Had Cardioversion 9 days ago - today AFIB returned !
Any comments from those of you who have had similar experiences would be great . Is it worth trying again or should I head for ablation ??
Hi Deirdre, I had cardioversion in September 2010 before afib returned in less than a week. Had a second cardioversion in January 2011 and I have been OK till February 2016 (5 years) when afib returned. Now waiting for a third cardioversion.
So you would go for a second instead of ablation ??
Were you taking drugs during your AFIB free time ? I hate the drugs - make me feel like. Zombie !
And thanks for responding !
Hi Deirdre, yes I continued on bisoprolol and simvasttin over that time and there were a few side effects that were not very pleaseant.
I have heard of this happening. Also, Please know though that even
if you have ablation, it may not be completely successful either. I had ablation 5 months ago and am still going in and out of afib. Less than before the surgery, but still happening
What is the answer??
Suzanne, I am in the same boat as you. My ablation was 4 weeks ago, have been in afib for 10 minutes or so on at least two occasions. Seems to happen same time at night. Rate don't go as high, but it is still there. Hope it straightens out. It sure feels good when afib is gone.
Others talk about side affects of meds, I don't have any. I am now on lopressor and eliquis. are there other meds worse than these?
I take Flecainide and it's no fun and Cardiazem - not fun either - makes me so tired ! I also take Eliquis 5 mg 2 x day
Thanks for info !Didi
Not sure about Lopressor.
I was on eliquis and changed to pradaxa because the latter has a reversal factor which eliquis has yet to come out with and I felt that was important.
I found a phone app called AFIB DETECT - it has given me a bit of peice of mind at times when my pulse seems off the charts and really isn't !
Let me know if anyone uses it and what they think ?
Thanks, Didi
I just downloaded that app. It only gives u pulse rate. U can be in afib at 60 or 70 or 120. The alivcor monitor gives u a ecg reading if u r in afib. I ordered that for $99 and it will be here next week.
I am beating at 73 right now, but I can see my
Boobs move, my heart is beating so hard. I am doing nothing. Just sitting. Got a call into my doc. I feel ok. This is just too crazy. Anyone else out there do this?
I just ordered the Alivcor - thanks !
The Kardia Alivecor is great I use it every day you can even send results to GP or cardiologist.
Thanks - I ordered one this morning !
Does anyone have ringing in ears while on Diltiazem , Eliquis or Flecainide?
Hi Deirdre,
Was admitted with heart failure back in Dec.2014. Daignosiis was a tachycardia(rapid heartbeat) induced cardiomyopathy(severely enlarged left ventricle) with an ejection fraction of only 25%. I was also in atrial fibrillation; probably for some, which caused my left ventricle to become enlarged. I just thought I had a nasty virus or similar and just kept 'soldiering on', and after a couple of weeks ended up in the cardiac unit.
Anyway, first cardioversion lasted two or three days, was then put on amioderone(an potentially very nasty, but also very effective antiarrithmia) and cardioverted again three wekks later (once amioderone levels had built up sufficiently).
Second cardioversion worked well; after a month of being in sinus rhythm my left ventricle shrunk back down to almost normal size and i had an EF of 54%(and currently it is 63% -so very happy!). The Amioderone 'dug me out of the hole' that i was in at the time, but it is not a long term option for staying in rhythm (it can have several fatal side efects, and takes a long time to get out of your system!).
so stopped taking it after six months. Once the amioderone wore off (about five months after I stopped taking it) I went back into AF ( so 2nd cardioversion lasted 11 months) and was cardioverted for the third time.
The third time lasted a month, then the fourth last two weeks, and the fifth lasted weeks!
Decided to have the ablation in April this year(and so far, so good), as AF was getting too regular to live with (could live with being cardioverted once or twice a year).
Once i had decided on an ablation, my cardiologist refered me to an electrophisiologist of MY choosing (did a lot of 'homework' to find out who was the inn town as the expertise of the Dr. doing the ablation procedure has a big influence on the success rates (and you want the best possible chance of an AF free future right?).
My electrophysiologist is interntionally recognised in the AF field ( and has some some very enlightening online interviews discussing AF management that i can diect you to if you like?). He claims to have an 85% succes rate at the five year mark PROVIDED (and he repeated this word), provided you address all you risk factors (which for me was severe sleep apnoea, excessive alcohol consumption(not that I thought my alcohol consumtion was excessive-but apparently it was by AF standards!) and and excess weight ( which puts extra strain your heart).
So i now have a CPAP machine for my sleep apnoea, drink no more than 3 standrd drinks per week, and have dropped 17kgs.
I suspect that all this just buys me more time before AF returns, but after googling this topic to death and reading numerours research articles on AF, I firmly believe that my future AF status lies largely in my own hands. Currernt research now suggests that AF is more of a lifestyle 'symptom' rather than disease in it's own right.
In most cases, the AF patient can have a significant inpact, on their AF status.
Apologies for the long response,
Hope that helps?
Simon
Wow ! Simon THANKS ! Your answer really got my attention .
I need better evaluation than I am presently getting and have been thinking of going to Mayo Clinic even though I live in Pirtland ,Or .
You are so right that the answer is in our hands - we have to fight to get proper diagnosis and treatment .
Again - thank you and good health, sincerely, Didi