Afib ?

[dawny1908]

HiJust a quick question....I suffer with psvt but my sister has now getting palpatations and has been in hospital with it but hers is different to my psvt.

She is currently having tests etc. But her heart rate flies up and down . Whereas mine hits high and stays high until I have adenosine (thankfully now controlled by bisoprolol and flecainide.)

The docs have given her flecainide and she cant take beta blockers. She sits relaxed doing nothing and her heart rate can be 70bpm and flies straight up to 120bpm+.

Is this typical afib symptoms? She says she also feels tired and ill at times too.

Any advice would be great or anyone going through the same

Dawn

[CDreamer]

Hi Dawny - the only way to be sure is to feel the pulse - if irregular then AF is likely but would need to be confirmed by an ECG.

Of all the arrhythmias AF is the most common and is an irregular, irregularity - heart rate and rhythm will be irregular - whereas your irregularity is regular - ie: your heart races - tachycardia - but is a regular beat.

There used to be medics doing silly dances demonstrating the various and very different Arrythmias, not only quite amusing but often a visual will demonstrate and explain well.

I’ll see if I can find one.

[CDreamer]

The Arrythmia Dance

youtu.be/EqUfgffJx_8?si=odm...(Not working as expected?)

[dawny1908 in reply to CDreamer]

Haha thanks for this 🤣

[Hallju in reply to CDreamer]

That is hilarious! I have tried to explain to friends what I feel with my tachy-brady and aFib and what my pacemaker does. Now, I will just share this video. Perfect! Thank you for finding that! 😂

[Gumbie_Cat]

it is typical of how my A Fib was when it was still paroxysmal. I could feel a bit tired and dizzy, though I wasn’t really aware of the palpitations. (Though I did begin to notice them a few months later.)

I remember the GP putting a pulse oximeter on my finger and seeing my heart bounce around between 43 and 170. I was sent into a day unit in the hospital and calmly knitted while the rate continued to bounce around.

It’s a double edged sword being less symptomatic though - it delayed diagnosis and put me at risk of stroke.

[Hallju]

Yes, same as Gumbie_Cat and your sister, I know I’m moving into an aFib episode when I feel completely wiped out and my heart rate jumps all over the place. (Also, I find that I need to run to the bathroom a lot.) I wear an Apple Watch and check my ECG then take a pill-a-pocket (PIP) of flecainide—in addition to my regular daily dosage. My daily regimen of Metroprolol keeps my rate down and the flecainide is to keep the erratics of aFib at bay; however, the PIP is needed at times. Originally, I was jumping from the 30s to 130s, so I couldn’t take metoprolol to pull the high rate down without it going too low, so a pacemaker keeps my low beats at no-lower than 60 bpm. Having said all of that, her symptoms are certainly similar to mine, but only an ECG and a doctor can determine her aFib, of course. Best of luck, it is an experience for sure.

[dawny1908]

Thanks I will pass these messages across to her. When my svt was bad I was running for a wee constantly. N it's like I need to go and I need to go NOWWWWW! My sister was the same the other week too