thank you plus a new concern

i posted a little while ago about feeling a flutter in my chest and a number of people suggested it might be AF, well i just had my 2nd checkup and low and behold i have AF, so i wanted to send out a big thank you to those folks for their insight. I've also noticed the AF is much worse at night especially when relaxing and/or lying down.
the doctor put me on warfarin and is planning to shock my heart back into rhythm in the coming weeks-does anyone have any thoughts on this and will receiving a shock compromise my PM, i am 100% dependant in the ventricles. thanxs

6 Comments

Atrial Fibrillations

by Dyffryn - 2008-05-27 04:05:24

Hi Karma, I notice that your profile shows you are 138 years old - you are doing well - what's your secret! On a more serious note, I had a single wire PM fitted 2 and a half years ago for bradycardia and on my routine check up at my PM Clinic earlier this month it was found that I was continually going into AF. The symptoms were as you described, fluttering in the chest which, just like you, occurs mainly when relaxing or lying down. To combat this they removed my old PM and replaced it with a double wire model. This was three weeks ago and I have noticed a vast improvement. I still get the occasional AF, but it only lasts seconds now instead of minutes. They did mention prescribing warfarin, but decided against it at this stage and prescribed the beta blocker Congescor (bisoprol) 2.5mg of which I take half in the morning and half in the evening. I enquired as to the effects of a beta blocker on my bradycardia, but they stated that my new PM would cater for that. Now that the new PM has settled down, I feel a lot better and the bonus is no giddy spells.

Kind regards, David

Atrial Fibrillations

by Dyffryn - 2008-05-27 04:05:24

Hi Karma, I notice that your profile shows you are 138 years old - you are doing well - what's your secret! On a more serious note, I had a single wire PM fitted 2 and a half years ago for bradycardia and on my routine check up at my PM Clinic earlier this month it was found that I was continually going into AF. The symptoms were as you described, fluttering in the chest which, just like you, occurs mainly when relaxing or lying down. To combat this they removed my old PM and replaced it with a double wire model. This was three weeks ago and I have noticed a vast improvement. I still get the occasional AF, but it only lasts seconds now instead of minutes. They did mention prescribing warfarin, but decided against it at this stage and prescribed the beta blocker Congescor (bisoprol) 2.5mg of which I take half in the morning and half in the evening. I enquired as to the effects of a beta blocker on my bradycardia, but they stated that my new PM would cater for that. Now that the new PM has settled down, I feel a lot better and the bonus is no giddy spells.

Kind regards, David

Atrial Fibrillations

by Dyffryn - 2008-05-27 04:05:53

Hi Karma, I notice that your profile shows you are 138 years old - you are doing well - what's your secret! On a more serious note, I had a single wire PM fitted 2 and a half years ago for bradycardia and on my routine check up at my PM Clinic earlier this month it was found that I was continually going into AF. The symptoms were as you described, fluttering in the chest which, just like you, occurs mainly when relaxing or lying down. To combat this they removed my old PM and replaced it with a double wire model. This was three weeks ago and I have noticed a vast improvement. I still get the occasional AF, but it only lasts seconds now instead of minutes. They did mention prescribing warfarin, but decided against it at this stage and prescribed the beta blocker Congescor (bisoprol) 2.5mg of which I take half in the morning and half in the evening. I enquired as to the effects of a beta blocker on my bradycardia, but they stated that my new PM would cater for that. Now that the new PM has settled down, I feel a lot better and the bonus is no giddy spells.

Kind regards, David

afib

by ajay - 2008-05-28 02:05:35

Hi Karma,
I have afib and am 100% pm dependant. About two weeks ago I had an ablation for the afib and had to be cardioverted 4 x times-as you are asleep it is no drama. I didn't even know until I was told later that they had done the cardioversion. I think they switch the pm off during the procedure as most people have what is called an escape rhythm. This is where other cells in the heart take over the role of the av node if you don't have one - the beat is much slower than a normal heartbeat, usually 35-40 bpm. Others may be able to explain it better than me but lots of people don't realize that we have an escape rhythm. I find it comforting to know as I had to have my pm taken out due to infection and had to live for 1 x month at the hospital with no pm and just the escape rhythm - makes it hard to do much of anything but it keeps you alive!
Cheers
Ajay

thank you

by karma - 2008-05-28 04:05:22

thank you for the comments, makes things easier to accept and understand, i really appreciate it

Cardioversion

by richan - 2008-05-28 10:05:42

Hi Karma,
My A-fib was discovered via a pre-surgery EKG (if you are over 40, they won't touch you without an EKG). Anyhow my GP put me on warfarin right away and sent me to a cardiologist. My cardio thought cardioversion would be the least invasive way to go. Ajay is right, there really is nothing to the process because I wasn't "there" while they were doing it. I had red areas on my chest and back where the electrodes were stuck. They tried it 2 different times. After each try I got back to normal rhythm for a short while and then relapsed - each time getting worse. Anyhow, I ended up with my PM because the cardioversion did not work. My top half is 100% dependent and my bottom half is currently 60% dependent. I'm guessing that your PM may have to be re-tuned after your cardioversion. Although, I have been told that if I were hooked up to an AED, the electrical jolt would not effect my PM.
I do hope that things go well for you.

Peace,
Richan

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