PAF LIVING WITH IT

[Contact1]

I also get fluttering in my chest and feel it in my throat and a pressure in my head when my heart is either racing or beating irregular. I’m 66yrs and had it over 10yrs. Initially I’d only get symptoms a couple times a year and then it went to weekly lasting 12hrs or more at times. Every time I wore a monitor nothing was recorded. Eventually they found something and I’ve been on beta blockers and blood thinners since2016. I still have episodes varying in length and recently they’ve got worse 2 days in a row and felt unwell. Scares me every time and I hate it 🙁. Wish I knew the trigger?? What food, stress? Consultant told me if he knew he’d be a rich man.

[Padayn01]

What did they find when they put you on Beta blockers in 2016?

[Teresa156]

Hi Contact1,

It may be an idea to perhaps get a monitor of some sort to try and ‘capture’ what is going on when you next get an episode if you can? A lot of us have various things, such as fitbit watches, or Applewatches and a small hand held device called a Kardia machine amongst many others…cardiologists and EPs can read the print outs.

Stress and eating late, or eating bigger meals can be a trigger, as can lots of other things…unfortunately there’s no rules and we are all different. Afib can be a progressive condition and it sounds like you do need to talk again to a cardiologist or better still, an Electrophysiologist who specialise in the electrics of the heart and ask what the plan is for your Afib. If you have ECG print outs when you see them or the episodes captured, better still.

[Ppiman]

It scares me every time and I hate it - not just a bout of AF but the frequent palpitations. I bought a device from a Chinese company on advice from two people here called a Wellue AI 24 hour ECG. It's been very helpful to me and gives a very comprehensive report, for free.

The only major study I have found that looked at what brings on AF and pretty much drew the same conclusion I have come to: there most often aren't any obvious triggers. I certainly have never found one except, perhaps, overdoing things when I am especially tired (I have permanent insomnia). I also find that posture can seem to bring non palpitations, stretching, kneeling low being two I recall. I think this, and a full or gassy tummy as well as constipation can all push the heart around the chest slightly and that is a known cause of ectopic beats which can, themselves, spark AF.

Steve