AFIB or just anxiety?

Greetings, I posted a couple of weeks ago about my Afib experience in early July. I went to the ER and converted back to NSR after 4-5 hours, I stayed overnight and there were no additonal issues. Since then, I've had an echo, stress test, and an additonal EKG, all were normal. In my last appointment with the cardiologist, he told me that I should put the situation behind me, make like it never happened and he believes it was a fluke.

Of course, I've been able to do that, and several times a week when i wake up, I have an uneasy feeling in my chest. There are no other physical symptoms and it's not like what I went through when I had my Afib experience. But I feel like my heart rate is higher and as if my heart isn't beating normal. Once I get out of the bed and begin my day, the feeling goes away. There are times during the day when I get a hollow feeling in my chest, or feel tighness, but it goes away after 10-15 minutes.

Could this just be anxeity, how does one know they are in Afib w/o any other physical symptoms

Slim,

If I take my pulse at any pulse point (wrist, carotid, temple...), if I am in afib, my rate feels highly variable. You can see this on heart rate vs. time graphs as are in CR 52 and 52a <[www.afibbers.org] <[www.afibbers.org] . I can see this in a $5 iPhone app, Stress Doctor. The irregularity shows up in both the pulse wave and heart rate graphs. I also easily feel it using just my fingers on a pulse point.

George

slim78,

For what it's worth, I have the same feeling as you. Ever since my first afib event last October I feel the exact same way. I swear that when I'm lying down its harder for me to breathe, and that Im not breathing as good as I normally do, and sometimes during the day I feel like I can't get a good breath. I've chalked it up to anxiety over getting another afib. I too had all the tests done and passed them with flying colors. During the stress test my heart was so good, the doctor left the room to get cupcakes.

Like George said, when you're in afib, it's a different feeling. Your fingers on a pulse point should allow you to feel your heart beating on a very irregular rhythm. If that doesn't work, you can download an iphone app that can show your heart rate as well (like George said). If the iPhone app has a hard time determining your pulse, or shows wild variations in numbers, you can probably assume you are in afib.

Be careful with the iphone apps tho, once I downloaded mine, I was checking my pulse every 5 mins or so.

Good luck! If the 78 at the end of your name is your birth year, then we are the same age.

-Eric

Hi Slim78,
I don't know how much experience you have with Afib, but I'm a rookie myself. There are times arrhythmia comes and go in many different styles. For instance, it may burst in for a short duration of a few minutes in high rates (tachycardia or flutter). I can feel it, but then it goes away. There are times, it may last longer and also irregular beating, then I can really feel it. This is the real deal of Afib. Anyway, all in all, it's all part of the Afib journey that you're going through and the journey of witnessing the beast is progressing. Anxiety or nervousness also contributes or triggers the beast. For me, adrenaline or being nervous often triggers the beast. Pay attention to see if those 10-15 minutes that you're experiencing will gradually increase over time. If it is, then the beast is progressing. Like George said, you can easily take your own pulse with your finger at the neck, and you will sense how fast and irregular your heart beat is.

Duke

Goerge, I just tried the Stress Doctor app (it was free for androids) and it said my stress rate was very low. When looking at the graphic, the waves seemed to be all over the place, so does that mean I'm in Afib right now?

I tried taking my pulse on cartoid artery, I just feel a normal beating, not sure if I'm doing it correctly

Erich, yup, we are the same age, 36.

Duke, there are times when I felt like my heart was pounding, like during my Echo exam, but when I saw my heart rate, it was always between 80-100, same for my stress test. Again, everything i'm feeling is in my chest, I don't get the headaches or nausea, but i know that doesn't always happen during an episode.

Slim78

duke is right there are many many feelings, beats, etc. and most likely they are all due to afib, pre-afib or maybe flukes.
The best thing to do now is stop worrying, stop measuring ur pulse, stop with the apps, etc.

If your test results were good and your symptoms arent bad enough to make u feel bad just have a great day. We all drive ourselves crazy waiting for the next weird beat or feeling. Try not to dwell on it use your energy that way. Let it go like the doc says

Slim,

Here is an image of me in NSR <[drive.google.com]

Note the Y-Axis limits are 71 and 82 or an 11 BPM difference. In afib, you might see a 30 or 60 or more difference - like 60 to 125. The X-Axis scale is about 40 seconds. My pulse wave is pretty regular. In afib it is all over the place. Not only in amplitude (peak height) but also in the time between peaks. I'm assuming you are keeping the phone and your finger very still.

Here are 3 images out of my history file that look like afib to me: <[drive.google.com]

The X-scales are 2:47 (min:sec), 3:40 & 6:12. Obviously on the little iPhone screen you loose detail for beat to beat, but you can see from the Y-scale the huge range.

