Hi. I live in the UK. I have been having problems with my heart (atrial fibrillation) for a few months now. This has only come on since I had sepsis. Every now and again I feel a sob in my lungs.
Can anybody give me any advice. I take an asprin and a beta blocker each day. My arteries are fine, but i was told it was the capillaries that were causing my atrial fibrillation.
Best advice that can be given is to go back to your cardiologist. There are a number of treatment alternatives which could help. Sadly any other advice would at best be an educated guess which would be unsafe.
Les. Read your post with interest. More especially as this weekend is my anniversary - 2 years ago found me in the local Cardio ward with an an attack of AF. I'll spare readers the details, suffice to say it was brought on by stress. If you look at your situation sepsis (often fatal) was a huge stress on your body. No doubt the incident has left even deeper scars in your psyche whilst the physical ones healed.
I would recommend an American web site called Stop Afib. You can google and join just as you have for this site. I have found that the Americans are ahead of the curve both in R & D on AF and the treatments now available. Whilst you can't just transfer what is happening across the pond to the UK it does give you a lot of insights into both medical and self help treatments. Stop Afib is not as altruistic as our dear HealthUnlocked (which is the best self help site ever). But there are a lot of things you will find that you can do to help manage this very common affliction - Nb very common. You are by no means on your own will be one of the first thing you will learn.
One has to be very careful when suggesting what may help, more especially when not medically qualified. For me a number of things have helped both AF and my Asthma.
I stress this is my self help regime- it seems to work for me is all I can say.
Cortisol the stress hormone needs to be reduced. Easier said than done. Remove yourself from situations that you know will cause you stress. Better to walk away, swallow any pride, even if you are right-move yourself away.
Try mindfulness exercises (many good books in local library).
I have written on this site about Tai Chi exercises (You should be able to find them under my name). Gentle stress busting, breathing exercises that slow everything down.
Diet. Yes the rainbow diet. Plenty and I mean plenty of fruit vegetables, fish, swap Olive Oil for butter and marg. Reduce alcohol, you don't have to cut it out but red wine has been proved to be beneficial no more than 2 glasses a day -alas!
It goes without saying no smoking, full stop, period. If you do smoke your wasting everyone's time.
Exercise, yes you can exercise. If new or re-starting - nb- seek medical approval, and start gently and build up gradually. Use a step programme on your smart phone -free apps work fine.
Aim for a minimum of 7 hrs sleep. Sleep hygiene helps, no caffeine after 7 pm, have dark chocolate instead, no computer, no e-mails, no lights in the room all help.
Finally be kind to yourself. I have also used a site again an American Nick Ortner The Tapping Solution. This might seem a bit like mumbo jumbo at first but try it look for his stress busting video. All I can say is it works for me.
Best wishes.
As others say, AF can be brought on by stress but also by illness. You have been told that it is caused by your capillaries-where? Beta blockers will lower your stress levels and aspirin thin your blood. Has your cardiologist suggested anything else? Have they mentioned cardioversion - an electric shock to put you back in rhythm, although not suitable for everyone and doesn't always work, there is also cardiac ablation which is reasonably effective. If they suggest amiodarone or dronedarone as drug treatment I would be wary, as they can cause lung problems. Your cardiologist is the person to help you. As has been said, eat healthily, exercise as far as you can and try to ignore it. Lots of people live with AF and have blood thinners to prevent stroke. I have had AF off and on for 9 years, caused by congenital heart disease, and am in AF at present, as the eleventh cardioversion didn't work, so they now are considering the next step. As long as you follow the sensible advice and treatment you should be ok but the main advice is ask your cardiologist, I hope you are seeing them soon.
Good luck
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