my family know that I have AF..i don't really tell other people unless I have an episode while im with them..a lot of people don't even know what Af is...I find it hard enough living with this without everyone around me knowing..i would hate to be treated differently..i think that's my fear..

Much like you Marikay, only my immediate family and a couple close friends know I have Afib. When I was going to school and working, I was under a lot of stress. One day, in class, the instructor wanted me to help him demostrate applying a pressure dressing. He bandaged my arm and demonstrated to the class how you take the pulse after banadaging. He felt my pulse and looked up at me and said "Are you alright?" I was so embarrassed because I knew my pulse was flying most likely around 150! I quickly answered- "I must have drank too much coffee this morning" and quick found my seat : I didnt want anyone to think anything was "wrong" with me :)

I am an open book....everyone knows. I have new friends now, because they told me they have it too. The difference is, I am retired, so I hang out with retired folks.

Sorry for all the terrible spelling in my post. Geez! :) Talk about embarrassing :)

Marikay,
As you may have noticed from my posts, I am a "tell all" kind of person...strangers on the street know I have afib. I will say this, once you mention things to people, you find out "Oh, my Mom/Dad/sister/brother/I" have that same condition. I told a co-worker at my second job about my anxiety attack, and it turns out she has been having them for years, so now we discuss that. My favorite reaction though had to be, when I told my Reserve First Sergeant that I was "losing my mind!" She said "What does that feel like?" I just laughed, cuz it is so hard to describe if you haven't been through it. Damn scary is the only way I can describe it, but many people here who have had an anxiety attack know that.

Oh yeah, if you have any winning lottery numbers, PLEASE share!

Bill

I use discretion and tell people as appropriate for the situation. I don't like to label myself with AF. In fact, I tell my self every day that "in the past, I had AF." I like to open up the possibilities in the future for no more episodes.

Telling people at work is the hardest for me. I don't want to appear as not being capable but I also need to tell certain people especially when I am traveling with them.

I think it is a difficult issue to grapple with-- how much do you say and how much do you keep private. I find that it scares people and they are not always sure how to interact with me or what to say. The important thing is to not feel shameful. In my opinion, everyone has something they have to deal with in their life-- and this just happens to be mine.

Thank you for asking the question marikay234. It was a good one for me to process for myself.

Best, JoAnna

I'm like you, Yoga. It's nothing to be ashamed of... and needs more publicity so that there's more research done on better treatments and a cure.

Plus you'll find that just about everybody over 40 has something.

In the US I believe there are 2 million of us ( Petey please correct me if I am wrong). That means almost 1%. Well 2/3rds of one percent so let's round it up to make things a little easier to discuss. I am not sure if the following interpretation is reasonable ( again Petey, :) ) but until they have a definitive cause for afib I would say that anyone is at risk. That means everyone has a 1% chance of getting this pain in the ass ( excuse my French) condition. Given that situation I think we are doing our fellow Americans a favor by saying, "Helloooo there is a problem out there and you have a 1% chance of getting it, don't you think we as a nation should do something about it? Research!!

Well, I have changed how I feel about this over the years of having it. In the beginning I was very closed mouthed about it , embarassed almost, told my co workers so they knew if I had to not be in the Recovery Room for a bit , family and my best friends but not much chatter about it. As I have *adjusted* I have relaxed about talking about it....I chat with my pts who have it , and mention if we are on the same meds , it relaxes them to talk with me and it reminds me of how much company I have......also we just moved into our new house last summer and I didnt intend to talk about it, but over the course of making new friends there are 3 people on my street that have *it* 2 with pacemakers, and again there is strength in numbers just knowing someone *gets it* and to toss questions off of just like we do here. Its nothing to be embarrassed about, that was my own stupidity nor is it something to broadcast but there is a lot of company and support out there in just about every place you go.......
jan

I agree, a fib is not something to be ashamed off. I think in the workplace some caution about who knows is prudent. You do not want to be perceived as not capable.
I think that I am also afraid of being seen as "sick". As a nurse, or anyone in the medical field, you take care of others and feel like you are immune from anything serious.

I do agree with Marikay. In the workplace if you are perceived as talented but incapable because of afib you may be passed over for a promotion. Of course, if you are symptomatic enough maybe you do not want the added responsibility in which case you might want to tell your boss so s/he understands why you are passing up an opportunity.

I looked up prevalence for men. It is very slightly higher for men then women. Here it is by age. Remember this is "diagnosed" afib. They think the numbers are much higher when you figure in undiagnosed afib.

Prevalence of AFIB by age for men
55-59 1%
60-64 1.7%
65-69 3%
70-74 5%
75-79 7.3%
80-84 10.3%
Over 85 11.1%

If you see 100 80 year olds, 10 of them have afib.

I don't tell people at work. My family knows as do people who have it that I have met.

petey

You're making me think, Marikay! I often love to have people feel sorry for me so I share that I have a-fib for sympathy. Unfortunately, it doesn't work - most people don't know what I'm talking about!
I'm also a depressive - I share about that when I think it will help. I'm also a recovering alcoholic - I'm the most careful about who I share that with - it seems most people hear the "alcoholic" but not the "recovering" part. I've scared people with that admission.

I have been a care giver most of my life (ailing father who passed away young, grandparents with blindness/diabetes and a mother of two children). I am not confortable with being the patient. Entering the medical field, while in school and internships with ER and fire rescue, the last thing I wanted was for anyone to know about my Afib. I did not want to be perceived as anything less than capable, especially since most of the students and my peers in this field are younger people. If I felt my symptoms would compromise my patient care, I would have stepped away. That day may come where I do not feel confident in my ability, but for now, I believe I can manage my Afib and take good care of people. I do agree in promoting awareness for Afib because it is such a common, however, not well understood condition to the general public and I believe early detection is the best defense against its complications.

The only people I've shared my condition with are those few that are the closest to me. I don't tell anyone else about it. That said, I find many an opportunity to in a round-about manner discuss AFIB with alot of people in my travels. No body has a clue about this condition and the closest/only thing they've seen in recent years are the pharmaceutical TV spots mentioning AFIB. There are one or two people that mention relatives very on in years that had it, but those same elders had many other complications going on as well that were much easier for them to understand. IMO: I think that there's a level of discretion one should follow regarding one's health matters. But that's just me. :)