AF

[Tomo61]

Just had heart attack on Thursday morning 6 Aug and diagnosed with AF never heard of it scared the pants off me thought I was strong as an ox only a young 65 ,never seen so many tablets to take not a lover of taken any ,want to carry on as normal as loads to do can I ?

[Isobel1]

I'd be very careful, & do what your GP / Consultant tells you . If they've said don't over do it, please listen !

[jeanjeannie50]

Did you have a stent put in Tomo?

[Tomo61 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

There were guys in with me who had stents fitted and they were off home ,excuse my ignorance but half of me wished I'd had a stent instead of saying you're veins are fine but you ll have AF for the rest of you're life ,hadn't sunk in what they were telling me but now feel im on my own get on with it no after care, do I ring the docs and ask what's next or just get back to work?

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Tomo61]

It sounds like they weren't able to find a cause for your heart attack. It's awful to be pushed out to get on with your life with no explanation as to why it happened. Do you have a GP who may be able to explain more? Ask lots of questions here on this forum, they are a knowledgeable and helpful group.

Re AF, you can help yourself with this by switching to a more plant based diet, avoiding all food and drinks that contain artificial additives, sugar and alcohol. Eat smaller meals and lose weight if needed. Supplementing with magnesium can also reduce AF. It's taken me 16 years to learn this.

Feel free to ask any questions here and yes ask your GP what the next step is re going back to work.

Jean

[cholet in reply to jeanjeannie50]

sorry to push in jean what do you mean supplementing with magnesium as i also have AF x

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to cholet]

youtube.com/watch?v=PwzSIoB...(Not working as expected?)

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Magnesium comes in many forms, as a powder to put in your bath, an oil to spray on you skin, or in tablet or capsule form. Someone on the AF forum on HU recommended Magnesium Glycinate capsules to me from YourSupplements online and I've taken them for a year or two, they're gentle on my stomach and my AF is so much better. Any magnesium will do apart from oxide.

I've been to A&E with my heart racing away and been put on a magnesium drip.

Jean

[cholet in reply to jeanjeannie50]

thanku jean xxx

[080311]

Hello Tomo61

Welcome to the forum, I bet it’s not somewhere you ever thought you would be joining!

When we have our heart event it comes as a bit of a shock, personally it was as if the ground had opened up under my feet. I had to have Aortic valve replaced and bypass couldn’t understand how this could happen my body had never let me down before. But 5 years on and my life is good.

Think you need to take your time getting back to your normal routine, your body as been through a trauma and you need to take it one day at a time. You will get back but gently does it. You say you have a bag of medication to take and this sometimes takes a little while for our body to get use too.

You are now a member of the Hearties family and someone will always be here to listen or lend a shoulder to lean.

Sending you best wishes for a great recovery.

Pauline

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to 080311]

What a lovely reply Pauline.

[Hidden]

Hi Tomo61,Life as you knew it will never be the same again, but what you do have is the most amazing opportunity to have been given a chance at a new life!!! The adjustment takes time, and you will have good days and bad days, but just try to remember that you are still here and you have lived to tell your story. one day at a time and baby steps is the way forward. There will always be someone here you can talk to and we will all try to help you as much as we can. Its early days for you yet so just take the advice of your GP and cardio rehab nurse and take the tablets!! they are there to keep you alive!!! Just try to relax and give yourself time to adjust to all of this.

Take care

[Clerkenweller]

Always a shock but treatment today means a long and active life. The drugs are necessary. Your heart needs help to work properly. As others have said your body needs time to adjust to the drugs. They might need reviewing and tweaking. We all react differently. Keep a note of symptoms and discuss with your GP. I urge you to take their advice. Good luck.

