Aa
Need Help and Your Opinion
Hello everyone. I am looking for your opinion based on my situation. I'll recap........
In Jan was sitting on the couch watching TV when all of a sudden my heart began to race/pound. Called 911 and when they put me on the monitor in the ambulance, my HR was at 314 In A fib. Arrived at the hospital and they electricly cardioverted me.
I was admitted into ccu and the cardiologist dxd me with Wolf Parkinson White, an extra electric pathway in the heart. This was clear on my ekg. The doctor told me that I was lucky that I did not pass out, for I was home alone and had I not gotten the medical attention as I did, my heart would have probably stoped. Ok so at that point i was glad to be alive! SO i asked now what. They said to me that at my age, 30, my best option for cure was ablation. So it was ablation or meds the rest of my life, I went with the ablation. 5 days later I met with my EP which was from Mass General In Boston, one of the best I am told. She explained to me the procedure and we scheduled. During the procedure everything went like she explained, except the fact that I had to be cardioverted while they were mapping. So.........I was told the procedure was a success. Went home 2 days after and was told to take asprin for 1 month until my follow up. Met with the EP for the follow up, EKG showed no signs of WPW, she said...go about an live your life like you did before. So I did, it took a while but I was starting to trust my body again.......went back to the gym...so on and so on. Except one thing, I could swear i was having palpatations and pvc's....I ended up in the ER 4 times with in the 1st 6 months after the ablation, had holter monitor for 30 days, stress test all were perfect. I was starting to think i was crazy....i knew what I was feeling. Cardiologist told me it was just a few extra heartbeats and not to worry, reasured me that I was fine. OK Doc........I said. Now about 5 weeks ago I went out for a couple of drinks.....I had about 6-7....maybe more. over a 7 hour period. When i got home, I felt nausea, went to vomit and the heart beat kicked in.....it felt like Jan all over again. I imediatly thought OMG it's back! Again called 911, emt's came I was in rapid a-fib HR into the 240's. Back to the hospital, and cardioverted with medicine...not sure what it was but I know it didn't work right away. Took about 7 hrs to get back into sinus rythm. Stayed over night and they let me go on 50mg of metoprolol. Doc said I had A fib and was to stay away from the alchahol, excesive caffine, etc.
I just had my follow up yesterday.....My big thing is why A fib now? They assure me that the WPW is gone and this has nothing to do with it. Ok I buy that but how did I develop A -fib? Ive gone out a drank other times before and nothing has happened. why this time? The answer i got was "we realy don;t know how alchahol effects the heart and a-fib. All my testsm ekg, stress, sonogram, everything is pefect. I have a hard time understanding it all.
Another question, I see alot of people have episodes but thier HR is low, Mine seems to be on the high side, That worries me.
What is rapid a-fib. Is it my venticales that are beating that fast?
Sorry for the gigantic post, but am just looking for some support and insight. I have a vacation planned in October to go to Mexico All inclisive. My biggest fear is having an episode while on the plane or worse in another country....god nows how the medical sytem is down there.......Should I go or should I cancel????????
Please any feedback is appriciated.
Thanks, Chris
In Jan was sitting on the couch watching TV when all of a sudden my heart began to race/pound. Called 911 and when they put me on the monitor in the ambulance, my HR was at 314 In A fib. Arrived at the hospital and they electricly cardioverted me.
I was admitted into ccu and the cardiologist dxd me with Wolf Parkinson White, an extra electric pathway in the heart. This was clear on my ekg. The doctor told me that I was lucky that I did not pass out, for I was home alone and had I not gotten the medical attention as I did, my heart would have probably stoped. Ok so at that point i was glad to be alive! SO i asked now what. They said to me that at my age, 30, my best option for cure was ablation. So it was ablation or meds the rest of my life, I went with the ablation. 5 days later I met with my EP which was from Mass General In Boston, one of the best I am told. She explained to me the procedure and we scheduled. During the procedure everything went like she explained, except the fact that I had to be cardioverted while they were mapping. So.........I was told the procedure was a success. Went home 2 days after and was told to take asprin for 1 month until my follow up. Met with the EP for the follow up, EKG showed no signs of WPW, she said...go about an live your life like you did before. So I did, it took a while but I was starting to trust my body again.......went back to the gym...so on and so on. Except one thing, I could swear i was having palpatations and pvc's....I ended up in the ER 4 times with in the 1st 6 months after the ablation, had holter monitor for 30 days, stress test all were perfect. I was starting to think i was crazy....i knew what I was feeling. Cardiologist told me it was just a few extra heartbeats and not to worry, reasured me that I was fine. OK Doc........I said. Now about 5 weeks ago I went out for a couple of drinks.....I had about 6-7....maybe more. over a 7 hour period. When i got home, I felt nausea, went to vomit and the heart beat kicked in.....it felt like Jan all over again. I imediatly thought OMG it's back! Again called 911, emt's came I was in rapid a-fib HR into the 240's. Back to the hospital, and cardioverted with medicine...not sure what it was but I know it didn't work right away. Took about 7 hrs to get back into sinus rythm. Stayed over night and they let me go on 50mg of metoprolol. Doc said I had A fib and was to stay away from the alchahol, excesive caffine, etc.
