Long term afib studies

I went looking for this info but could not find it... I know someone posted it on folks who stay in afib (on purpose or just because nothing works).. and what the stats are of what can happen. I know them generally but would like to read some studies. (I won't bore you all with my history again. Just still trying to figure out my next best step. And specifically - stay in rate controlled afib.. not willy nilly rvr type stuff.

Thanks.

Liz is doing well with permanent afib. Maybe her valves are not as good as before but at her age I admire her luck being less afib symptomatic.

What do you mean what can happen? As long as you keep the rate controlled and continuous anticoagulation, nothing happens. Permanent afib does not decrease lifespan or quality of life. Millions of people live decades with it.

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Carey
What do you mean what can happen? As long as you keep the rate controlled and continuous anticoagulation, nothing happens. Permanent afib does not decrease lifespan or quality of life. Millions of people live decades with it.

I must be dreaming because someone put some links to long term issues with afib..... I know millions live with it. I remember some of what was in there now so I will search that was as well.

Enlarged left atrium?

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susan.d
Enlarged left atrium?

Rate control limits that (and BP control also).

Also, it's clinically insignificant if you're already in afib and intend to stay that way. Rate control and anticoagulation are the only two things a permanent afibber needs to concern themself with.

Hi Everyone,

I was a regular reader of the forum from 2009 to 2014. Had my ablation at Southlake in Dec. 2012 with Dr. Yaariv Khaykin. I appreciated so much the helpful advice from the people on this forum - especially Jackie, Hans and Shannon.

After my ablation I was afib-free until June 2021. The episode was very minor with my heart rate going from about 80 to 100 and back- not like what I had been used to before my ablation, with heart rate over 200. Because of the episode, in July 2021 I had a heart checkup - echo, nuclear stress test, ECG. All were normal.

In January I started noticing small things - dull headache, constriction around chest when I walked quickly - and so my cardio ran some tests again three weeks ago - echo, non-nuclear stress test, and ECG. Things have changed - I have an enlarged left atrium, very high blood pressure - it was 217/95 before I did the test!, and the stress test was positive - my cardio says either because of the blood pressure or because there is a blockage. He will run a nuclear stress test in a few weeks to find out if there is a blockage, and has given me a prescription to lower the blood pressure. Traditionally my blood pressure has been on the low side.

The enlarged left atrium has me really worried. I seem to remember MurrayL talking about his heart when he went to Southlake. DId he have an enlarged left atrium? And did it shrink some after he went on Tykosin? I can't find the posts where he talked about that. I can find very little about enlarged left atrium when I google it, except it talks about the fact your life expectancy is reduced with one. I'm hoping to find that it can be reversed.

If anyone can point me to Murray's posts about it, I would be very grateful. If you have any experience with it, I would like to hear your experience.

Thank you,

Marg

Hi Marg, an enlarged left atrium is very common in people who have or have had afib. It's not really all that worrisome a thing and it doesn't shorten your lifespan unless you don't keep the afib under control, which you have. You don't need to panic about it. You've had a cardiac workup and came out clean, so take a deep breath and relax. You're in no danger.

Also, you might want to start a new topic for this question. Tagging onto someone else's old thread made it hard for me to find your post and other people won't even bother trying.