! I don’t know my triggers yet and it still worries me that something really and will happen to me because of this! Any advice on dealing with an episode or anything to try and help it stop. Also any tips on living my best life whilst experiencing this rather than being worried the whole time?? Thanks x

[10gingercats]

Everyones episode is different. Mine were so bad that I called an ambulance countless times. Going to bed often helped me.Any anxiety about Afib needs to be looked at separately.Again it is different for everyone. I guess this is not much help to you but it is my experience and it is also what I have gleaned from reading other peoples posts over a few years. Many of us have to find our own way of dealing with it and it can take a while.No quick fix.

[exbcmc in reply to 10gingercats]

I've had Afib for about 7 yrs. I seemed to be curbed, and doc took me off a few meds, like blood thinner. Pulse was staying around 125. I was set up for my second cardioversion on a Tues and it stopped on the Friday before.....I think coffee and alcohol brought it on....also had a sleep test as I think I quit breathing in my sleep. Results are pending. There is a product out there call a Cardia Mobile. Smaller than 1/2 a pack of cigarettes. It gives you a readout on your phone of an ekg. In America $89. It's wonderful. I think it's something we're going to have to live with. My pulse is now in the mid 50's. (almost too low) Live your life as normal as possible. I really never think of mine, just keep checking with the little device.

Good luck!

[Venere59]

Hi Pingu so understand your fears I’ve lived all my life with all sorts of arrhythmia, they stared in mid thirties, I’m now 62. Some arrhythmia very scary , others milder, some lasting less, some more, Never found out why except for sure I have to avoid strenuous exercise. One thing that has really helped me a lot with dealing with all the anxiety and stress is to do MBSR ( mindfully based stress reduction) 8 week course. Especially an exercise called body scan really helps me. Best of luck and get a good arithmologist

[KMRobbo]

Hi, I NEVER found any triggers, the only possibility was that it was long term job/ life stress and/or lack of sleep. (I wont burden you with the details).

You may not find any "simple" triggers either. Eg caffeine, alcohol, red wine, aspartame

Could this be you??

However stress can cause Afib! It can cause palpitations, and lack of sleep is also stressful as it reduces your ability to cope with things.

So what you need to do is to try not to stress and worry and get some sleep! Yes I know easier said than done .

I had one episode of high rate afib (165bpm resting) , and 20 months later I had had 12!

It happened, and worrying did not fix it. Neither didcany of the drugs, but they ( mostly) held it at bay.

So did exercise. Fora while I found 8 to 10 minutes running put me back in NSR. But it stopped working.

However I came out of all that undamaged except for the inconvenience!

I never stopped trying to understand it, and stop it but I did ( mostly) stop worrying about it and got on with life.

I even flew to China with work whilst I was prone to it ( fortunately did not get it whilst out there but I expect they have a lot of Afib cases too!).

I had an ablation 6 months after the 12th episode and have not had AFib now for 4 years. Not on any medication for nearly as long.

So still here 6 and a half years after diagnosis! It was not great but there are a lot worse things happen to people.

Not saying ablation is the right strategy for you - your doctors need to confirm that. But if you are otherwise healthy it's an option.

Research but don't worry.

Many people read the AfibCure by Dr John Day. I can't recommend it as I have never read it.

But reading it may well teach you a lot in any case.

Best wishes

[etheral]

Hi Pingu, sry you need to be here. The first thing you need to do is see any doctor and get prescribed an anticoagulant to cut the 5x risk of stroke. Further treatment should be guided by an Electrophysioly gist ( EP). This is cardiologist who specializes in arrhythmias.Depending on your health care system (couldn't tell from your bio what country you live in) there are different ways of doing this, but the anticoagulant is fairly urgent. Best of luck, etheral

[Hidden in reply to etheral]

Hi! They’ve said I don’t need an anticoagulant as my CHAD score was very low but I’ll ask again when I see the cardio at the end of the month. I’m in the UK

[Pigleywigley in reply to Hidden]

I would dispute this! It’s the best prevention of stroke for us AFibbers regardless of CHAD. Watch Dr Gupta on YouTube from york cardiology! I learnt the most (& saw him privately) from him.

