Hello everyone!We are feeling anxious but grateful that my husband has received a date for his first cardioversion on the 17th December the day before his 45th birthday. This is much quicker than we had anticipated so guessing that the structural changes to his heart and reduced ef plus his age have made him a more urgent case.
He has an appointment on 2nd December for lung/breathing tests and to discuss the procedure, but wanted to pick your very knowledgeable brains:
Its being done on a Saturday so he has Sunday to recover as suggested. Would you guys recommend taking a few more days off work? He is an electrician.
Have any of you had experience of moderately reduced ef and moderatly enlarged improving after cardioversion?
If it doesnt work will he continue to deteriorate? I know everything is different for everyone and we are aware there is no cure for af and its likely to come back, but would like to hear personal accounts of how its gone going forward.
Thank you in advance.
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Seaside1005
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Thats good that your husband has got his date now. I was in my late forties when I had my first dc cardioversion and went on to have a further 21 (!) in the following 29 or so years.
From my experience your husband should feel fine on the Monday but just check with the medics that this will be ok. He may feel happier having a couple of days off work.
It's a great feeling of relief to have your heart return to a normal rhythm and I do hope that this will be successful and sustained. Some of my cardioversions have lasted 3/5 years , some 12/15 months and all declared successful.
Please don't worry about the actual cardioversion. You will be completely sedated and unaware and well looked after! I recall being horrified at the thought of having my first one but I was in hospital at the time so was reassured ( well, sort of !). Its a very quick procedure.
Thank you so much this is really reassuring and cant believe you have had so many but good to know thats possible. 🙂
Click on the link below and I think it will answer most of your concerns. There is also a video which is well worth watching because it shows you that there really isn’t too much to worry about.
As far as going back to work is concerned, although the heart is actually re-booted, unlike an ablation, nothing is actually treated or changed but it’s obviously best not to put it under any unnecessary stress or strain. This will give it a better chance for settling into its new regular rhythm. I’m sure the medics will advise about needing time off from work but if possible, a few extra days would be a good idea. I’m not sure about your Hubby’s history but as you probably know, CV’S are commonly given to Patients with persistent AF to see if they can be reverted back to normal rhythm and if so, do they feel significantly better. It’s impossible to know how long a CV will work for, but it’s the fact that it has worked that’s important because that means that means other treatments such as an ablation are more likely to be successful.
Of course, it might not work and that might mean that his AF will need to be controlled with medication. This arrangement works for thousands of patients quite successfully and provided the heart rate is kept within normal range ie 60/100 bpm (preferably a bit less) he should be able to lead a relatively normal life and life span isn’t normally affected.
There are ablation treatments that can be helpful for those in persistent AF such as Hybrid MiniMaze but in the UK these are not easy to come by on the NHS but should it be something you need to consider, there will no lack of information from this forum. I should have mentioned, I’m not medically trained and the link is freely available from recognised sources from here in the UK.
So try not to worry, let him enjoy the cuppa and biscuit once it’s all over and all being well it will last a good while……mine lasted just over a year and 2 ablations later, I’ve been in rhythm since 2015 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞
Tell hubby there's nothing to it. He will be put under and won't know a thing about it until about 10 minutes later when he wakes up. He'll have a nice cupper and then sit in a waiting room for an hour or so before heading off home. Take it easy for the weekend then life should go on as normal.
I was worried about my first one but not now. Having a filling is worse.
looks like me and your husband also have a star sign in common my birthday is the 16th December. Glad to hear they’ve got him a cardioversion quickly, it’s a reassuring that the nhs is still working. I received my date for a CT angiogram and also didn’t have to wait to long also in December. Anyways I hope this cardioversion works and keeps him out of afib for decent amount of time and gives him some relief from his symptoms. I will be hoping for it to be a success for you guys. 🤞🏼
the longer your in persistent AF the harder it is to revert you back to NSR. I had a cardio version 12 months ago after being in persistent AFib for 3 months. It’s worked. How long for I’ll have to wait and see. But i love NSR.
they held off repeating my repeating the assessment of my reduced EF ( after a HA / cardiac arrest) for a few months after my cardio version to allow it to improve in the NSR. They expected it to improve quicker once out of AFib. It went from 40 to 46%.
I had my first one two weeks ago, it's a very simple and quick procedure, I was in and back out again in less than 30 mins, short recovery time and then home for lunch. I would advise a few days off work if that is possible and slowly get back to hard exercise, again if possible. The result of the procedure was to bring down my heart rate from 135 to 65 and it has stayed stable ever since. I took Amiodarone for the 6 weeks before the procedure and am staying on it until I see my cardiologist at the end of this month.
I hope the procedure goes as well for your husband as it has for me.
