Atrial Fibrillation

[jhoot]

I had Afib 2 months ago. they did an EKG 1 month ago and I'm fine again. last week another EKG and showed I'm fine. Question is I get a strong heart beat at times and sometimes a little rapid doing simple things like washing the car.  Is it normal to have a strong beat like that at times?  Can I slip in and out of Afib? Is it bad to slip in & out? What do I do?  Is it dangerous or life threating to have Afib?  I'm 40 & no family problems, non smoker, no diabetes, pretty good shape. I dont understand how or why I got Afib.  My cardiologist doesnt say a whole lot.

[Cleveland Clinic]

jhoot,

Afib is very common in the population. Some people have an isolated episode without recurrence. These are usually brought about by some type of stress.

More commonly, people have recurrences of fibrillation. In people with normal hearts, they may not even realize they are in fibrillation.  What you might be feeling are episodes of fibrillation, or just normal heart beats. The only way to figure it out would be with some type of ambualtory ecg monitoring like event monitoring.  You can slip in and out, and monitoring  would confirm this. It isnt detrimental to be in fibrillation as long as it doesnt impact your lifestyle.

It is important to figure out if these episodes are afib because it will assist in the treatment. Even if you do not feel the episodes, if you are having episodes of fibrillation it would be important to use some type of anticoagulation therapy to reduce your risk of embolism which is the biggest risk for most with fibrillation.  I would discuss with your doctor the frequency of occurence and the risk/benefits of anticoagulation therapy with coumadin or aspirin.

No matter who your doctor is, you should be in a position to ask questions and get the answers you need.  He/she should certainly be able to elaborate on these brief answers...hopefully they provide a guide.

good luck

[arthur]

It sounds like you are having afib episodes brought on by increases in adrenaline (typically, sudden or strong physical activity, stress, emotion, or even after eating).  If you check the medical literature, or posts within this forum, you will find that this type of afib is often referred to as PAF, or paroxysmal afib, which simply means it comes on occassionally and lasts only for a short while (minutes to hours).

It is also common to find that this type of afib can be treated quite effectively either by minimal doses of appropriate meds (eg, beta-blockers), or by ablation (if the episodes occur quite often and the meds don't work).  The ablation route is pretty low risk and generally effective, based on where the offending electrically active cardiac tissue resides (usually in the pulmonary vein connections to the rear of the atria).

All these options should be discussed with an EP (cardiologist specializing in rhythm disturbances).  My experience with general cardiologists suggests that many fall short of a full understanding of arrhythmias and their treatment.

Good luck,

Arthur

[nids]

I am in AF for last 45 days, first diagnosed 6years ago, I did tried beta blockers but my heart rate was reduced to 30 and I was finding difficult to stand. After that I stopped every medication started Mg and other vitamins, and ginkgobiloba and had been in paroxysmal AF since then. Now even though I am aware of my heart beat and I tire easily I am scared of going for any ablation since I have heard of bad results. Kindly advise.

[jhoot]

Thankyou to everyone who responded.  I'm off the Cumadin (coumadin), still on Cardizem and have a appoitment in 3 weeks to see if i'll caome off the Cardizem.  I still get little chest pains now and then is that normal?  I still tire easier than before my Afib 2 months ago.  I'm going to Minneapolis to have a heart scan done on my own and make sure the arteries look ok. My doctor thought its a waste of my $275.00 but I think its important theres no plaque build up.  I can never get ahold of my docotor to ask a question.  Is it ok to get 2nd opions or even see a different doctor from here on out?  I'm disatisfied theres no communication between he and I.

[jhoot]

I dont know enough of doing abulation procedure but I would get a 2nd opion on any kind of surgery option.  Does your Afib come and go or is it constant?  You said you've had it for 6 years?

[jhoot]

Thank you for your response.  My doctor thinks its a waste of $275.00 to have a heart scan.  I thought it would be good to check my arteries for plaque.  What do you think?  I have lots of quetions about Afib but can never talk to my doctor because he's always making hospital rounds and never available.  Is it ok to see another cardiologist?  I just want to ask questions and talk.  This was my first Afib episode 2 months ago and I have questions.  Can drinking a few beers be a contributor?  If so do you recommend stopping all together?

[hankstar]

Hello,

     Regarding alcohol and a-fib, alcohol(in small amounts) , in fact just a few beers can triggers a-fib, tachycardia, pacs and pvcs in some persons, usually felt during the night or the day after drinking. I have quit drinking beers for over 14 months and  my palpitations mainly PVCs and sinus tachycardia are almost non existent since quitting, I used to average about 6 beers daily though i was not addicted , i just liked drinking beer. I quit without any symptoms of withdrawal whatsoever. I will never say that won't take another drink of alcohol, but I hope I live long enough to get the nerve to take another and I know i'll be around for quite sometime.

Take care.

[jhoot]

Thanks for the comments.  I usually drank 6-8 beers each night on the weekends but now I drink non-alchol beer.  Did your doctor say the beer is what maybe caused your Afib?  I have no family heart problems, no high blood pressure, no diabetes, ect.
I know they say 2 beers a day or glass of red wine is good for the heart but after having Afib 2 months ago I dont know if I should.  My doctor said its ok for 1-2 glasses a day but I'd like a 2nd opinion for another doctor.  I dont know what else caused my Afib.  I'm only 40. After being on med's for a month I converted back on my own without cardioversion. What about yours?

[hankstar]

Hi,

    I never had documented a-fib , only frequent PVCs and sinus tachycardia in episodes usually related to drinking alcohol. I suspect that I might have had a  few undocumented epiosdes of paroxysmal a-fib lasting only a few minutes all in association with drinking that night.

    I take atenolol 100mg in divided doses(25mg 4 times daily) and cozaar 50mg daily. I also take valium and one aspirin 325mg daily(for ankylosing spondylitis), the atenolol and cozaar are for palpitations and for ultimate blood pressure control.

    An echo in Jan 2001 only showed marginal concentic left ventricular hypertrophy and a redundancy of the mitral leaflets without any frank mitral valve prolapse with no leakage whatsoever and a EF of 65-75% on different shots.I was advised to curb my beer drinking as it was keeping my blood pressure on the high side and contributing to the development of LVH. I never followed this advice from the cardiologist til about 14 months(how stupid and ignorant of me being in the medical profession myself and knowing better) when I started to experience an increase in symptoms , after about 3 months of quitting the drinking I noticed a dramatic change in symptoms.

    Every EKG taken since then has showed no signs LVH, though every EKG before suggested it, an EKG can falsely diagnosed LVH,(an echo is gold standard) but because the echo showed the early development of LVH, along with an ECG, my EKG tracing for LVH was considered accurate, within 6 months of quitting alcohol , the mild LVH had regressed, no suggestion on 3 different ekgs at least and B/P was under perfect control.

    Alcohol is best avoided, especially if associated with palpitations, even though an average of 2 drinks  every other day suggest some protection against coronary heart disease, I would say that the risks in drinking far outweigh the benefits for most and it is best avoided and can only be detrimental in the long term.Coincidently I will 40 on Nov 3 myself.

Good luck.