Heart Rhythm Conditions – Welcome to the group

Hi Peggy,
I'm Mary from Minnesota, 58 years old. I just had an ablation 5 months. So far so good. I am on Fleconide 50mg twice a day and eliquis. I have my 6 month follow up in December. My heart rhythm has been good so far. I have my energy back and feel like myself again. I am glad I had it done...I have relief from symptoms for now anyways and I am grateful. Before my ablation I was very symptomatic. Hospitalized 2 times, cardio conversion and no energy. I would encourage you to discuss this option with your doctor and consider the possibility of having it done.

Hi my name is Marlena. I am 68 and I always had a fast heart rate. Probably because I had a stressful job and I am an anxious person by nature. In my early 20s I had Tachycardia and my heart beat went totally out of rhythm and I needed injections. Since then I have been good and I felt quite healthy. A year ago I started to have sudden episodes of sudden breathlessness and a strange sensation in my heart. My GB referred me to the hospital but the stress ECG was fine. (I do have a small abnormality in my ECG, but apparently that is just the way my heart works). 6 months ago I started having sudden feelings of lack of oxygen in my chest. I was again for 24 hours in hospital on an ECG and it all seems fine. I assume that anxiety plays a big part in this. Now, I am wearing a wrist band and download in the evening my heart rate for the day (I don't monitor at night). To my surprise I can see that my heart rate suddenly drops into the 40s (45) for a short period. It made me very anxious. I saw my GP again and she said not to worry unless it is a regular occurrence. Anyone here has similar irregularities? Thank you.

Hi,
My name is Peggy and I live in Florida. I am 70 years old. I never had a heart problem till now and I have to admit I find it scary. Last year I was hospitalized because my heart rate was 200. Unfortunately, now my heart racing is happening more often. My doctor has prescribed diazepam ,30mg. My doctor has recommended I have an ablation. So my question is do you think I should do this? Also, he has said maybe a different medication would be an option also.

Thanks for information on your experiences @yoanne. I'm considering a Watchman, and your experience is instructive. I already have A-fib, so unless it intensifies, I won't worry. I understand the issues around long-term aspirin therapy; as long as I'm on Warfarin, my medical team doesn't push for aspirin. My "small stroke" was not a TIA. It was a real stroke that permanently eliminated some brain cells -- fortunately not so many that my post-stroke symptoms are disabling, but I have to watch my balance more than before. I hope your current A-fib situation is truly asymptomatic and you can avoid both ablation and enduring concern about what the future may bring.

@predictable , I realize that the sentence "so long as these A-Fib's are asymptomatic, no treatment necessary". this can be misunterstood. I mean an ablation is not necessary, on the other hand a "blood thinner" is needed .
yoanne

hi @predictable ,I am so sorry reading your experience with a TIA, I know, how you felt the first days, as long as you did not know, if a serious stroke would happen. (husband had a TIA 2012) .you and my husband were lucky ,
referring to your questions about the "watchman", ( in memory of my cardiac problems: : A-fib's , mitralvalve insufficiency, minimal invasive mitralvalve reconstruction/repair April 2016)
I asked my cardiologist last november, if the implantation of this device would be useful. for me, so I could stop the bloodthinner (Eliquis).
he denied, no advantage for me , as I had to take aspirin lifelong instead of a bloodthinner. that does not make sense, he said. he showed me a paper about the risks of aspirin.
I know according to the guidelines of the european cardiology society, that after the implanation of the watchman, the person needs a 6-months treatment with an anticoagulant. until there is enough tissue to cover the device. afterwards aspirin..for such a short period they prescribe one of the new anticoagulanties, no monitoring necessary, patients do not need instructions/lessons (warfarin)
.In this context an interesting observation: in the years before april 2016 (operation) .I had paroxysmal A-Fib's. the cardiac surgeon did not an ablation at the end of the operation, as there were some problems and he did not want to extend, too dangerous, he said. until january this year I had no A-Fib's anymore. unfortunatedly,(january this year) there was a disconnection between the atriums and the ventrikels. so I had to go into the hospital and they implanted a two chamber pacemaker. immediatedly I had a lot of A-Fib's (AT/AF burden too high)..they are asymptomatic. Last september I visited a meeting in cologne/germany (main themes were A-Fib's and the new guidelines) I learned that 30-40 % of the pacemaker recipients have A-Fib's, even the persons with no history of them.
so long as these A-Fib' are asymptomatic, no treatment necessary.
I must confess, that the presence of so many A-Fib's daily scares me a bit, how can my heart cope with them???
yoanne

Hi Lara,

I really don't have an answer for you as I do not take Eliquis but I am on Metaprolol. I have A-Fib but had a Watchman implanted 13 months ago because I could not tolerate blood thinners after 14 years. In your case I would not make a change from Eliquis to aspirin without consulting my doctor. Perhaps you should consider seeing an Electrophysiologist, a heart rhythm specialist? I did so 8 years ago after I could not get the answers I needed when I questioned my then cardiologist who just kept pushing more meds. The Electrophysiologist answered my questions, explained the dynamics of my treatment and sent a letter to my cardiologist.

Tresjur

Hi I am Lara. 73 years old. Since last year I am on Eliquis and metaprolol for arterial fibrillation. I have no Hugh blood pressure, diabities or any other related symptom. I stopped metaprolol as I had too much fatigue, hair loss ( even eye brow and eye lashes hair were falling), knee pain aggravation etc. fir last two months I am only on Eliquis. Sometimes I have too much arthrities pain as I am on Eliquis I cannot take any anti inflammatory drug. Can I stop Elyquis fir sometime and take Aspirin ? As Aspirin is also a blood thinner. Or it will not work for fibrillation problem? The doctors do not give strait answer as they do not want to take the responsibility. Without anti inflammatory drugs the knee pain does not go.

I had electro cardio version it lasted only a day. They will repeat again accompnied by drugs. But so far I do not know which drugs they will use. Hope it lasts for some years.

Hi @tresjur. You have me interested in Watchman. I've been on Warfarin for three years because of nearly asymptomatic A-fib, but something went awry last summer. My anti-clotting index went way up, so we skipped Warfarin for a couple of days. That appears to have been a mistake, because a week later I had a small stroke, and the diagnosis was a small clot out of my heart. Wondering whether at any time you and your medical team considered Warfarin "blood thinner." If so, why Eliquis instead? Then, why Watchman?

Other than my stroke (which was not disabling to any extent), does it seem to you that I could stick with what I'm doing, or would you recommended that I look into a Watchman insert? Martin