My answer has two parts, before ablation, and after ablation. I still have AFIB, although a lot milder as you will see:

1. What is it like for you? What does it feel like? Does your heart race? Do you get cold?
Before ablation: felt like my heart had an ax and was trying to chop its way out of my chest! short of breath After ablation: a little pounding of the heart, slight shortness of breath. No I don't get cold.

2. How long do they last? before ablation hours to days, after 1-24 hours;

3. What do you do during an attack? Do you lie in bed? Do you try to ignore it? before and after, ignore, maybe go to the gym or the movies. A hot shower often helps. So does going to the bathroom (I'm pretty sure my AFIB is vagal, constipation may set me off). Lying in bed doesn't help me.

4. What do you do to try to self convert? Hot shower, Xanex

5. What time of day do you get afib? Any time, often evenings or at night

6. Do you have pacs or PVCs before an attack? After? For how long? PVC before.

7. Have you ever gone to the emergency room because of afib? When do you decide it's time to go? Before ablation: once, episode terminated when I got to the ER. Decision: When I think I'm going to die!

8. Have you ever had an afib attack when you're traveling? What do you do? yes, several. Xanex, metoprolol (which I'm not supposed to take any more, since my heart rate is rather slow to being with, around 50, with metoprolol I've seen it at 36).

9. How does the threat of an afib attack coming at random affect your life? Mentally? Physically? Before ablation, I had gotten fairly disabled, I was having multiple attacks per week, at time I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs, then a stroke. After ablation, I tire more easily and I find it annoying, but its better than other things I could have. I went back to work 2-3 days/week. I often do not feel I can work two days in a row, I tire too easily... well I am 66 and my work can be physically demanding.

This is timely for me....I went into afib at 3 this morning. This is the 3 rd time that I have gone into afib at exactly 3 weeks.

!. I woke up knowing I was in afib...first I detect a weakness, a slight light headed and a definite "something is not right" feeling. Then I feel my heart racing. It was 136 this AM. I have no awareness of hot or coldness.

2 It is noon, 101 HR after Metoprolol at 3, I am very tired and don't feel well.

3 I walked to an art class that lasted 2 hrs. I was not able to concentrate and did not feel creative. I am going to paint a door now. At this time, I don't feel up to trying another jog around the block.

4. I did aerobic exercise this AM and then walked around the block. This usually converts me. ..didn't this AM

5. 99% of the time, I wake up with it around 3 AM

6. Not usually. Did a few times for a couple of days before

7 Only went to ER when first diagnosed. Cardio Dr. told me not to go. again.

9. It messes with my mind when I plan doing things with others. I rarely make commitments that would make a difference if I didn't show up.....actually, I often use it for an excuse to avoid things.

PS....I took a second Metoprolol 9 hrs after the first one. My rate was climbing. I didn't feel good at all. Mowed my yard,hoping to convert...didn't work. My rate stayed low for the rest of the day, but I remained in afib. 18 hrs. after it started, I took 300 mg. Rythmol and fell asleep. Woke a few hrs. later in NSR. So Glad this episode is gone!!!!!

1) It comes on very suddenly without warning.....I feel my heart jumping and can actually see the movement both in my radial pulse and on my chest , I hear it in my head and I get very shaky and cold and have to run to the bathroom constantly. And that......is all of it
2) They usually last an hour but have never gone beyond 2 and a half hours
3) if its during the day we sometimes take a slow walk , or I watch TV and try not to pace, if its at night I do stay in bed except for bathroom runs and I shiver
4) for conversion I drink lots of cold water and do some bearing down exercises Im not sure if it helps
5) time of day is unpredictable for me but usually between 12mid and 4am though I have had it mid day , even at work
6) I do have PAC's ahead of time but when I convert its total NSR
7) I went to the ER the first time for diagnosis and never since, I was told if I don't convert with my protocol to stop eating and drinking , call the dr when the office opens and plan to go in and consider further meds or conversion
8) I have never had one on vacation....or while traveling I make sure I have all my meds with me and an anticoagulant and I figure if I have to get to medical care I will
9) when I am getting ready to vacation I have to talk to myself about my afib to remember I can handle it and its never worth staying home, when Im home it no longer affects my life I just live every day , which I think is also part of being a cancer survivor and if it happens I deal with it.
That's my story ......jan

Hi there,

Good question. I have asked something similar a few days ago but you covered what I might have missed.
I guess it comes to two types of patients. The ones who feel it and the ones who dont. I guess those who dont feel it may have only some of the symptoms you are describing. Never the less I think it all sucks one way or the other. Also, depending on what medication you take and at what stage of the diseases youre at would make significant differences. Anyways, here we go:
1. What is it like for you? What does it feel like? Does your heart race? Do you get cold?
Its like someone is playing a poking game in my chest. It does seems like it is beating slightly faster like maybe 20 beats more a minute than usual (I take Sotalol tho!). Im not cold but I have to pee every 30 min.

