Hi have had Afib episodes for 20 years, usually only for couple of hours, helped by metoprolol. I was in Resus overnight for thelast episode, had 3 different IV beta blockers, to no avail, and was finally given oral Flecainide, which worked after 40 minutes, and prevented cardioversion..
That was the beginning of April, and Since then I've had times of ectopics every 10 - 20 minutes all day snd now almost daily Afib lasting up to 1 - 2 hours. The Cardiologist gave me a prescription for 50mg Flecainide to take as pill in pocket after Metoprolol.
This works but takes time, and my anxiety is huge with every episode. I have nausea, upset tummy, heart beats harder etc and I usually end up crying, Im so fed up with it.
Does anyone else suffer with such anxiety with Afib please?
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Braygirl
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Anxiety can feel far worse than AF for me. When something is off with your heart the survival mode kicks in so your anxiety is an unrivalled way of reminding you that you need to take action. The fact that AF in itself is not life threatening seems to have escaped the "do something" messages anxiety provokes.I meditate at least once a day often more. Mindfulness meditation can be a 5 min event and there are lots on YouTube or free apps.
Controlled breathing is a great thing breathe in for count of 5 out for 5, even better in for 7 out for 11, this releases calming hormones. try and slow to 6 breaths a minute
Consider counselling, health anxiety is a bitch and you need all the help you can get. Remind yourself that your breath is always there to ground you.
I also do various things to increase vagal tone as this helps control heart rate. I splash my face with cold water at least twice a day, humming is good, as is making yourself gag, easy enough when cleaning tone. Gargling vigourously can help.
Bet you didn't realise life could be such a gas!! All these things are better done every day not just when AF strikes.
If AFib happening so often maybe discuss with consultant via consultants secretary if you would be better taking regular meds for it.
Just want to agree with everything you suggested as such has been a great help to me. I’m in and out of afib (more in than out). It is so tiring and I fully understand the anxiety and frustration. Meditation, breathing as suggested all can definitely help. And being able to communicate on this forum and knowing we aren’t alone and are understood is extremely helpful.
Every time I take Flecainide as a pill in pocket I get anxious maybe it won't work this time. Fortunately it does. Now that your episodes are getting more frequent, why don't you ask your doctor about taking flecainide daily. Not only will it hopefully stop or significantly cut down the frequency of your afib episodes but it also can cut down or eliminate PACs as well.
I find health anxiety a burden to bear, but bear it I do, as do lots of folks, and life goes on. The problem is that people feel it differently and react to it differently, so it isn't possible, really, to compare two experiences or solutions. It's not that the cause in each of us is different, but the reaction to the cause: I have concluded that some feel or react to anxiety deeper and for longer than others. I think there's plenty of evidence that that is so. It can't be measured in terms of weakness or strength: it just is.
A really excellent, even if quite old, book is by an Australian nurse called Claire Weekes; I think it's called "Self Help for the Nerves" or similar. Over many years of reading and trying this and that, paying out lots, and so on, I can't find better. "Mindfulness" does nothing for me and even seems a modern fad, to my mind, at least the word, shall I say, but some find it works, so, either their anxiety is less, their mind is more easily open to suggestion, or they are different from me. Who can know? We can never step into another's mind. What we know is how we feel and what works for us, that is all.
I would recommend: see your GP and ask for a short course of diazepam tablets to take only occasionally when you feel rotten; ask for some CB therapy, done online these days, I imagine; and buy the Claire Weekes' book. Another way forward, as you'll read in her wonderful book, is to realise that the feelings have happened many times before, and will happen many times again: and you got over it then and will get over it the next time. AF doesn't kill, but it does make us feel like it will. The feeling of "impending doom" that arises during the worst anxiety "attacks" is a hard one to conquer, and the trick is to get it controlled before that rush of feeling occurs. It can be done, and once done, will work always (well... I keep my fingers crossed).
Re your last paragraph. I have become less anxious about my afib even though it is progressing in frequency. The last episode happened when we were on holiday - first time. I just carried on . I was not really aware of it on the bike - impossible to check pulse above tragus ( I find this easiest ) wearing the helmet and I was not sure when I went back into NSR . I don't even bother checking my heartrate with the Kardia anymore ( I found that made me more anxious) . I just take the extra Nebivolol and ignore it. My last 2 episodes have been shorter than usual. Maybe because I am less anxious?
