My first experience with Atrial Fibrillation

[Ready]

I woke up at 4am this morning with a rapid heartbeat that felt really weird. it was not only beating hard but irregularly. I lied in bed for about 10 minutes to see if it would go away, but it wouldn’t.

I put on my Apple Watch and ran an ECG and it immediately came up as AFIB. I’ve run the test many times before on my watch and never had an AFIB alert. So I kept running the test every ten minutes or so, and it kept coming back with AFIB and in some cases a high heart beat (up to 122 bpm).

I called a doctor friend of mine and he said to go to the ER right away. Of course by the time I got there the AFIB had stopped. But I gave the doctor all of the charts produced by my watch and he confirmed it was definitely AFIB. They admitted me and kept me hooked up to a variety of machines for three hours. Everything was normal so they released me and set me up to see a cardiologist next week. Lab results confirmed I did not have a heart attack or stroke…that was a relief.

I’ve never had any heart problems before so this was really scary for me. I’m grateful that my watch was able to confirm I was in AFIB as I might not have gone to the ER if I didn’t have a device to confirm the AFIB condition. For any of you who are on the fence about getting a watch with an ECG function, I think it could be a life saver.

 

[MC Rider]

Scary. Don't think I'd want to wait around for long and see if it went away.
Call 911 or head to the ER now.


Hope you'll be OK.

 

[Souschef]

AFIB varies in severity. My cousin has it, and it is controlled with medication. DW, OTOH, is at the other end of the spectrum. After medication and a number of cardioversions, she finally had to have a pacemaker implanted and a cardiac ablation performed.
It is kind of neat, that the pacemaker is connected wirelessly to the doctor's office.

 

[Montecfo]

I have had AFib a few times and I have 2 buddies who have bouts of it. We are all able to tell when we have it and act accordingly. But if you have never had it, then being able to be diagnosed by the watch would be fantastic.

 

[aja8888]

I had SVT (Super Ventricular Trichardia) two years ago at 76 years old. It's kind of like Afib in some ways. An ablation procedure fixed it.

Ready, good luck with the cardiologist. He will probably have you wear a heart monitor for a while.

 

[Time2re]

My DH just starting down path. On meds, but because of high fall risk the blood thinners aren’t the best option. They are recommend installing a device called Watchman so we are exploring that. Pretty overwhelming right now.

 

[aja8888]

My DH just starting down path. On meds, but because of high fall risk the blood thinners aren’t the best option. They are recommend installing a device called Watchman so we are exploring that. Pretty overwhelming right now.

The Watchman is an interesting device. They place it in (the Watchman device - a little plug) the little "pocket" on the left side of the heart where blood clots form and stay there until forced out into the blood stream (Afib can make this happen). Once that pocket area is "plugged" with the Watchman, clots can't lay in it because it's gone. Pretty clever surgery and device.

This will help reduce the potential of stroke happening.

 

[teetee]

My family has the AFib genes (confirmed with 23anMe). My mother has a pacemaker put in almost 5yrs ago (will have to replace it soon when the battery runs dry) and her cardiologist suggested her to do ablation but she doesn't really want the surgery that burns the heart at the wrong place that can make things worse. She has been using medication to control it but she has good days and bad days.

I am 45 and have started to feel mild effect (can't really do much aside from standing still) when the episode happens. Thankfully it hasn't occur frequently.

All the more reason to retire early so I don't have to worry about money when my health starts to go down hill.

 

[Bamaman]

AFIB runs in my wife's family. Her mother died of it, and my stepdaughter also died at age 50--neither was taking their meds right.

My wife had a bout of AFIB 3 months ago. Felt like negative G's, and her shoulders hurt. She couldn't get a blood pressure to pull up. Same thing happened 1 year prior.

I hauled her to the emergency room and her pulse was 155ish, and her blood pressure was about 54 over nothing. She was close to death--while she was sitting there quoting the generic names of 14 medications--mostly related to pain pills.

Every test known to man was performed, and they shocked her back the next day. Her heartbeat has since been steady, but her blood pressure sometimes gets a little low for unknown reasons.

