hi all,
I went to see cardiologist today. He was very nice and explained paroxysmal atrial fibrillation to me . Discussed having a scan (not sure what sort of scan) to determine no blockages. I thought that would show up on Echocardiogram . Anyway that was to lead to being put on flecainide. The other option was ablation which I don’t think I want. Wondered what you think and if you are on meds how you find it . Also was recommended to buy a kardiamobile again any information would be great
Hi Lellibet.
Flex can work wonders. The chances are you'll start off on 50mg twice a day and your Cardio will 'up it' to 100mg twice a day after 3 or 4 weeks to allow your body to adjust. It can also be taken as a PIP when and if needed in some cases - discuss this with your Cardio.
Don't take more than 300mgs in any 24 hours.
I was going great guns with Flex but took matters into my own hands and started to take an extra 50mg a few times a week if I had a big meal etc.
BIG mistake.
It put me into Flutter. Never again will I not follow my Cardio's advice.
Rgds Paul
PS. Take it on an empty stomach for the best results.
Thank you so much , I think this is the way for me
Ablation changed and probably saved my life so it is not as bad as you think. OK it took three goes but that was up till 2008 and not taken drugss (apart from anticoagulants) for AF since 2009. The "test " will likely be either a CT angiogram or an invasive angiogram to check that there is no cardiac artery disease which if present means flecainide is not permitted.
thank you
I've had a long term good experience with Flecainide but I understand it is important to have Lone PAF ie no heart defects and no comorbidities. Also some people can't tolerate it so a low dose test possibly under hospital supervision may be necessary.
Assuming your cardiologist agrees to go ahead, you next need the right dose. I started on 100mgs (low dose) but that wasn't enough to stop AF, so I then went onto 200mgs (medium) which kept me free with many lifestyle changes from AF for 10+yrs.
When taking it make sure you wait 3hrs after a meal and then don't eat anything for 1hr. I have recently started taking mine 6am 100mgs & 9pm 100mgs (slightly out of every 12 hrs, may not be ideal) to avoid eating restrictions during the rest of the day.
I've been on flecainide 50mgx2 daily for 17yrs since paroxysmal af was diagnosed at age 57yrs. I've had very few episodes since, so haven't needed to up it and although I started off taking it on an empty stomach 12hrs apart it doesn't always fit into my schedule especially when travelling or on holiday but I think my body has adapted over the years and it does a very job of keeping AF at bay with hardly any side effects.
If an echocardiogram has shown there are no structural problems with your heart as was the case with mine, and you have a Kardia to check on your heart, it seems that you could take 100mg Flecainide when an episode occurs as it was prescribed for me by the EP I saw privately after the lowest dose of Bisoprolol proved too much for me to take daily after only three days. That’s a “pill in the pocket”. As episodes increased I was advised to take 100mg twice daily which virtually put an end to episodes for me and I have now reduced the first dose of the day to 50mg. We are all different but I do hope it works for you too.
I had an ablation nearly 2 years ago which was partially successful in that reduced my afib episodes. I found that one 50mg dose of Flecainide before bed keeps the afib at bay. Without this dose I get ectopics and sometimes afib. When I was taking another dose in the morning and then exercising, I sometimes got tachycardia where my heart rate shot upto 230bpm for a short period but settled down quickly when I rested. So Flecainide works for me but there is a known risk of tachycardia for which they sometimes prescribe taking a beta blocker regularly to stop this occurring. I didn't like this option. My base heart rate is 54bpm and I found beta blockers reduced my exercise capacity and enjoyment. So one dose at night is where I'm at. If I need to start taking the normal 2 doses, I'll try for another ablation.
I had paroxysmal AF starting definitively in Feb 2020, but probably on and off before that: ‘menopausal palpitations’. I wasn’t on any medication apart from apixaban with flecanide & bisoprolol as pill in pocket. I was offered an ablation so I had it in December last year. Going well so far. The medical consensus these days seems to be ablate sooner rather than later as it is more likely to be successful.
Hello
Thank you for your post, I am sure many of the members here will welcome you and offer great advice based upon their own experiences. Our Patient Services Team are also here to help, so do not hesitate to contact us for advice and support: heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...
Have you visited the AF Association, there is a wealth of information which may be helpful?
Flecainide information sheet: api.heartrhythmalliance.org...
Ablation: heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...
AliveCor Kardia Mobile demo video: heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...
Online Shop to order AliveCor Kardia: heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...
I hope this helps?
Kind regards
TracyAdmin
Thank you will look at all this it’s a great help
Kardia is great…I have an Apple series 10 watch that listens for Afib about every 3-4 hours, if found then I confirm with Kardia which I send to my cardiologist…good system since I have paroxysmal Afib and absolutely no symptoms.
Brian, 74 yo cyclist
I had an ablation a little more than one month ago. It's minimally invasive and the electrophysiologist said that he didn't expect to ever see me again. I didn't want to stay on drugs as they all have side effects
brilliant I am so pleased for you
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