Always tired?

I can't be sure (surgeons vary, but they carry the big stick in their surgeries, so what they say goes), but I don't think being in AF matters all that much. I mean, they might have to do emergency surgery after a car accident to repair a torn femoral artery, or something else, and they would not stand back, hands up, and say, 'Nope, nothing we can do for this person because he has a fever, or another bandage someplace, or has a drug addiction, or because he is currently fibrillating..............................................would they? A risk is a risk. Sure, one is during a life-saving procedure where things are dicey. Things aren't dicey when you're fibrillating.

But what the particular surgeon says.....goes. You should really ask that person, or his agent, for clarification.

All my research suggests that there is no 'cure' for AF. It can be managed, remediated, curbed, controlled...whichever verb that fits aptly...but if you reverse or stop any treatment, you go right back into AF. That's because it's a new electrical pathway that the heart doesn't mind using....if it's available to it. Early in my research, as I read about the various drugs and catheter ablation, I figured in short order that an ablation would be the only thing to make me feel 'better'. So far, I was correct. I have had to have two ablations because the first didn't completely dam the pulmonary vein ostia properly, and some current got through to the endothelium lining the atrium (which is the mechanism that causes the atrial myocytes to contract). Second ablation, seven months later, did the trick.

I am 75 also, female, and your nap schedule is pretty much like mine. LOL Up until lately, I have been walking a lot, up and down hills where I live, and also yard work about an hou, 5-6 days a week.

But lately have been more tired and can feel my heart fluttering around some. I have also had sleep apnea for years. My sister, 5 yrs older than me, does too. My late husband used to nudge me when I stopped breathing, but am now alone. I never wanted one of those snorkel machines either. My sis used one for years, but discovered that if she slept in recliner she had no problem. I don't like those big bulky recliners, so I use 3 pillows and am about 45 degrees sitting up. I live alone so who cares? But I have no problem with sleep apnea
doing this.

Glad your ablation did good. I deal with my health issues with diet changes etc. Most people I know who have trouble with their knees, need to lost weight, and if they did, maybe no surgeries???

My husband has asymptomatic afib which was found by an annual physical ekg. The cardiologist tried twice to shock him back into rhythm but that only lasted each time a matter of days. He takes a blood thinner since the irregular heartbeat could result in blood pooling and then clots. Ablation in which a part of the heart that controls rhythm is cauterized (I think) is only done it seems when there are disturbing symptoms from the afib. So in effect what I am saying is that most afib seems to be nothing to be worried about other than the expense of the blood thinner, Anyone disagree?

Yes! Left untreated, AF can cause atrial hypertrophy, mitral valve prolapse if the hypertophy happens, and heart failure.

So what is the treatment? Our heart doctor said she would not do ablation on my husband but he has a check up with her yearly. And all of the many many seniors I know with afib (two in their 90s still going to the gym) are taking blood thinners only.

Depends on the patient. Some do poorly quickly, others can live for decades with AF. But those who develop the conditions I mentioned don't live well afterwards, and many die. AF, itself, won't kill you, but follow-on conditions might very well.
The treatment is rate control, anti-arrhythmic drugs, or ablation. Or all of them, sequentially or severally.

(@gloaming Thanks for the information but no one I know has specific drugs for Afib and only one of the perhaps 6 has had ablation (for a wildly racing heartbeat and actually with our same doctor).

As I started this email train, I thought I would bring it up to date for those who are interested. I’m still tired most of the time but perhaps less so than when I first wrote.

Yesterday I had an initial appointment with our local Cardiac Function Lab run by a cardiologist and staffed with four nurse practitioners. They took my pulse, blood pressure, electro-cardio gram, blood work and gave me some advice clarifying where I was in the process of assessment and treatment. This was all very helpful and enlightening. Drug therapy first, an angiogram in three weeks then perhaps ablation.

Today, I received a call from a nurse practitioner saying my bloodwork looked good (electrolytes and kidney function) and am now being prescribed Sporonal Acetate (sp?) to help strengthen the heart muscle and Furosemide to help reduce the amount of water I am retaining and help me with my weight and breathing (take it in the morning because it will make me pee a lot and stop it if I feel dizzy).

I have been referred to the Pulmonary Lab to have my lungs checked out as I worked in the construction industry and may have been exposed to asbestos in the past. I have been experiencing difficulty with breathing.

I am to receive a call from the Lab soon to help set my iPhone 9 up with a program called Aetonix that will allow me to send my vitals to the lab digitally. I have an Apple 9 pro and recently purchased a blood pressure cuff that also tells me if I am in AFIB.

I am halfway through the AFIB Cure by John Day MD and trying to follow dietary recommendations. It is a very thorough book..

So all this information is offered simply to tell my story. I would love to hear how others are doing.