I am new to AF, starting last Sunday. I have had an ECG and awaiting a consult with a cardiologist. I have been in AF since it started and on medication. Went from an average HR of 57 to 90, just like that, boggles my mind.
I am a very active 52 year old with big retirement dreams in a couple of years of hiking the PCT( I love backpacking), and skiing and golfing as much as I can all over the place- love to travel. I am concerned. Not knowing all of the ins and outs of this yet but this website is starting to ease my mind. I am happy I came across this blog to help me understand better.
I will continue following and learning. I would be interested in any advice / information that would help clarify what might lay ahead.
thanks.
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Haszee
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With proper treatment, no reason to rule out hiking the PCT, skiing , playing golf, or even running a marathon as someone diagnosed with afib.
Treatment can be either lifestyle, rate control, rhythm control, or a combination.
Rate control is through medications and rhythm control is through medications and/or ablation. Newer research tends to favor rhythm control.
Ablations are usually catheter ablations, however many find benefit with a surgical ablation, like mini-maze, which may be more durable.
I don't know the ins and outs of your medical system, however, the best person to guide you would be an electrophysiologist (ep), in conjunction with a well-versed general Cardiologist.
Take your time learning and exploring the options. Your heart rate now is not very high, so that should not be a concern.
That said, the least amount of time you are in afib the better, because you do not want your heart to remodel.
So personally, I would push for conversion to normal rhythm as soon as possible. That might be through an electro-cardioversion or through medications. And eventually through ablation if that makes the most sense for you.
Hi Haszee. I’m glad you’ve found this forum- it has been such a help and support on my Afib journey. I’m now back in normal sinus rhythm after going right into persistent Afib just over a year ago. I paid to have a good long conversation with an EP who knew his stuff re latest treatments for AF (I was lucky to attend a public talk he gave) and over the following months had a couple of cardioversions which were a doddle, nothing to worry about. Neither of these kept me out of AF for more than a couple of weeks, but long enough to indicate that I could be a candidate for ablation. So I went on to the NHS waiting list and had the ablation in October.
As mjames points out, the longer you’re in Afib the more your heart models itself on the new pattern, so I really pushed for treatment- at a time when the pandemic and government cuts had left our health system creaking with huge waiting lists. You’ve got a great health system in Canada, but you have to let them know you mean business!
Like you my average HR was under 100 but I was quite symptomatic, getting breathless on stairs and inclines, feeling my heart thumping irregularly at night, occasionally going into panic mode. In UK they are less likely to offer ablation if you don’t have symptoms, so I was lucky to have them.
I’m aware ablation doesn’t work for everyone and those rogue AF cells can set up in business again, but I often think of the thousands of these procedures carried out every day around the world and they wouldn’t be doing them if they were not successful.
Wishing you good luck and good health and yes, of course you’ll be able to continue with your favourite activities. Just be a bit gentle on your heart, don’t push things.
The important thing to remember with AF, as with life generally, is that we’re all different! Your journey will be yours alone, but I found it so helpful hearing about other people’s route to recovery when I found this forum. I’m not a medic, I can’t heap out advice, I can only say how it has been for me 😊
Welcome to the group but sorry you have had to join. Read until you drop. As has been said, knowledge is power. Ask any questions. We are all here to help you.
I doubt there is any magic formula relevant to all. In my case with vagally mediated Lone PAF, I very reluctantly accepted daily Flecainide and then combined that with an Mg compound & Coq10 supplements prescribed by an Alternative Practitioner (Naturopath) and a host of lifestyle changes still perfecting to this day......add a good pinch of luck as well 😂.
A casual walk with my dog on the typical route up a small hill and my HR went to 184 yesterday. Not sure what moderate is now…I will definitely need to adjust my thinking and planning.
As a sportswoman with PAF, I read two books, The Haywire heart by amongst others John Mandrola and The Afib Cure by John Day. I did cut back on sustained high intensity exercise but still do a lot by some people’s standards. I eat food, not too much, mostly plants, hardly any alcohol, no caffeine, take magnesium supplements. I do feel a lot better for all that, hard to say which change made the most difference but if I pushed I would say the magnesium and alcohol. It’s a hard adjustment to make but you’ll get there. The discipline of sport I think helps you make the changes apart from the habit of pushing yourself to the edge which isn’t a great idea with AF.
Stopped drinking alcohol years ago. Coffee….I enjoy very much. 😩
I love backpacking for that reason, pushing to the edge, the feeling you have standing on top . Really hoping to continue. But now it’s about education, thank you for the book recommendations.
I love coffee too and it took a while for me to find a decaf worth drinking. The research suggests that caffeine isn’t often a trigger but what I found was that giving it up massively improved my sleep and good sleep is very important.
The frequency of my AF has been improved by addressing a Vitamin D deficiency, and many research articles are quickly available online that show the link between Vitamin D and various arrhythmias.
So please ensure bloodtests are undertaken to ensure no obvious deficiencies exist.
As part of your new AF investigation, I recommend you read the AF journey of an Australian Steven Carr who used diet and Vitamin D levels to "cure" his AF. His journey is not possible for all of us, but all information is helpful.
PS. I just checked and it seems you now have to log in to this site by creating an account to access his story, but I just did that, and all seems OK. Highly recommended!
I was diagnosed April 2023. Was quite a shock. I was like is my life over? Is this how I die?
Turns out AF will not kill you. I saw my GP, saw a cardiologist, saw an EP, all the test and discussion took about 8 or 9 months. Prescribed Diltiazem by my Cardio, Flecainide as a Pill in the Pocket by my EP, Xanax by my GP.
Anxiety was pretty high for about six months.
Cut out caffeine, and lost about 17lbs, and like several others started taking Magnesium. And hydrating better (dehydration definitely a trigger)
I did find one trigger, Parmesan (Tyramine) I put a ton of Parmesan on my spaghetti, and 3 of my 9 AF episodes I can link to a heavy meal of Parmesan the night before.
I have decided to wait for a Wolf Mini-Maze rather than an ablation. I felt like this was the better option for me, and I am just a 2 hour drive from Houston. Schedule for it in August 2024. Once I decided that most of my anxiety is gone, and after being on this forum for 9 months I can accept that my life is not over!
always take someone with you when you see the consultant, we tend to hang on their every word but, forget what was said as you wzlk out the door. Write questions down , it is useful!
Wishing you well on this adventure, you will be in good hands !! And!!!!! You have us jolly lot to talk to !!
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New to this forum, but not to AF
New to AF - Comments Appreciated
Experimentation complete - Excercise puts me in AF and gets me out!
New to this AF nightmare!
