I'm thinking about what I have to live for actually. My uncle died at 97. He had breakfast took a nap on his recliner and died in his sleep. He was religious and accepted that he had a long life and that he would die soon when I spoke with him shortly before he died. And he had a smile on his face when he told me that... like he had conquered the death thing. I want to live until 97. I haven't accepted death yet, so I figure if I live that long, it will give me plenty of time to work it out in my head. :-) BTW, my uncle had no strokes, no cancer, no heart attacks, no COPD, no anything. That is my goal. Oh, j have to check my lottery ticket. petey

At 84 sure. Got my will did a couple years ago and my MPOA and living will and POA. I thought had it all done. Bank VP says no and she had that fixed. I had gotten letter and took to bank for them to have what it was. letter did not amount to anything I had to change. But it was a round at the bank. My son was with me. This is part of being or getting ready for death. My doctor said he thought U had a good many years yet, Call it what you want.

If you have afib, you've certainly thought about death. There's no way not to. Even though it's not a death sentence, many of us didn't know that when we were first diagnosed.

There are so many people in the world who died far before their time - children who never got the chance to see the world and enjoy all the bittersweet flavors of the human experience.

I'm only 39 - still relatively young, but if I were to die tomorrow, I'd have no regrets. I've experienced the entire range of joy and pain a body can experience. I've known love and loss. By any measure, I've participated in this circus we call life for much longer than many get the privilege to. So when my day comes, I will meet my maker with a full heart.

Plus, I'm still holding out for science to create that magic pill that allows human beings to live forever. Or, at the very least (as science fiction continually promises us), that I will have the opportunity to upload my consciousness and thus achieve immortality. Hey, it could happen.

This thread put me in such a weird mood, I re-watched "Bucket List" while I was lifting weights today.

Geez, what a thread to start the new year!

At 66 every time I get a pain, I think I'm coming up with a terminal illness. I hate those days! I'd much rather focus on getting some more of the projects I have in mind accomplished. Yes, at 66, there are still things in life that I want to accomplish. I AIN'T GOIN WITHOUT A FIGHT! Kicking and Screaming that me!

I know. I wish I wasn't such a realist. I use to work in a nursing home when I was younger and my genetics are not that good according to my current situation and family history. I have to look for the bright side somewhere. I guess Im a quality over quantity person. I was able to stay in fantasy land for most of my life though.

I've heard it said that you only live once. I don't think that's true. You only die once - you live every day.

I'm 51, and have spent my adult life trying to buck the gene pool. Dad died at 57 from a massive heart attack. Ditto, his (only) baby brother, the next year, at 53.

Then I got my afib and flutter about 15 months ago, and it's getting worse.

With a history of serious drug reactions, I've been unable to take all the usual meds. Metoprolol (I risked it) is ineffective in my case.

Like you say ... hard not to do the math.

On January 3rd, I passed out, alone in the house. Put a tidy hole in the drywall, but basically okay. I've come close lots of times, but always had enough notice to get off my feet. Not this time.

Moved from paroxysmal to persistent around Christmas. A bad upper respiratory infection, this week, actually converted me, as my (high of) 103.8* fever broke.

Yahoo !

Doc's sending me to the Cleveland Clinic.

Been swapping phone calls with their head of Cardiac Electrophysiology and Pacing. Preliminary thought is AV Node Ablation and pacemaker.

Which leaves you with afib ... which leaves you needing (at least) thinners ... or ... if you're symptomatic ... as I have been the whole time .... more drugs than that.

So ... yeah ... I've been replaying the movie of my life since 2016 started ;-)

Geez, we have a lot in commom. We never did an autopsy on my father but he was passing out prior to his last episode. They said massive heart attack, dead before he hit the ground. This was back in 1987. We are pretty sure now it was a lethal arrhythmia. Id like to live forever but at this point 70 is looking really good, but if I make that I'll be saying 80 probably. Hang in there man, I think we can do it!

Well, we all know that tomorrow is promised to no one, 5 years ago I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. It was caught at an early stage, so they just removed the kidney, and just 2 years ago I was diagnosed with bladder cancer. It too was caught at an early stage and removed. But, even though I suffer from major depression, and now a-fib I still feel pretty lucky I've lasted 50 years so far, but don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind lasting another 50.

