Chest pain after viscous bout of Afib?

[Graham194]

Hi,70 year old male here. Two recent ablations. Last on was three years ago. Afib clear until Monday just gone.

Noticed lots of pvc's during Sunday night. Didn't feel too great that morning. l had a tooth extraction booked for that morning as well. Because it was becoming infected l went ahead and had it done.

My heart went into full blown Afib when l got home. This attack seemed 'different' to the ones before my last ablation so l opted not to take Flecainide as PIP. (I was worried it may do arm than good if it was something different to AF).

I called 111 and because of the AF and chest pain they sent an emergency ambulance.

I was taken to Maidstone Hospital. The second half of the journey under blue lights and siren as the medic was worried about what my heart was doing and l was feeling quite ill (nausea).

Straight into resus where they took the usual bloods chest x-ray etc. My heart went back into sinus rhythm by itself within a hour or so.. The Dr's and nurses were very good.

Now, the main point of this post (sorry to ramble !).

Tuesday was spent just taking things easy and l didn't feel too bad.

About 2am on Wednesday morning l woke up with a pain in my left chest which l could 'manoeuvre my body out of by lying on my back with my left arm above my head.

Wednesday was a bad day for the pain and feeling unwell. I tried taking paracetamol which had no effect. The pain did get better when l lay down. I did discover Solpadene helped to ease the pain.

Woke up this morning still the same pain in chest. Blood pressure also a bit high (170/90)- normally around the 125/74 mark.

Does anyone else on here suffer this sort of post AF pain or should l be going off to A&E?

Thanks for reading!

[BobD Volunteer]

For most people pain is not linked to AF althought a few do suffer it. Any chest pain must be investigated so please contact yur doctor or ring NHS hot line.

[CDreamer]

Based purely on your statement

l woke up with a pain in my left chest which l could 'manoeuvre my body out of by lying on my back with my left arm above my head.

I would suggest it was more likely to be muscular. I have pain with intercostal muscles, very tiny muscles between your ribs. Regular stretching exercises as directed by physio help.

As Bob says, all chest pain should be investigated.

[Graham194 in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks very much to Bob and CDreamer for your replies.Almost went off to A&E this morning but l started to feel better a couple of hours ago.

The pain would make sense if it is muscular seeing that the pain didn't start till a good 36 hours after the AF had subsided. Plus the fact that the pain responds to Solpadene.

I have tried some stretching exercises and fingers crossed they seemed to have helped.

I've been referred to a cardiologist (hopefully) by the hospital so l hope to have my heart checked out properly.

In the meantime I'm hoping that the first bout of AF in the last 3 years following the last ablation doesn't repeat itself.

Thanks again.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Graham194]

My "heart attack" was actually torn intercostal muscles. Trying to pull 150 ft lbs on a torque wrench one handed whilst holding the component in a vice. Spent three days in hospital being checked out which was fun. Bloke in the bed opposite was from local prison and chained to two warders! I spent two days expecting men in stocking masks to rush in and free him at any moment. ( OK I read too many cheap books)

[Ablation7 in reply to BobD]

Wow, that’s insane. I’m sure you rested well at night. Ugh

[ozziebob]

Have you been advised that solpadene is safe to take if you suffer from AF?

[Graham194 in reply to ozziebob]

Hi Bob,

I'm pretty sure codeine is safe to take on anticoagulants, which is one of the main ingredients of Solpadene (I'm on rivaroxyban). It has caffeine in it as well which is as we know isn't great for AF. I've gone back on to paracetamol now.

[ozziebob in reply to Graham194]

Thanks for update. It's just when I read "Solpadeine is the brand name of a range of analgesic medication containing various amounts of paracetamol, ibuprofen, caffeine and codeine", I couldn't help but notice the contraindicated "ibuprofen". It seems from your reply that there are formulations of solpadeine that exclude ibuprofen?

[Tab1966]

I always get chest pain after an Afib episode - during it too. I always go to the hospital and all the tests are always ok. GTN spray relieves the pain so doctors believe its cardiac. My episodes usually last for approx 16 hours with a HR averaging 150bpm, and I normally revert to NSR without intervention. I know it sounds very daft, but the pain afterwards is like a dull ache and I always think its like an aching muscle pain.

I'm suffering with afib quite a lot at the moment, booked in for my first ablation on 25th March. Cant come soon enough!!

[Cabinessence in reply to Tab1966]

I was taken in to Barts with blue lights flashing exactly a year ago with skippy trying to get out of my chest and I had pain for the first time. They gave me a spray under my tongue to rule out angina I suppose. Anyway, I had an ablation in July and to date it's holding out. Good luck with yours Tab.

[Tab1966 in reply to Cabinessence]

Thats good to hear Cabinessence, hope mine is as successful as that!

[Ablation7 in reply to Tab1966]

Best of luck!

[Ablation7]

I wouldnt take chances with chest pain. (Although I have - why do we do that to ourselves!)

[Goldfish7]

My AF and A Flutter are variable and are unfortunately lasting for months now. I find that different 'attacks' can feel quite different at times. I always use flecainide as PIP but generally it does very little now, maybe just take the worst clanging and jumping of the heart down a rung or two.

I do get some pain (more of a dull ache) as my heart is probably very tired after doing the heart equivalent of the Grand National, However, if I got severe chest pain I think I'd probably ring 999 just in case.

Out of interest my 1st AF attack was probably triggered by a lengthy attempted tooth extraction.

Look after yourself and best of luck.

[loghousegal]

I have had chest pain after my ablation which led to pericardial effusion. Unlike you, lying down or on either side increased the pain. I was diagnosed with Dressler's Syndrome and given a Prednisone pack which works. My ablation was in December 2023 and I am still struggling with it two months later. I agree that you should see a doctor about this. I was seen in the emergency where it was diagnosed by an old wise emergency doctor. Good luck, I hope you find help.