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.
Greetings everyone. I've read through several threads here and I'm very impressed by the kindness, compassion and support you offer to each other. I look forward to sharing information and ideas with you. Like so many here my journey with AFIB has been a difficult one but I feel better now than I have in 15+ years. Treatments are improving and more and more Physicians are gaining the skills necessary to improve the quality of life for AFIB patients.
Yesterday marked 6 months since my catheter ablation to treat my paroxysmal AFIB. With the exception of a few minor arrhythmias within 8 weeks of the surgery I have otherwise been AFIB free. My story is similar to many who have struggled with this unwelcome guest in our lives.
My AFIB started when I was 38, in a couple of weeks I'll be 55. I've been a very active person my whole life and always kept in shape, mainly running 10 - 12 miles a week in the years prior to diagnosis.
In the beginning anxiety was my main symptom, the sensation was strange and frightening but in time I came to grips with it. Once I knew it would pass and my heart would beat on I was ok with the help of a daily beta blocker(metoprolol) and 325 mg aspirin. I tried for a very long time to identify the triggers for my episodes and I kept a log of each episode and the length of the episodes. I eventually abandoned the search for rhyme and reason with my AFIB and accepted it as a condition that I would just have to deal with the best I could. I did eliminate caffeine(I sure miss that good cup of morning Joe) and for about 9 years I was able to cope fairly well.
Then things changed gradually. My AFIB became more frequent and the episodes lasted longer. Instead of hours I was starting to string together days. The worst part was that I went into AFIB every time I would lay down to sleep (if I wasn't in AFIB already). I was sleeping on average of 2-4 hours a night for 5-6 years and there were many nights I didn't sleep at all. Many times I would go to work with one to two nights in a row of no sleep and surprisingly I was able to function decently. The brutal cycle of no sleep causing more AFIB and the AFIB not allowing me to sleep had now become the norm. I was now in AFIB 60-70% of the time. As bad as things were I was still dead set against taking an anti-arrhythmic medication, mainly in fear of the side effects and thought of hospitalization to start the drug.
In July of 2011 I suffered a TIA. I don't like the term "mini-stroke" because I don't see anything mini about being paralyzed and unable to speak. My CHAD score was as low as it could go and yet I still had the TIA, aspirin was obviously not enough. This event changed everything, and was a huge wake up call. I realized then that I had accepted my condition to a fault. I essentially coexisted with it as it slowly started to choke out my quality of life and nearly worse. I reached a point where enough was enough, I wanted to be able to do the things I enjoyed and I wanted to sleep again.
In the past 10 years I have been blessed with the treatment of an amazing electrophysiologist and the finest physician I've ever known. Together our plan was to try and wait for the ablation procedure to become less risky since it was in its infancy at the time I was diagnosed and I was young and in good physical condition. My EP was one of a few leading pioneers in the field and I asked him back then if he would be my surgeon if it came to that and he said yes. 6 months ago he made good on his promise and today I can lay my head on the pillow and night in a quiet room and hear nothing but the normal sinus rhythm of my heart. It's like a sedative, I had forgotten what it was like to sleep for 6 hours in a row. Words cannot describe.
I've rambled long enough, and I apologize for that burning sensation in your eyes. :-) I'll be happy to give more details on my experiences and ablation or help in any way that I can. I hope that knowing my story will give those struggling some encouragement and hope for better days ahead. Best wishes everyone.
Steve
Yesterday marked 6 months since my catheter ablation to treat my paroxysmal AFIB. With the exception of a few minor arrhythmias within 8 weeks of the surgery I have otherwise been AFIB free. My story is similar to many who have struggled with this unwelcome guest in our lives.
My AFIB started when I was 38, in a couple of weeks I'll be 55. I've been a very active person my whole life and always kept in shape, mainly running 10 - 12 miles a week in the years prior to diagnosis.
In the beginning anxiety was my main symptom, the sensation was strange and frightening but in time I came to grips with it. Once I knew it would pass and my heart would beat on I was ok with the help of a daily beta blocker(metoprolol) and 325 mg aspirin. I tried for a very long time to identify the triggers for my episodes and I kept a log of each episode and the length of the episodes. I eventually abandoned the search for rhyme and reason with my AFIB and accepted it as a condition that I would just have to deal with the best I could. I did eliminate caffeine(I sure miss that good cup of morning Joe) and for about 9 years I was able to cope fairly well.
