Hello all. Happy new year. 40 year old male from Canada recently diagnosed with Afib on November 22 2023. I was a heavy caffeine drinker, roughly 3 large coffees a day and an energy drink before exercise. Bad sleeper averaging 5-6 hours a night. Went to bed the November night and as I was dozing off my watch alerted me to a high heart rate. Went to the hospital and they did an ekg and said my heart rate was in the 180s.
They performed a cardioversion and put me on bisoprolol 2.5mg daily. Stayed a couple days in hospital which I got an echo ultrasound on my heart which came back fine. Did a sleep study which I’m still waiting to hear the results on if I have sleep apnea. 2 stress tests done. First was about a week after leaving the hospital. 2nd was December 29 with me off bisoprolol 2 day before to flush it out of my system. Wore a holter monitor for 3 days early December and my cardiologist has said everything is coming back normal and I’m back on bisoprolol once a day.
I’ve cut out all the caffeine and energy drinks completely and I try to prioritize my sleep now by going to sleep earlier.
This is all new to me as I’ve never heard of this condition and I’m going through all the emotions. Anxiety, sadness, feeling inferior, feeling like I’m basically on deaths door and won’t be able to see my kids grow up. Am I destined to have a stroke now and live a shorter life cause of this? Or are there people out there in this forum who have this and live long lives without stroke?
Thanks in advance and appreciate any feedback!
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Craneguy83
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An afib diagnosis can be a shock, but If controlled and managed properly, your life span should be the same as if you never had it. Same with your stroke risk. And you have lots of company, not just here, but afib is the most common arrhythmia in the world.
I had my first afib episode at your age and like yourself was cardioverted. Only had three more episodes in the next thirty years, with no medications or procedures in-between and with no restrictions on activity or exercise. With others, it progresses more rapidly, but again, as long as controlled you will lead a normal life with a normal life span.
But what you're doing is a great start, looking at things you can modify in your life and having a sleep study. In fact, look at it as a positive. By giving up some bad habits now, you will probably live in longer than if you didn't have afib but continued with bad habits
just drink good quality decaf instant coffee . Like Cafe Nero. Occasionaly try half a teaspoon normal instant coffee with lot of milk or milk powder . See how it goes. It’s the Energy drinks !!! What do you think they are meant to do , speed up the heart of course . Google Magnesium differ t types which best for afib . It works . Buy best quality 1000 mg . That low dose bisoprolol works. Just forget it and don’t turn into hypochondriac . Don’t do marathons , that kills most men your age . Gentle exercise and NO ENERGY DRINKS you.ll be fine . Be normal .
oh I cut out all coffee and energy drinks since that day and I honestly don’t miss it. I’m definitely no marathon runner. I’m more into the heavy weight lifting but even that I’ve noticed has been hard to do as heavy as I could before possibly from the bisoprolol and lack of caffeine.
I had af fib ( palpitations )sometimes for years , stress or cold . sick of non conclusive halter monitors and blood pressure readings . Insisted G P did more , referred me for Echo Cardiogram and Cardiologist specialist . He said all OK bit of thickening in muscle leading to heart but low dose bisoprolol ( same yours ) that would return to normal . Also google magnesium for af fib. I take but better you do the research for best type. One at night , that cuts down on afib , plus bisoprolol , dramatic difference . I am 74 by the way. You are overreacting , Dr told you normal , energy drinks marathons give middle age and young men strokes . If you are not happy with progress, if you cannot get ECHO Cardiogram and a professional diagnosis , just go private won’t break the bank . As you don’t have a severe heart issue you may not get NGS ref . I only got , because 7 years of sporadic Afib , and no diagnosis with normalish blood pressure and halter monitor blood pressure readings . To KNOW need to see hearts workings .
If you worried , save up , get private insurance , get an ECHO and private Cardiologist appointment . You won’t get NHS , as very very sick cardiac patients waiting .
You have ‘ quote ‘ ****Anxiety, sadness, feeling inferior, feeling like I’m basically on deaths door and won’t be able to see my kids grow up. Am I destined to have a stroke now and live a shorter life cause of this? *****
Just go get checked privately . That’s what I would do and I’m 75 .
Then you will be truly 100 % sure. . Then get on with your life . Only 40 !
Suggest major lifestyle changes to reset your body and stop more AF episodes. Old habits can then be slowly re-introduced if desired.