[secondtry]

The episodes need to stop as they just encourage the heart to 'slip out of gear' even more. The solution will very likely be a mixture of medication and lifestyle changes. Read up as much as you can here and elsewhere then prepare a list of Q's to ask your cardio. I keep a diary to remind me on various matters and to provide some useful data to discuss with medics.

[Overeating]

What is Chad ?

[CDreamer in reply to Overeating]

CHADSVASC2 score. It’s a question test which helps the doctor’s determine your risk of stroke and whether or not you need to be anticoagulated to reduce risk.

chadsvasc.org/

[Overeating]

Thanks, it took 3 years till I got medication with no ill effects .

[Ppiman]

Have you had an echo-cardiogram or stress- MRI yet? If no, I'd say that is the way to go as only then will any structural issues be uncovered that might explain the arrhythmia. Given the infrequent nature of the AF, I'd guess there's little wrong with your heart, though. As for "triggers", well, I wish you luck finding them. I see on another site so many references to all sorts of food triggers. I can't find anything that sets me off. As for anxiety, that a very difficult thing to deal with, and you have my sympathies. I have it, too, and I can only say that the best thing for relieving it in my case was having the echos and MRI that showed that my heart was otherwise okay.

Steve

[Hidden in reply to Ppiman]

No i have not had anything yet apart from an ECG which caught the AF. I have a cardiologist appointment at the end of March and will ask about the tests then. I do feel having these will ease my mind and i am sure it will get easier to deal with the fact i have AF over time. Thanks for the reply.

[Ppiman in reply to Hidden]

That's the way to go and you will feel immense relief. You will also feel relief once it sinks in that AF in and of itself won't harm you. What harms is the possibility of micro-blood clots in people at risk. If you are one of these, you'll be given an anticoagulant. The next harmful thing is to live with a persistently racing heart, especially above 100bpm. If you get that, then a beta-blocker (or similar) is needed to slow things down. Persistent tachycardia (i.e. a racing heart) can weaken the heart's muscle and valves. In some people, I guess it's true that AF itself can cause some changes to the heart, but your cardiologist will cover this with you if this is a risk for you.

I bet you'll be fine!

Steve

[ETHEL103]

Hi ,I felt exactly the same as you as probably everyone else on here did.Perfectly normal.I found once I was on a treatment plan,I'm in persistent a fib,I felt a lot better.Best wishes.

[Hidden in reply to ETHEL103]

Thank you for the advice.

[momist]

I simply don't believe in 'triggers'. For me, it just happened anyway, although it can be encouraged by eating heavily, too much fat, too much alcohol etc.. Live your best life anyway, but cut down on the risks. I used to sail a tiny dinghy solo, with no rescue boat or other support, and I gave that up. Mountaineering would be a no no also, but you can still go up those climbable by walking.

When in AF, I still drove if I had to (e.g. to get home), walked, took things easy and watched TV a lot. The rest of the time, just live normally, and hope for the best.

[Hidden in reply to momist]

I am hoping that i will be able to live my life with less worry as i get used to it. Thanks for the reply.

[Ppiman in reply to momist]

It was good reading that. Recently, I had to drive back from Robin Hood airport with arrhythmia ongoing. I wasn't thrilled at it, but all went well. I did take a bisoprolol in the airport, though, but by the time that did its work, I was half way home.

Steve

[TracyAdmin Partner]

I am sorry to read your post. please feel free to contact our Patient Services Team for help and advice or alternatively, visit the A F Association webpage heartrhythmalliance.org/afa... for advice on managing symptoms. You may also wish to join our online event 'HRC2021 AF Association' with many presentations from leading HCP's . For further details on how to register heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...

[Ashfield53]

I can certainly recommend the Afib Cure by Dr John Day as I have read it and it is excellent at explaining what is going on and steps you can take.

I had my 1st episode in 2020 with a pulse of 185 that kept spiking for a few hours. It took some time for me to convince the EP at my local hospital that anything needed to be done, that only changed after I was able to show ECG results from a Kardia 6L.

