hello again to all, been off the site for a long while but like to check in now and again.
My af usually only lasts a few seconds several times a day but I do get what I call bad episodes where it really affects my daily life I.e very tired more than a fair bit. The other night while moving from settee to floor to play with my puppy af kicked in really bad and my head was instantly affected, I literally went blind in both eyes for a couple of seconds and I was having to breathe really quickly to try and get oxygen in, my heart then started to beat normally and I resumed what I was doing. Anyone else had this? I take apixaban and Bisoprolol
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rubble4356
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Hmm, that sounds strange. I would let your GP know about this episode. Could it have been a mini stroke? I've not heard of anyone briefly losing their sight with AF. I had to fight to keep conscious one time when my heart kicked off. Please just let your doc know. Jean
Hi rubble4356
That must have been rather alarming. I imagine there are several explanations but as you are already taking an anticoagulant, the main thing to do urgently is rule out any immediate threat to your sight.
I’m fortunate to have an excellent optometrist and I know he would see me today and make any referrals as necessary. Failing that you have the option to attend the emergency department of your local eye hospital.
Hi, if your area GP health service is like mine the quickest course would be to consult your optician. This profession can very often detect other health issues from an simple eye examination. Can't remember what part of the eye now but it has certainly happened to me in the past with cardiac issues.
About 8 months prior to being dx with Afib I lost sight for less than a minute in my left eye. I was sent to a neurologist who thought I suffered Amaurosis fugax and referred me on to an Ophthalmologist and Cardiologist. He checked my carotid artery via MRI at the same time. Luckily there was no artery issue nor retina damage but sadly I was found to have Afib though the cardiac electrophysiologist denied any heart link to eyesight loss so I will never know … the neurologist advised cause will be known on autopsy. Sick humour from specialist!
yes, but my eyes pixelated, it was liking looking through crystal, this lasted 24 hours. You must report this to your relevant medic. as mine indicated a blood clot behind the eye and led to a stroke. Some years later it happened again and I had to see a stroke doctor, he said it was classified as a TIA, however I had several of them and another doctor said migraine auras so I still don't know. I was put on to Statins and my anti coag changed from Warfarin to Pradaxa and thankfully not had another episode since.
Hello,Yes I did experience the same eye issues in my left eye after valve replacement and an ablation
which involved a transseptal puncture, which was initially blamed. However, I was also prescribed flecainide which as a Pharmacist I was suspicious of. The end of the story was I stopped the flecainide and all returned to normal. Best of luck. Roger
6.5 yrs ago, I lost peripheral vision in one eye after a run, for 20 minutes before returning to normal. Was persuaded to contact 111. After referrals and investigations, turned out I had had a TIA ( mini stroke). 2 years later I had clear symptoms of AFlutter which was confirmed 6 mths later during unrelated trip to A&E. The suspicion is I’d had asymptomatic Paroxysmal A Flutter for a while (before it became symptomatic) and that had lead to the TIA. However, as you are already on Apixaban, you would have thought this unlikely, although I don’t know that people on DOACS never have TIAs / Strokes, or just much reduced probability.
Hi - yes occular migraine often occurs with AF but the possibility of a min stroke or syncope faints need to be considered - so off you need to go and get the possibilities looked at.
I think that as it was both eyes it was either a mini stroke or a pause in HB, but as you felt short of oxygen it sounds more like a pause. I had some episodes where a dark curtain seemed to come over my sight and that was the cause.
I’ve just read about this very thing. It’s called amaurosis fugax. It can be caused by many illnesses and is a symptom of an illness rather than a disease in itself. Migraines, AF, runs of ventricular ectopic beats, such as trigeminy, giant cell arteritis, vasculitis, … the list is long.
If your heart has been shown to be physically sound, and the cause is AF or PVC palpitations, then it seems it is unlikely to be of consequence at all, but - naturally and since this is new - your doctor should be told, and I think straight away, perhaps even call 111 for reassurance.
Interestingly, a friend had this in both eyes and he blamed his history of bad migraine. His daughter now looks as if she has AF, and your post has made me wonder if he hasn’t something similar. I’ll mention this to him when we next meet.
From reading about the condition, I am pretty certain that your doctor will be able to tell you that it’s nothing to worry about and of no long term consequence but, as I wrote above, a visit to your GP at the first opportunity, or a call to 111, would be my next move.
Thank you for replying I am getting a monitor on for a couple days , so let’s see if anything like it happens again? Usually dose nt when you have those things on
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