need some advice personal life in jeapordy

[extremist]

first off thanks to all the dr's that give their time on this board!i am a 29 male who lat month went to the er with a hear rate of 220,the diagnosed afib,test results as follows,echo normal no abnormalities,chest xray normal,blood work normal,the cardilogist in the er said no underlying problems found,but i have questions,7 years ago i went to the er with rapid hearbeat they said it was a panic attack,could that ave been afib back then?,#2 he put me on 1 50mg of atenololo a day but said everything was fine why am i on meds if im fine?#3 is this dangerous?all the feedback i got at the er is that if no underlying heart problems are present its just an annoyance and nohing they can do and poses no threat of stroke at my age and also that it was only a short attack i converted with iv meds in 1 hour,my big prob is that it kind of consumed my life and my kids and wife are always telling mw to stop worrying but i cant,should this problem be shrugged off i dont want to turn into a mumbling idiot worrying all my free time away?,i have always gone fo regular checkups and always been in goo health i am about 70 or 80mpounds overweight,is being overweight a precurser of afib? and my finl question is prognosis,can this be a 1 time thing or can it turn into a severe prob?just need a dr that isnt related to kind of put things in anutshell for me ol
thanks very much for your time!

[winebev]

If I were you I would get another opinion.  I wouldn't trust the doctor who suggested that you have surgery.  If this is panic/anxiety related then there is nothing physically wrong with your heart.  The anxiety is causing your heart to race as a direct result of adrenaline.  This is an extremely uncomfortable and scary feeling but it is not dangerous.  I would suggest talking to someone else.  I have been in the emergency room over a dozen times due to anxiety and what I thought were "heart problems."  My heart races, chest gets tight, can't breathe and I feel like I'm going to pass out.  I've been going through this for 12 years.  The results are always the same, "You're fine.  We can't find anything wrong with your heart."

[Darren Roos]

I am 29 years old and have been in the ER/ICU twice in 4 months with A-Fib.  Before this year I never had any problems or indications of a heart problem.  I am 6'-0", 170 lbs, never used tobacco, alcohol, or even coffee.  After the first episode my family doctor and cardiologist told me to just forget about it..."lots of people have it."  Now that a second episode has happened in such a short time I have one cardiologist saying that I need to have surgery and another that tells me to just deal with it...but to be on blood thinner to prevent a stroke.  If anyone has any information or advice I too would love to hear from you.

Darren

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[LaurenB]

Hello,

Yes, I agree with the calcium/magnesium handling.  I'm using straight magnesium in addition to potassium and it's the only thing that's consistantly helped me.  I had a hyper thyroid since 83 and it progressed into a-fib.  And, like I said, the magnesium and potassium are the only things I've found to calm it down.

Try this site: http://www.alternativementalhealth.com

And this other one will take you to the place I get the best pure magnesium - pretty cheaply too.

http://www.naturalcalm.net/author.shtml

Good luck to us all.
LaurenB

[heartbeat]

Don't worry so much, especially since the tests show you have a healthy heart.  I had episodes when I was your age, a long time ago.  I never knew what was going on with my heart when it would rumble around inside.  I felt uncomfortable but eventually the weird feeling would stop.  Never went to a doctor because of it and when I was young we did not have computer to "talk" to other people about it.  Sometimes I felt an episode maybe once a year, sometimes more often.  Only they last 10 years they seem to be increasing.  Had all tests about 2 years a go (the first time I ever saw a cardiologist), was told my heart is okay and my episodes AFibs and AFlutters are benign. Being 74, I'm still very active, swimming, walking, biking.  So you see, it's not going to kill you.  And all I take is 25 mg beta blocker and one baby aspirin a day.

[nikl]

I have never used this web site before, so I don't how to put this on here but I just posted and hopefully someone will know.  If anyone suffers from palpitations there is a great website called heartburn-help.com and on this people talk about palpitations and one man believes he has actually found a "cure" for them it consists of so much calsium,magnesium etc.  go to this web site and under search type in " cure palpitations" and it will give people the list.  Thanks

[jkf]

I can relate to your problem.  I was woken up from sleep a few weeks ago with a heart rate of 220.  It was fast AND irregular.  Was yours irregular?  My doctor told me it was probably a-fib and not to worry.  He also has me on 25mg of tenormin.  This only happens a couple of times a year so it is hard for my doctor to catch.  I get all other kinds of skips on a weekly basis.  This one is by far the worst.  The biggest fear is how irregular it is.  It just goes all over the place.

[CCF-M.D.-RCJ]

Extremist,

Thanks for the post.

(1) Sure.

(2) Atenolol helps control the heart rate when patients go into atrial fibrillation.  Most patients who have afib are indeed "fine", meaning that they have a good prognosis, but all deserve regular follow-up.

(3) A word of advice: ER doctors are good at treating and diagnosing acute problems, like broken arms, but usually have less interest and knowledge in treating chronic problems.  Seek a reputable internist to help guide you.

(4) It can be, especially if it leads to high blood pressure.

(5) Yes, either can happen.  Make sure you see an internist.

In the interim, you can feel better knowing that millions of people have this problem and do just fine.  But like diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, the problem won't solve itself.

Hope that helps.