Change in symptoms.

[Snowgirl65]

Has anyone found a change in a-fib symptoms through the years? I'm in a-fib at the moment -- last one was 3 weeks ago -- and this one presented with extreme sweating when it first began. Metoprolol calmed that down after 45 minutes, but I'm still going strong. I've never had this symptom before and wonder if others have. Do your symptoms change? Thanks for any responses.

[jeanjeannie50]

Yes, symptoms were often different for me when I had PAF. There was no telling how long they were going to last, sometimes it could be 5 or 6 weeks while I waited for a cardioversion.

At times I could carry on a fairly normal but tiring life with it and others I could barely take a few steps from the kitchen to the lounge. Just once I had sweating like you and also had to fight to keep conscious, felt sick too. That time I was convinced that I was having a heart attack and managed to dial 999.

When the paramedics came one took my pulse at my wrist and said it was in the 60's but when an ECG was carried out they could see my pulse was more than treble that. A big discussion followed because they had never seen that before but when I arrived at hospital the consultant said he had. From then on I have never trusted my radial (wrist) pulse. I have taken Metoprolol for most of the 20 years I've had AF.

Sorry to hear that you are having this awful time. What is your heart rate now, are you able to measure it?

Jean

[Snowgirl65 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Thanks for your reply, Jean, you're always so helpful and caring. I just took a Kardia reading and my rate is at 154, i.e. not much change since this morning. You certainly had a long wait for your cardioversion, and such a scary episode you had too. Were your episodes symptomatic? Mine feel like a squirrel running around inside my chest, along with the mentioned fatigue.

[Buffafly]

154 is pretty high and if it was higher at the start it might cause sweating.

[Snowgirl65 in reply to Buffafly]

Yes, that sounds logical.

[CDreamer]

Yes but also depends upon your treatment, meds and interventions over the years. I also think age is a factor, I seem to be less tolerant to episodes in the last few months than I was 10 years ago and put that down purely to age.

[Snowgirl65 in reply to CDreamer]

That certainly stands to reason. Strange that the past few I had were mild, but this last one not so. It was a long one too, lasting 11 hours.

[Redactrice in reply to Snowgirl65]

Sympathy. I just came out of five days in AF with a heart rate averaging 125 (my usual resting rate is in the 50s). I'm in the UK so I didn't bother calling an ambulance. I know from recent experience that the emergency room won't do anything except keep me under observation and wait for it to calm down of its own accord, and I can do that at home much more comfortably. I have been told that our NHS does not offer emergency cardioversion unless it's life or death. This is due to lack of resources stemming from underfunding and understaffing.

It was five months yesterday since my first ablation, and it is now clear that it hasn't worked. I'm back on the list for round two.

Yes, I agree that symptoms change. I've had AF for 12+ years (very infrequent paroxysmal for the first 11 years). In the beginning I would only ever get short episodes of fast AF and it would usually make me very dizzy (one involved sweating and feeling sick; that was the first time I called an ambulance).

Last year I had a phase (9+ months) of persistent AF with only slightly elevated rate (could be as low as mid-60s) and the odd day of fast AF, but very little dizziness.

Life's rich tapestry.

[Snowgirl65 in reply to Redactrice]

Thanks for your response. Yes indeed, everyone's so different in their symptoms and experience. You being 5 months out after your ablation may not truly indicate it didn't work. It took a good 6 months before things calmed down after my first ablation. The second one was a piece of cake and held for almost 2 years. The 3rd did pretty well, but I obviously formed a new "route" in my heart, so I'll be talking to my EP on the 20th about a 4th ablation.

[Redactrice in reply to Snowgirl65]

Two years of normality would be wonderful! Good luck with your no.4.

I'll have a long wait for another ablation, so if I'm lucky, things will calm right down while I'm waiting. We'll see.

[Snowgirl65 in reply to Redactrice]

Best of luck to you -- I hope it calms down!

[megacycling]

I am reposting my info again on your response as I thought helpful. There is a great book I recommend you read called " The AFIB Cure" by Dr D Day and Dr Jared Bunch, both cardiologists. I figured out a way to stop AFIB on my own . There are several factors that helped cause AFIB . STRESS, Hydration, electrolyte balance, caffeine, lack of sleep, were all big triggers for me. I figured out a way to stop my AFIB by getting on my stationary bike and riding for minimum of 10 minutes @ 10 beats/minute higher than my given AFIB rate. I would get AFIB always at 2,3,4 am and just get up and start riding. Once I got my heart rate up I would monitor to make sure it was 10 beats higher with my apple watch.. real time .. usually my AFIB was 130/140 bpm and I would raise to 140/150 then get off my bike. 31 out 31 times I stopped my AFIB. Basically I figured out how to reset my heart beat.. no surgeon I talked to had ever heard of this. .In the end after 1 year of having AFIB ( weekly episodes) I decided to get it fixed once and for all and ended up getting 2 ablation procedures within 12 months of each other. The biggest issue is if you have AFIB it will only get worse over time and if not treated you will have it 24X7 and need a bibber more invasive maze procedure ( open heart surgery ro rewire your heart signals basically) I have no AFIB and living a normal life riding my bike 20 -25 miles again since Sept 2024.

[Snowgirl65 in reply to megacycling]

Thanks for your response. I just ordered the book you mentioned. Your approach sounds reasonable since I read that vagal-type a-fib responds well to light exercise. I got on my elliptical yesterday and did a few churns, but got pretty much fatigued. Maybe I should have continued with it a little longer -- it might have worked the way your stationary bike did.

[Rosie0202 in reply to Snowgirl65]

Snowgirl65, I found your posting very interesting about light exercise and vagal type Afib. Strangely enough I also found that doing some mild exercise during Afib has a positive benefit even though I still remain in it. I have Afib all the time but only bad episodes when my stomach becomes distended; when I'm stressed or have slept poorly. I dropped caffeine about a year ago.

[Snowgirl65 in reply to Rosie0202]

I'll definitely try my elliptical again when the next episode occurs. Being in a-fib all the time must be tiring for you. My triggers are alcohol (quit 11 years ago for that reason), anxiety, junk food, anxiety and junk food! My episodes are very symptomatic and troubling. Yes, an extended stomach would press against your diaphragm and then against your heart -- I can see why it would trigger you.