I've discovered I may possible have seasonal, or allergic asthma. I see my doctor on Friday. Does anyone on the forum have asthma and do medications trigger a-fib episodes? Thanks for any responses.
A-fib with asthma.: I've discovered I... - Atrial Fibrillati...
A-fib with asthma.
Hi there, I have mild asthma which is controlled with a steroid inhaler which hasn't triggered my AF. But I have a salbutamol inhaler too which I won't use because it makes my heart a bit jumpy I think. Luckily I don't need it.
Yes, my asthma is moderate so I take a combi inhaler. The thing you have to remember is that asthma can be unexpectedly fatal whereas AF very rarely is, so if you need medication you should take it. Asthma trumps AF.
I didn't know that, Buffafly. Thanks for the information. I'll be having a very in-depth talk with my doctor on Friday!
I was going to say something similar, but Buffafly said it better. My cardiologist also says the risks of asthma meds triggering a-fib are so low compared to the risks of the damage asthma will cause, including cardiac risks, that its a non discussion. if you have asthma, do what you need to do to prevent it.
Several times cardiologists have tried to explain to me, but for some reason I do not remember the detail. There is an interaction between the asthma itself and the heart. Therefore it is very important to treat the asthma. I think there is a system of levels for asthma treatment, and doctors keep you on the lowest level as long as possible. Doctors say my own heart problems were probably made worse by my mild (and often under-treated) asthma.
That is what happened to my father. He developed COPD with the AF and the two conditions interacted.
I’ve been asthmatic all my life (now 63), diagnosed with PAF 8 years ago. Originally tried to treat this with my salbutamol inhaler (surprisingly didn’t work very well……). Two ablations later, I’m managing both really well. Tried to come off my preventor inhaler, as didn’t want to take all these meds, but that just made my astma worse….Now being a good boy, taking my seretide inhaler daily as well as my heart meds. Yes, salbutamol DOES make your heart go funny (fast and light beats), but being able to breathe trumps this! Talking to both cardiologist and asthma specialist reassured me that this was a short term affect only. Sorry for such a long post, hope it helps and good luck on Friday
I have AF & asthma - tend to find if I get asthma through chest infection it sets the AF off, even viral I know something is brewing by the HR and palpitations getting worse.
If you have allergies some antihistamines can affect you - I found Piriton gave me palpitations
If you take Ventolin (reliever Salbutamol) - if you are using it very frequently during attack that can raise the HR & make you feel bit shaky
Always check with pharmacist/GP before taking anything new
If you need salbutamol frequently you need a cortisone inhaler which reduces the need for the reliever, as Tototcx says.
Beta blockers are a frequent rate medication for afib patients. These are contraindicated when asthma is present.
That is what I thought, and betablockers often are contraindicated with asthma. In mild asthma, probably the wording is "use with caution under specialist supervision". Last December the doctors had me in hospital, and each day they tweaked the package and saw what effect it had. They steadily increased the dosage of betablocker up to 5mg and saw that my asthma was no worse and was controllable with only Salbutamol.
That's great!! All the beta blockers are a little different, some more "selective" than others. The trick (to get a little technical) is to keep the activity on the cardiac beta receptors, and minimize the effect on other types of beta receptors in the airways-blocking those receptors in the airway can lead to constriction of the airways, which you certainly don't want! Great news for you, they found the right "potion"!!