I am on Bisoprolol and Edoxaban but my cardio doctor has given me a choice of trying medication or ablation to cure it as it’s not constant I can’t have cardioversion . I went with the medication option
I was on Amiodarine previously but I just wonder what medication has cured AF for others if cure if the right word
Cure is wishful thinking as any and all treatment is for quality of life (QOL). In other words symptom control . Ablation has a good chance of long term effect but often needs repeating. Drugs like flecainide or propafanone can supress events and bet blockers or calcium channel blockers can control rate when in AF. It really is a long journey trying lots of things along the way but most of us find a balance which enables us to live a full and happy life.
BobD
Does pretty much everyone get breathless days with AF only at times I’m breathing terrible like a fish looking for air but don’t seem to have a increased pulse as Keats my cardio doctor is sure they are connected the AF and breathless days but I’m not sure
everyone has different symptoms at differing levels. When in AF I get very breathless but I have high HR. I also get SOB when walking up inclines in NSR though. So difficult to say.
exactly like me
When your breathless before you had meds was you really gasping
Firstly for 10 of the 15 years of AF I have not taken meds - they made everything a lot worse, especially Bisoprolol increased breathlessness - I was so much better when I stopped the meds.
Secondly I can’t say gasping would describe it - more feeling oxygen hungry so wanting to breath faster and of course if I did, that made things a whole lot worse. Learning to breathe SLD - Slow, Long and deep helped. I believe this is because AF intensifies anxiety, when anxious we tend to breathe fast and shallow and this biofeedback to the body increases sense of breathlessness and intensifies anxiety and so it becomes a viscous circle. Learning to focus on breath and how to breathe through your nose, not your mouth helped but took a lot of practice. Even now I have to instruct myself to nose breath long and slow when I feel breathless.
yes my nurse instructed me to breathe in more from my nose but I forget
Flecanide for rythym control and bisoprolol for rate control worked well for me for quite a long time,first as needed ,then daily dose. Eventually,years later,AF and Flutter( the terrible twins) got the upper hand.
Ablation next,so far so good. How long for uncertain but all fine so far 8months on.
I kind of wish I had pushed for ablation
Was you breathless doing basic tasks before the meds ?
Hiya,
I was first put on cardiac medicine in 2007, Ramipril for high blood pressure and statins for Cholesterol.
Paroxysmal AF mugged me in January 2010 at that time I was 65. My Cardio consultant then put me on Warfarin ( modern DOAC's didn't exist then other than at the development stage as an alternative to Warfarin) and Bisoprolol. At the time the Consultant ventured options as the way forward and this focused on ablation. I declined stating quite clearly I'd stay with the medication option.
I've stayed with this party bag of drugs ever since and now at 78 I'm pretty fit, suffering maybe only 1 or 2 AF events a year, this year being the best yet with only one which put me off work for 2 days. I also discovered that food and ingredients of food were the most likely culprits in triggering my AF and so consulted a Nutritionist regarding diet as a way forward. I've followed her advice ever since.
Delighted to say no ablation .......... nor would I now be regarded as a candidate for one.
I do need to stress though ............. I am not cured! NOT CURED ! Very highly controlled .... absolutely ! BobD talks of QOL ............. correctly so, and that is what I have, so much so that I still work part time (30 hours a week, 3 hours in morning 3 in afternoon ) driving a College Bus Service. If I'm asked and if availalble in summer I drive double decker buses along a tourist route in the south west - 11 hour shifts. This means I have to pass a DVLA medical before they will renew my PCV licence which is a annual event. As Bob says ........ QOL !
John
PS ...... I probably should chuck in a curved ball here .......... many say ( and others just think) whats an old git of 78 doing still working and driving double deckers for ? Its about using it or loosing it ! I have seen so many former work mates and family members just stop work and retire with deadly consequences .... a very high % dead within a few years. Mrs CarnEuny and I believe it is so very important to use the brain and not shut it down. So for me as I've driven buses for over 30 years its not big deal to drive a 109 seater double decker bus with students on and smaller ones with tourists on. Its probably the social interaction, with both my driver colleagues and my touristy passengers that does it. Then there is the mental challenge of taking these large vehicles around narrow Cornish roads. I often hear peeps say, but you must get tired. Yes I do but I've disciplined my self to meet that challenge by pacing myself in different ways. I've always believed that heart and mind are inextricably linked. Look after one or the other and there will be rewards. I read a book decades ago 'The Miracle of Mind Power' - that started it all. I think one of our AF'ers on here posted something similar the other day ..... "wilsond" I think.
Apologies for rambling.
Hi
Very good for you
but
I think the new boyfriend should retire from high powered real estate.
Also there is a new relationship in the making.
We live 2 hours away also.
He voices challenge as a positive but stress as a negative. Just turned 77
today. Not here down South Island on a prebooked trip in a 24' caravan and
Ford Ranger.
Wears a pacemaker and has low H/R he should have some of mine!
1st date no show as he was put in hospital the night before.
He states 'not the money'. So I am trying him refocus on me as a challenge.
Smoking 6 a day so giving up stress should stop the smoking. A smoker is all
new to me. I tell him and I am allergic to smoke. Never smoked.
If your job you love doesn't stress you and you like being anchored at home and
your wife has OKed it then go for it.
But introduce a new sport such as outdoor bowling, exploring NZ in motorhome etc with the stress removed makes better sense to me. These are expensive farms.
I'll keep you posted.
cheri JOY. 74. (NZ)
Exactly John which is why I'm still building race engines at our age. Use it or loose it.
ramble away - great hearing this, great attitude and doing what makes you happy - long May it continue 👍👍👍
Thank you. Sometimes we forget about the mind/body/heart conundrum ..... probably too indoctrinated by western medicine.
