Heart Rhythm Conditions – Welcome to the group

I was on high dose of Sotacor, 3x per day for almost 2 years. It stopped the a-fib completely. The cardiologist told me to lower the dose because he said that such a high dose could stop my heart!... But if I took slightly less, my heart would go into wild arrhythmia pounding and misfiring in my chest, feeling dizzy and air hungry. I started going to a gym every day except Sunday for 65 minutes; half hour on the treadmill and the rest strength and flexibility training. At the end of a month, bit by bit I was OFF the beta blockers. I kept up my exercise routine for 4 months and was cured! The cardiologist said it would come back but here I am 24 years later and I only have the very occasional blip if I have chocolate, coffee or alcohol...which I avoid like the plague.

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Beta Blockers help control your blood pressure. PERIOD. Not your heart rate. To totally control your heart rate you might need what is called an ablation where the problem nerve is eradicated via electrical burnout. The procedure is only used in uncontrollable conditions and you must be observed for at least 5 hours afterward, sometimes overnight.

Maybe you should look on the web to learn about Beta Blockers.
I've had a Quadruple Bypass, and had a PVC (Preventricle Contraction) problem corrected through an ablation. It was activating 20 times a minute and depriving my brain of the necessary blood to continue functioning. Occurring 20 times a minute is not conducive to proper functioning of one's brain nor of the heart that got plugged enough to present with the signs of a heart attack; profuse sweating, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue. Coming home after work, sleeping 2 hours, then getting up, fixing dinner, eating, going back to bed and getting up 6 hours later to go back to work.

I also had, in the past been on Lisenopril, and ACE inhibitor. Did nothing to help with any problems I was experiencing.

Please look up information on your medication and ask your MD as many questions as necessary to get the information that satisfies your mind. Your kids need their entire dad's attention and these health problems leave so little time to devote to your kiddos. They will be there for you all the way.

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Since you already have two stents you know you have CAD, Coronary Artery Disease, which means maybe there is another small blockage slowly building up somewhere in your coronary artery system. Only way to know is to go to your Cardiologist and get tested to determine if the extra exercise on your heart is having the pain caused by another small blockage.

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Hi, I’m David. I have 2 stents already and one day started having AFib when I walked. I was given pills and bought a monitor, checking 5 times per day. Apart from an episode a few weeks later, I have no signs of AFib showing up on my monitor. I do note that I get chest pain when my heart rate is up from walking up hills. However once I rest and then go in, it’s fine until another hill. I wonder if this is AFib or a small blockage.

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Three quick points about training my brain to knock off its pressure to have me urinate. First, my problem may be different from yours. For example, I have an inherited kidney defect that causes me to rely on Amiloride, a specialized diuretic designed to preserve/reclaim potassium. The diuretic speeds removal of water (and wastes) from my body. As a result, my brain has been trained to respond earlier and more often to stimuli that suggest my bladder needs relief. Second, perhaps I made a mistake in using the word "exercising," suggesting a regimen that we haven't yet developed fully. Third, I was a victim of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) that stole a lot of the space in my bladder and encouraged my brain to take that into account; a golf-ball sized hunk of prostate flesh was removed by a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) several years ago. That said, here's the other advice from my nephrologist.

First and foremost, I am much more conscious about hydrating my system regularly and more often than in recent years. By over-consuming water somewhat, my brain is expected to learn that I need more water in my organs and that my bladder should tolerate more pressure than my urine has been developing there. This helped us understand why rolling over in bed at night -- in effect, simply irrigating bladder lining on one side that has been "drying out" from lying horizontal for a couple of hours -- wakes me up and sends me to the bathroom. The challenge here is to find a position in bed that I can maintain for longer periods.

I should try to drink each day at least 8 cups of water between arising in the morning and 3-4pm (we have dinner about 6pm and retire about 11pm). Routinizing the schedule here might train my brain to expect hydration at fixed times, so changing the schedule every day is being tested for effects. We're looking for a way to slowly increase water consumption over a couple of months in order to increase my capacity for maintaining better hydration without resorting to urination.

I also should try to consciously reject bladder signals to urinate when they are triggered by an environmental experience. So far that has meant "holding" my urine when thoughts of drinking water, washing hands, taking a shower, doing the dishes, or getting my feet wet triggered an impulse to urinate. It remains to be seen whether routinizing my daily exercise, conducting it longer, changing motions, and changing start times and duration might have an effect. Martin

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Hi, I’m David. I have 2 stents already and one day started having AFib when I walked. I was given pills and bought a monitor, checking 5 times per day. Apart from an episode a few weeks later, I have no signs of AFib showing up on my monitor. I do note that I get chest pain when my heart rate is up from walking up hills. However once I rest and then go in, it’s fine until another hill. I wonder if this is AFib or a small blockage.

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