[Hidden in reply to Ashfield53]

I will give that book a read. Thanks

[Hidden]

It's a hydra headed monster. It's all things to all people. Mine started with me sitting in a low arm chair shredding some papers. Some time later I felt like I was going down with man flu. Then my BP started falling got as low as 76/50. Then I saw my GP who consigned me to A&E from where came diagnosis.So, my initial symptoms had no cardiac connection.

Later I became aware that each AF event occurred after my evening meal. Then came symptoms of diahorrea, burping, intestinal gurgling and massive, massive, painful bloating. My GP did bloods for testing me for Coeliac Disease and IBS. All clear.

Consulted a Nutritionist who advised me on a diet plan and eventually after a few years it's all sorted.

I still get, 4 or 5 times a year, short bouts of AF but nothing that puts me into hospital. I've been lucky ...was able to identify my triggers. But what a process !

John

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Sounds like you went through a lot to figure out your triggers. Thanks for the reply and i am glad you have not been hospitalised again recently.

[Tekla]

Once I had am echocardiogram that showed that my heart was structurally normal I felt much better. Had all the other tests done like the stress and Holter which quieted my mind as well. Changed my diet and kept exercising. Still get episodes and just use the vagal manoeuvre whenever I get them which is usually in the early morning. I had to learn to live with it and I do the best I can. With age it seems to worsen. Good Luck!

[Hidden in reply to Tekla]

I am hoping i will be offered the test too and if my heart is structurally fine i know i will feel a bit better about it all. I am hoping i will learn to live with it better as well. Thanks.

[Crumble2]

Watch Dr Sanjay Gupta on YouTube. Hes a cardiologist at York hospital. He’s done loads of videos explaining afib and how to live with it. He helped me manage my paroxysmal afib so much better than I was.

[Hidden in reply to Crumble2]

Thanks i will give them a watch.

[Geeps527]

I share your anxiety wondering when the next attack will happen. There is no way to tell. I have found no triggers and studies have shown that alcohol is the only verified trigger. I stopped after my first episode a year and a half ago but they have continued and gotten more frequent recently. Mine are self limited and relatively mild so if I could control my anxiety I think I could live with it for now without toxic drugs or ablation. When I get an episode I always try a valsalva maneuver (Bearing down forcibly is one of them) or drinking ice water. Sometimes they seem to have stopped the episode, sometimes not. I also will be seeking psychological counseling for help and will see an ep to review all options.

So keep in mind that it is not life threatening but only feels that way. Try and stay involved with life and find things to take your mind off of it. If it becomes intolerable there is help meds or ablation.

[A_fi_bR]

This sounds a bit negative but for me I use it as a positive. 😃 Every time, even now, when my heart decides to go on a gallop or I feel like I'm about to pass out, I feel like I'm about to die. What I have learned over the last 6/7 years is that, you won't die. At least its unlikely. In the early days I thought about sudden death alot and then realised that all the worrying about it achieves nothing. Even if it does happen, you literally won't know anything about it, so just live. There's only now. If life really flashes before your eyes, as has been reported in the news this week, I don't want my flashback to be me sat alone at home worrying about af 😃

[Hidden in reply to A_fi_bR]

Very hood points!! I’m trying to worry less

[healingharpist]

Hi Pingu, Until you see a cardiologist and get an echocardiogram to see if there are any structural issues causing afib, (and possibly get on a medication), I would keep practicing things people here have reported can prevent or stop afib episodes: taking walks, times of quiet meditation and slow breathing from the diaphragm, yoga or qi gong, herbal tea like chamomile before bed and plenty of fluids during the day to stay hydrated, not watching stressful news (yikes—not easy these days!), and listening to soothing therapeutic harp music or rain, ocean, or other calming sounds at bedtime. You will learn your own triggers to avoid. Often, the more focused you are on a task, visits with a friend, playing an instrument, etc., the less it seems to bother us. I am better controlled now with metoprolol 25 mg, but it took experimenting for a year, so don’t lose heart! This is a great group of people to reassure you that “All shall be well, and all shall be well…”! Life is good! Blessings, Diane S

[Hidden]

Thank you for your kind words! I hope have the scan on my heart will be clear and I can worry less. Each time it seems to get a little easier to deal with and I’m working on getting my anxiety under control as I how that will help!! Actually off to yoga tonight and I have been listening to sleep stories at bedtime x