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Irregular heartbeat

I have recently developed hyperthyroidism due to the anti-arrhythmic drug amiodarone.  I have an ICD since I had experienced V Tach years ago.  Since I already suffer from anxiety it gets worse under these conditions. 2 months ago my ICD fired due to A Fib.  Last week my heart when into A Fib again but didn't fire and converted on its own in the hospital.  Today for the last 8 hours I'm getting the sensation of skipped beats and 2 or 3 fast beats almost constantly.  Unlike last week it did feel a little different and my heart rate has stayed between 80-90.  Blood pressure about 120/75.  I went and had an EKG and it was normal.  Of course the the irregular beats didn't seem to occur then.  I take Sotalol as my anti-arrythmic and they are watching the thyroid condition very carefully.

So my question is many people here seem to have frequent irregular heartbeats.  I've never been told I had PVCs but it seems similar to what I am feeling.  Does this sound like it's probably PVCs or can you have A Fib without elevated heart rate and BP?
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Avatar universal
When I had V tac it felt like I was going to be sick.  My GP took one look at me and called 911.  No real pain just a very leaden feeling.  I had already had bypass surgery and an MI about a year earlier before the v tac.

As far as my ICD and the a fib.  I don't know the details other than it fired (almost fainted) and the doc said a fib.  I don't know if this makes a difference but my ICD is dual chamber.  It is not a common use for the ICD but since it's there I guess it works on a fib if needed.
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Avatar universal
how fast was your a fib when you got zapped?  I was told the ICD has no way of distinguishing bewteen supraventriclar and ventricular when it gets over 188, but mine will override by pacing, to keep it below 188.......it has done this for 5 minutes, no zap.  Maybe you should have an ekg.
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Avatar universal
just wondering about your v-tach experience...did they find u have a heart condition which lead to your v-tach...what did your v-tach feel like?
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66068 tn?1365193181
You can definitiely have both afib and a low heart rate.  I'm in afib right now and my resting HR is between 50 and 70. The meds you take, like sotalol, lower the heart rate while in afib. You may in fact be drfting into and out of afib during the day. It's really difficult to tell from the pulse itself whether you are having PACs, afib or runs of PVCs. I thought I was in afib two months ago but when put on an ekg, my heart appeared to be bouncing btween NSR and atrial fluter (with a HR of about 100) from minute to minute on that particular day.

I was surprised to learn that your ICD fired during afib.  Is it supposed to do that? I thought that was only supposed to happen when you have v-fib/v-tach.
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