You also have to remember, I'm just sitting there holding my phone very still, with my finger on the camera/light. I'm not exercising or doing something else to make my heart rate jump around like this.

I've watched it go from afib to NSR and the pulse wave suddenly gets much more regular and the HR range shrinks dramatically (though my rate may be elevated for a while, possibly as I use PIP Flec to convert).

George



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2014 03:41PM by GeorgeN.

heart pounding is probably anxiety.

If you only had the one attack in July, you're probably OK! Like tsco said, do your best to ignore everything and relax.

_Eric

Slim, sounds like U need more data before U just blow it off, could or couild not be Stress related.
Sounds like most of your issues are when sleeping. I suggest going to a cardiologist, and getting a "Holter Monitor",
to wear while U sleep. That will record everything going on with Ur Heart.
Also Sleep Apnea is a common cause of AFIB related IR Heartbeats. (Do you snore?)

Also an easy way to see if U might be in AFIB, in addition to the formentioned advice, is too get an Pulse Oxymeter.
They sell for around $25 on Ebay. When ur in AFIB, the pulse rate will vary widely. In my episodes, my rate will jump around between 80 to 120 changing within seconds. If I am in NSR, even with irregularities, like Pac's, the rate is about 10 times as stable, only slightly going up or down.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2014 04:16AM by The Anti-Fib.

Slim, there is a totally non technological way for you to tell whether you are in afib. You can do it in bed, or at the breakfast table, or your doctor's waiting room,or wherever. Ever have a nurse take your pulse in a doctor's office or a public health clinic? She felt your wrist and counted to herself, remember? You can do this for yourself too. Ask some nurse to show you how to do it. No rocket science involved, i swear. You might need to feel somebody's pulse who you know is not in afib, just for comparison, so you can be sure you know what NSR feels like. Hint: NSR is totally regular, you should be feeling your pulse ticking away in a completely repetitive rhythm, nursing textbooks call it "lub-dub, lub-dub". Anything else but that is an abnormal rhythm of some kind, either afib or maybe ectopic beats.

Ectopics are the sort of afibby feelings that are not quite afib but not completely NSR either. They go by a lot of alphabet soup type of names, PVC's, PAC's, and as our old friend Marshall used to say, abc's, xyz's, and eieio's. You cannot tell by the pulse taking method which kind you are having usually, but you can tell there is something going on that is not pure NSR. Ectopics are usually described as scary but harmless, but in some people they are the precursor to afib. Maybe you are one of those people, maybe not. Time will tell.

Another lo-tech way for you to figure out what is going on with your heart is to purchase a stethoscope. Drugstores carry them and they do not cost very much.Again you may need to listen to somebody else's heart to be sure you know what NSR sounds like, but it is not hard to find people who are not in afib. And any nurse can show you how to use it.

PeggyM




'

Slim: Whether or not you're in afib, which it doesn't sound like you are, you definitely have anxiety, which is not surprising.

My cardiologist said that a quick simple way to check for afib is to use a home blood pressure machine and if the pulse rate indicator won't read, you may be in afib, but if it does give you a regular reading you're probably not.

Obviously your heart reate increases when you're anxious as you're releasing adrenalin into your system. I find that the more often I used my home bp machine the higher my blood pressure and heart rate was.

Perhaps you want to get a Holter monitor for a few days to be sure.

Some L-theanine might also be a big help.

Gordon

Thank you everyone for the advice and concerns. I think mainly it's just anxiety and I'm going to try and follow the dr's advice and just put it behind me. I know why i wake up anxious and that is because my Afib started in the morning 6 weeks ago.

I played around with those apps last night (stress doctor and instant heart rate), and for the most part everything seemed normal. I will just use those if i really feel something is off, i don't want to get addicted to those apps.

PeggyM Wrote:
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>
> Ectopics are the sort of afibby feelings that are
> not quite afib but not completely NSR either.


Well articulated definition of Ectopics.

I have had episodes of LAF for four years occurring about every 3-5 months, requiring chemical conversion in the ER. I've not been advised to have ablation yet because I have usually converted within 4-6 hours. I take propafenone three times a day. However, I have added magnesium to my vitamin intake, and also a very low dose of alprazolam (Xanax) 0.5 mg. at night to help me sleep and if I am in a particularly stressful situation during the day or get frequent palpitations, I pinch off and take half tablet and the palpitations disappear within a few minutes. I also have become more disciplined about regular moderate exercise (walking and biking). I have not had a prolonged episode since February 26! I am convinced that the alprazolam is a big factor in my improvement. So many people experience stress in their lives, or don't get adequte sleep and a tiny tranquilizer and regular exercise can be a big help. It's worth a try!

George, Can you please comment on your thoughts regarding the utility of Stress Doctor compared to AliveCor. Thanks.