Paraxysmal A.F

[Jodiedebs55]

Just had a scary afternoon had to call an ambulance I had a racing heart and it was erratic scared the life out of me he did an ECG and said borderline diabetes and suspected paraxysmal AF which was also suspected a year ago and gp didn't follow it up I'm to go to gp Monday have bloods done and a 24 hour ECG and will probably be prescribed blood thinners any one else had this ? He said its sometimes known to effect people with hyperthyroidism but I'm hypo?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

jodiedebs55

I have had something similar, started about 15 months ago. 3 days of on/off high heart rate, reached 179bpm at it's highest. Ended up in A&E but long wait to see a doctor - 7 hours after leaving home I saw a doctor for about 3 minutes who said everything was normal and go home.

Second episode I called an ambulance but didn't go to A&E as heart rate didn't sustain over 120, again it was erratic, but I didn't want to waste time like before anyway.

I was told it was "sporadic tachycardia".

24 hour monitor, 2 week monitor, ECGs. Episodes of tachycardia and ectopic heartbeats showed but told nothing bad enough to be referred to cardiology.

I've had 8 episodes in 7 months. Went 9 months without any then another episode 2 nights ago. Can't get to see cardiology but I did have a heart ultrasound (which discovered a mitral valve prolapse and mild heart failure but still no appointment to see cardiology).

Suggested I take a diuretic (puffy ankles), but I use a natural one instead as prescribe ones deplete electrolytes which should be monitored regularly and that wasn't suggested.

No blood thinners suggested.

I'm Hypo with perfect FT4/FT3 (TSH always suppressed in the 25 years I've been recording my results).

[Hidden in reply to SeasideSusie]

Mitral valve stenosis or prolapse needs prompt referral. Sometimes you can get heart valve problems with an infection. The infection may not show up in blood tests, as it is localised. If it were me I would ask for a referral to a cardiac specialist. As you have a thyroid condition as well, you should be considered more at risk. Heart problems may run in families - it is just as well to go back to a GP for cardiac appointment asap. Three of my husbands relatives have had mitral valve failure and have had ops.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Hidden]

The surgery has already written twice to Cardiology, it's Cardiology who wont give the appointment. Heart problems do run in the family, it's rife, the surgery has full details of heart history. All I have been given is a follow up at the Valve Clinic in 2 years' time.

[Hidden in reply to SeasideSusie]

This is unacceptable. You might find going privately to a heart consultant who works on the NHS for a second opinion, may help. I found I could be referred through the NHS for from the private consultant as treatment as the waiting list was so long. You are entitled to as second opinion. If you have difficulty with one doctor you could try another who might help you for a referral. I had to fight for over 3 years for a scan for skin cancer as I was told I had sebaceous warts! A bit of a misdiagnosis with stage 3 melanoma.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to SeasideSusie]

MVP is often linked to hypothyroidism, especially Hashimoto's

verywellhealth.com/mitral-v...

[Jodiedebs55 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Wow that's awful , this is my second time having to call an ambulance he took my pulse and noticed missed beats immediately, my left ankle is extremely puffy twice the size of the other one he picked up on that and said fluid retention it's the 2nd time a paramedic has suggested paroxysmal A.F my mother and sister both have atrial fibrillation, I'm booked in for both thyroid bloods and blood test for this condition on Monday so il update, but the paramedic said I should ask for blood thinners because if this condition is left untreated it can turn to clots and they break off then go to different areas of the body and can cause stroke or worse , I was worried sick when he left though I did like the advice he gave about not standing for the " it's a symptom of thyroid disease " because this should not go untreated, it's very scary when it happens I know that much

[shaws Administrator in reply to SeasideSusie]

It's no fun when your heart races so high but 179 bpm must have been awful.

I hope you have now recovered as it does shake one up.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to shaws]

It's no fun when your heart races so high but 179 bpm must have been awful.

