Afib at night

[grandmackc]

I have long qt and have a pacemaker and defiber later. I only have a fib at night when I get into a very deep sleep. The episodes are short but make me very anxious and sometimes I can't go bake to sleep. It is affecting my quality of life. I am on a beta blocker but no blood thinner. I have been back to the cardiologist twice for this and they haven't done anything but test me for sleep apnea which I don't have. I started myself on a baby aspirin and would appreciate any other suggestions for this.

[BobD Volunteer]

If you have AF you very likely should be on anticoagulants so you need to ask your doctor to work out your Chads2Vasc2 score and prescribe them as appropriate. If you gogle it and answer the questions honestly you have some amunition. Aspirin has little benefit in stroke prevention for those with AF whilst still possibly causing harm. ( intestinal bleeding) .

[Cavalierrubie]

l think you need a complete drug/treatment review as your AF does not seem to be under control. Anticoagulant is the most important drug to take with AF because of the high risk of a stroke.

There have been several members from the US on here recently that have said they are not taking an anticoagulant. Aspirin does not work. To me, it is playing Russian roulette with your health.

Hope you get some better advice and care.

[sdweller]

Usually short bout of Afib might not require anti-coagulants… have they hooked you up to a 24 hour monitor? Otherwise… have you thought about a different cardiologist? Or better yet an electrophysiologist? Second opinion can’t hurt. Stress is very common with Afib, most of us have experienced this, you are not alone! But remember under doctors care Afib isn’t immediately high risk for death, and most of us live as long as the general population… but you are correct to keep inquiring and you definitely should expect your doc to communicate with you and answer your concerns! Otherwise get another one!

[grandmackc in reply to sdweller]

I have a pacemaker so they can check my activity any time. I have suggested that and have had them do it. They said it is short bursts but those bursts wake me up and make me very anxious causing me to lose sleep or not be able to go back to sleep. My doctor sometimes consults with an electrophysiologist from another hospital. I have considered getting a second opinion.

[sdweller in reply to grandmackc]

Well it sounds like they are aware! I’m no doctor… but I would be shocked if they are able to see what’s going on at night and simply ignoring it if it was an issue! Again, short bursts of Afib are generally not an issue… if it was we would ALL be in trouble! lol. Feeling stress is normal… I really believe you can rest easy… maybe work more on your stress, starting with understanding that how you feel is normal!

[grandmackc]

Thanks for your insight, I really appreciate it.