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Post cardioversion anxiety
I am newly diagnosed with A-fib, since November. Medication slowed the pulse but did not "correct" the rhythm or the awful sensations of discomfort. I begged to get cardioversion after waiting 4 weeks on blood thinner medication as required. The cardioversion was, to me, no big deal and one shock corrected six weeks of distress. It has only been two weeks and I feel much, much better--have read and accepted life-style changes to help prevent another recurrence. Still feel like I am living on pins and needles. Checking my pulse frequently every time I feel the slightest twinge! I would like to know how many have had long term success with cardioversion? Am I being too "paranoid" with the statistics that this arrhythmia will return shortly?
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What type of pain, where, and how long does it last? How intrusive is it? Does it interfere with your day or with your night's rest?
I can't advise you (I don't know anything about you, your history, your condition and other comorbidities...if you have them..., and I'm not a health professional). AF is the most common cardiac arrhythmia with something like 8-10% of all people over the age of 60 having it (latest guesstimates). It's not lethal. It's a bother to some, and others haven't a clue they have it until diagnosed because they experience zero symptoms. For those who are symptomatic, anxiety is often going to follow. It can generally be controlled well with drugs, some lifestyle modifications, avoiding 'triggers' (there are literally dozens reported anecdotally in the various AF fora), or getting the gold standard of care that is a catheter ablation.
I don't want to go long on this post, nor to frighten you or confuse you, but I have spent hundreds of hours watching videos and reading research papers. Again, it's not a lethal condition, but it should be managed if at all possible. It raises one's risk of stroke six times over a baseline, so most patients go on a DOAC (direct-acting oral anti-coagulant, like apixaban or rivaroxaban). Also, it's best to get the mechanical treatment of catheter ablation as early as possible in its progress (it is a progressive electrical disorder of the myocardium) while the AF is paroxysmal or persistent. If it progresses to long-standing persistent, the next stage, or permanent, the last classification of AF, it's much more resistant to treatment.