So do I wait it out???

This morning, I took my morning heart/rhythm meds (metoprolol and flecainide) at 10:30am as usual. All was well.

At 2:15pm or so (about an hour ago), I noticed that I could *feel* tachycardia so used my BP machine and documented BP of 182/90 and a pulse rate of 136.

I tried valsava maneuvers, I coughed, I did the 'bearing down', I drank ice cold water and dunked my face in ice-cold water, too.I tried thinking calm thoughts & meditating.
I even listened to a normal heartbeat on youtube.

It's about an hour later (3:15pm), and during that time from 2:15pm to now, my BP has lowered to 150/80, but my pulse is in the low 140s or low 150s beats per minute--nothing unreadable.

Also, interestingly enough, I've had a full bladder four times in the last hour. Scared? My body is scared???

I applied topical magnesium just to stack the deck, figuring it can't hurt, might help. So far, it didn't make a difference but I just did it.

At this point, I have not had any shortness of breath or weakness or other symptoms...yet.

This is still new to me. It might be a-fib but it doesn't feel like a-fib. It might be SVT, but I've only had that once and thought it was a-fib.

Do I wait this out and for how long, or get to an ER? Thanks!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2019 06:21PM by SueChef.

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SueChef

Also, interestingly enough, I've had a full bladder four times in the last hour. Scared? My body is scared???

"Many patients also complain of frequent urination, caused by release of atrial natriuretic peptide" <[www.americannursetoday.com]

"The violent movement and stretching of the atria and ventricles caused by the fibrillation result in the release of ANP and BNP. These hormones immediately start dumping Na+ and water through the kidneys causing increased urination and normalizing the Na+/K+ ratio. ANP partially blocks the calcium channels in cardiac myocytes and thereby helps slow the heart rate. ANP also suppresses not only aldosterone and cortisol production, but the entire RAAS causing aldosterone to leave the stage. This frees up beta to concentrate on converting cortisol to inactive cortisone resulting in a normalization of cortisol levels. " p8, Act III <[afibbers.org]

As to waiting, if you are not on anticoagulation, they usually won't convert you if it has been more than 48 hours since the episode onset. Hence you may want to give yourself a wide cushion with this time limit, You could also call the ER and find out what their time limit protocol is.

Good luck!

Thanks for the quick reply, and info about increased urination and other info.
I'm a Pradaxa, twice a day.
Right now, at 4:00pm, my pulse is in the high 140s.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2019 07:03PM by SueChef.

Hi Sue,
Im not familiar with your history, so I looked back at some of your older posts.

In one, Carey gave you this advice on SVT:

"In my EMS days we always had patients try to exhale as forcefully as they could against closed lips. Sticking your thumb in your mouth and trying to blow against it is an easy way to do that. The SVT might start again later or it might not. It's like afib in that regard: it starts when it wants and usually for no apparent reason"

Not sure if you've tried that....

I wish I could help more....just know that I empathize with you and hope you can stay calm til this "storm" passes.

Hope this message goes through. We've got a new kitty who has deleted files, messages, etc., with the swipe of a paw all day long

Edited to add - have you tried drinking a V8? Someone on here said that will stop their Afib and maybe it's worth a try with your SVT.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2019 07:11PM by katesshadow.

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katesshadow
Edited to add - have you tried drinking a V8? Someone on here said that will stop their Afib and maybe it's worth a try with your SVT.

Should be low sodium V8. The salt in LS V8 is potassium chloride.

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GeorgeN

Edited to add - have you tried drinking a V8? Someone on here said that will stop their Afib and maybe it's worth a try with your SVT.

Should be low sodium V8. The salt in LS V8 is potassium chloride.

Yes. Thank you!

ANP. Atrial natriuretic peptide. (Also BNP, brain natriuretic peptide, which is produced in the atria. Medicine gets SO much wrong).

Your body is shedding sodium as fast as it can to try to lower heart rate and blood pressure.

Mag may convert you over time, but probably not. If you’re uncomfortable and anticoagulated, as you say, you can always go to the ER and request a cardioversion. The only thing thing to worry about is the rate being > 100 for many days.

I ended up going to the ER, and the doc there said it looks like a-fib.

They hooked me up and monitored me for close to 4 hours, did a bunch of lab tests and a chest x-ray. My BP finally, eventually got back to normal, as did my heart rate. There was no medical intervention for this so that's puzzling. I did ask how long I should wait before going to the ER, should this happen again. The ER doc said if I have chest pain, shortness of breath, or weakness/feeling faint, to call 911. Otherwise, he said many people have this or hours or days, and it resolves--and with others, they need medical intervention. Stuff I kind of knew from being here.

I don't have any low sodium V8 but it's on the grocery list.

Kate, yes, that was one of the things I tried (thumb in mouth and blow) that didn't do much, but I know it can work for others. I won't discount it! I tried everything in my knowledge base before I went to the ER, including waiting, listening to the sound of a human heartbeat (thinking that perhaps the rhythms will align).

Thanks for ringing in, wolfpak.

I figured if I was in the ER, and things took a turn for the worst, I'd be in the right place to have things addressed quickly.

I thought perhaps brunch had something to do with the heart rhythm and high blood pressure -- we had chiles rellenos and I *know* the place --and other restaurants -- oversalt their food because I'm always so thirsty afterwards. Maybe too much table salt had something to do with this and like wolfpak said, my body was shedding sodium. For me, I don't ever add salt to my food, so eating out can be problematic I guess.

Thank you everyone!!!!!

Glad you are doing better!

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lds001
Glad you are doing better!

Thanks, lds001 ! It's a scary experience (again!!) and I hope I don't repeat it! Thank goodness for this forum!!!!!