HiI was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation about 3 years ago and I am on a low dose of a betablocker (Bisoprolol 1.25mg daily). I seem to go for quite long gaps without an episode and sometimes I'm not even sure if it is an Afib episode - I have other arrythmias so it can be hard to differentiate.
For the past few months I have had episodes of a fast heart rate, mainly when in bed - either about to go to sleep, or woken from sleep due to the pounding. For the most part, the pulse feels fast but regular, though there is some slight irregularity.
Just wondering if is possible to have afib with a regular heartbeat. All afib episodes I've experienced, prior to this, have involved a lot of irregularities.
Thank you
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Spangle14
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My A fib is a regular, irregular heart rate mine seems to go for 3 beats absolutely regular and then 4th beat has a longer gap and then back to 3 regular all the time. I have permanent AF and in low rate so resting heart rate is around mid fifties and unless exercising or running for a bus rarely over about 120 and even then only for a short time. You should probably see your cardiologist who may suggest a monitor to find out what these are, as it's always unlikely that you will experience this in their office for them to diagnose straight away!
AF is always irregular but you can have atrial tachycardia (fast and regular) which typically is around 140 bpm as well as other SVTs. You need a proper ECG to differentiate.
A fast regular beat (tachycardia) could be flutter, atach or another SVT. To get a better idea, ask for a Holter monitor which will take a continuous ekg both before, during and after the event. All three phases can be useful for a diagnosis as it's not always clear cut which SVT is causing the tachycardia.
Alternatively, you could get a Kardia 6L and send in the ekg's to your ep for analysis, but you will be missing the before and afters. If the episodes are too infrequent to be captured on the Holter (7-14 day ekg patches are available) Wellue makes a 24 hour ekg recorder which is another option, similar to the Holter.
Just don't be surprised if you don't get a definitive answer. SVT's can be hard to distinguish, by even top ep's. Don't ask me how I know
I feel sure it isn't but it can be hard to notice the irregularity. Tachycardia isn't uncommon without AF, so far as I know, and I used to get it over breakfast for some reason. Have you a home ECG device to check if it is AF? I use a Wellue AI device these days, or my trust Apple Watch which I leave on if I feel likely to have AF. Both have a visual means to show irregularity without having to look at a phone while in bed, but many get a Kardia (for which you'll need the app).
I have a similar experience with fast, regular heartbeat and did get a Holter monitor - nothing wrong...so have sometimes tried taking an extra half dose of Metropol when it's really bothersome. I can be watching TV and my heart rate (via Fitbit) is over 100 when normal resting is low 80's . That resting rate has remained in that range ever since ablation almost five years ago.
the other possibility is atrial flutter,it is regular and the heart rate depends on what degree of block you have while in flutter(1:2 up to 1:4) heart rate can be 80 or up to 300 and regular monitoring devices often label it sinus tachycardia
Thank you for your comments and suggestions - I will definitely mention it to my cardiologist when I next get to see him. Sadly, I have no idea when this will be🤨
Also I do have a Kardia device but I don't use it so much these days - I found it more trouble than its worth a lot of the time as would frequently get unreadable or some other uncertainty and I was finding that quite stressful. I have recently been fitted with a loop recorder but there is a bit of a blip with that at the moment, sigh, but when that is up and running again, my results will get sent to the hospital. Unfortunately, I don't know if these recent episodes can be picked up later, as I know the loop recorder is recording all the time but the link between it and the hospital is crucial and I'm not sure it that can be done retrospectively
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