Went back last week for a heart echo, and they said the valve we thought was leaking is fine--no problems. They're going to do a heart ablation as soon as Medicare approves the procedure that should stop the problem. Then she'll get off two meds she currently takes.

AFIB is nothing to fool around with. My wife was about one breath away from death and she could have easily gone either way. And a really good cardiologist and hospital is sometimes needed.

 

[Luvtoride]

My family has the AFib genes (confirmed with 23anMe). My mother has a pacemaker put in almost 5yrs ago (will have to replace it soon when the battery runs dry) and her cardiologist suggested her to do ablation but she doesn't really want the surgery that burns the heart at the wrong place that can make things worse. She has been using medication to control it but she has good days and bad days.

I am 45 and have started to feel mild effect (can't really do much aside from standing still) when the episode happens. Thankfully it hasn't occur frequently.

All the more reason to retire early so I don't have to worry about money when my health starts to go down hill.

Teetee, true Afib (runs in my family too) is nothing to fool around with if not treated but it’s not an early death sentence either (your comment about retiring early…). I have known about my Afib for 17 years (I’m 64 now) and it’s well controlled with blood thinners and fortunately my Afib does not cause rapid heart rates.

I also have a pacemaker (not related to Afib) for the past 9 1/2 years and the batteries are only now showing “end of life”…yes that’s what the doctors call it it , sometime within the upcoming year. Your moms pacemaker should have many more years before the batteries dry up.

My Apple Watch does very little to help monitor my heart performance as the EKG function doesn’t work due to Afib.
I work out almost daily and wear a heart rate monitor when I do (not always accurate with Afib but more so than the Apple watch).
I see my cardiologist every 6 months (saw him yesterday as a matter of fact) and all is fine with periodic Echos and other tests.

Yes, these are scary health issues to deal with but if monitored and follow doctors orders are manageable like anything else.

Good luck and stay well.

 

[donheff]

I had SVT (Super Ventricular Trichardia) two years ago at 76 years old. It's kind of like Afib in some ways. An ablation procedure fixed it.

Ready, good luck with the cardiologist. He will probably have you wear a heart monitor for a while.

I get brief bouts of SVT about twice a year, almost always while riding my bike. They feel similar to what aFib is decribed as - irregular racing heartbeat with dizziness.
I have to pull over, lie down and raise my feet, and wait a few minutes for it to pass. SVT doesn't present the clotting problem aFib has so no treatment is needed unless it happens enough to bother you. My brother had aFib for several years but was able to knock it out with an ablation.

 

[Alan]

My introduction to AFib was almost 7 years ago, in 2015. One Sunday evening at 10pm I suddenly felt a little dizzy and odd. I got up and took by BP using my Omicron BP monitor. BP was high but there was the symbol of a shaking heart I'd never seen before. I got out the manual which explained that I had an irregular heartbeat and should see a doctor asap. I went to an urgent care center where I spent about 3 hours while being monitored and having blood tests. The doc confirmed it was AFib and that it did not seem too serious so should go see my GP in the morning who she was sure would refer me to a cardiologist.

Long story short, it was paroxysmal AFib which meant it comes and goes, the main threat being blood clots.

By coincidence we moved back to England in 2017 at which time I had been through a battery of tests and the cardiologist had decided that I was not a good candidate for, or needed, drugs to control it or for blood thinners. In October 2018 I had cryoablation and haven't had an incident since, so fingers crossed it stays away.

Below is an excellent video from a cardiologist from UT Texas who does a wonderful job in explaining what AFib is, how it is treated and what you can do to live with it.

One thing I learned new in the video is that the left atrium has a little pocket on one side which is of no practical use but is the location where blood pools during AFib and clots form. They now have a simple mechanism to block off that little pocket so no blood ever enters it. She says that if she has the chest open for other reasons then she puts clip on the pocket to squeeze it closed. If an EP is using a catheter inside the heart they have a little plug that can be put in place to achieve the same result.

