Yeah, I’m hoping that it is just A-Fib because the procedure is low risk but my biggest worry is that there is an underlying problem that is causing the A-Fib.
I’ve been told by doctors that occasional flutters are normal and of no concern but you never know. If you’re still experiencing this I would still look into it further because there is a type of A-Fib called “silent” and you never really know you have it. If they never hooked you up to monitor your heartbeat, I would do it.
I have this also. turns out the left ventricle muscle is slightly inflamed and not functioning as it should be. You should do yearly check ups to monitor this because it can lead to other problems you really don’t want to have to deal with…trust me on this
As it turned out since I was in my 20’s. Now 56. Mine well controlled by drugs. And getting a little exercfise helps as well.
Do some research on the drugs and the surgery from independent sources before you commit to anything. A-fib, in many cases, (but not all) control well with common and cheap drugs (Much to the annoyance of the the medical profession).
Are you controlling it with beta-blockers and blood thinners? I don’t know that I want to be on blood thinners the rest of my life. I’ve been researching it like crazy and am anticipating talking with a cardiologist about everything.
That’s the part that irritates my cardio guys. They’ve been pushing Coumadin on me for years. When I have 5-6 incidents tops per year. Lasting at most 24 hours.
I take a full strength Aspirin for thinning. (Which is almost as effective as Coumadin, with way lower risk and no constant blood testing. My control drug for years has been Toprol (lowpressor variant). If you consider that the only reason for the thinner is to help reduce clotting which occurs in about 4% of thge incidents after 48 hours of A-fib then a 24 hour incident has even lower risk.
You should do your own research and make your own decison on risk. But a 4% risk (that’s the untreated clot risk in a year for someone in constant A-fib) that is reduced by in my case taking (6/365) X 4%. Then take the theurapeutic effect of the aspirin so that my clot risk (while never zero) is reduced to a low level. Then throw in the risks of bleeding from taking Coumadin and the costs and inconvenience of the constant blood testing (which makes the drug comnpanies a fortune for a druig that costs them virtually nothing to produce.
I won’t claim\ that Coumadin is never indicated but do remember that all the training your Doctor is getting abvout it comes from the folks who make it.
Every time I go to the medics they whip out the chart from the drug comnpany that says I shgould be taking Coumadin. Yet when I press them and say I will change on their recommendation if they will put their recommendation and thinking in writing including their risk analysis they always back down.
And as I said for me exercise. Walking, anything to get the rate up a bit will make me even more stable. As well as taking my meds in the evening so the levels are highest in my system when the heart is jost likely to get goofy. That cut my incidents dramatically.
Make them justify their opinion. Remember that everything is medicine that isn’t experimental has numbers behind it. Make them justify their recommendation that you take Coumadin based on the real numbers and your risk, not the vague things that are written in the summary of the research papers. I might add that if you read the whole study on Coumadin they say exactly that. That patients should be risk assessed before they are given Coumadin. But thge docs don’t read that far.
Plus the numbers in a study are only applicable to the conditions of the study. I’ve found the medics are quick to make extrapolations that are overly broad and when they are finally studied found to be wrong. (Like the effects of heart meds on women which they got totally wrong)
I have been hospitalized twice with episodes of A-FIB. When I go into A-FIB, I don’t come out. They use electrical cardioversion to convert me back to normal rhythm. I am on Toprol to help with control. I have stopped taking Coumadin (Thank God). My first bout came after I passed out in the bathroom after urinating due to very low blood pressure. The second came a couple years later. One of my problems is I can’t feel the palpitations, however, while wearing a monitor it is scary.
My cardiologist will not recommend PVA at this time because the procedure is too new and not enough testing and/or results are available. Right now they would have to go in a few times to “readjust” the electrical settings. According to my cardiologist; the procedure will be perfected within a few years.
Good Luck,
Fred
I have had similar experiences with mild panic disorder all my life which is now mostly under control. About 2-1/2 years ago in January after some fairly good holiday partying I had a supraventricular tachycardia event (SVT) which was fairly scary my BPM was 220 and nothing that worked previously would reduce the HR. In the hospital they used Adenosine and thankfully it immediately worked.
Anyway I found a very good cardiologist who tested me and put me on metoprolol but also started me on CoQ10 and fish oils. Since then I have had no episode and am now off the metoprolol, this year he has challenged me to lose 25lbs since I am still taking lisinopril for mild hypertension.
In any case find a doctor that isn’t just into treating symptoms but understands wellness, if you like I would ask my Cardiologist if he knows of any doctor who thinks like him in your area.
