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.

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Heart, Blood & Circulation
/ Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group

Where to start....where to end

Cuzinvinny
Cuzinvinny
Im a new member to this group and have spent the last couple of weeks reading everyones stories and researching etc. It seems the more I read and research the more confused Im becoming. I dont know where to start or where to end. My dr is going to switch me from warfarin to pradaxa next month. Im not sure if this is a good idea or not. Ive been on warfarin for about a month and they cant seem to get my level right. The blood tests are never ending and they keep adjusting the dosage so I have no idea whats going on. I dont even know if i just had a one time occurance during surgey and maybe dont need meds at all. Its all so confusing and everyone is different. Im thinking if i switched to pradaxa i could at least change my diet with greens etc and lose the weight thats causing my high blood pressure. So if i lost the weight and corrected the blood pressure and didnt have any more episodes.....am I out of the woods ...so to speak....This is all so unnerving...plus i suffer from extreme anxiety and panic attacks....so i dont know if they could become a problem. A dr did tell me a few years ago....that I had an irregular heart beat and a heart murmur. Not sure what it all means. Sorry for this rambling post.....just Im soo confused....anyone else ever felt like that?
pacyetep
pacyetep
Don't be confused. Pradaxa will help you. Don't let anyone scare you. Lose the weight. If you have had afib once, you can't treat it as a one time thing, particularly when a doctor told you you had an irregular heartbeat before. You can't monitor your heart all the time, so it is hard to catch

Take your anticoagulant and rate control medice (if your heart rate is fast). You will be fine if you do. Eat right and do all the things anyone should do to be healthy. Thin is better than heavy.
pacyetep
pacyetep
medicine not medice


If you do all the things you said in your post, they can reassess the situation. You are not in any woods. tell your doctor about your anxiety.
IslandLuvr
IslandLuvr
I would get a second opinion. None of us on this forum are doctors, so we can't tell you what is right for you. Losing weight is very, very difficult, and even harder to keep off. If you do manage to lose the weight, know that it is better for you, but it may not necessarily lower your blood pressure to the place where it needs to be. There are a lot of factors that cause high bp, including heredity. There are plenty of thin people with high bp. But having said that, being a normal weight is healthier all around, it just may not be the whole answer but it should help somewhat. As for Pradaxa, that is a tough one and something I would ask a second doctor about. What are you doing about the anxiety and panic attacks?
yogacat
yogacat
Vinnie, the way I understand it to be, once you have had a fibbrillaion in your atriam, there is a spot there that is always there, unless ablated. If it has been diagnosed with ekg..there is no doubt. If there is no doubt, there is a risk of stroke, more so than one w/o afib..so we take a blood thinner, anticoagulant, to prevent clots. Those of us who are not in afib all the time, never know when of if the next fib will occur..maybe tomorrow, maybe never...my dr. says, as long as I have stroke prevention, that is #1..handling the symptoms is next. If you have no symptoms, and have been diagnosed..being on whatever you both choose, will be good. As time passes your path will be clearer. I like what E. Tolle says.."Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have" Hugs
missd12932
missd12932
IMO I would try another Dr. If they feel you have afib they could put you on a heart rate monitor and find out for sure.

And sometimes the Dr wiil just put you on aspirin. Try to relax. Afib is treatable and you can live with it if you do have it. Look at all the people on this site who are liveing well with afib.

Good luck Dee
Cuzinvinny
Cuzinvinny
Thanks for the the replies....they really do help.. I appreciate you guys and this site for its unconditional non critical support.
Vinny
Cheryl7
Cheryl7
I know when I was first diagnosed with afib, I was scared and unsure. When in afib it is a scary feeling. Like you said, everyone is different as far as our maintenance on our arrhythmia. Which ever you take, rate control or anti arrhythmic medication to keep your afib controlled, you do need a anticoagulant (blood thinner) because of the stroke factor involved. Be sure you have a good doc (EP) that you can talk to about your concerns. Talk to your doc about your anxiety. Not good for afib. With afib, you never know when you will have episodes. When I was first diagnosed with afib, I was on Pradaxa. It worked fine for me.