KMR said it better than I could. I still use the Kardia a great deal as I don't have AF often enough to give it up, yet do get other symptoms quite regularly - a mildly racing and palpitating heart (that feels much the same as AF to me, slight SOB, some chest discomfort...) The cardiologist EP I see wasn't worried about it a year back and my GP thinks its part and parcel of the left branch block I have. So... I stay more anxious than I ought to be.
You sound much more in control to me. Keep up the good work!!
I think it is because my afib has become less symptomatic. At the start of an episode I get a feeling of constriction in my upper chest and throat and of course the frequent trips to the loo. But after a couple of hours that wears off. I can walk about slowly , do housework and cooking etc. I feel tired after going back to NSR usually after 8-12 hrs but that could also be the big dose of beta blocker. Outside of the episodes my heart behaves itself with very few ectopics. I am going to see my cardiologist and see whether I should try Flecanaide as a PIP as I'd like to shorten the episodes. I do worry a bit that it's not good for the heart to be beating faster for hours on end.
Steve, I had quite forgotten about Claire Weekes books. I came across her many years ago when I was looking for books to help me understand the way a family member was suffering from anxiety and how I could help. I was really impressed and subsequently recommended her works to a couple of friends who found the book to be an enormous help.
I've never thought if myself as an anxious person , particularly in relation to AF , BUT I obviously am as since AF came on the scene about 29 years ago I cannot attend a concert, cinema etc without being seated somewhere where I could make a quick exit if necessary 😢 . I can't fly for similar reasons as quick exit would be rather disastrous 🤣🙄
I think she sounded "old-fashioned" even when she first wrote the books. It is her style. But they are beyond compare for helping anyone with an anxious mind and, perhaps most importantly, boosting self-confidence.
I have tried lots of the "modern" approaches, and nothing comes close to this Australian's understanding of what an anxious mind is, why it happens, and how to help it.
Dr Claire Weekes was an Australian physician (1903-1990). She wrote five books, including a text on agoraphobia. Her insights came from working through her own anxieties. I found her approach inspirational, as in this paraphrase, "Face your reactions, accept them, do not fight them, float with your feelings, and gradually let time pass".
Back when I first suffered from random seeming “anxiety attacks” (which now I’ve been told we’re likely to have been PAF), she was a saviour. It wasn’t just her explanations and advice, it was clear that she understood the anxious mind.
Still, today, with all our awareness, I read of words such as “strong” and “weak”, and when not stated, implied, in relation to anxiety. I’ve read it here on this forum, so ingrained is this macho idea. Weekes, however, realised coping with anxiety meant that sufferers were heroes. Good on’ er!
Hi there. Sorry to hear you feel so miserable. I too am anxious - I am a worrier anyway, but Afib has clouded my soul ! Mine is well controlled with Bisoprolol, and I haven’t even needed any procedures yet, but whenever I do get an episode of Afib, I begin to think it’s the slippery downwards slope ! During the last year, I have needed my Bisoprolol to be increased several times and I am now taking the highest dose, so I know the next time the Afib is too difficult to cope with, my cardiologist will suggest something else. Regarding anxiety, which is why you posted - not to hear my worries ! - I have observed that it is not only the worry about Afib that causes the anxiety. I have noticed that I have quite sudden ‘swoops’ of mood, for seemingly no reason, but lately I have found that if I check with my Kardia, I am in afib ! This is when I am actually in asymptomatic afib, so it’s not me worrying causing the afib ( though this does happen as so many people on the forum point out ), it’s the afib causing the drop in mood BEFORE I even know I am in Afib. I told my cardiologist about this, and he was interested and made notes. The other thing I wanted to say was that I too have the ancient book by Claire Weeks called ‘Self Help for Your Nerves’ ! It was my bible vack years ago when I was having anxiety problems ( maybe even undiagnosed Afib ?!?! ). It truly helped me and I kept it handy at all times. Now, where did I put it…..? ☺️
I bought a second copy a while back and, yes, she really understood the condition.
