A-fib Questions

[Annabelle1961]

Anybody know the life expectancy on a 50 yr old woman with HBP and afib?  Also, how often should a individual with afib have an echo?  How about the best rhythm control med for afib, any opinion?  Curently taking Atenolol 50mg, once a day and sometimes I feel like it slows the heart rate down too much and makes me very uncomfortble.  Any opinion on how I can prevent the, from what I've read, inevitable stroke?  I only take 325mg aspirin right now, but am worried that it is not enough.  Any comments would be appreciated.

[claytex]

Anabelle I had afib for 12 years until I had a heart ablation recently and got it fixed.  I had probably 15 electro cardio versions.  Im 69 now.  I would go into afib about 2-3 times a year and had to be shocked back into rhythm.  All I took was one 81 mg asprin daily.  Once in a while they would put me on coumadin ( blood thinner) for 30  days after being shocked back... Your 325 mgs sounds sort of high to me.. dunno.. do you stay in afib all the time or just occassionaly? I have an old uncle who is 83 and stays in afib and has been it  constantly for almost 20 years but he takes warfarin ( blood thinner).  If you take the proper medications... you will probably live a normal life expectancy.  If you can, Id suggest having a heart ablation and possibly fixing the afib.  hope this helps claytex

[CFS56]

As far as a stroke being inevitable I don't believe that to be the case.  That's why you are taking aspirin.  If your doctor thought you needed anything more than that he would have prescribed something else.  My grandmother had Afib for years and years...never had a stroke and lived to be 90.

[CFS56]

Are you in Afib all the time or does it only happen once in a while?   Were all tests normal, ie, echocardiogram, stress test, etc?  
I have occasional episodes of Afib, have a structurally normal heart, I take a beta blocker and 162 mg of aspirin.  I am about the same age as you are and have been assured by my cardiologist that as long as I follow medical advice Afib should not affect my life expectancy one way or the other.