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It seems that you have a lot on your plate. Just on the face of it, and going by your choices of words strung together here and there in your text, you may be overextended emotionally or in terms of stress and worry. Something to consider soberly...with an analysis of some kind. Not judging...just offering objective, no-skin-in-your-game observation.
It is not unusual in the least to have no overt symptoms of arrhythmias of any kind, except that the most dangerous one, ventricular tachycardia, will have you feeling awful in short order. Typical symptoms for AF are shortness of breath, feeling dizzy, anxiety, poor balance, and often palpitations in the left side wall of the chest (palpitations are a symptom...only...they are not a diagnosis. The term is what patients and physicians prefer to use because patients understand the term....except they think the doctor should be diagnosing 'palpitations'.).
Your watch can only do so much. A Kardia Mobile, a Holter Monitor, or a Loop Recorder will do a better job of definitively determining whether or not you have AF. Kardia Mobiles are not a lot of money; many tens of thousands sold.
Depending on your CHA2DS2-VASc score (you can google it), you will very likely want to accept that your risk of stroke due to intermittent AF is a little too high for your, and your cardiologist's, comfort. So, he/she is probably correct that you will take a DOAC (Direct Oral Anti-Coagulant) like apixaban (Eliquis) or rivaroxaban (Xarelto) daily for the rest of your life.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/atrial-fibrillation/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20350630
https://www.heartandstroke.ca/heart-disease/conditions/atrial-fibrillation
Note that 20% of all strokes turn out to be related to a cardiac arrhythmia. Not only that, but the two latest findings are as follows:
40% of all living adults can expect to be diagnosed with an arrhythmia in the next 30 years. Secondly, the newly determined gold standard for treatment of AF is what is called a catheter ablation. It's a complicated procedure, but it's only day surgery....honestly! I have had two of them. You are at the hospital at 0700, and you're being driven home (they put you out with propofol or a general) by NLT 1900, depending on when they get you into the cath lab that day.
We can feed you more info as you think about things and want to know more.
Replies to "It seems that you have a lot on your plate. Just on the face of it,..."
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Thanks for the feedback.
My apologies on the ramble.
Reading over it is confusing so I’ll try and reader digest it.
-3 years with Apple Watch I’ve had 27 afib warnings. A few with high heart rates. In the 3 years there’s been approx 250 sinus rhythm recordings.
- I’m very busy and active with good blood pressure and zero health problems.
-1 run daily and lift weights.
This New Years, I began wearing my watch all the time and checking all my vitals. I’ve seen to have had a few afib warnings and a couple with Heart rates over 130. I can literally go from a resting HR of 60 and take my watch and go to the Afib app and my HR immediately shoots up to at least 90.
- whether it has anything to do with my results but I came down with Shingles and a bad Head and Chest infection on Jan 9th which I’m still taking antibiotics for.
I’ve went to the GP who really wasn’t saying too much but said the graph doesn’t have the P and R readings for Afib…maybe 2 outta the 27. She thought a 24 hour halter would be a good benchmark. I’m on a wait list for the halter for 4 months as she put down on requisition it was “non urgent, elective” so, I’m at the bottom of wait list.
Sorry, for the long rambling again…just a little concerned.
Cheers
Ps…did the survey and scored zero(0)