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Irregular heart beat

Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: 12 hours ago | Replies (57)

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@gloaming

So far, so good! However, we still don't know which of the arrhythmias it is, and if it is atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, you really 'should be' on a DOAC (Direct Oral Anti-Coagulant) such as rivaroxaban or apixaban. If you do have intermittent AF, also formally known as 'paroxysmal' AF, the greatest risk early in the development of it is a risk of stroke. The problem is that a fibrillating left atrium has a small 'grotto-like' lump on its extreme upper left that is called the left atrial appendage. The LAA doesn't flush itself out of stale blood quickly enough when its host atrium is fibrillating, and if a clot forms there and gets dislodged, which can happen at any time, including weeks later (!!!!), the clot can travel to coronary arteries, the lungs, or, egads!...to the brain. A most unwanted event.

Metoprolol is a 'rate control' medication that works to slow the heart and also to make its beat strokes less forceful. It happens to be also useful for people with incipient hypertension (high blood pressure) as a result of its action.

Finally, yes, as far as I know (I'm far from a cardiologist, or even a doctor), an otherwise healthy heart, no cardiomyopathy, no valve disease, no ischemia, is going to show a normal ECG when it is in sinus rhythm. It is when the electrical disorder happens that an ECG running concurrently will definitely show unusual waveforms.

If you take a look at Kardia, and decide you'd like to try one (they are good and have sold millions....and no, I am not 'involved, and only use a Galaxy watch), you can get a 'readout' downloaded from the device to you tablet or PC and take a look. If it's AF, there will be no P-wave and the distance between the R-waves, also called the 'R-to-R interval', will be quite clearly varied, some long, some short. AF is characterized as 'irregularly irregular' heartbeats.

This is a horribly long URL, but it's an example of what an ECG looks like for AF:
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=dOPF%2FGF5&id=F50BDF95F0407EF68AE1E22358CC3D32BC6BBDF7&thid=OIP.dOPF_GF5LOVkZ1qGhkvUVwHaCx&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aclsmedicaltraining.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F09%2FACLS-Figure-30.jpg&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR.74e3c5fc61792ce564675a86864bd457%3Frik%3D971rvDI9zFgj4g%26pid%3DImgRaw%26r%3D0&exph=560&expw=1495&q=what+does+an+af+ecg+look+like&simid=607992676649951713&FORM=IRPRST&ck=E161CC42AA92820B0C42730ACA137F9B&selectedIndex=6&itb=0&cw=2297&ch=1183&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0

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Replies to "So far, so good! However, we still don't know which of the arrhythmias it is, and..."

DOAC was mentioned but was determined I didn't require it. I do believe it is AF but the doctors offer no advice as to how it starts...its a case of it just does! How to prevent it is my biggest issue, and what measures I can take to get it back in rhythm. I estimate it can last for 10 hours and then all of a sudden decide to go back to normal, most perplexing!