afib and dizziness

I'm brand new to this site and am wondering if it's common to have afib and dizziness. And when the afib stops and there's still dizziness, has this happened to anyone? Thank you for any input.

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tindellery
I'm brand new to this site and am wondering if it's common to have afib and dizziness. And when the afib stops and there's still dizziness, has this happened to anyone? Thank you for any input.

Dizziness is common in people who have high rate afib. I don't recall about after returning to NSR. Here is a study on the topic.

How fast is your heart rate during afib? Do you have an oximeter? Are you anxious (a lot of people are when you feel the palpitations) so is your blood pressure high? Take your BP the next time you are dizzy.

I’m dizzy with a high heart rate but I’m sensitive and my symptoms may not mirror others. You are not alone. Try biofeedback and breathing techniques to see if it helps your dizziness. Go to Amazon and buy a relaxation cd. I have a 4400 gallon pump in my pond with two waterfalls so I distract myself to calm down by focusing on the loud waterfalls and my koi swimming around.

Hi Tindellery, welcome to the forum.

If you're dizzy during afib then your doctor needs to know, but if you're still dizzy after the afib stops then your doctor definitely needs to know. There can be a lot of reasons for that and some could be serious. Can you tell us more about yourself? How old, how long have you had afib, what have you done about it so far and all that?

I had two serious bouts of dizzyness during my pre-operaration period which were accompanied with nausia and vomiting. The dizzyness was so bad I could hardly walk. I had no palpitations but more severe sweating and a 'muzzy' head during last summer before a regular health check by my GP confirmed my AF condition. I was sent to my A&E where they got my heart rate down from 164 BPM to about 100 with Betablockers (Bisoprolol). Considering the long waiting list caused by Covid, I was lucky to be given the Cardioversion (Electric shock operation} within a few weeks after spending 3 nights in Hospital where I was given an infusion of Amiodarone which took about 20 hours. This caused my liver to under perform and left me with a floater in my left eye. It was hoped that my liver function would return to it's previous performance within about a month but it was still under performing after 2 months. I was warned that I may become diabetic but thankfully it has now returned to it's previous performance after about 3 months so I would not recommend using this drug. My eye floater could be with me for years and I am due to see an eye specialist. So you are not alone with this symptom and I would rcommend having a Cardioversion and using a Fit Bit watch or other type of device which can measure your pulse rate continuously.

Being dizzy is not uncommon ESP. if you are active during your Afib.......now if your dizzy + not moving around to any great extent then its time to take notice + double ESP. if not active + still dizzy AFTER doing nothing.
See your Doctor + get your 24 Holter monitor set up at a Hosp. then that will get on the road to an Ablation...Without knowing anymore about you...that's my advice like if i was talking to some person on the street for 1 or 2 minutes.
I use myself as an example...don't wait...if its serious enough for these wrap around dizzy spells then an Ablation is in your future without much time passing. I would do everything possible to that end....starting with that Holter monitor.
I wish i had moved without delay on a personal level.
GL TIND

You’re not alone, I definitely feel lightheaded and dizzy. The only good thing for me is I know when I convert because that all goes away when I convert into a sinus rhythm. That is the best feeling ever.

Just to add my story to this: I live with a motion type sickness dizziness every day since having one episode of vertigo on waking in the morning & getting out of bed & spinning like I was going to pass out. I also had nausea & vomiting. I got back into bed & could not move my head without feeling severely bad. It took about 10 hr for it to go away & I had taken one very old Phenergan left over from a previous surgery that took care of the nausea. That happened to me 6 months after my cardiac ablation by Dr. Natale. No one ever posited the idea that there could be a connection to my afib or ablation. I liken it to a stroke as though I have no more episodes like that ONE time, the lightheaded, rocking, weighted, magnetic pulling sensation is with me every day during activity such as walking, turning a corner, looking up then down, etc. It does not impair my life greatly, though it adds to my fatigue as I suppose it is taking my energy to counteract the feelings constantly.

I do have a "rare" acoustic neuroma in one ear which is called an intracochlear schwannoma, but brain scan at that time did not show any changes there. This is deep in the inner ear where balance control is. That tumor did cause deafness in that ear years ago. I wonder if all my cardiac & thyroid med changes during my 2-yr time of afib caused an imbalance that caused my tumor to shift just slightly.

I did not get any of this when I was having afib prior to ablation. More than afib, I had trouble with all the various meds & changes & side effects there. You might look at that aspect too.

I had never heard dizziness and afib were concomitant in a serious way, just the lightheaded feeling one gets when one's heart is racing & you are out of breath, but not a severe vertiginous spinning & feeling like blacking out. Of course different degrees & different situations for everyone. You could get checked out by ENT specialist like a neuro-otologist.