Lifestyle changes are all encompassing (as discussed here many times) including moderating stress and exercise, supplements, breathing properly particularly during sleep, reducing gluten, sugar, red meat and processed foods and not forgetting the spiritual; the latter particularly good for anxiety. Also if you have had the C-jab, consider de-toxing as soon as the now emerging protocols become established.
The likelihood is you will be fine and the changes will not destroy your life and may become overall more beneficial for your future. Certainly was for me.
Hi! I had my first bout of arrhythmia at 17 yo. Lasted for one day, never saw the DR, but suspect it to have been SVT. Next bout of arrhythmia at the age of 47, also suspect it to have been SVT, but not sure. Two weeks of PVCs at the age of 55. Some time later, I understood to have AF bouts at night. I am telling you that, just to show you how it can develop during the life. You are just at the beginning, the pauses between the bouts may be very, very long... but also may not.
STOP lifting the weights and stop all exercise for some time. Restrict them to walking or brisk walking on even ground, to have minimal influence on your heart until you get to know your arrhythmia problems a little better. My son is 41, also having AF from time to time. Not on any cure for now, mild case.
As Jim says it’s a real shock having the Afib diagnosis. I can remember the anxiety I had this time last year! I was lucky I got to a public talk given by an EP cardiologist (Electrophysiologist) on arrhythmias and latest treatments for AF and being informed really helped. This forum was a godsend too. My AF did progress to a low level persistent despite having a sound heart and health in all other respects, and a healthy diet. We can’t go blaming ourselves. So being aware of available treatments has been important all along. I’m in normal sinus rhythm now thanks to my EP, a successful ablation and taking an active role in my own treatment. Part of that treatment has been (from the start!) daily meditation, breathing exercises and relaxation. My go-to app is Balance because the courses are run by genuine teachers.
Being part of this forum has taught me not to be afraid even if the Afib returns. You’re doing all the right things, good health and happiness in 2024 to you.
first thing is relax… I know that’s hard to comprehend right now. I was 35 when first diagnosed and only had an episode about every 4-5 years always because of too much alcohol or coffee then exercise. I self converted through exercise, I don’t suggest this unless your doctor is ok with it. Fast forward and I’m 64-65 and have had a few episodes in 18 months and on a beta blocker but low dose. My heart function is ok and I either walk, cycle or do reformer pilates most days. I’m now 66 and have modified my life but not for the worse. Make sure you get your bloods done and check Vitd3 magnesium and CoQ10 levels as all my levels were low and now I take supplements. Think positive you might not get another episode! Or like me one every 4 or 5 years
As you rightly say, we are all on different journeys; but one thing that is common is that the psychological shock of getting diagnosed with a heart arrhythmia is very difficult to come to terms with. "Why me?" all the changes we have to make; trying to explain to others what exactly all this means when we don't really know ourselves when all we really want to do is get on with our lives. So we get on with our own lives as best we can, but these questions and doubts keep coming back, which is where I find most of what is on this forum useful.
I found that lack of sleep and powerlifting were one of the many triggers my AF. I’ve now changed how I exercise. I’ve also reduced all caffeine only drink the occasional cup of tea. I no longer power lift just train like an athlete lots of lighter weights on the occasional heavyweight just to keep the strength up in a total workout, I’m still lifting the same amount of weight but with more reps of lighter weight and never exercise after nights of insomnia or when feeling too tired but I have found the medication I take does affect my strength leaves me very short of energy at times, but it’s something that I can work through on exercise around
I too feel the same with respect to the energy levels. Some days I feel great to lift heavy and other days not so much. I feel I’m going to need to change my approach and exercise more for general health vs. trying to power lift
I’m 79 next week, is that long enough? You can try to ‘beat AF’ with looking for triggers, taking supplements, ‘healthy’diets, mental exercise/relaxation etc or you can accept it and try to live with it, leading a life of moderation in everything but avoiding anything that is obviously causing AF for you. Best wishes!
You will be fine We’ve all been through the first episode with anxiety and many questions. You are in good hands here. My 2 cents…3 large coffees really is not excessive. But “energy drinks” are not your friend…ever. I get they are addictive, but try other ways to stay alert. Proper sleep patterns and diet help. And NEVER have ANY caffeine or sugar just before a workout. Water. Just water. If your routine is long and burns tons of cals, gels are made for that…and protein for recovery.
