I’ve not been in touch for a while as I’ve been trying to avoid thinking about AF.
some of you may know I started with PAF I think 3 yrs ago. Had a very traumatic first episode where I ended up in resus with a HR of 212.
since then a year later I had ablation.
recently I was admitted for a few days with chest pain and investigated for angina. This is just background.
my ongoing problem is I now have a fear of going into cardiac arrest if I have an AF episode. I’ve kept this fear to myself and tried to bury my head in the sand. It’s not working.
does anyone else feel the same. I’m 65 female.
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Equish
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I’m not afraid of my AF but I’m scared witless about the splenic aneurysm I’ve got which my docs don’t seem bothered about. I feel I’m living with a ticking time bomb and with the ambulance and A&E situation I’ve no hope 🫤
I know, my late husband had no spleen, my problem is if it grows it will more than likely rupture and that’s that. I have to fight every year to get a repeat CT but it could blow anytime.
Health care in the UK is neither socialistic or free its is paid for by working people from National Insurance and taxation . It is supported by all political parties in the UK.
Hiya, anxiety for some people is an unfortunate bedfellow with any heart condition, I have struggled for some time and in fact just started a CBT course via the NHS. I suppose the message that started me thinking differently was by a cardiologist who said there are only two things to think about, quality of life and length of life. You can manage the quality of your life but the length of life is out of your hands so why burden yourself with the anxiety. Basically enjoy the days you have and don't worry about what may or may not happen because you are not going to change that. Easier said than done of course but it's a starting point.
There's lots of relaxing techniques on YouTube to try as well, then there's massage and acupuncture too. I hope this helps but I understand it's not easy 🤗
thank you. I have tried lots and lots of techniques. This is fine and helps when I don’t have symptoms. However as soon as the symptoms start the panic and anxiety increases obviously. I probably need some reassurance about the statistics of who actually dies with an AF attack 🤷♀️
I think you would find those statistics would bring you some comfort, AF tends to be a chronic condition that rattles on for years, I remember my first taste of fast irregular heart beats and that was 30 years ago, I'm still here! Don't fall into the worrying trap, it's worse than the actual condition for some people.
The only person I know of who died from AF was trying to run a marathon at the time which was pretty stupid. Before that we used to start our greeting to new members with "Three things to know about AF. It won't kill you. It won't kill you and it won't kill you." Now we add unless you stupidly try to run a marathon during an event.
On a purely personal note I can tell you that we all die one day and it really is the easiest thing you will ever do. I was well on my way a few years ago when rudely dragged back from the abyss. Quite pleasant really.
Bob I'm so pleased you shared that as I've read a huge amount about what happens when we pass on and its not scary or the end of existence. We are a spirit that never dies living in a body which is our vehicle for this life. We usually reincarnate but have a choice. There are some amazing stories about children remembering their previous lives. It really helps to get death into perspective and become far less worried about passing over which in turn help you deal better with the AF episodes. You have first hand experience which is better than reading it from a book. So glad you rejoined us on planet madness!😁
I believe the same thing; we are spirits having a human experience and we never die just the body that we currently inhabit does. Love and peace to all. x
You may be able to access some kind of health-related CBT via Talking Therapies. You can self refer to this service, or you can ask your GP. These days many surgeries have a Social Prescriber who may know what else is available in your area that you might find helpful, even if it’s just a befriending service or something social and activity-focused eg walking group, craft club or something that just gives your brain a break from the worry. Health anxiety is real and you shouldn’t suffer in silence. I bet everyone here has suffered with it to some extent.
Your worries are not justified. Our hearts are very well capable of working without the help of the atria. Many people live long and relatively normal life with AF, even permanent AF. Many people even never notice to be AF sufferer (lucky them, lol).
But, if you get into the field of ventricular arrhythmia, then the things may become serious. All the young sportsmen, who die in the playing ground (SCA), actually die because of ventricular arrhythmia. So, calm down and, if in AF, avoid strenuous physical activity . Take care!
I can certainly understand your feelings when heart rate goes over 200. I've been there many times and it's hard to believe that the heart can survive this but it does!
Having this outlook sounds very bad for you and is affecting your enjoyment of life. Don't get bound up with the permutations about what could happen - if you do that you'll be overwhelmed. Focus on what is happening right now, not what could happen in some imaginary future.
