Hi there, I had an episode of atrial fibrillation on 30th April 2011. I woke up to feel my heart pounding. My wife checked my heart rate and we went straight to hospital because it was racing rapidly. To get to the point, my heart rate was very high and was given IV flecanide to bring the beat back to a normal rhythm.
I was then put on Bisoprolol and Aspirin as regular medication. Unfortunatley, I wasn't put on Omeprazole to counter the effects of the aspirin and had a gastric bleed later that year that was treated.
I have not been referred to a heart specialist ever as was told I didn't need to. My gp has seen me for every day problems but doesn't monitor my condition. From what I understand, is it right that I have paroxysymal atrial fibrillation as have not had a severe occurence since the one in April 2011 ? I do get times when my heart will skip out of beat for a number of seconds and then goes back to normal. I also get twinges in my chest at times but wouldn't class it as chest pain.
For the last number of years, I have suffered with extreme fatigue and sleep for at least 10-12 hours a night if I can and can be sometimes up to 14 hours. I have also had some lightheadedness and dizziness. I went to see a different GP last week and told her of my fatigue, lightheadedness and dizziness. She has done blood tests yesterday and I see her again next week. However, I saw the receptionist at the surgery about something else and she said a doctor had checked the blood tests back as normal.
Is it possible that even though I'm not in AF at the moment could the AF be causing me to be so tired and lightheaded. I'm not asking for a diagnosis here but just wondered if it was or if the medication could cause it. My gp doesn't review me at all about my heart and AF and wonder if this should be the case or if I should have seen a specialist. Thanks for your help.
As I am someone who knows very well when I am in AF and when it is brewing I cannot comment on whether you might be in AF but not know it. If you thought you could be in AF and not aware then a 24 hour ecg might help. although also might not catch it if doesn't happen in that 24 hour. What I can say as I am now only on Bisoprolol post Ablation Number 2 and having dropped off Apixaban and Flecanide is that I have now got progressively fatigued. I sleep all night but 7 hours and then 2 hours each day pm - utterley gone. This is new and different for me. I hope to dicuss this soon with my consultant but reading that you are only on bisoprolol I wonder if it is the Bisoprolol? I've not answer and all the tests for me say 'normal' !!! Perhaps like me you are worn out and weary with the endlessness of it but also if you feel it is progressive I would press to have your BP and pulse checked out.
hello my name is julie i was born with ALCAPA a rear heart condition i had AF as well all the symptons you have i had and still do i am on Omeprazole and bisoprol and many other tablets. You can ask me any questions if you like .
Yes Michael. This is typical of "silent" afib. Often we are in afib although are heartbeats appear normal to us. Here the cardio puts you on a Holter monitor which is a device that you wear for 24 hours and you also record you impressions of when you think you are in afib.. Turns out I missed a lot of them.. I couldn't tell but the monitor could. It's like a portable EEG. Another way of checking is to get a Blood Pressure monitor that also indicates irregular heartbeat and to use that to check yourself periodically so you will know if you are in afib or not. You should be seeing a specialst is afib.. they are called electro-cardiologists...
In my experience bisoprolol causes great fatigue, depending on your dosage. Maybe you could enquire about changing to a different betablocker. I wish you all the best.
Go see the best electrophsiologist you can find. Don't rely on gp .
Agreed with above ^^ I was on bisoprolol for a few months and had awful side effects (headache, fatigue, sickness, stuffy nose) whenever I forgot to take a dose. That also meant my heart rate went up, and down. Sometimes it would drop to 30. I got switched onto a different, and less known, beta blocker called nadolol. It's a long term beta blocker and its good. I'm 17. I'd say, if it continues then you may want to ask them about being referred to a cardiologist. They should review your bisoprolol at some point too.
Thank you all for your comments. It is so good of you to reply. Your replies are very interesting and have made me realise I need to see a specialist and have further tests done. I am going to follow this up with my gp when I see her next week.
No problem, it can be very frightening. The route would probably be through GP to cardiologist, more specifically electrophysiologist who specialises in rhythm. However, you could go private. They will probably perform longer ECG recordings, echocardiograms etc.
What strength bisoprolol? It makes you tired and dizzy. Get refered to a cardiologist,it is your right. If it is AF it will come back. How old are you and where are you living? All these are relevant factors.
What dosage of Bisoprolol are you taking?
I'm on Bisoprolol 5mg daily at the moment.
I take 10mg Bisoprolol and 6mg of Warfarin. I take my meds at night because they make me so tired. I was diagnosed with AFib in 2011 and was given a low dose to begin with but, had it increased to 10mg over the years because I kept getting episodes of AFib. Certain foods that make me bloat such as wheat and dairy products seem to aggravate the condition.
I have been in AF for the last 10 months, and as a result have heart failure. I am on bisoprolol, apixiban and lasix. I have seen 3 different cardiologists since this started so would highly recommend you getting onto a good one. I am constantly fatigued, have palpitations and get short of breath when doing the smallest tast, stairs are a definite no.
I'm having primary vein isolation on Monday, I am hoping it works, but am also wondering if the damage to my heart will improve once it's back in rhythm, my dr says heart failure can improve so I'm hoping so. As far as your sleeping goes, I think it's great that your able to get some rest. I am on CPAP machine now, although I only have moderate sleep apnoea it is supposed to contribute to AF so my respiratory Dr says it's a definite benefit for me.
Hi Michael,
fatigue, lightheadedness and dizziness are all very common side effects of the dreaded Bisoprolol- are you still on it? Even low doses can do it. If you're on over 2.5mgs a day, I'd say this is definitely the most likely cause of your tiredness.
Hi Terence, I'm on 5mg of Bisoprolol daily and wondered if that could be it. My wife once had adverse side effects from a different beta blocker - atenolol. I'm going to push for a referral to a cardiologist this week. Thanks.
Jennifer09118 Good luck on Monday
I'm only on 2.5 pre day and am wiped out but there again are bodies all react differently to doses of drugs . I've asked to change before but been tol biso is heart specifc but I will ask again in a couple of weeks as the fatigue and weakness is life limiting. Let us know how you get on. Be insistent of your needs!
Hi, I have experienced both Bisoprolol and Atenenol. At low doses I found the fatigue (lead legs!) wore off after a few weeks. At high doses (10mg Bisoprolol), the farigue persisted, especially when also on Flecainide. Unless your GP has specialist heart experience, you do need to request an appointment with a Cardiologist, preferably an "Electro" one. You may be interested that my Electro-Cardiologist defines AF as irregularity lasting more than 30 seconds. Below that he described them as Ectopic! Not sure that this universal. Something else related to extreme fatigue, not often mentioned in these AF discussions is Sleep Apnoea. Sufferers are at high risk of AF! Check it out on this web-site. I trust your situation is resolved ASAP. Regards, malex57.
Hi xoMonkey, Are you still getting the skipped beats/ thumping since youve been on nadolol