John
that’s not rambling but brilliant advise I’ll 78 and in permanent A F stopped working last year not for AF reasons but as I was training drivers on construction equipment and just needed to retire on bisoprolol and digoxin for six years and had no time off work and no real problems so Carneuny advice is excellent 😊
Hiya Billblue,
You know the odd thing is that if I have to give up driving and if I fail my medical it won't be Cardiac /AF related - it'll be eyesight. Each year I find the eyesight examination with my Optician more and more of a challenge.
John
always something will get us 😎
Hi again
Cure not the correct word as the specialist wants you
CONTROLLED.
It was a CCB Diltiazem which CONTROLLED my rapid consistent H/R day and left H/R 47 at night.
Tweaked at Diltiazem 120 AM an 2.5 Bisoprolol PM.
cheri JOY 47. (NZ)
Hi NLGA, I am breathlessness most of the time even on the days I am not having an episode of P-AF though I am now in AF more time than out of it.
PACs cause breathlessness for me and I have always been more breathless before an episode of P-AF.
I have tried medication for rhythm control which had dreadful side effects (I already take apixaban and nebivolol )and am now waiting for an ablation in the hope of controlling my symptoms, there is no cute for AF as most people here will tell you it is all about managing symptoms to improve quality of life.
I refused an ablation when my episodes were few and quality of life good. as AF progressed (it usually does sooner or later ) with frequent episodes I would have opted for an ablation sooner but COVID came along.
Learning slow breathing, counting breaths, diaphragm breathing can all help. It can actually reduce the heart rate as I was discussing with a GP yesterday who confirmed this.
I wonder, if you are anxious about AF maybe this is interrupting your sleep and even causing disturbing dreams of which are are not aware. Again breathing control can help with this.
thank you doodle68
I will try deep breathing and using my nose more I seem to be breathing with difficulty to often to lead a normal life your kind of dreading how you will wake up as that’s it for the day
....no not deep breathing , it it SLOW long breaths.... count 4 breaths in 5 breaths out
'''By repeatedly stimulating the vagus nerve during those long exhalations, slow breathing may shift the nervous system towards that more restful state, resulting in positive changes like a lower heart rate and lower blood pressure. (To find out more about the vagus nerve and its role in conditions like arthritis, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, read Gaia Vince’s in-depth article at Mosaic, or listen to her radio documentary.)''
bbc.com/worklife/article/20....
There are lots of videos that teach long slow breathing also 'belly breathing ' look it it .
Lifestyle changes take months sometimes years but do start! Breathing is one example - I started with nasal strips at night. I then did my homework on breathing (search James Nestor & Patrick Mckeown on YouTube). I now (and for the last 2 years) use a lip strip to keep the mouth closed (assuming you have no comorbidities) at night as well and do daily breathing exercises (6 per minute) on my 2 walks per day. Plus I have also found 3 or 4 breaths in whilst blocking the right nostril and then out through both helps any anxiety incl getting to sleep after getting up in the night for the bathroom. Not on its own a cure for AF but to quote Pink Floyd 'another brick in the wall'. 😁
NGLA I think you said in a previous post you have asthma?
If so Bisoprolol may not be the beta blocker for you, it can affect your breathing.
I have asthma and take the beta blocker NEBIVOLOL which is the the medication of choice for those with AF and asthma and is usually the best tolerated . I understand it is more expensive than bisoprolol but that should not prevent it being prescribed.
I would suggest discussing this with your doctor..
I will bring this up with my GP as I doubt I will see a cardio doctor for months now as I saw one last week
Your GP can make a request to your EP.
Sleep is important if you have AF , if your breathing is disturbing your sleep it needs addressing.
what would my EP be ? I have only dealt with my GP and Cardio department and I have only seen 1 doctor since August when my cardioverson was cancelled due to me not being in AF
AF can often be stopped by oral anti-arrhythmic drugs (which return the rhythm to normal) such as flecainide, sotalol or amiodarone. It can also sometimes be stopped by lowering the heart rate using a drug such as bisoprolol.
The edoxaban you are taking is not for AF but to prevent tinkle blood clots forming in a part of the atrium called the appendage. These can increase the risk of a stroke.
Once it has started, cure of AF seems unlikely since the cause of the arrhythmia lies elsewhere and remains unknown. Sometimes a scan can show that a heart chamber has thickened or enlarged slightly, causing stretching of cells that then become prone to arrhythmia. Links have also been shown with other conditions such as obesity (which can sometimes enlarge the heart or sometimes increase dangerous cardiac fat / adipose tissue); other genetic aspects; sleep apnoea; hypertension; thyroid issues and diabetes.
Steve
had no joy with Amiodarone so I am hopeful a new medication will do the job . The cardio doctor has told me that he wants to do a aniogram prior to deciding on what medication I need
The echo was ok in his views but said he wants to make sure the breathing isn’t linked to arteries although he feels that it’s all down to AF
steve
Would you say it’s normal to have breathing issues for 2/3 days not feel a flutter then for 3 weeks not have one problem with breathing amd it be down to AF
I can’t help there, I’m sorry, but it does sound as if your doctor is looking at all the right things. Do you have something like an Apple Watch or Kardia to check when you’re in AF? These can separate AF from the sometimes similar feeling “palpitations” (i.e. mild racing with ectopics) for example.
Steve
I have a. AF / blood pressure monitor I use regular but I should look at another device although my watch does heart rate so thats handy
There’s a new one by Wellue that measures over 24 hours and gives quite a good (AI) report free but it’s quite pricey. I’m thinking of getting that when allow.
My Kardia is proving less useful unless I pay the £10 fee. If you have an iPhone, an Apple Watch is great (even second hand from series 4 up if the battery is still fine).
Steve
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