Afib only at night?

[dbranden]

Since early November, I've been having frequent episodes of what I think is Afib, occurring only at night. It seems to happen only if I am awakened during the night, and as I settle back into sleep, I will get "runs" of fast beats that start off as a skip sensation then 3 to 5 fast beats, and then quickly ramps up to 5 to 10 fast beats. This pattern repeats over and over, with the fast beats happening several times a minute. Then within 20 minutes or so everything calms down and I go back to a normal rhythm. Only in one episode did I count more than 10 fast beats--I was getting runs that were 45 beats long. I took Flecainide in August to try and reduce my PVC's/PAC's but it caused short runs of Afib, but only with exertion. This seems to be the opposite--exertion makes these fast runs go away, but laying down brings them on. I was only on Flecainide for a few weeks, and the Afib with exertion disappeared after I stopped the drug. These fast beats may not be Afib, but they certainly feel very similar in nature. Has anyone here experienced something like this?

[Jerry_NJ]

I will "Hijack" this thread as it is an onld one and unlikely that the useful information you have provided got back to the original poster - just a guess.

Nice to be in NSR when up and around, I am in permanent AFib and take BB and CCB to control my HR, my cardio has given up on trying to get me back in NSR.  I am about your age.

You also have a pacemaker, I do not.  Is that because you suffer from bradycardia (too slow a HR)?  Or, another related in my mind subject, what HR do you have when in AFib, just irregular but not fast?  That would seem to be the case as you mention only Pradaxa.   I continue to take warfarin for clot reduction.

[Dixidude39]

For what it's worth, I was diagnosed with Afib when the cardiologist down-
loaded data from my non-defilibrati ng PACEMAKER (otherwise I had no
symptoms).
The download showed precisely when I was experiencing AFib -- always
while asleep, often 3 am-5:30 am, 2 am-3 am, etc.
Obviously this was a far longer period than you experienced (several hours at a crack).
The diagnosis was early December 2011.  I have been on the relatively new
blood thinner, Pradaxa.  This is a capsule taken twice daily.  Unlike the
traditional blood thinner, Pradaxa does not require the repeated monitoring,
either at a doc's office or hospital/clinic.
That reminds me, I need to get a med necklace indicating I'm on Pradaxa,
an with my pacemaker cannot undergo an MRI.  Hope this helps.

[MichelleP_3811]

I assume you were diagnosed with afib?  If this is a new symptom I would suggest going back to your cardiologist to discuss what he thinks it could be.  I've made assumptions about my health and been wrong so just go and see what the doctor has to say.

[rilesnic]

I have PVC's and PAC's and can tell the difference between the two. I also have something else going on at night, that they can't catch on monitor, b/c it doesn't happen when I have a monitor (even the 30-day monitors), but I can say with an almost 99% certainty, it's afib. I believe I have nocturnal panic attacks which I can't figure is brought on by the heart issues or the heart issues are brought on from the panic attacks. My evenings and nighttimes can be living nightmares with the heart junk. I even have my husband feel them and he just does his best to keep me calm. My head also feels like it's going to explode when these happen. I do get up and move around when I am having my PVC's and PAC's as long as I'm not lightheaded or dizzy (which I am a lot of the time). You are certainly not alone and I wish you a restful night's sleep :)