Diagnosis from GP yesterday. Sunday visit to A and E showed bloods,thyroid and ECG as normal. Condition had stopped when I was examined.GP felt my pulse was racing has recommended blood thinners. However, if it is stressed related how can you tell if you are taking meds and symptoms go away. If it isn't, how do you know what is causing the condition?
I'm overwhelmed with it all and totally exhausted.
It's difficult to comment with so little information. Matters of the heart definitely provoke anxiety and it's a bit circular and not helpful. There is an initiative to fit a device called an implanted loop recorder ILR which is an ECG recorder running 24/7/365 and sends reports to Cardiology. It will pick up any issues.
My ILR was fitted following a stroke with no obvious cause. It picked up Paroxysmal Afib which prompted a change in medication.
It was left in, they work for around 5 years, and when I collapsed earlier this year it showed the cause, a ventricular tachycardia, unfortunately after the event!
Note my circumstances are a combination of relatively rare events so I'm not a reason for you to worry! But they show the use of an ILR in diagnostics.
Your GP needs to make an assessment that merits referral to Cardiology. It won't happen at A&E. I suggest you need another conversation with your GP to fully understand how they see your symptoms.
Thank you for the advice. I will speak to the GP about it. The GP prescribed apixaban which I started last night . This seems to have brought my heart rate down to around 80-90 without the high peaks although I can still feel the rumblings which though subdued last longer. I have an appt in August for a heart monitor to check when these bouts occur. However, I still don't understand the underlying cause. When I eventually have an angiogram will this explain it?
Hi, my guess is you are going to have a Holter monitor for probably 24hrs or maybe a bit longer. This is a first stage investigation that supports a fuller ECG trace over this period. It's a bit cumbersome and faffy and doesn't always produce helpful results. The process of diagnosis looks for the obvious first, I might have thought you would have an echocardiogram before an angiogram. Perhaps your GP has reasons to think this might point to a problem or eliminate a problem. It looks at the way your blood is circulating into through and out of your heart, the pump and pipes.
My understanding is that most heart and circulation issues will show problems in this area. This was checked first for me and came up with no issues.
My hospital is a general hospital that did belt and braces angiograms with the options of fitting stents if any narrowing of the arteries was spotted.
Specialist heart centres may have more sophisticated procedures that can also look inside the heart, especially where they can offer ablations at the same time. But it doesn't sound like you're anywhere near that yet.
Your GP has taken the step to lower the risk of a stroke from any Afib detected. Apixaban is a 'blood thinner' and doesn't directly act on heart rate. Beta blockers and other drugs control HR. But the apixaban will probably have reduced your blood pressure. That doesn't always happen. There is a link between Afib and strokes but it's at epidemiological level, not directly at the individual level. ie most people with Afib live with it, hopefully managed.
There are many good and helpful leaflets on the BHF HealthUnlocked channel .
I hope this helps and maybe helps you in your discussion with your GP.
You may ask whether there are any health lifestyle adjustments you can make to improve your situation by your own actions. I started Couch to 5K but this may not be appropriate for you.
Thank you for the information. I'm taking the pills now but the intermittent periods of thumping are still there.The doctor did mention a scan of some kind, maybe the echo, but then spoke about the monitor....I will ring back on Tuesday to see what's happening.
I'm still having daily walks but too anxious to do anything more strenuous.
I'll read the leaflets and make some 'notes before I speak to anyone else .
I was diagnosed with this last year and I am on Rivaroxaban and Bisoprolol, but also on meds for high BP. I have had all the tests stress test MRI, 2 echos, invasive CT Angiogram and apparently my heart is fine apart from non-obstructive plaque which just means I have no blockages. The bisoprol generally keeps my Afib below 100hr so therefore it is controlled. Without the Biso, my heartrate was a tad sensitive. It’s annoying and I hate when it happens it gave me anxiety which meant I would turn up in A&e many times only to be told my heart is fine. So don’t know why I have it. My episodes tend to be once a month, but going to try to lose weight and get more fitter as that can help I believe (before these started I would be at gym everyday without fail).
Thank you for that. The fast heart rate is very scary. Not knowing what actually is causing it makes it so much worse. I obviously need to read more about this condition.
My wife was diagnosed with paroxysmal AF last year. Her situation is complicated in that she was being investigated for episodes of TLoC at the time. After my wife’s Apple Watch picked up an episode of AF, she reported this to her GP along with a 6 lead heart trace that we took at the time on a KardiaAlive monitor. Her GP looked at the trace and she said that there was absolutely no evidence of AF. I should add that my wife was asymptomatic at the time. The GP booked a one day holter monitor which we were told might take 6 months!
At this point, we paid for a private consultation and agreed with the cardiologist that we would pay for a 14 day holter monitor. This failed to detect any TLoC events but it did show one 19 hour session of asymptomatic AF. The cardiologist was not surprised that the GP failed to pick up what the computer- based assessment of the heart trace and he could see. He prescribed Edoxaban anti-coagulant.
Since then my wife has been fitted with an ILR which detected a TLoC episode after 2 weeks and, following a visit to A&E, my wife now has a 2 lead pacemaker.
We saw my wife’s private cardiologist in March. His view re her paroxysmal AF is that no treatment is needed unless the AF becomes noticeable/debilitating.
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