I posted a couple of days ago mentioning how I felt worse after exercise - felt like the slightest stroll strained my heart.
Well it got worse!
I had a bad night. AF kicked off around 1am as usual so had the Flec PIP, fell asleep and woke up with tachycardia and cold sweats at 5am. Calmed down after about 30 mins but quite scary. Went down to A & E that morning as very shaky after the night's shenanigans - had full blood count, ecg and x-ray. Doc also checked for HF. All came back clear, although the x-ray showed heart slightly larger than previous x-ray 2 years earlier. He didn't seem concerned. Said there didn't seem to be any sign of angina.
Doc didn't want to tweak my meds - he said my consultant could do that after I've had the 48hr Holter I'm due for on Tuesday (and at some point an echocardiogram he's booking me in for). Fingers crossed we may know more then.
Since then I've now been in continuous afib for 36 hours (the Flec seems to have stopped working) - is there any point going back to A & E after 48 hours, perhaps, or as my GP suggested yesterday just ride it out? Will it damage the heart to let it continue?
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Barny12
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Most importantly how are you feeling now and do you know what your heart rate is? I'm in constant AF, have been for almost 4 years and I still have a normal sized heart as far as I know. Had my last echocardiogram about November last year.
I know it's hard, but really try to take your mind off of what your heart is doing. Anxiety almost feeds AF. Go out and potter in your garden, do some dead heading of flowers if you have them. Many times in the past when in PAF I would mow one of my lawns, would feel sorry for myself that I had to do it and took my time, but every time when evening came and I was sat watching tv I went back into normal sinus rhythm. Not that I'm recommending you do that. I had to do it as I live on my own.
Yes my husband has an Apple Watch and it’s really tempting to keep looking, as one minute it will be 60 or lower and we think great then we ll look again a bit later and it’s over 100 . The doc said this can make us more anxious and to only check three times a day minimum . It was 112 earlier when we took his blood pressure now it’s at 70 . We’re seeing cardiology team Tom at the hospital so I’m hoping they can regulate it somehow . I wrote in my previous post he s had an ablation in 2017 and they don’t recommend he has another one . He had a stroke 5 weeks ago because of AF.
Hi , no he wasn’t , but he’s on them now as well as blood pressure and cholesterol as well as doprolol 2.5 morning and night . The consultant took him off of verapamil . although he isn’t over weight or cholesterol that high. I am wondering if he will have another brain scan to see if the clot has dispersed hopefully it has after five weeks
Sorry yes bisoprolol I meant lol so many tablets I get confused . He getting muddled with his talking and can’t read and write at the moment . It’s just the double whammy of having the stroke as well as the heart condition to worry about . We looked at his Apple Watch Jist beck and heart rate at 113 then drops to 70 I think it picks up the fast beats and then the slower ones . It’s quite stressful , we try not to look at it too much . I was hoping the bisoprolol would have kept it under 100
Just be aware that even people with no heart rhythm problems can have occasions of extra and missed beats, It's only if its doing it all the time that it's a problem. Normal heart rate is between 60-100bpm, but some members on this forum have a rate in 50's and are fine with that. Only lower than 50's would I ask medical advice, but your husband has had a stroke and I know little about the rules regarding that.
You may find that people on the BHF forum website can give better advice.
Hi Barney12. Maybe you're worrying too much? Also, once I had a bad night with tachycardia, and it turned out I was dehydrated, so if it happens again, try drinking a glass of water. Also, like jeanjeannie50 said, A-Fib really feeds on anxiety. Good luck, trust the doctors.
anxiety can make it worse… I listened to Bob on this site and tried slow breathing, through the nose. It has made the world of difference. If I feel ectopics coming now I sit and breathe. I know easier said than done because I used to start panicking that something catastrophic would happen. Another here suggested reading Breath by James Nestor, have a read it’s about how we all have forgotten how to breathe properly. I went into AF in December, contacted my cardiologist office and went onto my PIP of Flecainide, metoprolol and elequis. He booked me in 3 days later for cardioversion and back into NSR
I would say it depends on how you are feeling , are you getting breathless etc, and how high your heart rate is . If your heart rate is high, personally I would go in. Am not that stoical
been in A & E all day. I've been given IV fluids to raise my dangerously low BP & a double dose of Bisoprolol to try to stabilise the heart rate. Looks like I've developed a new arrhythmia as well as AF. They're not cardioconverting due to the risk of a clot forming/detaching - going to go onto anticoagulants for 4 weeks & then having a cardioversion if still out of rhythm at that point.
There's talk of ablation & possibly a pacemaker(!!) next year.
Crikey poor you , yes my husbands blood pressure went too low while he was in hospital with his stroke and they were squeezing a drip into his arm . I’m wondering why they don’t offer pacemakers more to Af patients . My sister has one but that's because hers was dangerously low and she kept passing out . Hope you recover soon . Good job you went to A and E
You still get AF with pacemakers I have one and it kicks inif my pulse rate goes below 50bpm thats it !! The beta blockers lower my pulse rate and I now have low bp at times but I was told to drink more water as I was dehydrated.
I have heart rate of 150bpm at times asked cardiologist if I should go to A&E and he said only if you have symptoms breathlessness ,nausea etc.I was admitted with a high heart rate and atrial flutter after a low level chest infection and he said You can catch chest infections in A&E.Recently i have reverted to sinus rhythm on my own as they double my beta blockers.Ive had 3 ablations and a pacemaker
Crikey 3 ablations . I asked the doctor today about a pacemaker but he said not suitable for high heart rate AF . As I mentioned before they said ablation only temporary as we’ve discovered after hubby had one in 2017 . They said meds route is more suitable and permanent in my husbands case . At least he is in the system now albeit rather late , seeing heart team this week and heart specialist to try and stabilise his rhythm , Verapamil didn’t work for him. What dosage beta blocker are you on. ?They’ve upped my husbands to 3.75 mg morning and the same at night from 2.5 milligrams hoping to get his heart rate down
Im on 80mg Sotalol twice a day previously was on 40mg.I had a pacemaker as the beta blockers meant my pulse rate was low and they said they could increase my beta blockers which they only did when I was in and out of AFlutter and AF for days with max heart rate of 150bpm.I had a cardioversion too but reverted back after a couple of weeks.Recently Ive had AF but reverted back to sinus on my own.
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