Easy for me to say right? Yes, it is but I bet that not many forum members don't have the anxiety that goes hand in hand with afib. In fact not one of us. Now let's break this down a little and see what YOUR chances of having a cardiac arrest are with afib. It's measured in 'person years'. So if you were lucky enough (or unfortunate enough!) to live to be 1000 years old you would stand a 12% chance of having a CA with afib. So let's number crunch here.
You're 65. Let's say you live until you are 100. That's another 35 years. So working this one out in my head living another 100 years (age 165!) means you would have a 1.2% chance of a CA. So roughly dividing that by 3 (you living to be 100 years old) means you would only have a 0.4% chance of having a cardiac arrest. Live to the ripe old age of 90 and that drops to maybe 0.25% if my math is correct. Those are pretty small odds in my book. If you went to the bookies you would need to put £100 down to win 25p.
So still worried about this? The average person has a 1 in 107 chance of dying in a car crash during their lifetime - far greater than your chances of dying from a CA. I can dig deeper if you wish but I hope this puts it into perspective a little for you and reassures you somewhat. The odds are massively in your favour that it won't happen.
Right, I'm off to take something for a headache - all this thinking and math are bringing one on! Don't worry Equish - I think you'll be just fine 👍
Paul
Edit - those figures are for someone with afib. They are statistics based on our condition and very much in our favour.
thanks Paul. That definitely has put it into perspective and just what I needed to hear. It couldn’t work out for myself! That is very reassuring and I think will help me a huge amount. Thanks for taking the time to do that. I really appreciate it x
I often worry about my little grey cells which are becoming fewer by the minute. My fear is that the lack of oxygen to them cos of A/Fib will trigger dementia. My poor family
It takes courage to admit and face our fears, but it is a good thing to do. I think we all have a natural fear of the unknown. I have been with a number of people who were dying and it was a very special time. The thing they had in common was they had prepared - they were people of faith.
Having serious thoughts about life is important: who are we? why are we here? where are we going? It may be helpful to find a clergyman to talk with about questions like these. It has helped me to read stories about people who have had a near-death experience and come back to tall about it.
I think having faith helps.? Makes things a little easier.? I sometimes wish I believed in a god because I’m sure I wouldn’t be as scared of dying.? But unfortunately it’s just something that’s never clicked with me. I’m guna look pretty stupid when I do pass if there is a lord.!!!!
No need to worry, the mighty one is the product of our fears and not understanding the nature!
You actually were dead, but are not aware of it - the death is non existance, since you did not exist for one halfinfinity of time. There was absolutely nothing, right?! It will be the same for the second halfinfinity of time, when you are gone.
Is it not relieving - no judgement, no punishment, no meeting old friends, we once avioded with pleasure, lol!The other thing, that is also relieving, is our absolute non significance, of all of us. Not only this, our whole civilisation has no significance in cosmic relations and will some day be gone, maybe very soon, lol
I don't have anything like a spiritual (whatever that means) bone in my body. But death is just a matter of fact and it's coming for all of us.
However, I can't remember now if it were my GP or my cardiologist who allayed my early Afib fears by saying Afib won't kill you. Then I choose to stop worrying about it. I am in living in permanent AF. I can't tell most of the time. It's way better than having lone attacks which were more violent. But even then, once I stopped worrying about them they were much easier to handle. I would just sit down and do some sort of hobby/craft and relax into it. Or go to sleep and sleep some of it off.
It's a choice, to worry or not. You have tried it one way, now you need to try it the other way. Afib isn't going to kill you. Worry might. It does things to our bodies in the way of chemical and hormonal imbalances that you really don't want.
I completely understand your fear, but mine isn't from going into AF it's the lack of knowledge on the subject at would seem, from some hospital staff members.
i have had quite a few episodes above 230 where I have been hospitalised, my AF is paroxysmal and I go years between seeing a cardiologist, it's almost like I am forgotten about as it's not permanent. My last episode a couple of months ago led to a heart attack. The ambulance was 2 hours ( I live in the countryside) and I had to phone my son in the end as I was starting to panic . I arrived at the hospital and the front desk person kept asking me to calm down. I explained that my voice was shaky due to my heart rate and that I knew exactly what was wrong with me. She ignored everything I said and began asking me if anyone I knew had covid. Luckily the security guard could see how dustressed I was and told the receptionist to “ get the man a doctor” it was 5am and a&e was empty.