 

[aja8888]

One thing I learned new in the video is that the left atrium has a little pocket on one side which is of no practical use but is the location where blood pools during AFib and clots form. They now have a simple mechanism to block off that little pocket so no blood ever enters it. She says that if she has the chest open for other reasons then she puts clip on the pocket to squeeze it closed. If an EP is using a catheter inside the heart they have a little plug that can be put in place to achieve the same result.

FYI: Brief explanation about this device in post #7.

 

[Alan]

FYI: Brief explanation about this device in post #7.

Excellent - thanks.

 

[youbet]

I've had AFIB for several years. There are various types. Mine is called Persistent Atrial Fibrillation. (Sometimes "chronic" or "permanent" is used instead of "persistent.") I never run a high pulse rate. But my rhythm is out of whack all the time, 24 X 365. My primary care doc discovered it in a routine annual EKG and referred me to an electrophysiologist (a cardiologist with an additional level of specialization).

I take an expensive anti-coagulant called Xarelto to reduce the chance of stroke and other than trying to live a healthy lifestyle, have taken no other preventative measures. So far I'm tolerating the Xarelto well and doc says an ablation, installing a Watchman or an anti-arrhythmic chemical/drug intervention or other "fixes" are riskier than just staying on the anti-coagulant. However, I did take a tumble on a camping trip which resulted in some bruising far beyond what you would expect and doc is beginning to mention that a Walkman replacing the Xarelto might be in the upcoming picture.

I measure my BP daily on a Quardio device which, in addition to the BP, tells me my heartbeat is erratic each and every time I use it. I wear an Apple Watch which constantly tells me my heartbeat is erratic. Every EKG at doc's office says my heartbeat is erratic. I'm beginning to believe my heartbeat is erratic!

I'm asymptomatic. Feeling OK for an old guy. My BP + pulse rate, lipid panel. echo-cardiogram and other tests all look good. I've just got this out of whack heart beat that doc says increases my risk of stroke substantially. A pita for sure..........

 

[marko]

Nothing to be taken lightly! My brother was an elite athlete even at age 62. He developed afib and the doc said "lets keep an eye on it ".

A few weeks later he had a massive stroke that almost killed him and now five years later he's completely disabled, unable to walk or talk.

 

[Ready]

One of life’s greatest challenges is knowing when you are experiencing a health abnormality that “will pass” versus one that you need to rush to the ER for. I waited four hours before heading to the ER hoping it would pass. The ER doctor asked me why I waited so long. I honestly don’t know, other than I really wasn’t sure how serious this could be.

 

[Luvtoride]

Youbet, why do you take BP daily? Are you on meds for high BP?

I’ve been treated for Afib for many years using blood thinners like Xarelto. Yes, extreme bruising (or bleeding) is a risk when taking them but it is much safer than a blood clot resulting in a stroke. I don’t have any type of procedure I.e. colonoscopy, dental extraction, etc without consultation between doctor performing procedure and my cardiologist to determine the MINIMUM time to be off blood thinners. To me it’s a small price to pay to control the risks of Afib.

Mark, very true that it’s not to be taken lightly. Terrible story of the debilitating effects of a stroke due to a known condition like Afib.

I’ve discussed Watchman device with my Cardiologist and I’m not a candidate for it.

 

[Alan]

I also take my BP daily while I'm at home. I record the results on a spreadsheet which also shows me the average so I can see how it changes. I'm not on BP meds but over the the past years the average has been creeping up.

The BP monitor also indicates if I have an irregular heartbeat and on those days I use my Kardia to do an ekg to see if I am in AFib. Often I can see from the trace that the warning has come because of extra beats or an uneven period. This year I have recorded 129 incidents of irregular heartbeat but fortunately no return to AFib.

 

[Exchme]

I was in AFIB continuously and didn't know it. Fortunately the most common treatment is heart rate control medicine and blood thinners and send you on your way.

The heart rate control meds didn't work for me (looong pauses between beats at night) and when I tried to exercise, my pulse went to 205 BPM. Ablation was the only option. Afterwards, the electrophysiologist said he had to hit over 200 spots to stop all the bad electrical pathways.

