Heart Rhythm Conditions – Welcome to the group

Dear "isabelk,"

It is not my place to give medical advice. But I can give life advice. Make sure you are feeling heard by your doctor. If that is not true? You don't have a doctor. Your doctor's care should be all on YOU, not on the bottom line or on how your treatment may be profitable. Unfortunately, we are headed into a time of mistrust. It is essential you get your personal needs met. I do not know your case. But I care about you.

Hi, Mary here- reading others stories is beneficial. AFIB is quite concerning at times-I’ve taken Eliquis, metoprolol and flecenide for 2 years and practice many tactics for stopping episodes before getting out the tartrate bottle. The main ones are drinking ice cold water and deep coughing. Stopped alcohol and caffeine- walk a lot every day. Reading of other ways for preventing or stopping it are greatly appreciated. Yes, hydration is critical.

Howdy. My name is Phil and I’m 75 yo. I was diagnosed with afib 20 something years ago and I’ve had atrial flutter as well. I’ve had two ablations and a couple of cardioversions, the most recent was November of ‘24. Since then, I have had some issues with light headedness when getting up, more fatigued than before and trouble catching my breath walking up slight inclines. I decided to seek out a second opinion and was impressed with the doctor I met. He suggested a couple of options that my current doctor never mentioned and I’m trying to figure out what do. Im looking to see if folks in this group have similar experiences and can provide some insight. The options presented are another ablation, a pacemaker and do nothing. He is recommending the pacemaker first with an ablation down the road. He did not mention I had or was experiencing bradycardia which is something I’m a reading is associated with pacemakers. I have mentioned my fatigue to a number of doctors over the past few years, but this is the first time a doctor has mentioned anything that could help with that issue. I sure would appreciate any advice anyone has along these lines. Thanks

I can't argue with the good doctor, not without knowing much more, including his rationale. Did he explain why he recommends putting off a third ablation in favour of the PM? I CAN see the logic, in a way. If you really are in bradycardia much of the time, a pacemaker makes more sense than an ablation because your arrhythmia might be a distant second in terms of its contribution to how you feel when you're lightheaded. IOW, it's the bradycardia that presents the greater danger of a fall and feeling dizzy and alarmed, not any arrhythmia that might/might not be going on at the time. In fact, the bradycardia might be so objectionable to your now-remodeled heart (post AF and two ablations, plus the aging since then) that the cardioversion was really mostly needed to fix your rate, and that if you can do that via a PM it will stave off any further arrhythmia...which you can always undergo another CA if it returns later on. Maybe?

Thanks for your reply. I guess I need to find out if this new doctor actually thinks I have bradycardia. I don’t think I do and I don’t believe my BPM are slow. My blood pressure is generally ok, but there are times I could use more water. This whole thing confuses the hell out of me because I don’t have enough information and I know enough to ask all the right questions. There are times I am in rhythm and times my heart is erratic, hence afib. A PM will not help this situation. If the dizziness and fatigue would be helped by a PM, that would be a benefit. Again, thanks for your input.

Bradycardia is a heart rate of below 60 beats per minute. The lower it is from that number the more problems you will experience and this can be the reason for a pacemaker.

Howdy. My name is Phil and I’m 75 yo. I was diagnosed with afib 20 something years ago and I’ve had atrial flutter as well. I’ve had two ablations and a couple of cardioversions, the most recent was November of ‘24. Since then, I have had some issues with light headedness when getting up, more fatigued than before and trouble catching my breath walking up slight inclines. I decided to seek out a second opinion and was impressed with the doctor I met. He suggested a couple of options that my current doctor never mentioned and I’m trying to figure out what do. Im looking to see if folks in this group have similar experiences and can provide some insight. The options presented are another ablation, a pacemaker and do nothing. He is recommending the pacemaker first with an ablation down the road. He did not mention I had or was experiencing bradycardia which is something I’m a reading is associated with pacemakers. I have mentioned my fatigue to a number of doctors over the past few years, but this is the first time a doctor has mentioned anything that could help with that issue. I sure would appreciate any advice anyone has along these lines. Thanks