Good news, my friend! But expect bumps in the road for the next few weeks and don't get discouraged when they happen. Not lifting weights is to protect your insertion sites, but weight lifting (heavy) also raises the blood pressure in your left atrium significantly, which in turn enlarges your atrium, which then causes fibrosis to form, and fibrosis causes afib. That's why weight lifby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotewwoofbum PVCs are a more serious concern. Not so much. They're both fairly benign. Most cardiologists will tell you that you don't need to treat PVCs until the burden is very high, on the order of 20%.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
One thing to be aware of with Tikosyn is that it becomes more effective the longer you're on it, so I wouldn't give up too early.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yeah, it can happen because the vaccine takes more than 2 weeks to become effective, but the vaccine does not cause shingles. I got my first shingles vaccine in December, so thank you for reminding me that I'm due for the second.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Ever know somebody with shingles? As much as you may hate afib, you're going to hate shingles a whole lot more. We're talking about 3-5 weeks of an excruciatingly painful rash that can become infected, it can infect your eyes, potentially leading to vision loss, and it can even infect the lungs, causing pneumonia. No thank you. I'd take 3-5 weeks of afib over that.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Checking for lingering atrial arrhythmias isn't an ablation. It's called an electrophysiology study, although it can lead to an ablation. So I'm not surprised he does that because it only makes sense, but he's not going to do an ablation that's not needed. That was my only point. Anyway, you're in good hands.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
An episode lasting 44 hours pretty much removes all doubt that you have afib and it's not going to go away. If you postpone the ablation to wait for monitor results, the results might come back clear simply because no afib occurred during the week or two you had the monitor. But that doesn't mean you don't have afib and it almost certainly will return. You didn't say when in Aby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yeah, PACs can sort of take your breath away momentarily. I think what you've felt were likely PACs.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotecalvin Can you tell me what these PACS fee, like how do you know what it is? Most people describe them as feeling like a particularly strong beat. You know what it is by having felt the sensations and then seeing them recorded on an ECG. Once you've felt a few and see what they are, you know the next time you feel one even if you don't have some type of ECG device.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
It was okay for me, but it's a beta blocker so it came with the same side effect they all have for me, which is exercise intolerance. But it was fairly effective at taming my afib and flutter. If you don't hate beta blockers, it will probably be okay for you.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
No, that's not standard. With no documented afib, I seriously doubt that Natale would be willing to do an ablation. You could ask for another monitor if you have doubts, but a few unclassified readings from Kardia doesn't mean much.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I have a Watchman but mine wasn't placed under time-sensitive conditions like yours will be. My general experience was it's a very quick, easy procedure. I couldn't tell anything had been done other than the one insertion site in my groin. My understanding is that 45 days is the minimum time before you can stop anticoagulants, but they're going to want a TEE at that pointby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
No, they're not going to prescribe something like flecainide in an ER. In fact, they usually won't prescribe much of anything beyond the time you leave the ER. They can't follow up with you and they're just not set up for long-term care, so to hand you a prescription for something and never see or hear from you again would be irresponsible of them. If you want to give flecainiby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
You're taking it daily? How often do you have afib episodes and how high does your heart rate go during an episode with the diltiazem? Do you know how high it goes without the diltiazem?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Flecainide is an antiarrhythmic and it has complex prescribing requirements that requires cardiology training and a knowledge of your full history that an ER doc doesn't have in the 10 minutes they've gotten to know you. Did you know that flecainide isn't approved by the FDA for treatment of afib? It's used by cardiologists off-label, but your ER doc is unlikely to be willingby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
All the best EPs will be very busy. As a general rule, any EP who can schedule an ablation in less than a month isn't the EP you want.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSearching9 Previously Cary had recommended asking for Dr Santangli at Cleveland for a second opinion before going an ablation route. Is that still the recommendation, and is there any recommendation at UPMC in Pittsburgh as an alternate. . Yes, my recommendation has changed. She has progressed to persistent afib, she's highly symptomatic, and now she's failed two drugs, with oneby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Why are you checking your Kardia 3 times a day? I think Calvin's right that that's just going to create stress. Do you feel okay? Pulse feels normal? Then why check your Kardia? I think you're getting kind of obsessive about it and I've seen a lot of that here. It just creates stress and anxiety. You've posted a whole lot of recordings and almost all of them have been unrby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
That's not wide enough to be of concern. An echo can't see BBB, and I don't think there's any here. Show it to your EP but I think you can safely ignore it in the meantime.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotecornerbax I am guessing BNP levels play a roll in frequent urination? Oh yeah. BNP = B-type natriuretic peptide. Guess what natriuretic means. It means something that tells your kidneys to excrete more water. BNP and ANP are secreted by your heart, particularly your left and right atrial appendages. So during afib, flutter, or really any sort of tachycardia, your heart tends to produce moby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yep, I know a guy who produces a ridiculous amount of urine when he's in afib. He'll have to empty his bladder every 30 minutes or so. I have no idea what his BNP levels are during afib, but you can bet they're high, and I would bet the tachycardia is doing the same to you.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
If it's been a week you're good to do with the yoga.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Fatigue is a very individual thing. I never experienced fatigue at all after ablations, but others do. So it's hard to say how long it will last but a week or so is usually the limit. I think most of it is due more to anesthesia than the procedure itself. Some people walk away from anesthesia like it's nothing but it affects others for days. Yeah, the bump at the insertion site is noby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming Only ever 3mg, which the research seems to have settled on being the maximum needed dose. Yep, read an article about melatonin a while back, and research found that the most effective dose is in that range, while higher doses actually have a paradoxical effect that impacts sleep negatively. But most people don't realize that and assume more is better, so they buy the supplemby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Most people don't experience those symptoms. I never did and I've had multiple ablations. Some people describe a dull sort of discomfort that lasts a day or two but it's very mild and nothing to write home about. The only people I've ever heard complain of significant pain from an ablation are the few who experienced complications such as pericardial effusions (fluid buildup aby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
It really is this simple: HR > 100 = bad HR < 100 = good Whether you're in flutter or not doesn't matter much as far as long-term heart health goes. The rule above still applies. It would be better not to be in flutter for the same reasons it's better not to be in afib, but with both the rule above still applies. Neither flutter nor afib will do you any serious harm asby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
You can be in afib for decades without harm if your resting heart rate remains below 100 bpm. Afib in and of itself does your heart no serious harm. But tachycardia, even if it's sinus tachycardia, will do damage if it's allow to continue for long periods of time. It causes enlargement of heart muscle the same way being a runner causes enlargement of leg muscles. This results in reducedby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tachycardia for a week or so isn't going to hurt you, but you certainly can't remain in it for 60-90 days. Hey, it's surgery, not an ablation, so it comes with a lot more things like this. If your surgeon isn't concerned about it, I wouldn't be. Just don't let it go for weeks on end.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
The best combinations are individualized, so what works great for one person might not work at all for someone else. You're just going to need to work with your EP on this. Hopefully, metoprolol alone will work for you because you don't want to remain on amiodarone long term.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM