atrial fib

   I've had afib for 8 years. I'm on 225mg of Propafenone 3 times a day and baby aspirin twice a day. I have episodes maybe twice a month, lasting anywhere from 5 minutes to 4 hours. My doctor calls it an annoyance and that an ablation is only needed if the episodes become more frequent. I don't use caffeine of any kind. I've found that stress seems to trigger mine alot of the time. Should I worry since my doctor calls it just an annoyance? Also,does weight have anything to do with this? I'm 20 lbs. over weight,but feel fine otherwise.  Thanks


This discussion is related to Scared after an ablation,,,,Please help.

[Jerry_NJ]

Sounds like my history, except I'm in AFib full time, all the time.  I in fact used Propafenone 3 times a day 225 mg for several years.  During those times I was in sinus rhythm due to successful electrocardioversion procedures, I've had several of those over the years, about 8 years.

I also suffered from mitral valve leakage which enlarged my right atrial chamber, making AFib more problematic, and in fact I no longer respond to electrocardioversions.  I also had heart surgery to repair the leaky valve, it no longer leaks.

My cardiologist and my electrophysiologist ( if I have the title correct) both tell me that as I tolerate coumiden (warfaring) well and my AFib symptoms are almost unconscious, there's no reason to take more severe measures to gain sinus rhythm.  My life expectancy isn't greatly affected by AFib and there is no evidence that regaining sinus rhythm will extend my life expectancy.  My complaint is mainly I am short of breath... maybe I just need to get back into better physical condition.

[nuti]

Jerry what meds take you now, when you already are in permanent Atrial fib?There is any reason to continue with propafenone if it doesn't make any conversion to sinus rhytm? Did you ask the electrophysiologist? If you are in rate, control the doctors don't
recommend betablockers  or calcium chanel blockers?  MY Afib bothers me all the time.I'm not so lucky like you.
Ana

[bruce587]

I am a 51-year-old male. I have "paroxysmal atrial fibrillation." It was controlled adequately with drugs for awhile. I was taking 150 mg propafenone 3 times a day and atenolol 50 mg daily, along with a baby aspirin.

Over the course of 10+ years the condition has progressed to the point where the frequency of breakthrough arrhythmias was affecting my quality of life. I'm told that AFIB is asymptomatic in some people, but for me, I am unable to function. My wife can visually see my chest flutter, my ventricular contractions also become fast and irregular, and I get quite weak. I went to the hospital the first two times; later I was advised to just take 600mg of propafenone all at once to stop the AFIB. That usually worked within 8-12 hours.

Upon making the decision to have an ablation, my EP put me on Coumadin and I stopped taking aspirin. The standard EP treatment for AFIB is called a PVA (pulmonary vein ablation). This involves placing four shunts in your groin; they go up your vena cava, poke a hole from there through the heart septum into your left atrium, and zap the area around all four pulmonary veins.

I had this procedure 4 days ago. I feel like I'm bouncing back pretty well. I still have some chest tightness and my lung function isn't yet what it was. The good news is that I'm just having an occasional palpitation or a brief flutter (a few times an hour). I'm hoping even these will go away in time. This despite no longer taking any of my meds.

One of the more frustrating things about this process was stopping Coumadin so I didn't bleed out on the table and then starting back up afterwards and getting all the blood draws necessary to do that. I am currently giving myself Lovenox injections twice daily to bridge the temporary withdrawal of Coumadin and keep my risk of stroke down to tolerable levels. In 3 months, I hope to resume taking aspirin and have a big spinach salad to celebrate.

Abruptly stopping the atenolol has caused my heart to over-react to things as simple as standing up. This is gradually subsiding and I'm told it should stop entirely within a week or two.

Another thing that makes my situation unique is that I also have pulsatile tinnitus. Every heartbeat that I have had in the last 4 years can be heard as a ringing in my left ear. Ring...ring...ring...it never stops. I guess that's good, but because of this I may be more sensitive to what is going on in my chest than a lot folks would be.

I'm about 20 lbs overweight. I don't think that is a significant factor. However, you would be well advised to avoid caffeine, alcohol, MSG and chocolate. Promptly initiating a Valsalva Maneuver can also sometimes interrupt an episode of AFIB.

I am not a physician and this is only my personal experience as a AFIB patient. I hope it helps somebody.