I just had my follow up yesterday.....My big thing is why A fib now? They assure me that the WPW is gone and this has nothing to do with it. Ok I buy that but how did I develop A -fib? Ive gone out a drank other times before and nothing has happened. why this time? The answer i got was "we realy don;t know how alchahol effects the heart and a-fib. All my testsm ekg, stress, sonogram, everything is pefect. I have a hard time understanding it all.
Another question, I see alot of people have episodes but thier HR is low, Mine seems to be on the high side, That worries me.
What is rapid a-fib. Is it my venticales that are beating that fast?
Sorry for the gigantic post, but am just looking for some support and insight. I have a vacation planned in October to go to Mexico All inclisive. My biggest fear is having an episode while on the plane or worse in another country....god nows how the medical sytem is down there.......Should I go or should I cancel????????
Please any feedback is appriciated.
Thanks, Chris
Sorry to hear about it.
1. My understanding is that Afib, when combined with WPW, especially when the WPW is due to an accessory pathway that conducts from the atria to the ventricles, is dangerous. Afib means that conduction more or less follows a random sort of circuitous route around the upper heart. This is not as dangerous. However, in the presence of an additional pathway that conducts to the lower heart, it is dangerous because this could cause the ventricles to beat too fast, or the heart to enter Vfib.
2. I also understand that ablation can be considered as a first line treatment for WPW. This is because success rates are high and complication rates are low for ablation of WPW due to accessory pathways.
3. I have read that success rates for ablation of Afib are not as good, and complication rates are relatively high for Afib, and so ablation is considered after drug treatment has failed for Afib.
Perhaps you have had your WPW ablated but not your afib. This would seem to be a logical medical approach to your situation. You would be in much better shape, but your afib would still be present if you didn't take very good care of yourself, and you might need drugs to control your afib. However, if the only time you experience afib is when you drink alcohol or caffeine, maybe the best medical recommendation is to stay away from those things.
If you want a vacation in Mexico now I would go. If you talk to your doctor about this, she might be able to prescribe some medication that could help suppress your afib in case your have problems while you are on your trip? You would then need to avoid mixing drugs with alcohol or caffeine.
My personal preference is to vacation in the US. Funner; more to see; less likely to have bad indigestion.
1. My understanding is that Afib, when combined with WPW, especially when the WPW is due to an accessory pathway that conducts from the atria to the ventricles, is dangerous. Afib means that conduction more or less follows a random sort of circuitous route around the upper heart. This is not as dangerous. However, in the presence of an additional pathway that conducts to the lower heart, it is dangerous because this could cause the ventricles to beat too fast, or the heart to enter Vfib.
2. I also understand that ablation can be considered as a first line treatment for WPW. This is because success rates are high and complication rates are low for ablation of WPW due to accessory pathways.
3. I have read that success rates for ablation of Afib are not as good, and complication rates are relatively high for Afib, and so ablation is considered after drug treatment has failed for Afib.
Perhaps you have had your WPW ablated but not your afib. This would seem to be a logical medical approach to your situation. You would be in much better shape, but your afib would still be present if you didn't take very good care of yourself, and you might need drugs to control your afib. However, if the only time you experience afib is when you drink alcohol or caffeine, maybe the best medical recommendation is to stay away from those things.
If you want a vacation in Mexico now I would go. If you talk to your doctor about this, she might be able to prescribe some medication that could help suppress your afib in case your have problems while you are on your trip? You would then need to avoid mixing drugs with alcohol or caffeine.
My personal preference is to vacation in the US. Funner; more to see; less likely to have bad indigestion.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Heart Rhythm Community
Are there grounds to recommend coffee consumption? Recent studies perk interest.
Salt in food can hurt your heart.
Get answers to your top questions about this common — but scary — symptom
How to know when chest pain may be a sign of something else
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