I waited 20 minutes, my heart rate was still 236, I had my kardia device with me so I could keep tabs on it.
I was then ushered in by the nurse who when I explained to her I was in AF replied with “ I need you to calm down, you are having an anxiety attack” she took my pulse at my wrist and stated “ your pulse is 60bpm” my son had then arrived and told her I needed an ecg, I showed her my kardia readout and she dismissed it as a novelty app.
She gave me an ECG and declared “you have just gone into AF” which I replied “What an incredible coincidence” she then panicked obviously realising that she had completely dismissed me disappeared and returned with 3 colleagues.
At that point I had an incredible squeezing sensation in my forearms and pins and needles in my hands, it wasn't painful but lasted about 20 seconds. I was admitted and after a slew of blood tests they came to me 6 hours later and said I had heart attack markers in my blood.
Every time this happens I get a different response at hospital and I am still waiting for a cardiology appointment. The last time I was seen was 2017 where I was prescribed flecanide for daily use, when it wasn't required as my AF isn't permanent, my Doctor took me off them immediately after I became unwell quite quickly and gave me bisoprolol and wrote a scathing letter to the hospital.
I'm 47 years old... And am always thinking “I hope I don't go into AF
I understand your fears as I had them when I was in persistent AFib exacerbated by sleep apnea. I was literally blacking out at least once every day without experiencing any sleepiness or tiredness through exercise beforehand. It was hard to convince the doctor that I wasn’t simply falling asleep. Without trivialising your understandable fears though, I came to the conclusion that, as I was totally unaware of having ‘gone’ until I came too, then there were worse ways of dying when ‘my time’ comes! As a result, my fear of the literal moment of dying has gone. My only fear now, which is normal for many, is the thought of a lingering death in pain or (triviality warning!) I pop off leaving the place in a mess and yesterday’s knickers unwashed 😂
I get it. Having anxiety often means you can’t rationalise things. You know your being irrational but can’t pull it back. Things get out of perspective no matter what people say to help you.
Counselling/ CBT / talking therapy is helpful to try and put things back into line. To reset your fight/flight response.
I’ve also started taking sertraline to help which helped settle things down to allow the counselling to work.
Sertraline was deemed the safest with the heart/arrhythmia’s I have. In fact I feel it’s helped give me my life back. I’ve kept it on a low dose though. Anxiety isn’t healthy for hearts.
Yes I do also. I had an ablation this year. So far I have not been in Afib for3 mo. after. I have been having migraines for almost 3 months also 24/7. I think it is from my solotol or Xarltro. Dr. says he doesn't believe it is the meds causing the migraines. I am frustrated.
I refuse to waste my life worrying about my death! I have had P/A/F now for well over 20 years, ive had a stroke, Ive had ablation, I wear a Pacemaker, I have had cancer and recently broke my hip playing table tennis, and gone through all the agonies of living, including this now unstable world that we all live in so what the heck, I know I'm on the wrong side of 70 , I'm certainly not going to waste what's left worrying about it! Having said this, I do know and sympathise with those that have these fears, my advice is to talk them out with friends or family, and if you are lucky enough to have religion then with your church friends. Old age is lonely, see if there are some groups you can join in your area, contact your local council as their Leisure and Communication Dept., should keep a list. My hubby has joined a book club in our local library and once I'm over this hip surgery I shall try to get back to table tennis and gentle exercise, providing of course they survive the Government cutbacks, the leisure centres that is not my hips lol. Try if you can to widen your interests and therefore take your mind to other things, please don't waste this precious life worrying about death, its inevitable for us all hugggggs.
thank you. All great advice and to be honest my life is pretty full. I have masses of hobbies which does help my life I am normally a positive person on the whole xx
Many trips to A & E, resus, a cardioversion and stay in Coronary Care..... I have daily episodes now, and every time, I think I'm going to die.I think most of us do! I read an article a while ago, where an Afib sufferer was in A & E, with awful anxiety, a cardiology nurse said to him " stop worrying, its not going to kill you!
