I think i might have AF. What to do?

[PaddyRedVan]

I had 3 stents placed last august. All wasxwell but over the last months i have been really tired with periods when all isxwell. I thought it may have been the statins and saw some improvements for a few weeks. Ive been reallycsleepy since sunday. Sleeping during and after work. Resting pulse at 45 or 47. This evening, after a lie down, i was having dinnercand my heary was flutteting for about 15 mins. I have a bit of mild chest pain and feel so tired again. Should i be concerned? I feel uncomfortable snd im not sure if i should go to bed or go to A&E. Anyone had similar symptoms? Thanks

[Tos92]

Hi PaddyRedVan

If in doubt, you should take a visit to A&E or call 111 at the very least.

I have no advice to offer on the AF side of things however, there is an AF forum which I will attach the link to below.

healthunlocked.com/afassoci...

There are others on here who do have AF so I hope they’ll be along to share their experiences.

All the best.

Tos

[PaddyRedVan in reply to Tos92]

Thanks! I tried 111 but they must be only during wirking hours

[Tos92 in reply to PaddyRedVan]

111 is a 24 hour service.

[PaddyRedVan]

Im in A&E. Just waiting to be seen. Its very busy!

[PaddyRedVan]

Im still here. Been triaged and had ecg and bloods. That was 5 hrs ago... i cant bear it any longer.

[beardy_chris]

AF usually (but not always) is accompanied by high pulse rates. The main feature is an 'irregularly irregular' heartbeat. So, instead of 'lub dub, lub dub, lub dub'. it is 'dub...dub.dub..dub... etc.'. But i agree with others, you've done the right thing in going to A&E.

[beechesblue]

sounds very much like my symptoms that I had and by chance I had a doctors appointment the following day for a hernia. Told Dr about symptoms and he diagnosed an Atrial Flutter. This was resolved by an ablation but I developed AF later

[Tos92 in reply to beechesblue]

Hi, sorry to butt in here.

I noticed you said you were diagnosed with Atrial Flutter. What tests did you have to diagnose this? Was it a standard ECG and a holter monitor, or was there something else involved?

Thanks.

[beechesblue in reply to Tos92]

my doctor diagnosed by listening to my heart and then the consultant confirmed via ECG

I was down to have cardio version but they found that I was back in sinus rhythm and did not do. However the consultant recommended that I had an ablation, luckily I have work provided health cover

They did say that I may develop AF and when I had my hernia I went into AF coming round. The AF was treated with drugs but did become worse so had a PVI ablation just over a year ago to resolve

[Tos92 in reply to beechesblue]

And if you don’t mind me asking, did the atrial flutter trigger the AF?

I’m glad to hear the ablation worked for you.

[beechesblue in reply to Tos92]

the consultant said that in a number of cases that AF follows a flutter

[PaddyRedVan]

I left at 5am and hadnt seen anyone. There was a man openly selling drugs in the waiting room dho was high as a kite and several other people drugged up. It was scary. There was only one doctor and the wait time was 14 hrs. This is the biggest hospital in N. Ireland. My daughter spoke to a nurse who said the ECG was ok, but i was at my wits end so sorry to say i let them know i was leaving. Thank you for your kind words and support. I feel such a fool now.

[DoggieMum in reply to PaddyRedVan]

I am so sorry that you have had all these problems. I too had a long wait at the hospital a couple of years ago even though I had been taken there in an ambulance and discharged myself after being told at 10pm that I would not be seen until 2 am. I had an appointment for an echocardiogram at around 10am at the same hospital so needed to get home for some sleep. I have just found out that no record exists of the echocardiogram even though I could tell them both the date and the time.

My tiredness is caused by my fibromyalgia and the side effects of increasing doses of Bisoprolol to control my AF. I have now been referred for an ablation which, though I know is not always successful, but I have to try.

Unfortunately there are too many people needing help and just not enough capacity. I hope you get yourself sorted soon.

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to PaddyRedVan]

Good grief! Someone openly selling drugs? They need to get the polis down there. I’m not surprised you upped and left. Not ideal but there’s too many nutters in A&E for my liking.

I managed to record my first AF episode on an Apple Watch, which I fully understand is not a cheap option but when I did eventually see a consultant he recognised it as AF straight away. Many people resort to buying gadgets to catch these episodes as they are not always easy to catch in the moment. Otherwise it’s A&E.

You’re certainly not a fool. You absolutely did what you’re supposed to do. The standard advice is to get yourself to A&E and that’s exactly what you did.

[Qualipop]

Your first port of call shoudl be your GP if you can get an appointment

[Simcoxh]

Hi paddy I have AF and am finding i get very very fatiqed and tired also dizzy ..I can't take the heat either anymore it drains me but no-one seems to care my quality of life has dismissed too so I understand ..