My father died at age 53, cardiac arrest, his father died at 40, cardiac arrest. As I sit at age 47, with persistent AFIB and mild to moderate mitral valve regurgitation, I sometimes wonder how many years till things start to fall apart and wear out. I would like to think I have at least 25-30 years until things start to break down or wear out. I am not a big fan of surgery (last ablation I had was nearly fatal outcome) and I hope that my mitral valve holds up nicely until I am done with it. I believe for individuals with a high risk of SCD, some doctors implant an internal cardiac defibrillator (ICD). I work with a woman whose husband was recently outfitted with one of these. His heart has been weakened due to heart attack and he was told he is at high risk for SCD. This device will shock his heart in the event he has a lethal arrhythmia.

But.on the other hand, my mother who has been living with on and off arrhythmias, palpitation and occasional bouts of afib just turned 80 last October. She feels great and still needs her sleeping pills every night before going to bed. She said, thats what you need when you lived in poverty and with anxiety for over half of your life. My mother raised 6 kids and we did certainly not lived the big life.
My grandmother had 16 kids and lived to 92 and many of those years were in great poverty. She had 3 cancers in her life and every time she came back on top. Sometimes its all about genes. My father lived until 70. He had diabetes, a few heart attacks and 2 strokes before the second one took him a few days later. He never complained of afib or arrhythmias of any kind.
My cardiologist (well respected in the region) told me that even tho I have a history of flutter and afib with an extra PACS/PVCs order on the side that I was at no greater risk of Sudden Cardiac Arrest that anyone else in the general population. He also said that afib when treated has no bearing on life span (longevity). He finally said that the CAUSE of your afib or arrhythmias needs to be looked at and treated accordingly. Afib alone is not dangerous even on the long run when treated properly for rate control and stroke prevention.
Like many of you pointed to me before. Live now and dont worry about death so much.

Think big! Lol

Scooby

My dad died at 78 of a heart attack and Alzheimer's. He had afib with mitral valve prolapse. His dad died at 69 of SCD. My dad's brother died at about 90. He also had an arrhythmia and Alzheimer's. My mother's father died in his early 80s of a stroke. He was being wheeled into the operating room and a doctor asked him something. His last words, "nobody home". :-)

I'm 65. This weekend, Saturday, I ran a workout with my running club running a slightly hilly 0.66 miles in around 4:30 four times with about 5 and half minutes rest between each loop. I wasn't feeling very good for the workout. Sunday, I had talked to two friends into joining a group for a run on the 10 mile, 2000 ft. climb and descent, Berry Creek Falls loop trail in Big Basin State Park. I got up Sunday morning feeling pretty bad. No fever but did not feel good. Couldn't eat. Had very little sleep because of muscle and joint discomfort, some nausea, and several trips to the toilet. Grabbed a cup of coffee for the caffeine, picked up my friends and drove for about 90 minutes to get to the park. The run, turned into more of a walk/run and find a tree experience. Probably a couple of dozen trees got the benefit of my attention. It rained the entire time. Mud and steep trails made the footing a bit dicey. I finished but it was very difficult. Afterwards, I took my friends to lunch. They ate. I couldn't. Too sick. Called the doctor when I got home that evening and ended up with an antibiotic for a UTI or prostatitis. Was it worth it? Yup. Great friends. It was beautiful and I was pleased to return there again. I knew I could finish even if it was ugly. I wasn't the last finisher. I loved the great scenery with the Redwoods and three water falls running full. Saw a young couple with a very young daughter walking a little ways along the trail. I gave them a big smile and gave few words of encouragement to the little girl in her pink rubber boots. It made me happy to see them. Got a lot of sleep Sunday night and rested most of the day Monday.

Having afib, pleurisy, pulmonary embolisms and a few close calls in accidents bring home the idea that I won't live forever. But it also brings home the idea that while I can, I have to do the things that are possible now. I have been given a life and I need to take every advantage of it that I can. I'm good at some things and terrible at others so I focus on things that I'm good at.

I have a mind, body and spirit. If my body isn't doing well, it does not mean that my mind and spirit can't be feeling great. I get seasick but love sailing on the ocean. Barfing over the side is a minor inconvenience compared to the tremendous exhilaration of sailing, tacking, or putting up the spinnaker, or having a whale unexpectedly appear next to the boat. My mind takes it in. My spirit soars and the minor discomfort of my body is lost in the magic of the moment.

Death is inevitable. Nothing I can do about it. But while I can, I want to participate as fully as possible in the world around me.

One last thought for keeppumping, I was listening to Doctor Radio yesterday on SiriusXM, a program on Healthy Aging. I caught a snippet of their conversation when they said that only about 10% of the population dies in their sleep and for many, it's not as pleasant as you might think. There are other things to explore (not suicide) that can make our passing as easy as possible. Interesting program.

That was awesome post thank you Ultra