I am 61, female, have been going through menopause since November 2000. At the same time I began menopause, I also began intermittent episodes of some sort of flutter or fibrillation. At the time, I didn't know what they were, and since I never went to the doctor when they were happening, I was clueless as to what was going on with my heart. I didn't stress out too much over the episodes---I just waited for them to pass, which they did after 10-15 hours.
At first the episodes happened maybe twice a year, then they began happening about once a month. About 3 years after I began having them, I went through a stress test and ekg, but of course nothing showed up, so I wasn't overly concerned. In 2011, I happened to be having one of my episodes when I was scheduled for my annual physical, so it was finally "captured" on EKG! The cardiologist said it was Atrial Flutter, and a month later I had an ablation for that. While I was still under anesthesia, my heart apparently went into A-Fib... So the ablation for flutter worked, but I now have episodes of A-Fib, usually monthly, lasting 10-15 hours, very annoying, to say the least!
A year ago I began taking a low dose of Estropipate, in order to alleviate my hot flashes, which seem to worsen prior to an A-Fib episode. Cardiologists don't seem to think the two are related at all, but I do. The Estropioate has made my hot flashes somewhat tolerable, until it's time to go into A-fib again, and then, a few days prior to the episode, my hot flashes intensify, 2 per hour, and last longer that usual. Then sometime during the night, I go into A-fib, and my hot flashes continue coming in waves, leaving me wiped out, along with being wiped out from the A-fib episode.
I am seriously considering ablation for Atrial Fibrillation, but then part of me keeps thinking that if my hot flashes would just STOP, the A-fib would stop as well... But will my hot flashes ever stop??? It's been 12 years. I don't drink, don't smoke, am not overweight, I work outside and am active, though not as active as I used to be. My thyroid is normal, I didn't have rheumatic fever as a child. I consider myself to be healthy, more-or-less... (I do have Hep-C, but was told that doesn't have an effect on A-fib.)
Anyone have any insight on all this? Sorry my intro post is so long-winded, but I felt I had to lay it all out on the table!! ;-]