A general question really

[Tickerprobs]

How many of you L o n g e r standing Afibers tend to think/believe that your heart has weakened somewhat, since you developed the disease ❓

[pottypete1]

Lets put it this way, after 33 years of AF I know that I have a thickening of the walls of my heart, bad conductivity between my atrium and ventricle and difficulty in doing physical activity.

I am however 75 and there is the actual ageing process to take into account as well.

Wish it had never happened but very glad have a marvellous EP who continues to be there for me as necessary.

Pete

[Tickerprobs in reply to pottypete1]

Phew… 33 years. Caught relatively young. Thanks for your reply Pete and take care.

[Peacefulneedshelp in reply to pottypete1]

Look into taking minerals. They help with conductivity

[BobD Volunteer]

I prefer to call it a condition as diseases are usually curable. Lol 😁 How on earth can you tell whether it is AF past and other arrhythmias or natual aging. 20 odd years makes a heck of a difference to one at our age. Most of how we think we are is in our minds anyway.

[Tickerprobs in reply to BobD]

Well Bob, from the day I developed ‘the condition’ in 2014 my capabilities have taken a dive. As I’m sure you’ll agree, the biggest factor is the acceptance of it all. At the present time I’m at a low ebb what with other personal factors but I’ll get through it. Don’t know about you but I’ve had many ups and downs over the years.

[mjames1]

If managed properly, afib probably less of an insult to the heart than high blood pressure, high blood sugar, lack of exercise, obseity, etc.

Jim

[Tickerprobs in reply to mjames1]

You’ve probably got me on all counts there Jim. ‼️‼️‼️

[mjames1 in reply to Tickerprobs]

Sorry lol I didn't do myself any favors either regarding bp and blood sugar control but who is looking back? I'll also add cholesterol to the list. But moving forward, we can change things. As you probably know, several studies linking obesity to a greater afib burden and just losing 10% of your body weight can have some real benefits.

Jim

[Tickerprobs in reply to mjames1]

Yes Jim but 10% off a hippo is still quite substantial, he says with a roar. ‼️‼️

[wilsond in reply to mjames1]

Yup xx

[Mimak569]

Iv had it over 25 years and counting…. And I’m still only 52. It’s never been a problem for me to be honest until the last 2 years when I can see it’s starting to take its toll a little. Prior to my most recent scan I have always been told my heart is healthy (apart from the Afib)

Iv always exercised though, had a generally good diet, not been overweight and generally enjoyed my life so no regrets from me. I am seeing a gradual deterioration now due to my accelerated heart BPM but hopefully that will be managed one way or another in the next year or so. As long as I make the right adjustments don’t become debilitated by it I will be happy. I think you can live with Afib and like Mjames said, high blood pressure, diabetes etc can be far worst in the long term amongst a thousand other conditions.

[Tickerprobs in reply to Mimak569]

Hi Mim… By you were caught at an early age. Mine started at 65 and I’m now 73. Just recently have become very slightly breathless from time to time. I have persistent AF. From what I’ve read, I’m not as bad as some but worse than others. When I hear of some people ONLY being able to walk 5 miles, I think ‘IF ONLY’.

[Tickerprobs in reply to Tickerprobs]

Meant to ask you Mim… Are you on anticoagulants❓

[Jetcat in reply to Mimak569]

52 years of age is actually no spring chicken in human life span don’t forget. I am nearly 55 and I too am starting to feel my age especially this last couple of years.! So it’s probably our ages more than the Afib.? Hopefully 😁

[Mimak569]

I get rogue breathless from time to time even if sat down plus palpitations but for some reason they don’t bother me, I think I’m just conditioned to them now. I think 5 miles is a fair walk for anybody in their 70’s to undertake.No anticoagulants for me. My blood pressure is on the low side plus my age gives me a 0 score on the chad chart so never been asked to take them by a cardiologist… the day will come though!!

[Ppiman]

Yes, I think that, too, and like you, I find that it's hardly good for helping the general mood and for feeling upbeat about life in general - but, thankfully, that waxes and wanes. I'm sorry to read you're going through the waxing phase at present and feeling fed up. It's far from easy at times.

Steve

[secondtry]

Mmmm...difficult one, all I can say is I used my AF diagnosis as a driver to get me to change a lot of poor lifestyle choices and now at 68 I have got plenty of energy provided I get a good nights sleep, which is a bit patchy!

[spinningjenny]

After my flutter ablation last year I was put on Ramipril. My consultant said img heart had been beating very hard for a long time and as a result my left ventricle had become enlarged. I am now listed at my GP practice as having mild heart failure. It doesn’t generally bother me except I find walking uphill hard work.

