I’m new to the Forum and wonder if my “type” of AF is common.
I have several friends who have AF and they all seem to have different types.
I am a fit 71 year old - playing sport several times a week.
When I have an AF episode I usually can’t feel anything- I only became aware of my AF because of a new Apple Watch about 18 months ago.
In episodes my pulse is raised (from approx 60bpm to 80 to 90bpm) and I usually return to sinus rhythm after taking 2 Flecainide tablets (6 hours typically).
it’s clear that my AF is alcohol related (unfortunately!) and episodes were about once a month.
More recently stress seems to bring on episodes, so I’m now having them more frequently.
I’m concerned that my condition must be worsening.
At my last cardiologist meeting (before the stress episodes) he said that if things worsened the next stage could be daily Flecanide or an ablation.
I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who has had a similar situation to me.
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Vernasca
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Male, 71 yo here. Similar: resting HR about 50, when in AF, HR 80-90. No symptoms at all. Not similar: I can drink beer and brandy without consequences (thank God!). Wine is a different story, a no-no for me. Not medicated... and do not intend to be (want to die " on natural causes", lol).
I'd be off for anti coagulation by now. Ok if you plan to peg it by stepping on a tiger, but the possibility of a slow debilitated end of life after a stroke is something I choose to avoid.
I know that you consider it to be too much (160 bpm), but it is quite OK. It means that your ticker, despite sliding into the irregular way of pumping (when in AF), still covers the needs of your body at 160 bpm. Imagine the folks who get as high as 250 bpm and still do not reach the needed blood flowrate. They are in real trouble and feel like they will die. Us, who remain below 100 bpm, are with over-dimensioned hearts (usually thanks to the sports we enjoyed when young). The symptoms, when in AF, are mostly determined by the condition of the heart, when people start suffering on AF. All the best!
Your AF burden is very light from your description. Most people have much higher heart rates in AF . Being asymptomatic is a mixed blessing unless you have been previously diagnosed and are anticoagulated. Those who are not are sadly all too often the ones who find out they have AF only when the stroke hits them.
I count myself lucky to have bought an Apple Watch which brought the AF to my attention.
My father died of a stroke when he was 72 (he was fit and active at the time) with no previous indications of any problems. I wonder if he had AF but wasn’t aware of it.
I agree, and not only have I been doing that, but also, as my degree was in Statistics, and alcohol (unfortunately!) seems to be the main trigger to my AF, since diagnosis I’ve maintained a spreadsheet recording daily units of alcohol, and a graph which shows 3 day, 7 day, and 10 day consumption totals - from which I was able to predict an AF episode the day before it happened. After a 6 month period of strict adherence to the cardiologists alcohol advice I gradually increased consumption to test my trigger point. Unfortunately only a modest increase causes episodes to occur.
The cardiologist advised a maximum of 2 alcohol units a day (a medium glass of white wine) and a maximum of 7 units a week.
As this advice is based on population averages he agreed that it was reasonable for me to gradually increase my consumption to see what my personal trigger points were.
Unfortunately it seems that despite my cardio fitness being much higher than average (for my age), the alcohol AF trigger is average!
if you feel your episodes are worsening, is there a chance you could try and bring forward your appointment with the cardiologist or do you have one scheduled soon? Afib can certainly be a progressive condition and it may be worth considering regular medication or an ablation sooner rather than later.
Same here. Stress increased my monthly episodes to daily ones! Taking extra Flecainide as PIP on top of daily doses did work to convert, but I ended up taking up to 400 mg/day which is worrisome. So I stopped taking it altogether and took Sertraline to reduce the stress. I also added 15 grams of D-Ribose daily, combined with L-carnitine and Ubiquinol, and the episodes stopped completely.
The first piece of advice I received was to cut down on alcohol so I stopped having the glass of wine with my evening meal I used to enjoy. As you know it brings on episodes for you why not pack it in?
I have apple watch as well but i usually know when i go into AF. Exercise is part of my life am 66 now. I've had it for 31 years only on average once every 5 years until 2022. My problem was alcohol and caffeine. too much of it! In 2022 they got more frequent i've had 3 since then. I tried the PIP but have now gone on very low dose Flecanide only 20mg twice a day with 10mg of metoprolol, Doctor approved. I also had my bloods done and was quite low on Vit D, Magnesium and Co Q10. I've been supplementing for nearly a year, again Doctor approved. Last episode in January.
I've had asymptomatic af for a few years which I wasn't aware of until my stroke a year ago... now on anticoagulants.... my advice ask about your suitability for coagulants all it takes is a slight clot in your atrium and the conversation is a different one
My AF is asymptomatic and was only found by accident when I was having a 14 day monitor for my SVTs which are caused by an accessory pathway in my heart. Because of the tablets I'm on for my AV re-entry tachycardia my heart rate rarely goes above 65 anyway and cardio thinks they protect me from getting a symptomatic version (fingers crossed). I did have low magnesium at the time which may have been a factor in the episodes that I apparently had, and I now take magnesium taurate. I take Apixaban anyway and will stay on that much as I hate it but don't want to run the risk of a stroke so....
When I have an AFib episode, I know immediately, as I can feel my heart jumping around and my heart rate and blood pressure soar. I always have to go to A&E when I get it, as the Doctors told me I should and they try and stop it, usually with a drip of some sort. I’ve only had about 10 episodes since it started in 2014, during a nasty coughing virus I had. I don’t drink alcohol and I only have decaffeinated drinks and I hardly eat any junk food I’m not overweight and I do exercise. In fact I do everything I should to keep healthy and I still get AFib, so really it’s very random. There’s not just one reason for it. I also had SVT since I was in my 20’s, which wasn’t such a nuisance and I could usually stop that myself.