2. How long do they last?
The old shebang last hours but the afib between 5 min to 2 hours. The shebang being that I wake up with heavy bouts of PVCs and PACs before I start afib.

3. What do you do during an attack? Do you lie in bed? Do you try to ignore it?
Lol! All of the above. I have tried everything. Now I just sit up in my bed and try to relax and wait it out. Normally, I get bloating and cramps with it. Once the cramps and bloating pass via different means lol, then the afib goes away. I never have it in the day time. Only night 2 hours after I go to bed. Who knows it may change later on in my life.

4. What do you do to try to self convert?
I tried a few manoeuvers I saw here and there but nothing really helps. Once the afib as started, only time and digestion (for me anyways) will stop it. When I revert to NSR, its like nothing ever happened (weird).

5. What time of day do you get afib?
Always at night. Go to bed, feel good and tired, lay down, fall asleep, wake up full of PVCs and PACs, feel bloated, BAM! Afib till my tommy feels better, BAM! Revert back, BAM! Fall back a sleep. (More weird)

6. Do you have pacs or PVCs before an attack? After? For how long?
WOW!!!! Talk about similaritydo you fish and play WoW also? The PVCs and PACs starts about 30 min prior (well give or take a few), then afib, then once I revert, no PVCs or PACS or maybe very very little, then back to sleep.

7. Have you ever gone to the emergency room because of afib? When do you decide it's time to go?
Well, at the beginning I went to see if I was dying (lol), now that I know, I would not go at hospital unless it was in afib well over 12 hours. (I take blood thinner) FYI- I never had it pass wake wake hours in the morning.

8. Have you ever had an afib attack when you're traveling? What do you do?
Never, what could you do except wait it out..and hope it was on the way back.

9. How does the threat of an afib attack coming at random affect your life? Mentally? Physically?
It is what it is. In a weird twisted way I wish I had day time attacks as I am curious if I could work in afib. I know that I cant sleep in afib but that is in the current scenario where my afib always stops after a few hours. Some poor folks have it for days.I imagine I would fall asleep eventually once fatigue takes over. So, my biggest concern with afib really is the day I will get persistent afib and I am at the last stage of all this CRAPP!!! Will I be able to somewhat function. Since I am symptomatic I have guessed that I would need a medical transition period off work for at least a few months to get use to work, sleep and function in afib. There are some folks in this forum that are lucky enough to be able to live a normal life with afib as they dont feel it..in a weird way I envy them.
Stay strong.
Scooby

1. What is it like for you? What does it feel like? Does your heart race? Do you get cold? My heart would beat a little faster than normal but with an irregular cadence: beat beat____beat-beat_beat____beat___beatbeat etc

2. How long do they last? from 8 hours to 2 weeks

3. What do you do during an attack? Do you lie in bed? Do you try to ignore it? Try to ignore it which as you know is difficult!

4. What do you do to try to self convert? I would run 4 to 6 miles or power walk 4 miles which converted me for a majority of episodes

5. What time of day do you get afib? Would usually get 3AM to 3:30AM. Not sure why but a lot of people report the same timeframe for waking up with it,

6. Do you have pacs or PVCs before an attack? After? For how long? None that I ever felt.

7. Have you ever gone to the emergency room because of afib? When do you decide it's time to go? ONCE. I always converted myself regardless of duration. After ablation, I went into aflutter a few weeks (during the blanking period when that stuff is expected). That lasted for 2 weeks and my EP told me that aflutter was tougher to convert on its own and recommended I terminate with cardioversion which I did.

8. Have you ever had an afib attack when you're traveling? What do you do? Yes before ablation, I would get attacks more frequently when travelling. I would try to self convert via exercise. I took precautions like taking aspirin until I got older and then took thinner during episodes as an extra precaution.

9. How does the threat of an afib attack coming at random affect your life? Mentally? Physically? Even after the ablation and having only 1 afib episode in over 2 years, I still wonder if and when it will happen again (since ablation is considered a treatment and not a cure). Even if you aren't physically an afibber anymore, you are still one mentally in a way. It is easier for me to tolerate the potential for it coming back and comforting knowing the ablation helped me avoid drugs and restore my life to normalcy and could do so again if required. I hate afib. Your questions are great. The are universals in the Afibbers psyche as the try to understand what is going on! Keep up the fight!