I hang on to that thought if I can, plus all the other episodes I've survived, however, sometimes it does get depressing to think you suffer with this awful thing at all!
I even look at other people who have never had so much as an ectopic, with sheer envy!
I am a just retired physio and one of my interests was hyperventilation syndrome and panic attacks. One thing I ask my panic attack patients is “do you think you are going to die?” A panic attack is a massive adrenaline response to a perceived danger, a good old fashioned tiger attack. We throw out lots of adrenaline that has massive fight or flight response, if we didn’t think we were going to die we would not run away very fast or put up a magnificent fight. Unfortunately this response can happen at a constant low grade, I.e. anxiety into full blown panic attack and can really be helped with breathing and relaxation techniques and I even used acupuncture. Every single patient I asked said yes they thought that they were going to die. Take home message, feeling that you are going to die is normal and rarely the case with AF.
Yes I have PAF for years now. I have had cardiversion a few months ago. I have to take amiodarone which I get some not very nice side affects. I'm due my ambulation in January but feel like I'm going to go into cardiac arrest after. I'm 65 female who has good positive days and days when I feel like my life is over.
I have had a pace and ablate with the pacemaker on line from June 2021, However I have on the odd occasion thought about dying but we all go one day. I have been showing quite a few veins quite pronounced around my pacemaker plus my left arm became swollen.
Off to A&E where after three visits and following a CT scan I have a narrow vein across my chest which is causing the above, now waiting for an appointment from the Vascular Team to discuss the next steps.
If I had not been persistence, I would have accepted the first diagnosis of Lymphedema, which was a possibility, but what would have happened later with the narrow vein is frightening.
So, my advice is if not happy with the answers, follow your instincts and keep on asking the questions
I’m fairly new here but wanted to reply and say I really feel for you, I don’t even have all the issues you have but feel Scared all the time and try to hide it, I found hope in a YouTube Channel called York cardiologist he looks as his patients as human beings and looks outside the box. Your in my prayers x
I think he’s wonderful and can’t believe I’m lucky enough to have found him, if I could only make the 300 mile trip I would definitely go for a consultation But sadly I can’t do the journey. Thanks for replying x
I have been in hospital many times with thumping where the bed feels as if it’s moving and not me with a heart rate of more than 240. Like you we all worry during an attack but as my EP says the heart is tougher than you think. I don’t know of anyone who has died from AF. It is easy to worry even when not having an attack because you then worry as to when the next one might be.
I’ve been having attacks since I was on my 40s but no one seemed to know what it was in those days. Called it Syndrome X. I’m now nearly 79. Worry does a lot of harm so, easier said than done, try not to worry
Regarding your aneurism my dad and also my brother in law had one for years and years. I gather the hospital wait for it to be a certain size before they operate. Dad never had to and my brother in law didn’t ever suffer with it (poor man fell down the stairs and died that way) so as Paul said we could all die of something else before Af or aneurism can do it. Please again try not to worry as the doctors will know roughly how fast it is bulging and if or when the time comes to operate it is so much simpler these days
Sorry for the ramble and take care and try to get through your days without looking over your shoulder all the time
I can see where your coming from and it's easy for us to say don't worry,however,remember Roosevelt saying the biggest fear is fear itself ,best of luck to you.
thank you. I was controlled on flecainide and bisoprolol. However a recent angiogram showed a mild narrowing in one artery. So now flecainide is contraindicated and I am on bisoprolol. So far I’ve only had one episode since stopping them.
hi Equish, i know the feeling now getting af weekly its hard to get the mind over matter to work sometimes, especially as ive been told by gp thet my risk of heart attack over next 10 years is 29 out of 30, quite high, and no further explanation given or advice given to me , i feel im on my own with this, when im good i try to get on with it, mentally draining sometimes.