It was at the time, and blood pressure was 197/109 when paramedics tested at home

When I got to A&E I was waiting in the ambulance queue for 2.5 hours outside with no triage before finally getting onto the ward. Then I had a one minute ECG, and one blood pressure test immediately, then left for 3 hours with nobody checking me at all. (Didn't have any family with me for company either.) Then the doctor listened to my heart, declared I was fine and said I could go home. I know they're busy, but my goodness that left a lot to be desired. I thought at least I'd be on a monitor so they'd have a good idea of how my heart was behaving during that long wait.

[shaws Administrator in reply to SeasideSusie]

There;s nothing worse than being left for ages not knowing why your heart has sped up as it is very scary, to say the least.

I had severe palps on levo and I had to calm them down with ice-cold water, suck ice-cubes and wrap ice-cold towels round neck. It did work mind you. A wonder I didn't get frostbite 🙁 It always happened during the night for some reason. Thankfully T3 calmed everything down.

[cjrsquared]

Many people develop atrial fibrillation with an estimated 10% of people over the age of 75. Most of these do not have any underlying thyroid disorder. It would be interesting to know the percentage of people both hypo and hyperthyroid who suffer from this complaint. Personally I believe many medics are too quick to blame thyroid medication especially when ft3 and ft4 are well within range. You need comprehensive thyroid bloods not just TSH, and only if ft3 and ft4 are high would I accept that this might be a contributory cause. Please don’t let your doctor reduce your medication without this being investigated fully.

[Jodiedebs55 in reply to cjrsquared]

I self medicate with NDT and theres no way I'd take his advice if he advised me to reduce it, I know more about my thyroid disease than he does mainly due to my seeking advice from this forum which always makes absolute sense and his advice doesn't, I appreciate your reply 😁

[shaws Administrator in reply to Jodiedebs55]

It is best to go by our instinct when dealing with hypo as I think that the professionals don't really have a clue how a a 'symptom' can actually affect the patient.

[cjrsquared in reply to Jodiedebs55]

Atrial fibrillation causes turbulent blood flow in the atria as they don’t contract in a rhythmic manner. The turbulence can trigger the clotting cascade leading to clot formation which can then pass into the ventricles and then either to the lungs or more worryingly to the aorta and brain. Anticoagulants reduce the risk of clot formation and therefore stroke and pulmonary embolism. If your heart rate remains fast beta blockers such as bisoprolol can slow down and in some cases reverse the arrhythmia. You may also be offfered cardioversion where an electrical current is passed through the heart in an attempt to reboot the electrical system. There are also other antiarrhythmic drugs which can be helpful, but you need to consider risks benefits carefully. I wish you well.

[Jodiedebs55 in reply to cjrsquared]

Thankyou that is exactly how the paramedic explained it to me thankyou for the reply

[FancyPants54]

This has been confirmed to me too, today. By phone. Which I think is terrible. I was shocked and anxious as hell. In the past I’ve had the odd attack of AF lasting from a few hours to a couple of days. But it’s been constant for over 2 weeks now. I hate it. I have been on beta blockers for a week. They do help to calm me down. Today they have insisted on blood thinners. I am scared of them and don’t want them. But I will have to take them for now. I asked for a cardiology referral, which he agreed to do for me. If it’s an age, I will see if I can go privately initially.

I want to know what’s happening. What the future holds. It has stressed me half to death today. I am still not optimally medicated for my thyroid.

[shaws Administrator in reply to FancyPants54]

That would be a shock to get news over the phone. I am sorry you've had it for two weeks now and it isvery scary if you heart plays up as well as having hypo, especially if you're on your own.

I hope you feel better soon.

[FancyPants54 in reply to shaws]

Thank you. It’s so impersonal to be told over the phone. I tried to make an appointment but was told it is unnecessary. Ridiculous really as I will make an appointment next week anyway because there’s something wrong with my ear and I wanted to discuss an HRT related issue. I will pick the kind lady GP this time and see if I can talk to her about the AF too.

[shaws Administrator in reply to FancyPants54]

Yes, that's the best idea and to give patients information without actually making the effort to reasure them is not the best way, plus not seeing a patient face-to-face so that we might absorb information we really don't understand and they should expand and reassure the patient.