Wellness

[Nonametoday]

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@Mary Bailey wrote:

DH had a stroke at 50 from afib. He had 6 hour surgery  for atrial fibrillation.  He's 65 now. He takes a baby asprin, no blood thinners.

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@Mary Bailey   My husband had two strokes from Afib when he was in his early 50s.  He subsequently had two heart attacks.  He was both an aspirin and Plavix failure and then failed Coumadin.  He is on 2 blood thinners daily, aspirin and steroids now.

[Nonametoday]

I wish all of you who have, and your husbands have experienced Afib the very best.  It can be difficult. Sometimes just medication works, sometimes it requires a pacemaker, sometimes the cardioversion works and sometimes the ablation.  In my husband's case, he seems to be resistant.  He also has the diabetes and pulmonary hypertension which probably contribute to the difficulties encountered.  We are just happy for another day.  I hope you all have a very quick resolution with no return of it.  

[AuntG]

A friend said hers tire her out - as if she'd been running for as long as they last. They started in this year. She'd been good for years, and now they frequently bother her.

[bmorechick]

I have afib. Diagnosed three years ago at 61. Had no clue. I am largely asymptomatic, but it was detected by routine exam and comfirmed by ekg and holter monitor. I do high impact workouts and run. Cardiologist told me to keep all of it up. Do not stop. But I have been doing that for past 40 years. Played sports in high school as well. 

I take Eliquis and Metropolol to control the HR. Low doses and apparently it works for me. I rarely know when I am in afib, but doc told me it’s constant 🤷🏻‍♀️.  The only time I feel the HR go up is if I climb several flights of stairs. Then I have to pace myself. 

[Nonametoday]

The problem with my husband is that the atrial fibrillation caused strokes and now, congestive heart failure which is wearing his heart out.  He also had a cardiac arrest related to the same when he was about to undergo another procedure.  He has really had an awful lot.  Our friends say he is the cat that had 9 lives.

[sgraham30]

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@MoJoV wrote:

@sgraham30  Thank you for replying.  Did your Dr. put you on a blood thinner or aspirin regimin?  It's a frightening thing when your heart goes out of control,pretty hard "to learn to live with it" isn't it?  The worse thing is you never know when it's going to happen. Or why. 

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@MoJoV, currently I'm not taking anything. I was on Metropolol, 12.5 mcgs, which is half of the lowest dose tablet. I also have dysautonomia, which is autonomic nervous system dysfunction, in addition to the the arrythmias. The Metropolol was making some of the dysautonomia symptoms worse, so I've stopped it for the time being, with my cardiologist's knowledge. I'm having cardiac genetic testing done Feb 19 due to a heavy family history of deaths from heart disease & to try to find a medication that I can tolerate, with minimal side effects. I'm also scheduled for a cardiac MRI March 2nd to see if my heart has sustained additional damage from the failed ablations. 

[sgraham30]

@Nonametoday, you & your husband are obviously both very strong people, you have to be with what you're both going through. I wish you both well & hope that a successful course of treatment is found for your husband very soon......one that "sticks."

[Mom2Dogs]

My dh has afib....it is mostly under control with medication. He does have episodes when he is in afib but does not last a long time.

I am sorry your husband has been thru so much....

[Jasmine19]

I have afib episodes once every 12-18 months. I am one of the fortunate people who can feel it immediately. It's not a pleasant sensation but if you feel it you can treat it. I take a medication called flecanide the minute I feel symptoms. So far, the afib has always resolved within 2 hours. I also take a daily beta blocker and an anticoagulant.

I'm curious if any of you pass a large volume of urine when you're in afib? I do. I've lost up to three pounds during an episode. Apparently this is caused by a hormone that triggers the kidneys to get rid of fluid to lessen the load on the heart.

[sophiamarie]

My Cardiologist also has A-Fib.... He went to NY and got ablation therapy.  He also had a minor stroke.  He told me that some people don't even know they have it (no symptoms)...He was 70 when this happened and is still practicing, fortunately for me.  He is now 75 and seems to be okay - still travels a lot when on vacation.

I also have a neighbor (87) who was diagnosed with AFib and was given Eloquis.  She seems to be okay - I never hear her complain about anything but then again, she is not at all astute about anything medical and can't even pronounce her medication.... Maybe it's a good thing.  The less, the better.  I think she was diagnosed about 5 years ago.