Good grief. I wish these professionals would think more carefully about how they phrase things. Saying what he did would certainly not help you as your thoughts will veer towards " I am ill" whereas if he guided you to be positive and think " I am going to have a good life and my body will help me do that" then you have a much better chance of manifesting that outcome. Our thoughts influence our bodies more than we realise. I wish this became part of the medical training. 🥰
hi, im afraid all i see is you tell a gp your symptons maybe do a few tests then look up on computer what drug they have available and write out a prescription , there is no preventative health advice , when my gp told me this ,i asked what do i need to do and the reply was, oh ah nothing,,,,,,
Ahh, the dreaded cardiovascular disease algorithm! You get a lot of points of having AF and extra points with each year. I'm 66 and feeling pretty good after my 2nd ablation but apparently- according to thus algorithm- my heart age is 76. Even though my recent echo test showed no problems. It's about how you feel, not the algorithm.
Hi Equish,I've had AF for about 27 years. Medication, Flecainide, reduced the episodes to about two a year, both just before I was planning going to bed, so I went earlier and by morning it had gone. It was annoying but didn't affect me as much as asthma which I've had for 48 years.
At some stage between 5 and 6 years ago my AF became persistent but much less obvious. It's there in the background. I can't feel it. I've agreed with the medics that it's now permanent, so no medication except daily Warfarin.
Being in my late 70s I do think about death but don't dwell on it. I've made provision for my two wonderful cats to go to a retirement home in Lincolnshire, and I'm decluttering so that my nearest relatives who live 80 miles away, don't have to. (I've always been single through choice).
The greatest problem I have with my health is not AF or asthma, or lymphoedema, or my benign prostate problem but is the result of slipping downstairs, just 7 treads on my bottom, causing a broken fibular and loss of my peroneal nerve. It's a nerve I never thought about until I didn't have it. Its main function is to tell a muscle to pick my foott off the ground when you want to walk. There's a peroneal nerve in each leg. Mine doesn't so my right foot remains firmly on the ground /floor, and as a result you fall over. It's called Foot drop
While I can now walk with the aid of an orthotic, it affects daily life. I can't drive or carry any weight above 2 kg. Foot drop affects balance. I can fall over just putting a pair of trousers on. It's a nuisance every day, but I just get on with life.
Of course the permanent AF is there, but it won't kill me, and doesn't cause problems like the foot drop.
Paroxysmal AF can be frightening at first but try not to let it get you down
Follow the medics advice and concentrate on the good things in life.
I have suffered from heart rhythm issues of various incarnations over the past 30+ At the worst it could be AF every couple of weeks sometimes leading to numerous cardioversion to sort me out.
To try and help me get an acceptable quality of life over a period of 10 of those years I had 7 ablations.
Before each procedure I was told there was potentially a danger of death. It got to me and before the last 3 or 4 procedures and as a consequence I spent time visiting Woodland Burial and sustainable cemeteries. At least that’s sorted.🙂
Each time I got AF I was fearful it would never end but lo and behold each time I was eventually back in sinus rhythm.
I am living proof that death is rare from all the necessary procedures and even more so if not virtually non existent following an attack of AF.
The caveat being if anticoagulants are not part of the the medical treatment required to minimise the risk of stroke.
I now only have Bradycardia and other rhythm issues are for the time being a thing of the past.
Hi Equish, I'm a 56 year old male who hasn't posted much but finds this forum very informative. Much more so than the NHS at the moment.Like you I let my thoughts go to the worse case scenario. My wife who takes the positive from everything has suggested I go for some form of counselling as sometimes my thoughts are irrational. I sometimes tend to agree with her. I'm sure many more people on this forum will agree that AF is a condition and not a direct threat to your life. That's easy for some to say and think but not so much for others. I think it all depends on the individuals make up and how they are wired. More often than not when diagnosed initially with AF there is no other information volunteered by the medical experts and so people are left in limbo sometimes thinking the worst. It would be good to have a well rounded explanation of the condition and the risks in the first instance but unfortunately this doesn't always happen. Try to look on the bright side and learn from the people on this forum who have been suffering from this condition for a long long time.
I tried councelling, but didn’t really find it helped me. I found hypnotherapy much better and has really helped my anxiety. I haven’t seen many people mention hypnotherapy on here.I’m not really sure how it works, but it’s not like you see on entertainment shows, you are in control all the time. It certainly works for me. Touch wood. Might be worth trying.