Then things changed gradually. My AFIB became more frequent and the episodes lasted longer. Instead of hours I was starting to string together days. The worst part was that I went into AFIB every time I would lay down to sleep (if I wasn't in AFIB already). I was sleeping on average of 2-4 hours a night for 5-6 years and there were many nights I didn't sleep at all. Many times I would go to work with one to two nights in a row of no sleep and surprisingly I was able to function decently. The brutal cycle of no sleep causing more AFIB and the AFIB not allowing me to sleep had now become the norm. I was now in AFIB 60-70% of the time. As bad as things were I was still dead set against taking an anti-arrhythmic medication, mainly in fear of the side effects and thought of hospitalization to start the drug.
In July of 2011 I suffered a TIA. I don't like the term "mini-stroke" because I don't see anything mini about being paralyzed and unable to speak. My CHAD score was as low as it could go and yet I still had the TIA, aspirin was obviously not enough. This event changed everything, and was a huge wake up call. I realized then that I had accepted my condition to a fault. I essentially coexisted with it as it slowly started to choke out my quality of life and nearly worse. I reached a point where enough was enough, I wanted to be able to do the things I enjoyed and I wanted to sleep again.
In the past 10 years I have been blessed with the treatment of an amazing electrophysiologist and the finest physician I've ever known. Together our plan was to try and wait for the ablation procedure to become less risky since it was in its infancy at the time I was diagnosed and I was young and in good physical condition. My EP was one of a few leading pioneers in the field and I asked him back then if he would be my surgeon if it came to that and he said yes. 6 months ago he made good on his promise and today I can lay my head on the pillow and night in a quiet room and hear nothing but the normal sinus rhythm of my heart. It's like a sedative, I had forgotten what it was like to sleep for 6 hours in a row. Words cannot describe.
I've rambled long enough, and I apologize for that burning sensation in your eyes. :-) I'll be happy to give more details on my experiences and ablation or help in any way that I can. I hope that knowing my story will give those struggling some encouragement and hope for better days ahead. Best wishes everyone.
Steve
My "TIA" was a tiny spec on the MRI but the head neurosurgen also told me I had 2 other tiny ones that were much older that I never knew about. He told me this is a common finding in people our age as he put it. He suspects cyrptonic (silent) strokes most likely caused by silent afib. Mine wasn't as terrifying as it only lasted 7-10 mins. My friend and boss at work who is a man of faith unlike myself knew I was having a rough day and he came to my cubicle right at that moment like an angel took one look at me and asked me "are you alright...you don't look well" nothing came out but a dumb smile...eery I could not their questions into words...what time is it....who are you....where are you...when were you born.....he told me don't play with me I'm calling 911.....he yelled to my other Boss to come over and take a look at me and he yelled stroke or he's high on something. I was good to go home at the ER after I passed every neurological test and CAT scan came back clean. So if we have to take a pill for life so be it to prevent a another paralyzing one. They are devices like the Lariet procedure and the watchman device the occlude the LAA that prevent most afib clots.
As far as exercise is concerned I was a gym rat growing up playing basketball day and night, biking to the beach, jogging and heavy weight lifting with the last 15 years never missing a week. Four years ago I benched 405lbs at 51 years old thinking with guys half my age amazed. Ha little did I know the stress I was putting on my heart and pulmonary veins. Yes too much or extreme workouts is now recognized as being more detrimental to your health. That's why you're seeing more people our age developing this disease. In hind sight I was getting flutters for years not realizing what they were.
Steve
I hear ya about the TV ads. That seems to be the new trend in the legal world. I feel for those having suffered bad side effects from any medication but scaring the majority that don't isn't a positive for necessary treatment.
I have checked out Dr. Mandrola's website and I check back from time to time for updates and new articles. Thanks for mentioning it.
McHale,
The recent reports about extreme exercise and its affect on the heart are interesting. It does make me wonder if my distance running for 15 years changed my heart on a cellular level. There's no history of arrhythmia in my family to my knowledge so the running does raise a question of the role it may have played for me. I don't spend much time pondering it since that horse has left the barn. I'm not likely to run long distance at my age, even in my prime I was only running 2-3 miles a day or every other day. Right now I aim for 30 minutes of elevated heart rhythm a day and getting good sleep each night.