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Afib triggered at onset of sleep; what to do?
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: May 14, 2023 | Replies (20)Comment receiving replies
Are you on a blood thinner?
When I have afib it is like a big fish flopping around in my chest, my heart rate goes to 180+, short of breath, chest and arm pain, woozy. My blood pressure is low so diltiazem needs to be monitored in case bp goes too low (I watch the hospital monitors myself). Last time they put me in ICU due to bp issues with meds. It lasted 7 hours so they did an echocardiogram to make sure no clots (and gave me a shot of Lovenox.
I read a study that supported short term anticoagulation. I always ask for that but it isn't in practice yet. With my first episode in 2015 the hospital docs told me to take aspirin for a month but that is no longer recommended as effective, I was told.
I have slowly identified triggers and believe I have both adrenal and vagal triggers. I just went two years without an episode. It is also possible that some cancer drugs I was on started all this, and I am off now.
Replies to "Are you on a blood thinner? When I have afib it is like a big fish..."
What did ypu find were your triggers? I have vagal ....at least that is my diagnosis.
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Very scary for you! It’s the abnormal rhythm that bothers me most. I can feel it and see the sign wave on the pulse odometer go crazy erratic.
I have refused blood thinners because I’m always the person that gets the rare side effects from meds.
I also had my first afib episode in 2015. Thought I was having a heart attack and went to the ER. I was having trouble with constant food aspiration (neurological) and virtually stopped eating. I lost 25 pounds in a month and went into afib. Didn’t have afib again until 2021 within days of starting Kisqali and have had issues ever since. I also have low BP and HR from two cancer meds. That’s concerning too but I refused meds to raise them. I took the Multaq for afib in 2015 and had all the symptoms of a heart attack for 3 days straight until I stopped taking it. I was told that shouldn’t happen. Well, it did. I’m convinced I would have had a heart attack if I had kept taking it. I should have stopped day one.
If you knew all the scary and unusual reactions I’ve had to meds you’d understand why I’m afraid to take new ones. I am a poor metabolizer on several key enzymes needed to metabolize meds and that can make them toxic to me.
I’m allergic to aspirin anyway.