I remember being very scared at first until I learned more about my condition and began doing all I could to make life better. Not knowing the specifics of your condition (and risking someone getting on my case for sharing my view on this) what I can say is that death is a daily possibility for people who are healthier than we are! Life is a chance. For me, I walk confident that the Lord Jesus is there, He knows what's going on, and if its my time to go be with him, well, I know where I will be. That graces me with comfort. It may not be everyone's solution or comfort but knowin' where I'm goin' helps a lot. My favorite verse is "God didn't give us a spirit of fear but of power and a strong mind". By the way, its perfectly okay to be afraid. What isn't okay is letting it stump living.
The Bible tells us through JESUS' words "ABSENT FROM THE BODY PRESENT WITH THE LORD". Can you think of a better place to be? GOD Bless You and may the Holy Spirit offer you PEACE from worry of dying and remember stress and anxiety is very bad for you as well. Remember "GOD IS GOOD"!!!
Lots of good responses here already. You can see by the sheer number of them that many feel as you do. My ablation for PAF was a resounding success (so far and after 1 year) but the remnants of the rampant anxiety soldier on. My personal insights from this experience include:
Being forced to consider our mortality in a real and tangible way can be a blessing in that we can choose to come to terms with and accept that we are going to die.
I am careful with my 'phrasing'. My words indicate my mindset and reality follows my thoughts. Be mindful of what I'm thinking and direct my focus in productive ways.
Trust my care team. Otherwise why are we seeking their care? Let them recommend, and follow what they say.
I recognize that I can be hyper vigilant of my internal biologic processes. The less I monitor, the happier I am and the more I enjoy my life. Exposure therapy, wherein I challenge myself to tolerate distress and to abandon my efforts to escape and change what is or could be.
I have learned to recognize habit loops wherein I seek assurance regarding my health conditions but in reality I keep the fear alive and add fuel to the fire of anxiety
I see the body as a complex mechanism, much smarter than my thinking mind. I let it do what it needs to do and take breaks and expect less of it so that it can keep itself strong. i.e., frequent breaks, getting outside, blanket time by the fire, good food, good sleep. Be nice to yourself.
Resonate with so much of this! Especially this part "have learned to recognize habit loops wherein I seek assurance regarding my health conditions but in reality I keep the fear alive and add fuel to the fire of anxiety". It is a hard habit to break - takes daily attention to catch the thoughts. And being prepared to sit with it when the anxiety starts to get the upper hand.
Yes,...I think the original wording for me came from the book 'Unwinding Anxiety' by Judson Brewer. It took some time but the book primed me to be able to see more objectively what I was doing compulsively. For me, it's minding my own business and boom, a palpitation storm or AF. I immediately focus all my attention on it and resist with every ounce of my being. I take ECG strips and check HR. I sent messages to my EP so he could tell me for the 20th time to ignore it,....and scour the web for even more information and validation. All of these things are okay in their time, but I was validating the underlying fear that says, this needs your attention and it requires action. In the end, the question became,...can I accept that this person (personifying the AF) is in the room. Can I say hello, and then allow them to sit next to me while I carry on with other concerns.....not resisting and not ignoring but not engaging either......a delicate walk. Ultimately learning to avoid behaviors that give Creedence to the adage that there is something to fear. At the end of the day, it just is. Where it goes from there is up to me. It's not always easy and I haven't licked it yet, but this way of thinking holds more promise of relief than any thing else I've tried, outside ablation and meds of course.
Ahh. Yes, that book! So so helpful. Was it you who originally recommended it to me? Forgive me if I forgot. It was someone on this forum and I'm super grateful 🙏
This has been such a valuable post- thank you for the honesty, as I'm sure it has helped and will help others. I never knew I was anxious and hyper vigilant till I got AF - now I see it's a lifelong pattern that stems from a childhood trauma around illness (my Mum's). Truth is - the anxiety is worse than the AF itself - it's the anxiety that wrecks quality of life for many of us- not the episodes themselves. There's another factor that I think nobody has mentioned yet - our heart has 100s of thousands of neurons - we have a 'heart brain' similar to our gut brain. And messages of distress from the heart itself get sent to the brain when our heart is out of rhythm. I think it is this sense of profound disturbance that can provoke anxiety for some of us at least. Next time you feel anxious, sit down and have a little chat with your heart. Tell it that you're in charge, that you know how to seek help if the AF gets too uncomfortable. Put your hand on your pulse, or on your chest and feel the thumping or beating. Tune into it, breathe slowly if you can, let your system know you are there for it. I've also found that loud humming can help when I'm anxious. Apparently it stimulates the vagus nerve which helps calm down the anxiety response.
