Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group
Atrial fibrillation (AF or afib) is an abnormal heart rhythm (cardiac arrhythmia) which involves the two small, upper heart chambers (the atria). Heart beats in a normal heart begin after electricity generated in the atria by the sinoatrial node spread through the heart and cause contraction of the heart muscle and pumping of blood.
Just an update to my ongoing saga :) I just got back from the doctors. I hadnt been feeling very good or sleeping well over the last couple of weeks so I went to see my doctor. Long story short, I was in Afib in his office. Starting a 1/2 of 80mg tablet of Verapamil 1 hour before bedtime each evening to see if it agrees with me. My heartrate has been jumping up consistently into the 120s to 150s for a few days now and has not been wanting to settle down into the 90s for more than a few seconds/ or minutes. I wake up several times a night because of my heartbeat. Doctor says we need get the rate under control. Wish me luck :) I hope it works out. I havent had luck with prior rate meds before but am hopeful that the low dose of Verapamil will agree with me. I go back for a Holter monitor next month to see how the medication is working out. What a roller coaster...Thanks for letting me vent. :)
So sorry to hear that you had afib again. I am also surprised that you don't feel it when you are in afib. I feel it right away even if it is only in the 70-80"s. I have been in the 120"s but I had to go to ER then as I couldn't stand up for a cardioconversion. I hope today is a better day for you.
Friday I am going for my 6th cardioconversion. Preliminary before an ablation in November. I don't think this one will hold either. But very hopeful that I am surprised.
Yes, this is so annoying. Is your energy low when you are in afib?
Hello Biya: Thanks for your comments. I have been feeling tired but nothing extraordinary. I dont feel much of anything anymore if in Afib. Sometimes I feel a quick fluttering but do not feel my heart pounding or racing unless I am lying down. Good luck with your cardioversion and I wish you good luck in November with your ablation. Please keep us all posted on your progress :)
I'm so sorry to hear this. You will get it figured out again! I'm glad to hear that it's not causing you too much discomfort though. So, is Verapamil like metoprolol or atenolol? Like a BP med? I really hope this helps for you! Hang in there!
Kelly
so sorry to hear about this recurrence of AF. This thing is such a hard thing to get rid of totally and forever!!
Hope the verapamil keeps you under control and out of AF period!!!
Take care!
Thanks for asking about me. My heart still fip flops and im' not sure what it is. Hopefully not AF or AT. It just does it for a short time so far. I just always feel that at any time it could go into AF and not stop. The smallest stress will cause it to beat abnormally.
I'm off Tikosyn for now. Just on Pradaxa. Have an appt with EP next month. We will see what he wants to do .Probably some type of monitor...
Hope you STAY in NSR!!
I just read an article last night that may help - suggesting breathing techniques to slow your heart rate. I am going to try it myself since I am on a beta blocker to keep my HR down. In a study some people slowed their resting heart rates by 13 beats per minute.
Sit up straight. With your mouth closed, rapidly inhale and exhale. After 10 breaths, inhale once as deeply as possible, hold for 2 seconds or longer, then exhale slowly. Rest for 5 normal breaths and begin again. doing a total of 3 rounds.
It seems benign enough and I am hoping to get off BB. It is probably some form of meditation. I hope this helps. Joan
I had an appt with my cardiologist today and he my husband and myself have agreed to try another ablation. He feels like I do that the Multaq is causing the bradycardia and is not working that well now. I had cut it back a couple of months ago to see how I felt and I felt like my old self before this long journey. He feels that if this works this time I can be off the meds and after a period of time the coumadin also. I don't want to try Tikosyn and I have failed at multiple others so I think this maybe the route to go. I really feel like I need to try this. If I still need a pacer then I will deal with that also. I am waiting to hear about an appt. I want this done this year since half my deductible is already done because of the cardioversions. Thanks for asking, you are always in my thoughts and please take care.