Steve
I do feel for you, anxiety is miserable! I say this from experience. I've been diagnosed with something called 'complex ptsd' and my AFib - aside from one previous episode - started happening following a very traumatic experience I had last year after landing in A & E with a very strange and random condition. My second episde of AFib occurred the following day, after I'd staggered home from the hospital, exhausted and traumatised. So yes, anxiety big time!
I spent the next 6 months doing everything I knew and could find out about managing my anxiety and the answers included some of the very good suggestions you've already received. Breathing, yes yes yes. There's a lot of good information out there about breathing practices and good apps if you have a smart phone. Mindfullness practices (sorry Steve!) can be excellent and again, there's a lot of resources available. CBT can be very helpful. Your GP should be able to refer you to your area mental health team who will be offering CBT in some form or another (ie groups, online etc). Nature & exercise - going for a walk, preferably somewhere 'green' and with trees can help a lot. This isn't fluffy pop psychology, it's proven! Relaxation audios: there's a huge variety of these available, online and on apps - you can no doubt even find ones that are specifically about health related anxiety. They can be quite effective.
Feel free to DM me if you'd like and I can send you links.
The thing is, the time to practise these things is not when you're in a highly anxious state. They need to be practised every day if possible - even a few minutes will start to 'train' your body and mind to learn to calm itself and lower HR and BP in the process. They will then be much easier to use effectively when you are very anxious.
It does sound like you might benefit from daily Flecainide as it's been working for you as PiP, maybe starting low, like 50mgs twice a day (I'm absolutely not advising you on medication, but experience tells me it's always better to start low and increase in increments until you find the sweet spot), but it would be a good idea at this point to have an appointment with your cardio.
And yes, good ol' Diazepam! A few weeks ago (in May) I had the happy experience of being in AFib (highly symptomatic, as always for me) for most of a trans Atlantic flight. I'm not taking anticoagulants yet, I'm holding off, but am deeply aware of the risk of stroke, and I did start wondering what exactly does happen if you have a stroke in the middle of the Atlantic. You want to talk about anxious!! Luckily I had talked my GP into prescribing me some Diazepam before leaving as this was the first time I've travelled since developing AFib and was a little worried about it and yes, the thing I was most worried about happened! So I took the Diazepam, did some deep breathing (5:5 is excellent), watched a couple of movies and gently reassured myself and brought my attention back to the film (Mindfullness!) every time it strayed. The flight passed surprisingly quickly and after my first minor panic, quite calmly, and here I am, alive and well to tell the tale
You can really get a handle on this with a little application, I promise you. Good luck and take care of you.
I think GPs are reasonable in their averseness to benzodiazepines, but, when all is said and done, they are the only true anxiolytic that can be prescribed, so they need to let those of us who can use them wisely to do so. My GP is wonderful on that score - well, I still have to go through the motions with him! The attempt to insert SSRI and sedating antidepressant drugs into the anxious mind isn't, for me, a sensible one, but it has caught on - rather against the clinical results, I'd say.
Used sensibly and minimally, diazepam is the best drug for anxiety I know, even if not anything truly wonderful, there's nothing better. Hospital doctors will choose the shorter acting lorazepam, which is maybe more risky but likely yet better, being quicker and short acting. In the USA, the even shorter but quicker acting alprazolam is preferred.
Regarding "mindfulness", what I don't like is the term. It carries New Age connotations which aren't remotely helpful in a rational world. The thing itself, however, is, without doubt, a Very Good Thing!
You said: "The attempt to insert SSRI and sedating antidepressant drugs into the anxious mind isn't, for me, a sensible one, but it has caught on - rather against the clinical results, I'd say." 100% agree, Steve!
And also in agreement with what you say about Diazepam. Just having some to hand makes me feel less anxious and less likely to want to use it. It's a real shame that, (presumably?) having handed out benzodiazepines like candy the medical establishment learned the need for caution the hard way and have now gone (in my opinion too) too far the other way. It's like pulling teeth to get a 10 pill prescription every 5-6 months from my GP surgery.
I do get your objection to 'mindfullness' - it has become ubiquitous and is a term that is bandied about but little understood in a real sense. But, of course, as I'm expect you know, the practice is really very ancient and is essentially a form of Buddhist meditation that teaches the gentle art of being present and fully grounded in the body. Which, as you say, can be A Very Good Thing
Well, we do think alike! You’d think your GP would know by not you have the wit and sense not to overdo the Valium, but, no, they like to make us dance for our supper too often. It’s deeply patronising and infantile, really!