In September last year, I had an ablation and they ablated both for the SVT and the AFib and the Doctor who did it said it went well and he hoped neither wouldn’t bother me again. An ablation is supposed to work better if you only have AFib occasionally, so 🤞🤞🤞🤞 Good luck. Hope you get it sorted.
Popping a Flec at up to 90bpm seems drastic or would your AF make it go higher?
I was diagnosed witth stroke, rapid &Persistent AF, within 4 days a carotid arteries scan showed a shadow on my thyroid.
I was put on Metoprolol but my h/rate was 186 bpm Day, 1 year 5 mths later. Pauses at night. Showing on a 24hr Heart monitor.
Changed to Bisoprolol (better med for AFers) 24hr Heart monitor showed 156bpm Day.
I'm normally 47bpm avg Night.
BB controlled BP only not heart rate.
I went to an interested Heart Specialist.
Introduced CCB Calcium Channel Blocker. Within 2 hours heart rate fell to 51 so 180mg too high.
med regime
AM Diltiazem 120mg
PM Bisoprolol 2.5mg
Pradaxa110mg twice a day.
Heart abnormal so no cardioversion, ablation, r anti-arrhymic meds e.g. Flex.
Any heart rate at rest under 100 ok. Also you may have an op.
I had 2 Drs and 2 anaesthists during my Thyroidectomy 4 months after Stroke.
Then for the next 2 (not heart) warned that they wouldn't g ahead if heart rate over 100. It was to 96 for the 1st but I lost some weight 6 kgs and was in 60s.
I’m your age and fitness. My occasional bouts of AF (diagnosed with my Kardia) at c.200 bpm pass naturally after 30-40 minutes without medication. I stopped Bisoprolol because it inhibited exercise and reduced my resting bpm from 60 to low 40s, but when I stopped it I started an ACE-inhibitor (Lisinopril) to help keep blood pressure down. I self-medicate with an anti-platelet (75mg aspirin daily) but have thus far resisted cardiology advice to take an anticoagulant, because I regard my AF as sufficiently short-lived to reduce the risk of clot formation in the heart, and I knock myself often enough on the head not to want to run the countervailing bleed risk. It’s very much a personal choice, and if I follow the risk stats I may start a DOAC when I pass 75. I would prefer to take Clopidogrel (another anti-platelet), having done so in the past after a suspected TIA that turned out to be migraine. But that standard prophylaxis prescribed by neurologists for ischaemic stroke prevention is not prescribed by cardiologists for AF sufferers. If you understand the stats you can decide on your own risk appetite and act accordingly!
It’s interesting that there’s such a wide range of different ways by which AF affects people.
One of the things which really annoys me is being told how AF works by sufferers who assume everyone with the condition is the same as them! Particularly as, amongst the people I know locally, nobody else has alcohol linked AF!
I’d be interested in whether gaps in your alcohol consumption affect AF recurrence. I’ve not noticed any link, but try to avoid on 2-3 days each week to give my liver a rest!
My paroxismal af always happened day after a bit more booze than usual over 12 years then turned to persistant oct last year if i had not gone down the pub most night for last ten years maybe it might have stayed away. For most people booze then dehydration is a big initiator take note take care. M
Like you, I'm 71 (and into math) and my heart rate only goes up by 10 or 15 bpm in afib and the afib goes away overnight. At this point, I make myself exercise 45 minutes a day, but unlike you, the only thing I enjoy about it is feeling well.
I'm also on a strict diet for kidney disease, no sugar, no alcohol, and only plant based foods. I really love to eat, though this diet doesn't seem to appeal to others, for me, blueberries and nuts, yum. Though I feel left out at birthday parties, I really don't miss aFib or feeling overstuffed or GI problems or any of the other health problems this diet has improved.
I do agree that the pattern of fairly short, self-limited episodes may be related to slightly better heart health. I've had one stress related episode in 2 years, used to get a couple a week. I take baby aspirin per my doc's advice, he said its generally enough in the absence of afib. I couldn't tolerate apixaban and live kind of far from town for warfarin checks.
I do agree that the pattern of fairly short, self-limited episodes may be related to slightly better heart health. I would like to think so as well. I have kidney disease and have resisted taking apixaban which my doctor prescribed for me a few months ago when he diagnosed me with AF. I eat fish and plant-based foods. I don't drink alcohol, but I do use sugar occasionally. I have bradycardia and like you my heart rate only goes up by 10 or 15 bpm and lasts just about 2 mins. My biggest complaint is when I wake up some days and I can barely walk. My head feels light and my feet feel unsteady. I don't know if this is because of the AF or anemia (shown by my blood work.) I also sometimes experience jerks, which my neurologist called myoclonus (mild seizures). With all of this going on, I often wonder whether I have AF or not.
I wonder if the alcohol isn’t causing ectopic beats such then trigger AF. Alcohol is a potential cause of ectopic beats.
Your lucky to can’t feel anything. My elderly friend has had this kind of AF for very many years and it’s been permanent for about as long.
I get a rather strange hot throat and some mild chest aching with my ectopics and AF as well as odd slight breathlessness or at least a need to breathe deeply. Any stress or exercise can worsen it. The rate these days is often less than 100bpm, but can be 130-160bpm. The lower rate is decidedly easier to cope with.
I once posted a similar question here regarding different type of AF, suggesting that we should develop keys, much similar to botanical keys for plant identification to help identify various degrees of each type of AF.
Diagnosis of AF today is too broad, lumping people with a light AF load in with people that have a heavy load. Cardiologists don't even diagnose you if you have Vagal or adrenergic atrial fibrillation subtypes which to me is just stupid.
I think we would have a lot of data in this forum, couple that with member surveys we could create a great tool to help people know where they sit on the AF tree.
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