First of all, reading your post was like reflecting back on myself just 2 months ago. I-m also 40, diagnosed on 02.11 with paroxsysmal Afib and went into complete shock, anxiety, fear and basically thinking is this it. Of course what made the situation much worse is googling the afib and as you probably know, every google search has a screaming statment in your eyes how afib meams your chance for a stroke are 5 times higher than before. But, with proper research and a bit of logic I soon realized this is not completely true and it's much more complex than that with a lot of factors involved.
This forum helped me a lot in realizing there are a lot of people in our shoes and that this is something that doesn't have to cripple my life in the long run and certainly isn't death sentence.
It is a bit complex because as you will see, this has a different effect on everybody. What works for you won't work for someone elese and vice versa. But there are certainly steps you can do to not make things worse and in fact, make them much better.
My anxiety has finally settled down after few weeks and there are couple of reasons for that. I changed a lot of my lifestyle habits. No alcohol anymore, mostly healthy diet, lost almost 30 pounds, lowered my cholesterol quite a bit, read a lot of materials on the subject and learned a lot of stuff in the process and in return lowered my worrying a lot. Taking proactive steps to deal with the situation. I'm waiting for my ablation call but to be honest, I'm still wagging to actually go at all since my life became much healthier and my last episode was more than a month ago. I know that the best outcome would be If I do the ablation right now, but it still seems to fast, basically 4 months from the diagnosis to actual procedure date. Will see how things work out untill they call me for a possible date and then do my final decision to go for it or postpone it. In the meantime I will continue on my lifestyle changes as much as I can.
Also as you, I'm suspecting sleep apnea and will do the polysomnography test in February too rull it out.
What I can say is take your time. Don't beat yourself up too much and understand this takes time to process and I promise you it will get easier mentally. I didn't left the house for first 2-3 weeks from crippling anxiety and worry. But now for example, just this morning my girlfriend and I have booked our flights for a week trip to Marocco. I realized with time that my life doesn't have to stop with afib diagnose. Ofcourse I think about it everyday and a lot. But now it's more focused on thinking about how to tackle it and how to take steps to try and make the new situation more easy for myself, if not to resolve altogether hopefully.
I'm taking my meds everyday (bisprolol and propafenone), trying to eat healthy and move about as much as I can.
I hope you find a bit of peace soon but as I said, try to understand that this is a natural reaction and with time you will start to put things into perspective without overblown negative implications imposed by your anxiety and fear.
Thank you for sharing that. The more I read and browse this forum, the more I see I’m not alone and reading people experiences and situations definitely helps give a boost
Greetings from a fellow Canuck. Read most of the replies and some solid stuff there. Regarding your sleep apnea results. I have had sleep lab tests done 3 times over the years. I had to reach out to them every time. Don't know why, must be the Canadian way. Just give them a call and ask. I have a list of heart health issues and have been in AFib for about 30 years. I'll be 74 this year. But to top that my mom has been in AFib for longer than me and we are planning her 100th birthday party in July this year.
I got diagnosed at 49 ( a year ago) and I felt like you did. I talked to my doctor about feeling anxious and almost depressed over this new development in my health and he said it’s OK to feel like this because you went from being healthy to something that is unknown so give yourself a little bit of grace and that helped immensely.
I ended up cutting out caffeine and just drink decaf coffee.The triggers for me are lack of sleep ( found out I had sleep apnoea even though I didn’t snore) and alcohol unfortunately😂 I didn’t drink much, but I can’t tolerate it at all. It puts me into a fib.
Give yourself some time to adjust and it won’t feel so scary. I felt horrible on bisoprolol so my cardiologist put me on sotalol ( which I was terrified to go one because of the warnings for this drug) but now I feel way more “normal” and no problems. I went crazy at first trying to figure out what what my triggers were and it can drive you crazy. Big hugs, most of us know this feeling all too well. I found this forum really helped me feel more at ease and I hope it helps you too 😊
When I had my PAF diagnosis in Nov 22 the cardiologist asked what kind of daily caffeine intake I had...I said I have 3 strongish coffees in a morning but nothing after lunchtime...he asked what strength beans, I said I dont know I just drink instant nescafe...he went eww, you can drink as much of that crap as you like 😂
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