He is not in Afib at this time. When he left the hospital he was back in sinus rhythm. When he went for a pacemaker check last week they told him the upper chamber was firing 99% of the time.
How does he tell if he is in AFib? Other than going to the hospital and finding out while there. He has many days when he feels pretty bad and gets dizzy. Is that a symptom ?
He said sometimes he feels like his heart is jumping but then at his pacemaker check they told him heart was beating irregular on a specific date and he does not recall feeling any symptoms on that date. So seems like he cannot really tell when he is in afib.
He had a tilt table test when he was first diagnosed with arrhythmia but I don't know if he had tachycardic or bradycardic
first. What is the difference ?
After his recent afib the doctor put him on beta pace but he could not tolerate the pressure it caused in his chest so he went back to the atenolol.
I appreciate any information you can give us to help us research and try to find a better way for him to cope with this problem.
Hi Roann,
Is there anything he can do to improve his situation ?
These can be very difficult problems to solve. One question that I have is out of the atrial fibrillation? If he isn't, the upper chamber should not be firing. I assume he is back in sinus rhythm.
The current treatment is what we usually start with in addition to knee high stockings to improve blood return.
Are any of these medications contributing to his dizziness ?
Has he had a tilt table test? For people that get tachycardic on a tilt table before passing out or getting dizzy, a beta blocker like atenolol will sometimes help. If he gets bradycardic first, the beta blocker may make it worse.
I recognize this is a very frustrating problem and hope that he finds some relief soon.
Good luck.