"Afib not due to a heart valve problem"

Hi @nene22 here is a link to an article about atrial fibrillation and heart valve problems: https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/heart-and-vascular-blog/2016/september/can-heart-valve-issues-hurt-your-heart-rhythm

Have you asked your doctor about this? How are you currently being treated?

I have had high blood pressure and high cholesterol for years. I take medication for the blood pressure but nothing for the cholesterol because the medications caused muscle pain. My cardiac doctor told me I had a heart valve leakage some time ago but said it wasn't bad enough to do anything about it. Last year I developed a painful knee and was going to get a knee replacement and the knee doctor said I should get an OK for the op from all my doctors (I also have kidney insufficiency) and when I went to my heart doctor he asked me if I ever had pounding in my heart. I answered yes-that sometimes it felt like my heart was pounding very hard. He had me wear a cardiac monitor for 20 some days and said I had Afib. He put me on Multaq (400 mg once a day). About a week later I had an appt. with my GYN and when she did a blood test my kidney function had gone down from about 40 to 23! I went off Multaq right away and they said the kidney function would go back up on its own. I had one blood test that said it had gone back up to about 30%. I just have had another blood test but don't have the results yet. My cardiac doctor now has me on Eliquis 2.5 mg twice a day. I have another appt. with my cardiac doctor for April 12.

Sorry to hear about all your health issues. As we all age, the body starts to go into decline...which is normal. So it's a matter of doing one's best to shore it up and manage all the issues..hopefully with as few drugs as possible and more with lifestyle changes. (exercise, nutritious food, healthy water intake, some supplements, restorative sleep and stress reduction.)
Did you know that normal cholesterol levels were once a lot higher than they are now? Big Pharma lowered what was considered 'normal' to a new normal. Then a few years ago, lowered it again so that about 90% of men over 55 are on statins. Can we all be so sick and in need of drugs...with terrible side effects like muscle wasting, liver damage and memory loss?...
If you google YouTube The Nature of Things Cholesterol, a documentary on cholesterol management...or mismanagement...you will see that research shows that only a man in his forties who has already had a heart attack benefits from statins. And definitely over 70, it is even dangerous to be on statins. So, all the better that you are off the statins.
Now it seems that cholesterol levels are not so important after all. It is your c-reactive protein levels that are important. They are on most blood tests so you can check your own level of CRP. It indicates inflammation levels in the body. Definitely eating more fruits and veggies (5 - 10 servings per day) lowers inflammation levels...as do other things such as Maitake mushrooms which you can get in a little tincture bottle at your health store and, of course, turmeric which seems to be all the rage lately. I put turmeric in my morning fruit smoothie..with a few grinds of black pepper to enhance absorption. It tastes like a damp parking garage but who cares if it helps reduce inflammation, right? Then there is avoidance of foods that cause inflammation and exercise.
It sounds like you have a good medical team and that you yourself are on top of your condition. Good luck!