AFIB or Something Else

TinMan2, I can't really analyze your heart problems, but I can say that AFib manifests itself in many different ways in different individuals.  What I would recommend is that you see an electrophysiologist (EP) -- they are cardiologists who specialize and are more up-to-date in the treatment of AFib.  An EP should be able to test your heart (perhaps wear a Holter Monitor for a few days?) to see if the skipped beats are just "normal" or if they represent the onset of AFib.  Cutting back, or eliminating, smoking and drinking is a good thing, as many on this forum have attested;  however, my husband and I have never smoked or consumed alcohol, and we still got AFib -- nobody knows quite where it comes from.   Keep us posted!

Thumper2 (Judy)

Thanks for the reply thumper. I dont know if my blue cross/ blue shield will cover an  electrophysiologist without my primary doctor refering one. I guess i will find out in a couple of months at my next appointment. I will defiently post again.

Thanks

Hi,

I use to get lots of pounding from my heart and beats skipped.  I have pericarditis and heart defect but overall, my heart is strong, am not taking meds.  My doctor said everything was fine when I asked him about the heart pounding.  So, my husband got me the Apple Watch, best gift ever.  When I had another episode of heart pounding, I did the ekg on my watch and it said Atrial fibrillation.  I went to the hospital and they confirmed it.  Now I check my watch every time my heart jumps a beat.  The thing with atrial fibrillation, you have to catch it when it happens, because your heart can go back to normal after a few minutes or hours.  The Apple Watch records your heart  beat all day long, I checked the data for the last few months, and I had a fib moment when I was asleep back in October, my heart rate went from 53 beats a min to 147 in 5 minutes at 12:53 am.  It's amazing the data u can get.  I feel like I'm in more control of this condition. 

Sus8888, I'm glad that your Apple Watch has benefitted you so much.  But I always recommend that, with AFib, you also need to see an electrophysiologist (EP), i.e., a cardiologist who specializes in treating atrial fibrillation.  Even if your symptoms are not presently worrisome all the time, your heart may be in the process of slow deterioration (this is what happened to me), to the point where helpful treatments such as ablations are not effective and the AFib becomes much more problematic.  An EP is likely to catch things that a GP or a regular cardiologist may not.   Please keep us posted!

Thumper2 (Judy)

Hi Thumper2,

Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately this is the beginning of my a fib journey.  I will definitely mention the EP specialist to my cardiologist. I'm just glad that I was able to finally find out why my heart was always pounding and skipping beats.  I'm going for a sleep apnea test, maybe that's the cause of my a fib, my cardiologist suggests we wait and see before she put me on medicines. I will keep u posted:)

Sus8888, a sleep apnea test is a good thing to do.  If you have sleep apnea and are dealing with it, this is very likely to have a good effect on your AFib and on the success of any treatments (such as ablations) you may subsequently have.  Many of us here have shared our experiences with sleep apnea.   All the best,

Thumper2 (Judy)

Hi Thumper2(Judy), 

I willl have to wait till the summer for the test due to Covid, sleep apnea runs in my family.  Thanks for your feedback. Keep safe!

Sus8888, I was set up with a sleep study as part of my initial work-up for afib 5 years ago and have been using a CPAP machine ever since - sleeping a lot better, and helped with the afib as well. 
 

There are now at-home tests for sleep apnea. My wife had one recently - equipment was delivered to our home. You wear a gadget that is like a clunky pulse oximeter on one arm that is able to sense when breathing stops by tiny changes in how the blood vessels in your finger expand and contract with your pulse. (I researched this - very cool!)

Not as good as a full-blown sleep study (the "gold standard") but our health care system trusted it enough to prescribe a CPAP machine on the basis of the results.  The second study that I had (to determine the best pressure) was apparently unneeded because they used the automatic pressure adjustment on the machine. She had some televisits with the sleep specialist as follow up - the machine uploads data that they can view. So far, so good.  You might want to see if this is an option with your provider. 
 

P.S. I am an Apple Watch user too - it's been a real help!

Hi DkinAA,

I really appreciate the info, will look into the sleep apnea home test. Right now I am booked for a in hospital sleep clinic study in 6 months so I am a little anxious that it's taking so long.  My brother has sleep apnea and he's always telling me to get a cpap machine, he says it's the best sleep he's ever had. I love my Apple Watch, my cardiologist says I should go to the hospital if my a fib continues for more than 8-12 hours so the watch really helps.