Puffing, pacer and AF

A couple of days ago, (2 days shy of 3 months) I got a episode of AF, I puffed and puffed, the episode lasted only 2 and 1/2 hours one of the shortest episodes for me. After the puffing my chest felt full like I needed to burp, I finally burped (a mammoth burp) and my AF stopped and I went into NSR. Heartrate dropped into the 60s, which is my normal heartrate.

Something else about my pacemaker----I had a new battery installed in 2012, my AF episodes seemed to change, my heartrate was more even but when going back into NSR it took a while to get back into my normal heartrate. Back in Jan. and Feb. of this year after an AF episode my heartrate stayed at 80 for around 5 days, I could feel it, and I didn't have energy, I did go to get an EKG run but those docs. couldn't read it because I was pacing. I wrote about this a few months ago. I went to get my pacer checked around the 1st of May, they couldn't give me a good answer why I was pacing at 80, they said they would change it to 60. Since that time I stayed in NSR for almost 3 months, heart felt more calm, no palps, and the almost three months without AF was the longest I went without AF in quite a few years.

When I had the new battery installed, the doc. must have set pacing for me at 80, is it possible that is why I got more episodes of AF, at times my heart rate must have been competing with the pacing. All I know is I feel much different now, I have an appt. with my EP in a week, I will ask him, but they always seem to have some kind of answer that isn't an answer.

Liz

Hi Liz,

I don't have any input for you re the pacemaker as l don't have one (altho my EP says it is in my future), since your post about the puffing l have been trying it and it worked for the first time last night. I seem to go into afib after a run & sure enough it happened within a half hour of finishing. After a couple of tries l converted, however, it didn't last and l went back in short time later. But l am very encouraged by this. I will continue to work on it, also George's advice regarding breath holds. (George - might it have worked because of my cumulative effort at breath holds?)

Thanks to you both.

Best wishes

Anne
New South Wales, Australia

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AnneC
Hi Liz,

I don't have any input for you re the pacemaker as l don't have one (altho my EP says it is in my future), since your post about the puffing l have been trying it and it worked for the first time last night. I seem to go into afib after a run & sure enough it happened within a half hour of finishing. After a couple of tries l converted, however, it didn't last and l went back in short time later. But l am very encouraged by this. I will continue to work on it, also George's advice regarding breath holds. (George - might it have worked because of my cumulative effort at breath holds?)

Good question - hard to know.

It sounds like running is a trigger? I know that endurance activities can be for me. I adopted a "minimum effective dose" for my training and eliminated most endurance type training. I am able to maintain a high level of fitness, but what I do doesn't trigger me. One of the side effects is my resting heart rate has come up a bit - I assume the future pacemaker idea is because your resting rate is very low?

George

Yes, George, my low HR combined with lengthy sinus pauses the EP attributes to the training so he has had me cut back significantly. Interestingly, he seemed to indicate once l had a pacemaker installed he'd set it to 60 & let me run as much as l want (we've yet to discuss the running as a trigger, as l've only recently started keeping track).

Liz - l wonder why your pace would be set at 80 - seems rather high.

Anne:
I have no idea why they had me pacing at 80, the pacer was implanted because when going back into NSR from an AF episode my heart rate would drop to almost a flat line for a few seconds, I felt like I would black out but didn't. I happened to be in my doctor's office when this happened so my EP said I needed a pacer immediately, which I got. That was in 1998 and I was fine, I had no problems, my battery life was running out so in 2012 I got a new battery and that is when things gradually changed for me.

I think the puffing shortened my AF episode, it seems as though my chest filled with air and I felt like I needed to burp but couldn't, then when I finally did my AF stopped.

liz

Not to make light of anything, but here is some history.

6 years of documented afib bouts, 192 in total with an average time of 9 hours per episode. Most started in the day or evening and maybe half terminated while sleeping.

Just go to bed to stop afib.

Ken:

I am vagal so a lot of AF episodes started after I was in bed.

L

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Ken
Not to make light of anything, but here is some history.

6 years of documented afib bouts, 192 in total with an average time of 9 hours per episode. Most started in the day or evening and maybe half terminated while sleeping.

Just go to bed to stop afib.

Ken: How many Ablations have you had, and who performed them?

ONE ablation 11.5 years ago by Dr. Kevin R. Wheelan, Heart Place, Baylor Medical Center, Dallas. While I wasn't aware of this web site at the time of my afib and ablation, my Cardiologist knew of and highly recommended Dr. Wheelan. However, she said that while he was excellent, I should wait a year or more for him to get more ablations under his belt. I did and it couldn't have been a better result. By now, he should have thousands done. All I can recollect is that he did "60 burns". Recovery was quick, no blanking period (no returning afib) and no medications other than Warfarin for one month post ablation.


Each November, on my anniversary, I post a summary of my experience.