The procedure it’s self is a doddle. You know nothing about it. No sooner asleep then being woken up. I cried with relief that my heart was steady. Short lived though. It lasted four days!!!!! I sincerely hope you do better. X
Personal experience, with 3 cardioversions. I'd say rest for a week if poss. I don't mean don't do anything just don't try working 8 hour day and physical and mental stress that goes with that. Also if he's on bisoprolol or similar, find out if he should stop/reduce after cardio. My experience is cardios have been so effective that if I continue with bisoprolol my pulse drops to 40 or less and I collapse. This may be personal but something to watch out for, docs don't necessarily know what will happen. Minor point, shave your own chest, hospital uses blunt razors and you can be unnecessarily sore afterwards.
Good morning Seaside1005, you may find it helpful to take a look at our Patient booklet 'Cardioversion of atrial fibrillation' : heartrhythmalliance.org/afa... if you or your husband would like any further advice or support, before or after the procedure please feel free to contact our Patient Services Team on 01789 867 502 or email: info@afa.org.uk
Just to add confirmation that a cardioversion is nothing to be afraid of, and there are real benefits to it. i am lucky to have stayed in NSR for several years after a cardioversion. As others have pointed out a successful cardioversion even if it doesn't last long, indicates that an ablation is likely to be successful. Also, but not to be alarmist, I remember previous posters regretting that they tried to do too much too soon afterwards, so err on the side of doing too little.
ho Seaside I had my first CV end of September they also did a TOE which basically is a scope down your mouth to look at the heart to see if there are any clots before procedure. This is normal practice. In terms of recovery I took things easy for first week before resuming normal activity. I walked for exercise but slowly to ease things in. Felt flat for first couple of days but improved every day
I must be extremely ignorant, but I do not understand how you can be given a future date for a cardioversion - I thought your heart had to be out of rhythm and electric shocks put it back on track . I have had one, and that was when I went for a routine check with the cardiologist and after doing all the tests he announced I was in AF (I suffer the symptomless variety) - he then asked if I would like a cardioversion - he could do it that afternoon (this was in the morning), I said since I'm here why not! I was taken to a ward (my son was on standby to arrange my transport, fortunately I had got him to take me to my appointment to save hassling with parking). Cardio came in the afternoon, checked I was still irregular and I was hooked up, shocked, woken up, given a sandwich, stayed in bed for another half hour, collected by my son and taken home. The longest part of the procedure was the wait in bed until Dave came to do the procedure.. I should add, this was done privately in South Africa.
Hello. My understanding is my husbands heart has been permanantly out of rhythm for the last 3 months, but maybe and probably longer. For this reason he wasn't suitable for a there and then cardioversion and has had to go on anticoagulants and other drugs to support his heart because there have been some changes to it.
I’m 48’and have been in AF since May 2 when I got taken to hospital after waking up at 4am with a heart rate of 180bpm and in a state (thought I was having a heart attack).
I’m on 7.5mg Bisopropol since and have been able to carry on almost as normal (I go to the gym 5-6 times a week). I used to push myself to the limits but stopped being harsh on myself now (my body won’t let me go too mad).
I’m booked for my first cardioversion on December 8 so I’m in a similar boat to your other half.
I’ll be off until the Monday after the procedure (it’s on a Thursday morning) so hope that’ll be enough time.
I’ll put an update on after to let you know how it goes. Fingers crossed it works for both of us .
Hi thank you that would be great! We also found out about husbands af in the same way. I was thinking a couple of extra recovery days seems right. Have you had any other symptoms or structural changes to your heart? Good luck and please keep in touch.
I’ve had the 24 hour tape which just showed I’m stuck in AF and a heart ultrasound which showed zero structural issues.
As a result they’re confident a cardioversion will work.
I work 12 hour shifts a mix of days and nights and find when I’m really tired AF gives me grief. Also I drink a fraction of the alcohol and don’t drink caffeine.
I could probably do with a better diet but I’ll work on that.
I still enjoy the gym and beach walks/jogs and don’t have any issues so I’ve been lucky so far in that respect, but it’s possibly because I was quite fit before I went into AF.
Ahh thank you so much for getting in touch and on the day of your procedure! So glad it has been successful for you, ling may it continue! Wishing you a speedy recovery although feeling like you have been on the beers doesnt sound so bad!
He may be fine to return to work on the Monday but ask about this at the hospital. I would try and take it easy for the first week and be careful when lifting heavy weights or doing anything strenous- either try to avoid it or get help. I know picking up heavy things started me back into AF a couple of times. Just be sensible and don't over do things is the way to go.
Had my CV on Oct 10 immedeatly went back into rhythm and its holding very happy I finally went. It really was a nothing painful procedure. But I really did not feel that great for a couple of days so watch out for that. Glad my wife was there to help me out of the building as I was groggy. Best Wishes to you and your husband!
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