Heart Rhythm Conditions – Welcome to the group

@gloaming what an enlightening reply thank you. Im73 yo man who was diagnosed 2 months ago with a flutter after an ER visit because of accelerated heart rate. I was prescribed AMI 200 mg day but last weekend it caused HR to drop too 30. EP discontinued AMI. This lasted for several hours. I’m awaiting an ablation but a few months away. I’m healthy otherwise I’m told. Is there an alternative to AMI. Also does heat or cold trigger a flutter episodes. Thank you

@stan52 You are welcome!

Amiodarone is 'the big hammer', the big bully of all known and currently approved anti-arrhythmic drugs. It's so potent, unfortunately that doctors don't like to use it, or they use if as sparingly as possible to minimize potential risks to the patient. After all, each monitoring assessment isn't free either, and adds to the cost of keeping the patient healthy. Amiodarone requires frequent assessments, at least in the early days, to ensure the patient is doing appropriately and not developing unwanted side-effects. So, while it's a whopper of a drug, it's also effective...was on it myself for about eight weeks four years ago. Didn't want it, wasn't happy, but I was a LOT happier on it than off it due to my symptoms and horrifying ECG outputs when off it. You should not be on it so long, Deo volente.

I don't know enough about you, or about the career experience of the prescribing physician, to say there's a better fit for you among other anti-arrhythmic drugs (AADs). I would say the heavy majority of arrhythmia patients are on propafenone, flecainide, maybe Tikosyn or Sotalol...or even just on diltiazem which does a great job for some. Why amiodarone for you? Dunno, but if it's working and you are quite secure in that it won't be for long, maybe leave well enough alone? But the question is important, and the other person needs to answer it to your satisfactory understanding.

People swear by probably 60 known triggers, each person with the list they swear by, and they're all a bit different from one another. Some develop AF and stick their heads in a bowl of ice water, plunging, to break the arrhythmia. According to them, it works most of the time. Some try the Valsalva manoeuvre and it mostly works. Sometimes belching helps to relieve it. Some pace around their garden until it stops. Will heat set it off? Yes.............for some................sometimes. So will acid reflux, alcohol, some swear off all sources of caffeine, some find it's low levels of magnesium or potassium in their diets, getting upsetting news. As I wrote the check on our newly purchased Highlander three years ago, my heart started the thump 'n bump. So, stress, worry, anxiety (the gift that keeps on giving), a startling bang, waiting for that dreaded phone call....you name it, it's on someone's list.

BTW, many ablatees for AF soon find they are in AFL, so it's a common outfall from being catheterized for AF. Fortunately, that kind of flutter is easily treated, almost always with a second ablation. No, it's far from ideal, but if it does happen, it's the catheterization that must have set it off. Add that to the list.

I was diagnosed with afib Jan/26 & didn’t even know I had it other than my BP machine telling me my heartbeat was irregular. Dr sent me for EKG and it indicated I was in afib while having the EKG & was put on blood thinners immediately then had an angiogram and it was confirmed again. I have NO symptoms and feel normal. I had a cardioversion this summer and it worked for a very short time (Dr.’s shocked me 2 times) then I fell back into afib again. I am wondering if an ablation would help?? Just lately I have been getting sore back muscles some days and was wondering if it is a side effect of the afib? Sounds silly asking but I’ve never had back issues before and wondering if they are connected.

@californiazebra I have always appreciated doctors who bring humor to their treatment. This was the perfect message at that moment.

@dar49 You should consult an electrophysiologist to see if an ablation would help. Ablations are the 'gold standard of care' for most AF patients. But more, the earlier you have one the more likely it is to succeed in stopping your fibrillation. Left months and years, the heart's structure changes and it becomes much more difficult to treat.

I would expect that, in the right hands, the right EP with tons of experience, you are likely to be successfully ablated. Please get on this right away!