[PennyMary]

I developed AF in early 2020 after what could have been Covid but was certainly a horrendous chest infection. I had an ablation late 2020 which failed earlier this year and am having another this coming Wednesday. After the first ablation it took me 6 months to get any sort of fitness back although I did a lot of sport previously. Having been in AF 24/7 since March I have been unable to do much exercise as I am so breathless. I have come to the conclusion that it is the lack of fitness, particularly when you get older, as much as the weakening of the heart that makes you feel so tired etc.

[Tryfan]

I have just been told I have leaky valves. Cause or effect? Or too much running and cycling. Or, old Father Time?

[Tickerprobs in reply to Tryfan]

Hey Try… is that causing you any grief (physically ❓❓

[Tryfan in reply to Tickerprobs]

Thanks. Difficult to say. Even more difficult to get a straight answer. I'm still active, walk rather than run. Recreational cyclist rather than competitive. I try and keep below the red zone on heart rate. Generally feel ok. Have another echo cardio gram in 3 years.

[Fullofheart]

I'm mid 40s and had AF since late 20s. I absolutely feel my heart health and general health have declined due to AF (which significantly worsened or at least was discovered to have worsened following covid in 2019) and cardiolist agrees... echo cardiogram and MRI back that up. Previously healthy heart now thickened, enlarged, scarred and with decreased ejection fraction. The consensus is that's from years of AF.I've kept myself fit and eat healthily etc in the interim period and at my age and fitness its unlikely to be down to ageing.

I'm sorry you're going through a rough patch. I've just had second failed ablation and feeling a bit down/ disappointed too. The AF never used to have such a big impact on my life as it has the last few years. I really feel it now, particularly the fatigue. Really hard to keep working (I've been off the last few months) and engaging in everyday activities is pretty tough going. Had a good day yesterday, wiped out today!! Hope things improve for you!!!

[Tickerprobs in reply to Fullofheart]

Hey Full… Stick with it matey. As with the majority of physical impediments, the mental attitude of the sufferers is a major major factor, without doubt. The past week or two for me has been quite negative, what with a sister, who has been quite ill recently but is slowly on the mend🤞 The circumstances that surround a person has a massive affect on one’s health, without doubt. Chin up and take care.

[Cookie24 in reply to Fullofheart]

Fatigue is main symptom

[Fullofheart]

Yes, keeping on going. I find the ups and downs of it all the worse part. So hard to have any consistency. Yesterday felt good, had a nice walk etc...felt great to be out and about!! Then today heart been racing at 100 + with peaks of 140 so gonna take it easy. Not a lot of choice. I'm not a negative person but I think you've also got to acknowledge the toughness in order to dance with it as smoothly as possible. Hopefully tomorrow will be another story again. Best wishes to you!

[kkatz in reply to Fullofheart]

This is my main problem too think I am doing great one day and then next day I am shattered.

[ZeeMee]

My guess is that it is AGE related, more than anything else. There is so much more that I COULD do in my 60’s than 80’s ! I hiked Mt. Whitney (14,500’) and 23miles ….in one day….and ran a half marathon …10k and 5 k fun runs.after AFIB was discovered. I finally stopped running 5 years ago, and found out my knees / shins/ankles are now happier now than the last 40 years ! My advice is do a stress test with your Cardiologist watching…and follow their suggestions. Workout your whole body regularly, And try to mange weight gain. As the songs lyrics go….”don’t worry, be happy”

[BobsBeat]

I'm 59. I had Paroxysmal AFib for probably 5+ years, but didn't know it. Events were infrequent and always resolved on their own. It basically was a non-issue in my life.

Come May 2021 I went into a violent AFib with RVR event that wouldn't resolve on its own. That's when I got officially diagnosed and ended up in the hospital 8 days later before chemically converting.

Since then, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and started using CPAP, which has kept me in NSR. My life has never been the same however since May 2021 as I have ongoing symptoms from that week even though I'm in NSR. Over the last year I also discovered (in part accidentally) I have genetic high cholesterol, hemotomochrosis, MGUS (precursor conditon to Multiple Myeloma), BP slightly elevated, mild kidney disease, weight loss and lifestyle changes needed, etc.

I also have an enlarged left atrium and get ectopics PVCs and some PACs that seem to be getting worse. Never noticed any of these before the May 2021 AFib event.

So my belief is that AFib can definitely weaken/change the heart. It most certainly depends on a lot of factors though such as length of time in active AFib, rate control, other lifestyle factors, other heart disease, etc.

I went from not worrying about any health issues at age 58 to basically having a full time job managing all my health issues at 59. Age is definitely a factor and I obviously had some health stuff brewing, unless you can blame "All" my health issues on my week in AFib haha...

I'm lucky thus far that I can still be pretty active with exercise etc..

[Tickerprobs in reply to BobsBeat]

Well Bobs… That event in 2021 seemed to have quite an afffect on you. Keep positive and good luck to you in the future.