Ectopic atrial Bradycardia

[Krissy55]

My last ECG before I saw EP said that Ectopic atrial Bradycardia treatment shad replaced Afib . I have an ablation scheduled end of month and he didn’t say anything about this?

Does anyone have the same thing?

I had a cardio version Sept and small Afib Nov but way overdue now for an Afib and wondering if this is why?

Anyone have insights on this? What does this mean?

Should I still get ablation? Wondering if this is why my Afib has stopped?

[BobD Volunteer]

Bradycardia just means your heart rate is slower than normal. Ectopic means out of place(time in this case) . Atrial concerns the top chambers.

So your heart is slow with occasional miss-placed beats coming from the atrium.

[Krissy55 in reply to BobD]

Thank you!

[Autumn_Leaves]

Bradycardia means your heart rate is under 60 bpm. You have ectopic beats originating in the atria. Ectopic are usually described by cardiologists as “benign”. I have many ectopics, every day, all day. Some people with AF don’t have any. It’s difficult to say what their relation to AF is, as there are people who have many thousands of ectopics a day but don’t develop AF. In my own experience worsening ectopics over several years preceded my first AF episode. I don’t think you can glean that much from ectopics. They don’t cause or prevent AF episodes. In my case I think they are an indicator that I am prone to AF and are part of my symptom pattern. Cardiologists don’t care about ectopics at all and the presence or an absence of ectopics won’t influence their decision about whether to do an ablation.

[Keswickman in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

Hi Autumn Leaves,

Like you I have ectopics virtually every day, sometimes over 10000. A recent visit to my GP and a men’s health visit with nurse confirmed exactly what you say and neither showed any interest in ectopics and my gp had refused to refer me to a cardiologist even though the burden has risen. I havent felt any AF episodes since diagnosis so I get the impression they are not interested. I’ve showed them my Kardia results with lots of ectopics but no real response other than ‘let us know if you feel unwell’. I have bradycardia so heart rate is never high at rest and only gets over 100 when I am hiking mountains.

Strangely though, I received a letter at the weekend to confirm I have a cardiologist appointment this week; either they changed their mind because I explained how anxious I’ve become or the cardiology dept at the hospital did it following my Holter and AF diagnosis last year. I’m not on any medication for irregular heartbeat or AF at the moment as Chads is 0. maybe it’s a review.

Keep well,

Nick

[bee2 in reply to Keswickman]

What does an ectopic beat look like on a Kardia? I just got one recently and all it tells me is Bradycardia Afib or Unconfirmed 🤔

[Keswickman in reply to bee2]

Mine looks like this which I understand is atrial ectopics rather than ventricular ectopics?

EcG

[bee2 in reply to Keswickman]

Thank you 😉 I have a few freaky looking ones but I'm waiting on results of a 24hr monitor before asking my cardiologist to look at them. She was looking for Bigeminy, I will phone and see if she has them yet.

[Keswickman in reply to bee2]

Good luck, hope it all goes well.

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to Keswickman]

They’re more interested in AF but even then they’re not THAT concerned, in my experience so far. I was getting so many ectopics before my first AF episode, all day every day, and it didn’t change much after that. It settled down of its own accord, no AF episodes either, then I had Covid and it all started up again. Just when I was starting to feel that the AF flare up was settling, my husband went down with a virus and although I was asymptomatic, the ectopics started revving up and AF re-appeared. So… it’s a movable feast. It’s tempting to get used to the quiet periods and convince yourself that you’re going to be one of the lucky ones who only have AF rarely, and that maybe it’s in the past, but TBH, it’s not very likely unless you respond very well to treatment.

[Krissy55 in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

Thank you for taking the time to explain in such detail.

So I am to assume this has not replaced Afib and it’s just decided to take a vacation 😝

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to Krissy55]

You just can’t tell with AF. I find the unpredictability quite unsettling.

[TracyAdmin Partner]

I can see that the members of the Forum have offered some good advice, however, if you would like to contact the Patient Services Team, please feel free: heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...