The recovery from surgery was a breeze as they go in through a blood vessel in the leg. I had 2.5 day hospital stay as they also put me on dofetilide (Tikosyn), a heart rate control medicine that requires 48 hours of hospital stay after they figure out the dosage. It seems like they try to make sure you don't sleep in the hospital, but otherwise it was all good.

The operation was almost 5 months ago, the AFIB is gone, resting pulse is down from the 95-115 before to 57 now. They've now taken me off everything except a baby aspirin (slight blood thinner just in case the AFIB comes back).

My cardiologist highly recommended the AppleWatch as a continuous AFIB monitor, he wants me to wear one to alert me in case the AFIB comes back.

 

[gamboolman]

Ready,

All the best in getting it took care of.

On 7-Nov-21, ms gamboolgal was taking her BP and for grins I used the little finger monitor that measures O2 and Pulse rate. I have always had a slow heart rate - currently in the 40's to 50's.

I thought the little finger monitor was broke because the Pulse number was in the 140 to 160 range and bouncing 50 or 60 beats per minute? So I used the BP machine and it said Irregular Heart Beat detected? I felt fine.

Off we went to the nearby Emergency Care Clinic - who did a EKG/ECG and said I had to go to ER right now. They was going to get a ambulance but I told them I would drive myself and did.

Spent 24 hours in the Hospital and they used me as a Pin Cushion with 4 or 5 IV's and taking blood.

Now I am getting a Ablation on the Right Atrium done here in the next few days.

I never had any symptoms - I can kinda feel a fluttering but not much.

But the Doc(s) said it could lead to a Stroke. So for me - getting the Ablation done is best.

All the best in addressing your issues !

 

[Luvtoride]

Exchme, can I ask how old you are/ were when first diagnosed and treated? It sounds like your doctor pretty aggressively treated you to stop the Afib. How long has it been since you’ve been back in normal rhythm?
I’m sure each patient and case is different. My cardiologist has never tried to correct my Afib (as other cardiologists and doctors have concurred). Treatment with blood thinners and regular follow ups with doctors has kept it under control for me.

Best of luck and stay well.
Brian

 

[Qs Laptop]

I woke up at 4am this morning with a rapid heartbeat that felt really weird. it was not only beating hard but irregularly. I lied in bed for about 10 minutes to see if it would go away, but it wouldn’t.

Do you think you were having a nightmare?

I put on my Apple Watch and ran an ECG and it immediately came up as AFIB. I’ve run the test many times before on my watch and never had an AFIB alert. So I kept running the test every ten minutes or so, and it kept coming back with AFIB and in some cases a high heart beat (up to 122 bpm).

Yep, lying in bed at rest in the middle of the night and measuring your heart rate at 120 is disconcerting, to say the least!

I’ve never had any heart problems before so this was really scary for me. I’m grateful that my watch was able to confirm I was in AFIB as I might not have gone to the ER if I didn’t have a device to confirm the AFIB condition. For any of you who are on the fence about getting a watch with an ECG function, I think it could be a life saver.

I've had AFIB for almost seven years now. It's controlled by meds. I got a smart watch for Christmas last year, a TicWatch Pro (for Android). It is useful to chart heart rates and to be able to know for certain when heart rate is spiking. On the other hand, it can get to be a compulsion to look at the heart rate monitor. Still, I'm one that believes having the data is a very good thing.

In early October, with the confluence of four highly stressful situations, I had the night from hell. Worried about things, couldn't sleep, heart rate was 90+, felt like tight bands were being cinched across my chest. Basically, I thought I was having a heart attack but I also figured it was "only" a bad AFIB episode.

I went to the ER that morning. They ran tests looking for the telltale enzyme indicating a heart attack, but it was not present. The doctor said it was stress, gave me some valium to help me sleep, and sent me home. I took one-half tablet of Valium that night and had the best night of sleep in months!

Here is the chart of my heart rate the night I thought I was having a heart attack and then below that is the chart where I slept like a log.