Yes - mindfulness is a modern jazzing up of something old and useful. It’s marketing-ese and has made people fortunes. The mind can do all kinds of things both for good and ill. I think suggestibility is the big difference between people. I used to find “hypnosis” an interesting idea but I learned that it, too, at least much of it, is not what it is “sold” to be. What it does show, though, is that quite a percentage of people are highly suggestible. It’s all very interesting.
Yes to nature, I am out every morning with our dog and at the risk of being labelled a "tree hugger", I do spend several mindful moments with both hands on the trunks of trees, as realising the immensity of their age and the spread of their roots, is both grounding and a valuable way of gaining perspective.
I used to suffer with anxiety every time I had an AF attack (17 years, a few less than you) . I thought mine was far worse than anyone else's (don't we all at some stage) and I spent many weeks in hospital.
Yes, I was very good at doing the headless chicken routine, checking my pulse and strapping on a heart monitor. Then in the middle of the night when my heart really bounced around I felt sure I would be dead by morning. I could think of nothing other than what my heart was doing, but for the last two and a half years I've been in constant low rate AF and do you know what - it's so easy to live with and that anxiety has gone. I rarely give AF a thought now.
If I start getting twitchy I'll become aware of my heart thumping. Once I'd just got into bed and thought how lovely and calm my heart was, I wondered when I felt that good what rate it was. I got out of bed again and walked to a dresser where my heart monitor was. As soon as I got back in - well you've guessed it my heart was thumping. Now I brought that on totally by myself thinking about my heart rate.
Now you probably wont believe me when I tell you this, but anxiety feeds AF. Here I am confessing what a fool I was, so please trust me when I tell you this. The more you can ignore AF the sooner it will calm. Do anything to take your mind off of it. Read a book, watch t.v., ask a friend around for a cup of coffee, weed the garden, phone a friend or relative (but don't mention your AF). Sometimes, when in AF, I would mow the lawns, full of self pity that there was only me to do it. Many times I'd sit in the evening feeling that my heart was sore and I really shouldn't have done that, but just about every time my heart would go back into sinus rhythm an hour or so later.
Sometimes what triggers AF can also get you out of it. For instance if you've been unwittingly breathing in a shallow manner and the heart protests, then taking long deep breaths the minute you feel your heart kick off, can put you back into sinus rhythm. Other things that can help are losing weight (to be honest my AF only started when I put on about a stone in weight). Eating a more plant based, additive free diet and not over-eating will certainly help. You do not need to finish eating all the food on your plate no matter how lovely it tastes, if you can't help but do that, then cook smaller meals. Perhaps make two and put one in the fridge for tomorrow. I honestly find I feel better and have more energy the less I eat. Not easy when you're addicted to sweet things like me. Yes, I have bad days when I gorge on rubbish, but I'm not that way often. I have a huge dish of fruit and bags of mixed nuts (I find Sainsburys in the yellow bag the best tasting) and if I must have something snack on these.
If you get up in the night, do it very slowly and sit on the side of the bed for a while, take some deep breaths, its easy for the heart to pump blood when we are lying down, but when we stand it has to beat stronger to get the blood up to our heads. Spring out of bed and that will be a sure trigger for AF. If you feel your heart thumping when you go back to bed, do deep breathing letting your tummy expand with each in breath (not your chest) until you fall back to sleep.
If all else fails and you have an AF attack, come on to this forum and talk about it with people who totally understand what it's like, or better still answer some other members posts, even if it's just to say that you know how they feel and you wish them well again.
Yes yes,all the way, no watches, Kardias etc darken my door. I still have to sit on my hands NOT to check BP if I feel iffy, ditto pulse ( harder!). I tend to keep a notebook re my weird symptoms but this year have not written much and feel better for just getting on with it as "normal for me". My husband never checks, unless requested by GP, is a terrible historian and seems to sail through his medical part of life (unless anyone mentions surgery, he has a dodgy valve MIs and perm AF). I can be the archetypal worrier for both of us!!
