Afib attack: My mum who's 8... - Atrial Fibrillati...

Atrial Fibrillation Support

31,040 members36,642 posts

Afib attack

Nugger profile image
17 Replies

My mum who's 88 & asymptomatic with afib,had an attack,where she couldn stop shaking & could feel her heart jumping around,hospital increased her blood pressure medication,any one here experience a similar thing ?

Written by
Nugger profile image
Nugger
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
17 Replies
jeanjeannie50 profile image
jeanjeannie50

Hi Nugger

I've not heard of anyone having that shaking experience. I've certainly felt my heart flopping around as though it was trying to get out of my chest - it was always terrifying to say the least.

Hope she is feeling better now.

Jean

Nugger profile image
Nugger in reply to jeanjeannie50

Thanks Jean,i thought it might have been her blood sugar,when she mentioned shaking but they checked her out at hospital,she tells me it happened a couple of years back too ?

jeanjeannie50 profile image
jeanjeannie50 in reply to Nugger

I wonder if the fear of her heart doing strange things caused the shaking. I have known real fear once and I couldn't stop shaking, it was nothing to do with my AF though.

Nugger profile image
Nugger in reply to jeanjeannie50

Never thought of that,could have been that Jean, makes sense 👍

CDreamer profile image
CDreamer

Being unable to stop shaking - yes - but never associated it with AF. It’s associated with me with being unable to regulate my body temperature and I get very cold, despite ambient temperature being high. It passes after rest and sleep. Rigors is also associate with fever and chills as in infections and I believe Autonomic Dysfunction.

Ppiman profile image
Ppiman

My friend, now 89, occasionally gets severe hot and cold shakes, which he calls a "rigor". He had a day of them with covid at Christmas. I wonder if that is what happened?

Steve

bassets profile image
bassets

The rigour could have coincided with a bout of AF which has always made me feel as though my heart is flopping like a fish out of water. Fright or body temperature can induce shaking as others have mentioned here. I hope she is feeling better now?

Tapanac profile image
Tapanac

yes I have had that. Exactly. I used to feel the settee or bed where I was sitting was thumping and not me. So bad and I was shaking with the pure shock of it and scared. I had an ablation and that did stop, but the thing that helped mostly was flecainide as I still had the afib and tachycardia although pre ablation I could raise my heart rate up to 240 but now it 🤞doesn’t go above 160. At the moment about 130 snd awaiting the arrythmia sister to call and EP phoning on Thursday

I hope your mum feels better

Pat x

petmice profile image
petmice in reply to Tapanac

I was sent to the ER when my afib happened during a regular doctor checkup. While waiting for my heart to settle down, I thought we were having an earthquake because my bed was shaking. Needless to say, it wasn't the bed - it was me. It still happens sometimes but rarely.

Nugger profile image
Nugger in reply to petmice

I just spoke with her & she told me ske was shaking for 3hrs & didn't feel cold,so not rigors, so i guess its definitely,related to afib

Tapanac profile image
Tapanac in reply to petmice

yes I do know that feeling. It’s horrible isn’t it x

Nugger profile image
Nugger

I too get rigors but how she explained it wasn't like rigors,she couldn't stop her leg shaking ? Rigors for me is normaly in bed & the slightest blanket movent that lets cooler air hit my body & off i go shaking,feels terrible but will quiz her more, thznks for all the replies 👍

Snowgirl65 profile image
Snowgirl65

I had a similar experience when in the hospital last October for a particularly bad a-fib episode (had ablation then in December), where I was shaking uncontrollably. The nurse told me it was the massive amount of medication they were giving me to slow the heart rate. Could that have been the case with your mother?

Nugger profile image
Nugger in reply to Snowgirl65

No,she was shaking at home,bouncing off the chair as she put it 😆

Snowgirl65 profile image
Snowgirl65

I see. I hope she's getting better.

Autumn_Leaves profile image
Autumn_Leaves

I don’t know if it’s the same thing but during an AF episode I’ve felt very cold and shivery, a bit like mild shock. Feeling cold and shivery is my stress response, though so it’s hard to say whether it is an AF symptom or whether it was my distress at the situation.

Nugger profile image
Nugger

She didn't feel cold

You may also like...

Fear of an afib attack

paroxysmal afib and am very symptomatic how do I carry on daily with crippling fear of an attack xo

Afib - anxiety and panic attacks

community. We afibbers all know that afib and anxiety/panic attacks go hand in hand. They seem to...

Panic attack and/or AFIB

Just a fast heart rate. I know I was having a panic attack, but could it also have been afib? Does...

Sex, a missing trigger for AFIB attacks?

researched about AFIB no one has mentioned sex as a trigger for SVT or AFIB attack but sex is the...

7 Ways to Stop an AFib Attack - John Day

the excellent book - The Afib Cure. Might be useful to newcomers... 1) Medication PIP 2) Rehydrate...