Atrial Fib

Hi
Went for my yearly check up yesterday, I told the tec I am very tired all the time and have had a few dizzy spells.
She said it may be the Atrial Fibs I am experiencing, why am I getting these is it normal to get them when you have a PM or is this a whole new condition I should worry about, I take 9mg of Bisoprolol, she suggested I see my GP and up my dose wont this make me more tired ?
What should I do and is it any thing to worry about.

2 Comments

Not Sure What to Believe

by Artist - 2015-02-24 01:02:37

I was told that afib increases the likelihood that a person will suffer a heart attack or stroke, but after posting a comment about this, Donr posted this detailed comment which says that it may cause strokes but not heart attacks:

Blood flow primer
Comment posted by donr on 2015-01-29 00:46.

Blood comes OUT of the LEFT Ventricle & enters the Aorta. From the Aorta, it flows to the entire body, brain included. Blood goes from the RIGHT Ventricle through the Pulmonary Artery to the lungs, which happens BEFORE the blood gets to the LEFT ventricle, so A-Fib will not cause pulmonary embolisms.

A-Fib affecting the LEFT ATRIUM can pool in abnormal surface conditions of that chamber due to the Fibrillation, break off & flow through the LEFT Ventricle up into the Aorta. The Coronary arteries take their blood from immediately after it enters the Aorta and they are relatively small, compared to the Aorta so they will unlikely pickup clots. That's why we don't have heart attacks due to clots from A-Fib.

Here I'm going to slip into my mechanical engineer hat & look at the fluid dynamics of liquid flow in order to make an educated guess about further reasons why the Coronary Arteries don't pick up clots from the A-Fib. Normally, flow through the heart & its valves is pretty turbulent - that's what the tech hears when you have an Echo Cardiogram. When it comes out of the LEFT Ventricle into the Aorta the flow smooths out (Called Laminar flow) & INCREASES in speed because the diameter of the Aorta is less than the diameter of the Left Ventricle. Like all things in the body, it is well designed, so as the blood transitions into the Aorta, the walls guide it smoothly into the more constricted space. The Coronary Arteries are fed from just this transition point, so I suspect that the blood flows past the relatively small diameter branches quite fast & small clots are not picked up. The Brain takes a whopping amount of blood to function, so it has a pair of large diameter carotid arteries picking up blood from the Aorta, therefore a lot of clots zoom right into those two arteries.

Donr

Please get checked quickly

by Theknotguy - 2015-02-24 09:02:26

I had afib before getting my PM and continue to have afib sessions after having my PM. Afib is handled differently and the PM doesn't necessarily help or
hinder your afib sessions. In some cases the PM will just watch during your afib session. It may record you have an afib session but the PM may be able
to do nothing.

Afib can be a heart problem of its own, or it can be a natural progression of heart problems. Some people never have afib while others (such as myself) may have a lot of problems with afib.

You're in the UK and have had your PM since 1997according to your bio so I am surprised your cardio doctor hasn't discussed afib with you but things are handled differently in the UK.

If your cardio doctor hasn't discussed afib with you or you aren't aware you have afib, I would get in contact with your cardio doctor and have a discussion about your afib sessions. I would do this as quickly as possible.

Untreated, afib can produce blood clots in the heart which can then be pumped out into the bloodstream and cause a stroke or heart attack. In the US doctors have you take a blood thinner such as apixiban or coumadin to reduce the chance of heart attack or stroke. There are medications (such as Metoprolol) which can be taken to counteract afib. Some people need only to take medications to control their afib.

Depending upon the frequency and intensity of your afib session, you may need to have an ablation. Success of ablations goes from zero to 100% depending upon location, type, skill of the doctor doing the ablation, etc.

While afib may not cause immediate death, if you aren't taking medications for it and for blood clots, I would get your problem addressed as quickly as possible. Some people can go for years and not have a blood clot, but a blood clot and stroke could happen with your next afib session.

I hope you can get some answers quickly.

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