I do not pass out when I feel faint. I just feel somewhat dizzy. But, I re-read the ER report, and they did a lung xray. It said my lungs are hyperinflated. I looked that up and it says that almost always means COP, which is now a catch-all term for chronic bronchitis (which I've suffered from on & off since I was a kid), or asthma, or lung damage from smoking or smoke inhalation. My dad was a smoker, hence my battles with bronchitis. I think sometimes that now I have asthma because sometimes (not all the time) it's hard to breathe, even before I wound up with afib. I had gone to the doctor about a year ago because I was having trouble catching a good breath, but she dismissed it as being from acid reflux. Now I'm wondering if I have COPD. I just talked to my sister-in-law who is a nurse, and she thinks maybe my afib is from my lung problems, not the other way around, because I've had trouble breathing since last summer. I got heavy smoke inhalation four years ago. So that makes sense, because I was thinking there is no way I drank enough to cause heart damage, I don't think so anyway. But, my dizziness is probably from not being able to breathe well.
So, I'm calling the doc tomorrow and making an appointment and will ask her if I can go see a pulmonary specialist as well as a cardiologist. I know there's nothing I can do about COPD, but I would really like to be able to feel better and to function better.
Thanks for helping me through this. It's been pretty hard on me.
To answer your question, I've always had low blood pressure. Before all this started it would get as low as 100/50, seriously. I do get faint sometimes from it, but I bought that monitor and have been checking all day, and before dinner my BP was 144/68. That alone should be a strong indicator that I do not have heart damage, but I don't know.
Well, tomorrow is another day. I hope you have a good rest of your week.

I just took my BP and it's 132/68 and my pulse is 71 with no afib right now.
If tonight I have trouble sleeping because it feels like my heart is pounding hard, I'll get up and take my BP again and see what my pulse is and whether the monitor says I'm having a afib episode. I have felt some flutters today, but the monitor hasn't indicated any afib when I've done the reading.

Hello catmom! Just got home from the hospital after my ablation yesterday. I have quite the story to tell you, but I have now been awake close to 40 hours and I can barely see to write this. I just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten you or your questions and concerns. I see lots of folks are chiming in with some good advice that you should listen to. The decision for MY ablation was a real team effort that included my regular Cardiologist, the Electrophysiologists, which is quite a mouthful, so is commonly shortened to just “EP” or heart-rhythm specialist. I'm sorry if I'm sounding like a pre-med advisor now, but it IS important to know that a cardiologist and an EP differ in degrees of specialization. All EPs are cardiologists who have gone through an extra year or two of training after completing their cardiologist fellowship, and as stated before, all that extra training is only in the field of cardiac arrhythmia surgery.. So you definitely want one of these on your team as opposed to a general surgeon! And last, but not least, and this is just my opinion, but I found out yesterday how incredibly important THIS team member is. My EP also had me meet with the anesthesiologist he always chooses to work with. You are going about this the right way, which is to take it step by step seeing each doctor along that path before a decision is reached.....together. AFIB, if that is even what you have, is a very capricious "ailment." You need to be seen by the right people, led by the right people in the right order, to the right decision for you. I have to say that I am a little concerned that your GP has put you on blood thinners without you mentioning any testing beforehand. Anti-coagulants are serious medication, seldom given to people who have not been definitively diagnosed by specific testing protocols. If you ARE on blood thinners, which might only have been one day since you posted only 23 hours ago. I would urge you to call your doctor and discuss discontinuing them until you have seen and been tested by the cardiologist she is going to refer you to. Once you start thinners, if you DO have an arrhythmia, stopping them cold turkey increases your risk of stroke. Please talk to your doctor again, as soon as possible. See if she is can get you on a Holter or Event Monitor for 72 hours so when she refers you to the cardiologist, he will already have a good idea what is going on. I really have to call it a day.....well, closer to two, actually. If I don't sleep the entire day away tomorrow, I'll write you. Please take care of yourself. Linda