Hi Squish, yes I get the same feelings, apparently the anxiety is a bi product of the condition. Like you I am 65 and was diagnosed in 2020 where I ended up in rhesus in the July and August with heart rates similar to you.I paid to go and see a top epiphysiologist who changed my medication and is monitoring me. I explained how I was scared the condition would kill me and his words "This is not a life threatening condition, but the consequences could be, the biggest risk being a stroke which is why you are on an anticoagulant". When I mentioned I was scared I would have a heart attack, he said "This is a completely different condition, it is an electrical dysfunction and not the same".
I still get episodes, have been around 3 per year but have had 2 in the last couple of months. I get a really fast heart rate which often starts in the early hours of the morning and can go on for up to 36 hours! My EP says 'sit it out, unless you feel really unwell, breathless or chest pains". I revert to NSR eventually. Again if you go to A & E every time you will most likely be hooked up to machines which make you panic more and they will just monitor you until you revert. The anxiety comes with the territory but unfortunately not a lot we can do about it. I will probably go for an ablation if my episodes continue to become more frequent
I can relate to all you say, and yes I’m afraid of dying now I’m older as well, 77, I am the thought never goes away . I feel for you as I think about it always .
I could repeat what others have said, such as every doctor I have spoken to has told me AF will not kill me. I would like to make a different suggestion. Listen to some talks by people like Ram Dass, watch his Netflix short Going Home. Others, Alan Watts, Eckhart Tolle.
Keep in mind when they mention "god" it does not reference any specific religion. It's more in reference to the universe, and just what is - infinity. (more on that: youtube.com/watch?v=PTkRIpR... )
On Netflix there was also recently a movie called A Trip to Infinity, which will also give more on this perspective.
I have been there. Since my surgery the end of April I had been ignored by my doctor pretty much until I found a new one. My pain was constant as if I were having a heart attack all of the time. I really thought I was going to die really thought I was going to die. I had never thought like this before and it wasn’t even the pain it was the fact it wasn’t being addressed so how long could my body tolerate this. I also had an issue during my second ablation. They had not told me but I saw a rectangle on my chest and took a picture and asked questions. I am terrified at the thought of suffering and then dying alone more than I am the dying part. I wonder how much you know as it’s happening and will I still be able to see people I love but not be able to ever reach out again. That would torture me that would be true hell. I had a cardioversion a few weeks ago and it has failed after 3 1/2 weeks. Last night I had jaw pain, my neck my arm. Again the classics of heart attack which I have had. We are all human and when you think about it AF messes with our circulation to our brain I believe many of the strange things we think of or the panic that hits us is because of that. There are things that we cannot stop anyway. You know you have a fib when it acts up you can’t ignore it but you also don’t want to think about a 24 seven or you will have no life to call your own. I meet my new EP on the seventh and right now it looks as though an ablation will be happening hopefully very soon. That’s about as good as it gets. I look forward to feeling as well as I did those couple of weeks after the cardioversion. There’s nothing wrong with you being afraid you already know that you had it happen but it’s like worrying about getting hit by lightning when you have been or anything else bad. Don’t waste your life worrying about the what if it happens again. It won’t matter if it does if you have no happy enjoyable life anyway because of your worry
Would be surprised if anyone her did not have a fear of dying when getting used to this terrible condition, but we are all still hear as far as I can tell and most now take it there stride (as far you can). Regarding specifically Cardiac Arrest, I asked my Cardiologist if I have an increased chance of having one, his response was "not as far as I know and we now know a lot more about your heart" (following many ecg's and cardioversion and an ablation) than we do about people who have Cardiac Arrest.
I am so sorry to read your post and how you are feeling, the forum is a platform to reach out to others that have shared experiences and will understand what you are currently going through. Its completely natural to feel anxious when you receive news of a new health condition, please do not hesitate to reach out to your GP or contact our Patient Services Team for support and advice.
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