Re the recent BMJ report on AF and Heart Failure - a further takeaway

[Buffafly]

I noticed that one of the conclusions of the report was that as the incidence of AF is rising and the damaging effects of the condition are better understood the next important area of research is the cause of AF with a view to prevention. This is a question frequently asked, the ‘why me?’ Many explanations have been given but when someone who has led an apparently impeccably health conscious life asks it there does seem to be some information missing 🤔

[Ilovedogs12]

That's how I feel, why me?

I have an old school friend who was diagnosed with diabetes in her early twenties and has had to inject insulin several times a day ever since. She has been a heavy drinker for many years, doesn't bother about what she eats and just adjusts her insulin to compensate, smokes and has always had the attitude that she wasn't going to let it rule her life. She doesn't have any health issues other than her diabetes and is very active.

I've always been health conscious and healthy until last year and I definitely wonder why me? But life isn't fair is it?

[Rainfern]

Interesting thought. The usual culprits - age, weight and alcohol consumption, are not a cause at all. These just increase the likelihood of all number of illnesses and tell us that medical science actually knows very little. Thus an overweight person is inclined to take on blame for getting ill while a healthy slim person thinks “why me?” Neither really get to the nub of it do they?

[secondtry]

Agreed, there is a lot missing. Unfortunately no trustworthy research is likely to see the light of day as there is too much money in the current situation. So I guess its down to the 30K+ members here to keep experimenting and sharing.

[Jajarunner]

Bad choice of parents? 🤣🤣

[Ilovedogs12 in reply to Jajarunner]

🤣🤣🤣 yes, it's all their fault!

[pusillanimous]

In many cases it's familial - I have a list of the genes affected - whether they are recessive or dominant I don't know, but I suspect dominance from one parent. My father had it and myself and my 4 sisters all have it. I think too it has a 'Mechanical cause', as many extreme athletes get it.

[Jajarunner in reply to pusillanimous]

But the vast majority of extreme athletes still don't so it must still be a 'weakness' in their makeup

[pusillanimous in reply to Jajarunner]

A lot of canoeists get it, my son was affected it at age 36 - 17 years ago, had an ablation and has been free so far. His could be explained by a familial predisposition, but it does not explain the incidence among many of his competitive canoeist friends, one a world champion . Even my cardiologist said that next to age related cases, the most AF cases he sees are athletes, particularly canoeists. Canoeing is very popular here in South Africa. because of the weather and the variety of rivers, so maybe it is just a question of numbers, who knows !

[Jajarunner in reply to pusillanimous]

This link is interesting, although it contradicts itself by saying only endurance exercise is a risk factor then presenting as one of its case studies a bodybuilder !!Https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[pusillanimous in reply to Jajarunner]

Thank you. I will read it with interest !

[Rainfern in reply to pusillanimous]

That’s really interesting. I wonder if a particular repetitive movement associated with canoeing impacts on vagus nerve, for instance. There are stretches I avoid that I associate with being on the edge of Afib. I stopped doing squats while in persistent AF as they seemed to make it worse, and I have rebuild my strength and fitness since ablation with “safe” activities such as walking and gardening (without heavy lifting). I hope your son keeps well.

[pusillanimous in reply to Rainfern]

Yes thank you. It was nearly 17 years ago he had his ablation, and he has never had any medication or further episodes. These days he spends a lot of time hiking and cycling with his young family, that is their favourite holiday. Luckily one of their fellow members at the Canoe Club was a Cardiologist and he diagnosed a number of the young men and made sure they were treated. There is only one EP in the Province in which we live, so it was off to Cape Town where there are very good, obviously private ablation facilities !

[Rainfern in reply to pusillanimous]

What a lovely story of success 🙂

[Ppiman]

Advancing age and a particular gene pool must be the cause for many, I suppose. I have had harmless palpitations since I was a young man, and my mother had the same. I never thought they would matter, but they likely were a progenitor of both my atrial flutter and, now, fibrillation.

Steve

[Ilovedogs12 in reply to Ppiman]

The same with me. My palpitations began on 15th August 1985, the moment my beautiful daughter was born after a traumatic delivery which saw us both fighting for life.They were sporadic and harmless for over 37 years.

Heart problems run in my mother's family but I didn't take much notice when I was young - after all, old people have health problems don't they? And they die.

And when you're young anyone over 40 is old.

Real health issues weren't discussed in my family so I got a sketchy history when my mother had heart failure. So I only know the ages and causes of death and nothing about conditions that they lived with.

[Ppiman in reply to Ilovedogs12]

Much the same here. I hope you are both well after that awful time. Our only grandchild's birthday was yesterday, and it is an annual reminder of the rush and medical indecision this time six years ago that put so much fear into our hearts. He was born six weeks prematurely but is now a lovely and healthy young boy.

Steve

[pusillanimous in reply to Ppiman]

Take heart, he will continue to be healthy! I was born mid WW2, at home, six weeks prem. weighing about 3lb, with only the local district nurse and my mother (no incubator) to look after me. I will be 81 in a couple of weeks and apart from PAF and mild COPD ( probably due to having been born with not the best developed lungs and abusing them for many years by smoking) - I'm fine !

[Ppiman in reply to pusillanimous]

And that was a truly lovely story to read. Thank you - and continued good health to you!

I had my second bout of AF for the week this morning. After so many palpitations yesterday evening, I wasn’t surprised but my it’s getting more frequent this year. Fingers crossed, the symptoms were (fingers crossed again...) not too bad, with a rate ranging around 100-140bpm.

Steve

[ozziebob in reply to Ppiman]

I also had AF this morning, like you. First known AF in 138 days. Is there something different in the earth/moon/sun radiations today? Perhaps not? But I am interested if anyone has ideas about this aspect of environmental causes.

Fortunately my AF was my shortest ever at 1.5 hours and only achieved a recorded speed of 93 bpm. And the duration was helped by my first ever 100 mg dose of flecainide within 15 mins of outbreak.

[Ppiman in reply to ozziebob]

I only have bisoprolol, which I like to think, keeps the top rate down and allows me to cope well. At the moment, although I have got on with things, I do feel as if I ran a marathon or similar this morning, which I suppose is a fair analogy to having a heart racing away for hours.

I'm down for an MRI scan to check all is still well since the last one in 2019 and, if so, I'll then be given flecainide as PIP, I suspect, although the specialist I spoke to yesterday said it will be a second ablation in the end.

As for radiation... ☢️

Steve

[ozziebob in reply to Ppiman]

Well an Arrhythmia Nurse OK'ed flecainide and bisoprolol as PIPs, but no advice about dosage or frequency. That's why it's taking me a long time to teach myself how to effectively use the flecainide when AF starts. I'm not keen on the bisoprolol. Definitely no MRI offered to me.🤔 How do I organise one of those?

[Ppiman in reply to ozziebob]

I think it's because I have a "wide QRS" thanks to left bundle branch block so the doctor needs to be sure of things prior to flecainide. The last one I had was private and because I had some chest discomfort after my ablation for AFl but his will be NHS.

Steve

[Ilovedogs12 in reply to Ppiman]

Thank you Steve, my daughter is now mother to our three year old grandson and fourteen month old granddaughter and all are very well and happy, and immensely precious.❤️I'm glad to hear your grandson is also healthy, we don't realise that childbirth is such a fragile time until we experience an emergency and it's brought home to us.

[Ppiman in reply to Ilovedogs12]

Well said, life itself is fragile and to be treasured. Children are a blessing beyond words.

Steve

[Ilovedogs12 in reply to Ppiman]

❤️

[WildIris]

My case: I had a lot of ectopic beats and a lot of anxiety when young, had a partly successful ablation for them at about 40, had an aortic valve replacement at about 60, developed PAF after the surgery. Found this forum. Then in my late 60s, got so fed up with feeling lousy all the time that I gave up sugar and sweeteners, then most processed food, then meat, then most carbs, and exercised more and got down to a normal weight and have been pleasantly surprised as all my chronic health problems, including lupus and arthritis, got better and eventually went away. Though I still take half a metoprolol (12.5 mg) and Losartan- was able to give up prednisone, which I took for lupus, which may have contributed to the PAF. Its a nice thing to do for yourself at an age when a lot of people are feeling more tired and slowly developing ailments after a lifetime of being pretty healthy. It would have been better, of course, to change at a younger age. I feel a little preachy sometimes on a subject people hear about too much already. People are naturally attached to their habits, or vice versa.