[Enonykasper]

Hi Tomo My husbands a Tomo too 😃

You don’t seem to have a lot of information to hand

My husband got something like covid in 2015

After 14weeks on life support and 7 months in hospital 18 months in a wheal chair and oxygen pipped all round my house

He had 5 lots of blood and a cardiac arrest. Kidney dyalisis and his lungs they said he could not live with lungs like that

Any way 5 years later he’s out of a wheal chair leading a normal life

His lungs are not as they where

During his journey we went to the royal Brompton heart and lung hospital in London

And on one occasion he had a chest infection whilst on a routine appointment

The doctor notice his heart was a bit fast

She did an ecg and said his chest infection has caused him to have AF

They kept him in hospital there and then

I live in Lincoln so was a bit unexpected

Anyway they started him on tablets and we went home

Probably about three weeks later we got an appointment to see a cardiologist at the Brompton

As until then he had only been under a lung specialist

When we got ther we saw a lovely doctor

He had a MRI done

I was very worried as he had had a cardiac arrest in hospital I didn’t know what we would find

To my surprise the doctor said

She looks at lots of hearts

Some good

Some bad

But that she loved his

He had no fibrosis on it

And she wanted to fix it

But she wanted to do it soon

The next week we went to London over night and he had a cardiversion

He has not had AF since

He was 61years old when this happened he is now 67

Cardiversion doesn’t always work

But perhaps you could find out more

From your doctor and ask if it might be suitable for you

Rather than saying you may have to live with it

Stay safe good luck

[Si1972]

Hi Tomo, very sorry you've experienced a heart attack. I've not had one as yet but I do have AF and I've had an aortic valve replaced. I would take advise from your cardiologist and listen to your body. I'm 49 and I have very poor mobility as my AF is affecting my breathing so badly walking around the house is an issue. Because of covid I've been left for over a year and I personally think my valve is leaking, the echo in 2 weeks should inform me. Lots can be done for AF. I've had cardioversions they can be successful but second one lasted just a week and my heart went back into AF. Next step is Ablation, this is a procedure entering your body via the groin and burns a section in your aortal to stop electrical impulses from the brain to the heart. It has a good success rate. Medication can be used for AF procainamide or amiodarone, these are harsh but can work. You will need a blood thinner I take Apixaban as your chances of a Stoke are significantly increased with AF I too was once strong and fit, I was very proud of my garden, but this year I look on it with embarrassment as I just cannot put the work in. Don't get down take all the advice you can and listen to your cardiologist or heart nurse. All the best.

[cholet]

hi tomo i also have AF i was diagnosed end january again same as you i’d never heard of it .. but the tablets are necessary.. im

on major lifestyles change with diet alcohol and exercise.. you can carry on as normal just learn to know your limits and enjoy your life 😊

take care x

[Barnessy61]

Hi, I advise you speak to your GP to see if you can carry on as normal, he may suggest slowing down or something but speak to them first, people can't advise you of that on here as everyone is different & they may give you the wrong advice without meaning to.

[Qualipop]

NO you can't just carry on as normal. Your heart needs to try to recover . The tablets will help, do not be tempted to reduce then. A heart attack means the heart muscle has been damaged t o some extent and it needs to heal. Do what the doctors say. GENTLE exercise, lifestyle changes and when it's offered, cardiac rehab.

[doubledeck]

Hi Tomo61

Like you I had never heard of AF until last December and was knocked for seven when the cardiologist told me I had it. Like you I was very active and had put my loss of fitness down to studying to hard, not training enough. My cardiologist gave me some meds to start with but they didn't agree with me so now on blood thinners too. I was in deep shock, why me, and like you, no idea who or where to turn to as no advice was given from the hospital, I over heard someone mention BHF. I took me about 6 months to notice the benefits of the meds and cardiologist etc said carry on as normal but listen to your body. Unfortunately all contact seems to be done by phone now once every 6 months which isn't really ideal as you can discuss more face to face.

You do need time to adjust to the news and let your heart heal and meds work. I wanted to cry a lot when I was first diagnosed.

I had a cardio ablation last week so now on the long journey to see how successful it has been.

Rest and let you body heal even if you feel you don't want too.