Premature atrial contractions: Anyone have any helpful info on this?

Posted by lolly906 @lolly906, Aug 17, 2018

I was now just recently told I have Premature Atrial Contractions, or P.A.C, after being on a holter monitor for 48 hrs. I was told this after my higher then normal calcium score, and was told p.a.c. is benign., but im still worried. I was put on monitor after I felt my heart pounding hard in my left neck area. Im wondering if anyone has any helpful info on this? Im really worried acutally, even cancelled my colonoscopy due to the laxative saying it could cause irregular heartbeat. it seems I can feel my heart skip beats at times or speed up! very scary to me. Im wondering if anyone else has this? I am 58 yrs old and am on lovastatin for high cholesterol thanks

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jddart | @jddart | Dec 9, 2020

In reply to @yorlik "Thanks. I do not want to take over this good post but will say I have..." + (show)

I strongly recommend ablation. For nearly 5 years I suffered debilitating episodes of A-fib, to the point where I was afraid to go hiking or on long trips, and I would hardly let my wife out of my sight. Life as I knew it was over, but I was afraid to get an ablation. Finally I had had enough, and went for it. The first ablation wasn't aggressive enough and my athletic heart grew the offending tissue back, so nothing changed. But once the cardiologist knew what he was dealing with, he was much more aggressive the second time, and and the procedure was a great success. He gave me my life back

katydid77 | @katydid77 | Dec 9, 2020

Could I ask what worries you about blood thinners?

yorlik | @yorlik | Dec 9, 2020

In reply to @jddart "I strongly recommend ablation. For nearly 5 years I suffered debilitating episodes of A-fib, to the..." + (show)

"where I was afraid to go hiking or on long trips" I was told with Afib my level of activity had no bearing on chances of a stroke or problem; I could run, sit, anything and it would not affect chances of an issue... Is my cardiologist wrong?

Dana, Volunteer Mentor | @danab | Dec 9, 2020

Hi @katydid77 I have heard from a friend the same about what @yorlik said about blood thinners. If you had a serious bleed or need emergency surgery the er or hospital has anadotes to conteract the blood thinner. My friend stayed on Warfrin for that reason. Even tho it requires more diligent monitoring most hospitals have the antidote. For the newer ones not a common and so I would suggest checking with the local hospitals in your area if they are prepared for that situation. Traveling I'm not sure how you would verify every hospital in your route. Something to at least discuss with your Doctor.
Have a blessed Day
Dana

jddart | @jddart | Dec 9, 2020

There are different expressions of A-fib. I wasn't in A-fib all the time, but would quite often, in spite of being on a beta blocker, go into deep episodes of 15-20 hours where my heart rate would spike to 180, but my blood pressure would drop very low, to the point that I couldn't function or even stand. Of course, I didn't want to be out on a hiking trail or driving by myself when that happened. Usually a few hours into an episode I would check myself into the hospital if it didn't subside. They didn't like to continually cardiovert frequent fliers with the paddles because of its hit to one's system all the time so I would usually spend the night inthe ER just riding it out on a heart monitor. So no, your heart specialist isn't likely wrong in your case. As I said, it was very debilitating in my specific case, and it felt like my life was over at 50 years of age

kelton | @kellycross | Dec 9, 2020

In reply to @jddart "I strongly recommend ablation. For nearly 5 years I suffered debilitating episodes of A-fib, to the..." + (show)

Thank you. I have heard good things about the ablation.

kelton | @kellycross | Dec 9, 2020

In reply to @katydid77 "Could I ask what worries you about blood thinners?" + (show)

I already bleed (and bruise) easily and I"m worried about excessive bleeding.

kelton | @kellycross | Dec 9, 2020

In reply to @danab "Hi @katydid77 I have heard from a friend the same about what @yorlik said about blood..." + (show)

Good to know - thank you

Martin Jensen, Volunteer Mentor | @predictable | Dec 9, 2020

In reply to @jddart "There are different expressions of A-fib. I wasn't in A-fib all the time, but would quite..." + (show)

Hi, @jddart. Thanks for making the point that there are different expressions of A-fib, ranging widely from those – like mine – that are not consciously troubling (although always apparent on an EKG) all the way up to painful, debilitating pulsations that worry and frighten others and might indicate that ablation would be appropriate. My medical team and I have agreed not to consider ablation under current conditions. However, I have two friends who had much more inconvenient pulsations and other symptoms, and they went ahead with ablations that have worked out for them. Another friend has symptoms similar to mine, and like me he is on Coumadin (without adverse consequence so far). I on the other hand had a “small stroke” last year, apparently an ischemic stroke from a small clot formed in my atrium; it has caused minor problems, but nothing that indicates surgery or medication beyond a beta blocker to regulate my pulse and Coumadin to discourage (I no longer say “prevent”) a stroke. I have the good fortune to have a medical team that considers me a member rather than just a subject for them, and we work well together. Martin

yorlik | @yorlik | Dec 9, 2020

In reply to @jddart "There are different expressions of A-fib. I wasn't in A-fib all the time, but would quite..." + (show)

jddart, thank you for the clarification!

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