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Covid and AFib Connection?

Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: 2 days ago | Replies (308)

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@michael56cc820

After receiving the new Pfizer Bivalent booster in November, 2022 (the 5th in the series I've received to date) I experienced an episode of what was diagnosed as "new-onset" A-fib (flagged by the Apple watch I was wearing), approximately 2 months after receiving the booster. During the period I was experiencing it, the watch recorded 3 episodes during the course of the day. Not knowing the potential impact or significance of the episodes I went to my Hospital ER, after the 3rd was signaled, where the ER physician confirmed it was A-fib following a 6 hour monitoring period. He described it as being "in-control" in that the upper limit heart rate never exceeded 90 bpm. My cardiologist, who I saw the next day, attributed this to the fact that, as a cardiac patient (heart attack in 2014), I was taking the beta blocker Carvedilol. The ER physician prescribed Eliquis, which I started immediately, to address the potential stroke risk associated with A-fib. My concern, did I experence milder A-fib episodes earlier that my watch or I did not recognize as such, and how many individuals are having them and not reporting them because they don't recognize them for what they are. My other question, as a 77 year old heart patient, should I take the 2023 vaccine booster?

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Replies to "After receiving the new Pfizer Bivalent booster in November, 2022 (the 5th in the series I've..."

@michael56cc820, that is a very good question to ask your doctor, preferrably your cardiologist. The 2023 vaccine targets a different strain of the COVID virus than was in the original vaccine or in the bivalent vaccines that came out last year. It's still a COVID vaccine, but it's now targeting the XBB.1.5 strain currently circulating. So it isn't a booster in that sense.

While the 2023 vaccine is recommended for your age group, I would talk with your cardiologist first. They are familiar with your recent episode following the 2022 bivalent shot and your complete heart and medical history.