Had an ablation in February and everything was great until....

[EllaHill62]

Hello:

I was diagnosed with Afib in October 2021. The Dr had to do a cardioversion just to get it back into rhythm & was in the hospital for 30 hrs. Dr prescribed Eliquis & Amiodarone to keep it in rhythm & protect from blood clots. Had the ablation in February, had 3 months of Afib then everything was great....until I had a kidney stone. Had to have 2 stints plus surgery to remove the stone, and now my heart is unpredictable & wacky (sorry, not a technical term but describes it perfectly). It will beat fine for most of the day then suddenly switch to afib with bpm going from 72 to 120 in a heartbeat. Dr now has me on Metoprolol to slow down the heart but it doesn't always work. I have completely revamped my diet (few carbs, no fast food, no sweets) and upped my water intake but it still acts up. Have been in the emergency room twice already for rapid heartbeat but they tell me my heart & bloodwork are great. I see the Dr in a week & he'll probably recommend a 2nd ablation. I have a feeling the stress is kicking it into Afib. Any recommendations or words of advice? I've been thinking maybe stress meds until things are corrected but not sure if this will work. I'm also concerned that this will be my life from now on...I'm 62 & was very active - now I'm afraid to go for a long walk for fear this problem will kick in. God, I hate this.

[mjames1]

Have you had an ekg during these episodes? I ask because it may not be afib but another tachycardia such as aflutter, SVT or atach. Whether you have another ablation or not, best way to record the episodes at home would be with the Kardia 6L and you can then email the ekg to your ep, who hopefully who you are dealing with now. I also question the purpose of the Metoprolol. It's generally more helpful in bringing heart rate down during an episode than preventing episodes. Hopefully, things will calm down by themself. Lastly, why do you think a low carb diet is better? Especially, with kidney stones, I would think maybe more carbs and less proteins?

Jim

[EllaHill62 in reply to mjames1]

Yes, they've done an EKG both times and they say everything looks good. I still have infrequent Afib episodes but nothing like these high bpm episodes. Dr prescribed Metoprolol thinking it would control the high pm. As for the low carb diet, I have read that this might help Afib but at this point I'm grasping at straws so to speak and am looking at anything that might help. As for the kidney stone, Dr told me that eliminating foods such as spinach, etc would help but I have a feeling this is more genetic than anything (this was my 4th go around).

[mjames1 in reply to EllaHill62]

Just because the ekg at your doctors is normal doesn't mean you're not getting short episodes at home. That's why I suggested getting the Kardia 6L so you can record the episodes at home while they are happening. I would re-think low carbs for afib, but everyone has a different opinion on diet.

Jim

[Singwell]

Hi, re the dietary changes you might like to look into the ZOE programme, which tests you for your individual microbiomes and advises on customised eating plans. It sounds like you might benefit from this rather than trying to cut out various foods such as carbs or spinach. High sugar abd highly processed foods however - most agree that these are damaging to our systems- so good you're cutting these out.

[belindalore]

You are not alone in your hate for Afib. And you are not alone as long as you are on this forum. Have you tried taking magnesium? It's good to calm the heart and keep it in better rhythm. For me it helps a lot. Also we need potassium which we can get enough through diet. Also good for the heart. Do you have a Dr or nutritionist who you can discuss this with? I take magnesium glycinate and many others here do to. You have to figure out or get tested to see how much you might need to take. Looks like you have more replies from others here who know more than I do. Good luck. Take care.