View attachment 41147

 

[oldphd]

The Watchman is an interesting device. They place it in (the Watchman device - a little plug) the little "pocket" on the left side of the heart where blood clots form and stay there until forced out into the blood stream (Afib can make this happen). Once that pocket area is "plugged" with the Watchman, clots can't lay in it because it's gone. Pretty clever surgery and device.

This will help reduce the potential of stroke happening.

FYI - the "pocket" referred to is the left atrial appendage. It has no known purpose, and one article I read compared it to the appendix, wondering if perhaps at some point in the past it had a purpose but that we have evolved to not need it anymore. When you have AFIB and/or mitral valve issues the left atrium doesn't fully evacuate, and the blood pools there, and can "fill" the appendage but not leave. Eventually, it can clot, and if you go back into good sinus rhythm or just plain have bad luck, that clot can get introduced into the bloodstream, eventually causing a stroke when it gets to smaller blood vessels. For quite some time (not sure how long), a standard procedure has been to occlude the left atrial appendage when the heart is opened up for any reason. The Watchman is a non invasive way to try to accomplish the same thing.

DW and her family have a history of heart issues. She has multiple valve problems. Mitral valve regurgitation and AFIB are a chicken and the egg kind of thing, one can cause the other, but what happened first? She finally needed open heart surgery primarily to repair the mitral valve, though they did an overhaul as long as they were in. Tricuspid valve tightened up, occlude the left atrial appendage, and perform a maze procedure. Out of AFIB for awhile, but after a couple more cardioversions and an ablation (when the electrophysiologist used "every club in the bag"), she is now permanently in AFIB but asymptomatic. The mitral valve continues to function great at 5 1/2 years post surgery.

During the period leading up to and after surgery, I was fortunate to be working at a University in a research setting with access to medical journals and MD folks (my area of engineering research was semi medical related, MRI).

Also, just a side comment, but her electrophysiologist got his PhD in electrical engineering, then his MD, then specialized in cardiology. Talk about a specialty! We call him the Dr. Dr.

Note added: the left atrium doesn't ever fully evacuate, but the % is much higher in a healthy person than one with mitral valve regurgitation and/or AFIB. And it's not an on/off situation, but rather a sliding scale.

 

[bmcgonig]

I’ve had paroxysmal afib for about 10 years now. Really events every few months. Then earlier this year they became more frequent and one night it lasted about 8 hours.

First thing a doctor friend told me was that Afib begets Afib. Which basically means that each event of Afib can cause future events by damaging the heart.

Many cardiologists will tell you to just live with it. Take a blood thinner and possibly a beta blocker when it happens to keep the heart rate under 100. The latter is very important as it’s dangerous to have the heart above 100 for too long periods.

What I have and what you may have was or is called Lone Afib. That means that you are perfectly healthy except for Afib. Many many endurance athletes get it, especially bikers.

Don’t accept the line of just learning to live with it. It can be cured by ablation. Especially yours since it is only starting. The first thing you do is see an electrophysiologist. He’s the electrician for the heart. The cardiologist is the plumber. You have an electrical problem. Don’t bother with the plumber. Of course you’ll need to get all the plumbing checked out to make sure that nothing is amiss that could be causing it and if that’s the case see the EP.

You need to find a EP that has done 1000s of ablations just for your own peace of mind. Normally big city hospitals with lots of throughput. Not your local one. Ablations can have severe complications but the more experienced the EP the best chance you have. Some of the EPs and high throughput ablation centers have it down pat and never have one.

By pure coincidence I had an ablation yesterday morning. 3 hour procedure. Easiest procedure/surgery of my life. I’m home now, no pain today or even after the procedure. Really a piece of cake. Had it done in CPMC San Francisco.

My advice to you Ready is to aim that way, because it’s not going away so you might as well plan to fix it before it gets worse, and it seems to always get worse.

I see you’re in Southern Ca. One of the best ablationists worldwide is a guy called Dr Natale. He mainly works out of Austin but he also does some ablations in Thousand Oaks as well. I think he’s done over 11000. You’d be very safe if he did the work.