I started in AF last week and after 5 days of AF I have now gone into a regular high heart rate for the past 2 days.
Under the instruction of the arrhythmia nurse I have increased my bisoprolol but it doesn’t seem to helping much.
I have an appointment on Wednesday to discuss treatment plan while I wait for my third ablation….but I’m worried I am causing damage to my heart rate is approximately 100-110 bpm.
Has anyone else experienced this fast rhythm?
Hi Dizzy, that is only just above normal rate (60-100) and a few days won’t cause damage. Try not to encourage a fast rate by avoiding activities that raise the rate as much as possible.
Please stop worrying. Your rate is barely above the normal range of 60 to 100 and anxiety will only exacerbate things. You have nothing to worry about in the current timeframe.
Concentrate on thinking that your appointment is now only hours away in fact. Nothing of the numbers you give will harm you in that time frame. Try and rest in that knowledge and see how being calmer affects you. Not easy but it seems to help if you can relax a little. Best wishes.
I will try, thanks for your reply
There's not much to worry about with that rate. Wish mine was as low as that in AF !
Under newer guidelines 100 to 110 is considered safe and controlled at least in the United States.
Jim
Yes and far higher HR for much longer. No damage occurred.
Are you taking any other drugs or just bisoprolol?
Thank you for your reply, I take 100mg of flecainide twice daily and apixaban twice daily. Last night I spontaneously reverted back into sinus rhythm. Just feel exhausted now.
I had a situation where after 2 years flecainide made things worse. I tracked my resting HR was consistently higher than usual and also when doing easy dog walks my hr was also consistently higher. I had more frequent episodes of AF as well. After discussing with my consultant I stopped taking flecainide. Perhaps something else to discuss on Wednesday’
Details of what I found healthunlocked.com/afassoci...
Really pleased you are back in NSR. We are all different but I wouldnt expect to feel exhausted at that rate, so its good to have a follow up to discuss your experience of it. The symptoms are in some ways more important information than the numbers.Hope it goes well.
Hi DizzyHope today is going a little better.
I kind of echo the caution of Kitenski in their reply above.
I have success with Flecainide but only at a lower dose. I was on 200mg/day (cleared to 300) and after a while ran into problems. I think it takes a while to get to know how drugs affect us more precisely. I think you're maybe on quite a high dose at 200 / day.
The optimistic message I can give is that the heart can get irritated (dare I say confused!) and takes a while to calm. But it can do. It did with me once I took a less is more / healthy lifestyle approach.
I take Bisoprolol 1.25 in the morning (otherwise my heart is too slow at night) and 25mg Flec at noon & 6pm then 50mg at bedtime.
The Flec does work for me, and it's not pro-arrythmic at that lower dose.
I also have Loprazolam on hand if I need calmed and find it a great help especially if I was in a situation like you at the moment.
Hope you stay in NSR and best wishes! ☺️
Hi
I also found either Metoprolol changed to Bisoprolol controlled my rapid, persistent H/Rate.
I had 2 years 3 months with Day H/Rates 186 then 156. Increasing Bisoprolol up to 10mg did nothing.
So Locum encouraged me to attend this private H/Specialist.
He introduced CCB Calcium Channel Blocker NOT a Beta Blocker as above.
1/2 dose 180 Diltiazem took me from the highest rest - he put at 130 in his surgery to 51 in 2 hours.
This was reduced to 120mg.
My regime now is
Diltiazem 120mg AM to control H/Rate now to 60s Day and does not reduce my stable PM H/Rate avg to 47.
Bisoprolol 2.5 (reduce immediately) PM to control BP.
I reduced weight by 6kg which I feel helped as it was 88-96 H/Rate at first but 11 months later is in the 60s and I feel heaps improved.
ACE Blockers are banned as they give me a cough.
Exerting yourself, the Heart Specialist advised now and then is good exercise for your heart daily.
Try CCB for Heart Rate. It has a lowering effect as well as an anti-arrhymic slowing. I can't have Flec..or ablation or cardioversion.
I'm well controlled on the above meds after putting my heart in stress for 2 years 3 months!
And take your anti-co.agulant. For me PRADAXA 110mg x twice daily.
cheri JOY. 75. (NZ)
Yes, and don’t worry at all. Any effect on your heart will be temporary. At your appointment they will check with an ECG, I would think.
In my case it happened to have a different cause - a similar arrhythmia called atrial flutter, which is very like to AF but bisoprolol seems to be less effective for it. I followed some advice here and my doctor prescribed digoxin. That worked well. Nowadays mine is, like yours, caused by AF mainly but conduction issues are at the heart of it (I was mid 60s when it started so I suppose it was age).
I think you’ll find the doctor won’t show great concern and they will soon find a way to get the pulse down. It’s more how you feel in yourself.
Steve
I can only report on my personal experience, Normal rate for me is around 55 bpm but a couple of years ago I felt all the symptoms of atrial fibrillation and went to A&E expecting to receive a cardioversion, but they said that since the rate was about 110 then I could go home. I asked for a second opinion and they did a second ECG and decided all was well. However I was not seen by a cardiologist. My symptoms continued and a few days later I asked to go private to see my cardiologist. They must have looked at my ECG as I got a call next day to go back to A&E and was admitted for cardioversion. Apparently I was suffering from Atrial Flutter (Not Fibrillation) and this can appear normal on an ECG where there is an 2:1 block until a cardiologist looks at it. As I said at the start, this was my experience and your situation may be different.
Hi Dizzy3, I've just come out of an episode like yours, not quite so long. You must be exhausted. Mine started Sunday evening with AF (confirmed by Kardia), lasted all Sunday night. Yesterday morning was in sinus tachycardia, 120 to 140, occasionally dipping to 90s, which lasted all day and all night. I had a couple of occasions of suddenly feeling very hot, lightheaded and just awful. This morning had one of these episodes and then suddenly was back in NSR. Confirmed this on the Kardia. A huge relief, feeling exhausted now but probably not as much as you. I think the exhaustion is because your heart has been working a lot harder than it's used to for an extended period. My RHR is usually mid to low 50s.
My smart watch says I burned 4750 calories yesterday! I spent most of the day on the sofa waiting for my heart to sort itself out.
Fingers crossed it won't happen again anytime soon.
Hi Dizzy 3. Go for a fast walk preferably uphill or stairs,for 5 mins then sit down. See if that helps. If it doesnt repeat it. Does the trick for me
I have experienced 188bpm, but now on Nebivolol heart rate is between 45 -60bpm
How long was your heart rate that high . Y husband didn’t have any symptoms with his high heart rate after his ablation had failed somewhere along the line as this caused his stroke . I wish he had been wearing his Apple Watch then because we d have been more aware and maybe he would have been out on thinners .
our arryrhmia nurse said anything below 120 They're not too bothered
paroxysmal atrial fibrillation 
Sudden High Heart Rate
Heart Rate
Heart rate.
Heart rate.
