Atrial Fibrulation

[tazgymuk]

Hi everyone. I'm returning back to this forum as i got a lot of information and help from you kind people out there.
I was diagnosed with Atrial Fluttering on the 23rd of December 2010. I was placed on blood thinners - Warfarin, After 2 weeks i felt symptoms as if fluttering was returning. I was kept in A & E overnight. In the morning i was advised i would have to increase my warfarin as my INR was 1.3 not enough for cardio version in 6 weeeks. I was also to start on an heart tablet. When i questioned this i was referred to cardiology. They advised me to stop the warfarin tablets, they were against the idea of a heart tablet and suggested i was an ideal candidate for ablation. However they wanted to do a 24 hour tape on me first. Since then i returned to the gym, doing only light weight training, no running or boxing. Feeling more or less normal without any further problems.
1 month later i was invited back to Cardiology through my Dr's request to get the correct diagnsis of what  i have. They did an x ray, ultrasound, echo, blood tests, and an ecg. Their findings revealed i was in sinus rythm.
The consultant i saw there was3 options here;
a) Do Nothing.
b) Take medication to prevent this from ever happening again, medicine obviously would carry side effects.
c) Ablation.
I explained if i did nothing now and started boxing and running again and this re occurred,would happen then?
The consultant made me do a treadmill test 5 m,p,h on an 2 % incline for 14 mins. He said your blood pressure is fine, also there is no abnormality showing in the heart rythm. I said i run at 10 m.p.h for 18 mins, i think abnormality would be more evident then. He said wait for the 24 hour tape.
2 days later at 0730 in the morning just before breakfast i got the flutter my heart was racing as if i was on the treadmill, i got about 180 beats per minute. The episode lasted about 35 minutes before things went back to normal. Maybe this was induced by the treadmill 2 days earlier.
My question here is, my 24 hour tape is next week, if that is okay i'm discharged. Unless i request an ablation. Is having 2 episodes in a space of 2 months enough grounds for an ablation when i'm in sinus rythm now?

[LindaTX]

First, it seems like more and more younger people are being diagnosed with a-fib and a-flutter.  There are so many triggers these days like caffeine, alcohol, diet supplements, even certain herbs and a lot more  It sounds like you are very fit but on an extremely rigorous exercise schedule.  Maybe you should cut yourself a little slack and try to relax a tad more.

Secondly, there is no medicine that is going to prevent this from happening long term.  And yes, the meds do carry side -effects. If I were you I wouldn't jump right into an ablation.  Watch your possible triggers.  Give yourself a little time.  Some people swear by ablations but it's something you want to give a lot of thought to and if you do choose to go that route, be sure you have a Dr with a really good track record with the procedure.

[is_something_wrong]

Good question.

You have an arrhythmia from time to time, and you must decide how much it affects your life quality. Often, atrial fib tends to worsen with time, and at some point it may become permanent. I guess I would have asked for an ablation, but that's just me. I hate arrhyhtmias, even the benign ones (PACs and so on).

What's important for your doctors to know, is what onsets the fibrillation. If you can capture an episode on Holter (24h tape), it would be valuable.

Atrial fib is not normal in 40 years old healthy people. A cause should be found. Atrial tachyarrhythmias are common but not fibrillation I think. As this may be really bothersome with time, there may be a good idea to do something about it, but this is your choice along with the doctors, not mine :)

Good luck!