Oh yes, I would have extreme anxiety during my episodes. I think it goes with the territory. What helped for me was going about my normal business. In my case, I'd get angry at the annoyance of being in a-fib and would plunge myself into gardening or housework, and would suddenly discover I was back in NSR after a while.
I do definitely. Anxiety and AFIB both have the same 1st letter. Bad “A”. Had my last hopefully last AFIB A-tachycardia event, episode or disaster when a severe storm recked havik on our area June14th. ER then IV cardizem then cardioversion.
No more stirms please. Life is tough enough with trees down, power out and Doug (me) out. Could say more but gonna exercise a bit before lunch
I don’t feel anxious very much about the AF itself except I worry that the episode won’t stop - 5 long days last time. However having an irregular HB tells your brain something is very wrong and as Bagrat so rightly said you are ‘expected to escape’ so a vicious circle sets in. It really does help if you can manage to do something absorbing but not stressful - I made the mistake of watching an exciting tennis match and my heart was bouncing around like a trapped rabbit from the extra adrenaline 😳
Hi braygirl yes as Bob says anxiety is very common for afibers... I was getting bouts of afib nearly every other day which was worrying me terribly and really depressing me . The electrophysioligist chose to prescribe me 2 x 50mg of flecanide and 1.25mg of bisoprolol to take every day to help prevent the afib starting instead of waiting for it to start then taking a flecanide as a pill in the pocket approach...I was told if you are getting afib at least 1 to 2 times a week that this is the best medically based treatment ...maybe go and have a talk with the cardiologist again and see if this is a better option for you....
I too suffer from anxiety, from time to time, especially after an AFib episode. I get very fast Afib and my blood pressure soars, so they told me to go to A&E when I get an episode. My health anxiety got worse when Covid started. I was so worried it would cause my AFib if I caught it and I’d have to go to hospital and fight my way in with all the hundreds of people that were going in to hospital with Covid. !!!!I tried CBT etc, but found Hypnotherapy helped me more than anything else. I have had Hypnotherapy a few times in the past and it always helped.
This time I found a new Hypnotherapist and she was really good. It did help me get over the anxiety, after a few sessions. It cost £60 a time, so wasn’t cheap.
It’s more expensive now than when I first had it several years ago.
I suppose it doesn’t help everyone, but it’s worth trying .
I am worse, if I don’t feel I’m in control of a situation.
I never like to go on long walks, or be too far away from my car, in case I get AFib and I have to make sure I always have my phone on me.
It’s a horrible thing, to have to worry about getting an episode of AFib all the time. I try not to think about it too much, but it’s always there in the back of your mind. Only people who have this, know what it’s like and it’s good to know you’re not on your own, on this forum.
Hi, thats exactly how it is, always at the back of your mind.. ".when will the next episode start?"I didn't go to my daughter in laws hen party because it was too far away from a hospital, she didn't understand at all, but the very next weekend, I was ambulanced into Resus with fast Afib that went on all night, finally converting to NSR after oral Flecainaid.
I was 5 minutes away from another cardioversion....
I have been to my friend's son's wedding, way out in the country, and sure enough, 2am till 5.30am I was in Afib, with dreadful anxiety, doing everything I could think of to make it stop before having to leave early. 🙄🙄
20 years ago, my Cardiologist told me "you may have it permanently in 25 years time".... I was shocked, but my husband joked " sure you'll be 75 by then what will you care"? ........ I'm 70 now.....!!
I would like to thank you for putting this post on as the reply’s have helped me. I would like to add that I have just discovered an amazing product to go with the breathing it’s called Calm Balm by a Company called skin and Tonic it’s all natural in fact vegan contains Lavender, Chamomile and Calendula. Just rub in your palms and breathe in. I couldn’t believe how fast it stopped my anxiety attack I had yesterday after the weekend of AF etc I found it by chance on Facebook I’m in Uk. Skinandtonic.com hope this helps people (just to make clear I’m not affiliated with them in anyway lol ). While I’m here does anyone else have their AF every 2 months almost to the day! Been like this for 4 years.
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The anxieties of AFib at 26 years old…
Afib or anxiety 
Is it anxiety,tachycardia or Afib?so confused
New to AFib and having Anxiety and Depression