I'm one of those people who feel nothing even when my heart went to 188. I went to my Primary Care for a minor issue and when she took my heart rate and did an EKG I was again in A-Fib and felt nothing. She immediately called my Cardiologist and he had to put me on medication to get my heart rate down. Then he had me come to see him the next day to do another EKG. I was feeling fine and had no clue that I needed medical attention.

Not feeling anything might sound great for people who do feel their hearts racing, but it also is scary because you don't know if you should contact your doctor or not to get medical help.

I check myself daily with AliveCor because of this.

95% of thr time I wake up with pounding in my chest. I am dizzy, light headed and end up stressed. I am no colder than usual.

They can last most of the day. 8-10 hours is the most common time, occasionally just a few hours.

If I am dizzy stay home but try to carry on as normal as possible.

I do nothing to self convert as never found anything that works, just converts on its own.

No real warning as I just wake up with a pounding heart.

Been to ER twice, once when first DX at Dr. Office. Second time home alone few days later when heart rate would not come down below 140. Game plan for me is 14hrs or not dropping below 140 HB.

Only traveled once since DX and had no trouble.

I dread the thought of an attack because they can be so random. I do have a couple of triggers, but quit trying to figure out why because the random ones just happen no matter what I do. Just eat healthy and live healthy all the time. During an attack I can feel sorry for my self, so I use some self talk and relaxation techniques.

laurab

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reply in this thread. Keep 'em doming!

It's very interesting to see how afib affects different people differently.

Mine are on the increase... I had two attacks on 2013, one in 2014, and five so far this year! :(. I had one Sunday night, and another real bad one this evening.

Be thankful you feel something your body is telling you is wrong. Some never know what hit them. My new natural Dentist has AF and never feels it. To me that is a greater danger. Of course, AF just plain sucks and is nothing to play around with.
8. Travel, That to me is the scariest. My first was in a remote part of Mexico and no one knew what it was, until I got to a clinic 50 miles away. There just happened to be a Cardio there at 2am. Cost to chemically convert overnight, $320 american. Our system is broken.

I understand what you're saying, Hwkmn... But trust me.. You don't want to feel it. It is totally debilitating for me. My pulse shoots up.. Sometimes as high as 230 bpm. I get freezing cold. My chest pounds all out of synch. And I feel just... awful. It is truly frightening when I get them.

I just find it hard to believe that I am going to have to live the rest of my life like this. My EP says its progressive, and will only get worse... Something to look forward to... Not!

I had 2 full blown episodes in 2012, 2 in 2013, only 1 last year.. And 5 already this year. That's not counting the weeks I have annoying PACs and PVCs.

Island, that sounds very frightening. Cant say my has reached that level. Of course anything is "progressive" when you dont get to the root cause, what do they expect, its just going to disappear? I would start researching the vagus nerve and digestive issues which could be over stimulating the signal to your heart. I had PVCs every day last year and about nearly none now since I did two things, therapy on my neck and high dose Vit C. Not sure if one is related to the other, but I treat my neck day and night and AF and PVCs are controlled.

I think we need to consider that the severity of AFIB episodes varies a great deal, and that we all experience the episodes in our own unique way. Even during my worst periods (before my ablation) when I was having 3-4 severe episodes a week, they were no where near as bad as what some people on this blog have described. I never saw my rate in my oximeter go above 160 at rest. Now I don't know if someone else had the exact same episodes, whether they would consider it severe, mild, or non-existent. Now, my episodes are far fewer (once a month or two) and much milder, but they might send someone else to the hospital to a little shock treatment. I would be nice if we had a really objective measure of severity, but we don't.

If your heart rate is well-controlled, you are anti-coagulated, are regularly monitored by your EP, you do all that you can to do everything right and try to eliminate triggers and address possible root causes, asymptomatic afib is safe as symptomatic afib and easier to deal with.

The statement that afib is progressive means simply that it tends to become more frequent. It does not necessarily mean that physical remodeling or fibrosis of the heart is progressing. Everyone is different and they have found that those that have ablations can still have progression of fibrosis (they think high blood pressure, among other things, may be the culprit) and those with many years of persistent afib have little fibrosis.

Symptoms of afib are the reason to do aggressive afib treatment through ablation, maze-type surgery, or strong rhythm drugs. It is nice if you can find the root of the problem and avoid drastic medical measures, but that is not always possible, and I have witnessed through these forums, not likely. Still nice though.

It's kind of ironic... those that have had afib the shortest amount of time with the least amount of episodes and who need aggressive medical treatment the least do the best.

petey

I meant "and those with many years of persistent afib MAY have little fibrosis."