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.
Hello everyone: I have a question to ask and wonder if anyone would know the answer? I have developed and been diagnosed with afib fairly suddenly. In the beginning would get mild heart palps on and off for years, but was told it was nothing. Then one day I got a very fast heartbeat, it happened several times and finally ended with me getting cardioconversion. Every time I have the fast heartbeat I noticed I also had a stomach issue, it felt pinched? or sore and strange in my upper stomach especially if I lifted anything.
So needless to say anyone who has has afib, its scary, and really turns your life upside down. I was afraid to go anywhere for fear my heart would go up to 160 and I would be dizzy, couldn't breathe, and generally felt pretty bad.
I was put on small doses of beta blockers and they increased it and added other drugs to slow my heart to keep it steady, well nothing really worked. I was so frustrated. I was in afib daily... sometimes to a point of going to the hospital sometimes I rode it out and stayed home.
So because my stomach was so uncomfortable I wanted to have a test to see what was going on, and they discovered I had a hiatal hernia. I asked 2 specialists if this hernia could cause this? they told me that they can cause afib in some people, sometimes due to the size of the hernia but also due to the acid affecting the vagus nerve.
So I started to research this and discovered a lot of information on the subject , that it certainly can cause it. So since then I have been trying to get rid of the hernia if I can, weight loss, not eating late at night, and watching what I eat .
So when I don't have a stomach problem my heart problem goes away.. when I have terrible acid stomach and heartburn or a knot in my upper stomach the heart palps are back.. So my question is my doctor says I am a candidate for ablation .. so how would it work where I have a hernia causing the afib .. so if that the case how could ablation work? would the hernia just continue to cause afib if the hernia remains after ablation?
Also I thought they scar the tissue on your heart to keep it from taking that electrical path .. but if its caused my a hernia would there be anything to scar? to burn off ? They obviously have a machine or test to show there are pathways that are not correct.. that is what they scar the incorrect pathways, so your heart returns to its normal rhythm, ...If this is caused by a hernia can they tell if the pathways are normal or needing to have this ablation?
Or can a hernia cause the heart to take a different electrical pathway? from it pushing against your heart? I am really confused ...excuse my ignorance in this... just don't quite know how it works.. thank you all... Yannie
So needless to say anyone who has has afib, its scary, and really turns your life upside down. I was afraid to go anywhere for fear my heart would go up to 160 and I would be dizzy, couldn't breathe, and generally felt pretty bad.
I was put on small doses of beta blockers and they increased it and added other drugs to slow my heart to keep it steady, well nothing really worked. I was so frustrated. I was in afib daily... sometimes to a point of going to the hospital sometimes I rode it out and stayed home.
So because my stomach was so uncomfortable I wanted to have a test to see what was going on, and they discovered I had a hiatal hernia. I asked 2 specialists if this hernia could cause this? they told me that they can cause afib in some people, sometimes due to the size of the hernia but also due to the acid affecting the vagus nerve.
So I started to research this and discovered a lot of information on the subject , that it certainly can cause it. So since then I have been trying to get rid of the hernia if I can, weight loss, not eating late at night, and watching what I eat .
So when I don't have a stomach problem my heart problem goes away.. when I have terrible acid stomach and heartburn or a knot in my upper stomach the heart palps are back.. So my question is my doctor says I am a candidate for ablation .. so how would it work where I have a hernia causing the afib .. so if that the case how could ablation work? would the hernia just continue to cause afib if the hernia remains after ablation?
Also I thought they scar the tissue on your heart to keep it from taking that electrical path .. but if its caused my a hernia would there be anything to scar? to burn off ? They obviously have a machine or test to show there are pathways that are not correct.. that is what they scar the incorrect pathways, so your heart returns to its normal rhythm, ...If this is caused by a hernia can they tell if the pathways are normal or needing to have this ablation?
Or can a hernia cause the heart to take a different electrical pathway? from it pushing against your heart? I am really confused ...excuse my ignorance in this... just don't quite know how it works.. thank you all... Yannie
I would get the ablation scheduled sooner than later as afib will only get worse over time. The sooner you "catch it" (i.e. the sooner you get ablated), the best chance you have of beating it.
In the mean time, definitely address the hiatal hernia. You have to attack afib at all angles - improve diet and lifestyle, eliminate any known triggers (in your case the hernia), and traditional treatments (specifically ablation). No one approach will work alone if your goal is to truly cure yourself of it...and in many cases even if you do everything right, you may never cure yourself of it.
Travis
I respectfully disagree with ablation as first line treatment. Heres why, you can ablate and if the stomach issue isnt addressed, you may still go into Afib. Even if you dont go into AF, your stomach could still be impacting a nerve to your heart and cause PVCs, which is quite common in ablated patients. Not nearly as annoying or dangerous, however, highly likely. I think youve been given a pretty definitive diagnosis on your stomach as a possible cause of AF. (when I don't have a stomach problem my heart....)
Heres a thought, take care of that first, you can always ablate later. Regards.
petey