First Afib Reading

About five yrs ago, i had experienced many pvcs for the first time. Testing was done and it was determined they were benign.

On March 1 of this yr, I was under much stress as I had to put my 13-yr-old dog to rest. The heart palps came back with a vengeance. Set up appt with Cardiologist but couldn’t get in until May 11. Had a holter done last month, but still no results back.

Got a Kardia Mobile device after a rough night of palps and it has mainly been normal rhythm with some pvcs and pacs except yesterday, it showed Afib which lasted a minute. Now I am back to normal rhythm.

I have three family members that have afib. I have been taking low dose of metropolol since Mar 1.

I let my Dr's office know of the afib yesterday but wondered if there is anything else I can do until I get into the doctor. My pulse is btwn 58-70 and bp seems ok.

metoprolol will keep your heart rate lower but won't prevent afib. A minute of afib is no big deal. Suggest slow breathing (5-6 breaths/minute through nose and diaphragmatically, but not "big" breaths. Breathe in as little as possible. See articles here. Suggesting this as it sounds like stress may be an actor in this.

I agree that 1 minute of afib is nothing to be concerned about, and it could even be Kardia misinterpreting a run of PACs as afib. I've seen it do that.

What may help calm down the PACs is a daily magnesium supplement and a high-potassium diet. You can also buy some low-sodium V8 juice and drink a can of that when you're feeling a lot of palpitations. In low-sodium V8 they replace the salt with potassium, resulting in one of the highest doses of potassium you can get without a prescription.

And above all, avoid dehydration at all costs. When you think you've had enough water to drink, drink twice as much, especially on hot days or when you're exerting yourself.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2023 02:53AM by Carey.

Thank you so much George! I will take a look at these articles. I really appreciate your response.

Thank you so much Carey! I need to get some magnesium. I will also try that low-sodium v8. Such a great idea! I will ensure I drink a ton of water too! I appreciate all of your suggestions.

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Leosmom
I will ensure I drink a ton of water too!

Dehydration can certainly be an issue, but be careful. Urine color, assuming you aren't taking a bunch of B vitamins, is a good gauge (even with B vitamins you can learn to tell the difference between their color and that of normal urine. See the chart in this article. You want pee ranging from lemonade-colored to a brighter shade like light beer meaning you’re solidly hydrated. Darker means your dehydrated, but clear means you are overhydrated, which is also bad. You can dilute your sodium too much, which can actually be dangerous. This is most common in long foot races, but can be an issue with anyone. So drink enough, but don't feel that over the top is better.

That does make sense. Thank you George.

I wasn't suggesting anything over the top, but rather just emphasizing that most people significantly underestimate their water needs. I've actually encountered people who literally never drink water. For example, there was a woman with afib on another forum who was big into pickle ball, and she said it seems her afib gets worse after long days of play, especially in hot weather. I pointed out the dehydration connection and asked her how much water she drank during her pickle ball games. The was none. She said she never drank just plain water. It was always iced tea or something like that. Sure, iced tea is 99.9% water, but it's also a diuretic. I tried to convince her to bring a big bottle of water to her games but she was resistant. I have no idea why anyone would be resistant to drinking water but she was.

One other point: at some point in your assessment by the person treating you, you should have a full blood panel. This will reveal, among other things, A1C sugar behaviour and tolerance, ferratin levels, L-Troponin levels (an indicator of muscle heart damage), magnesium, potassium, and others. Your entire endocrine system should be checked to ensure proper levels of thyroxin, as an example. Pituitrin, another.

When I had my first ablation, I was in hospital within six days. I ended up on Amiodarone for the entire blanking period, and eventually it was realized that the first ablation had failed. But when I was admitted, they ran full ECG and blood, and ended up giving me two large white tablets meant to boost my potassium. For some reason I run low on K. Dunno why, but I do know that my creatinine levels also run high, indicating incipient, if stable, kidney disease. Luckily, even a few days post ablation, my L-Troponin levels were only very slightly elevated, a good sign that my heart myocytes weren't losing any ground, despite my almost persistent AF.

So, excellent replies above, but there may be more than just the magnesium.

I don’t like the taste of water. I grew up without being prompted or provided. There was always cans of soda around. Sometimes I slice cucumbers to spike the taste. You are right Carey- hydration is important. Before my first afib I don’t think I drank any water. Only Coke or similar because I had a job that required deadlines so to work 18-24 hours a day at deadline crunch, I needed to stay awake.

Thank you Carey. Such great information.

Thank you Gloaming for this great info. I think they did some blood work when I was in the ER a couple of mos ago. I will ask my Cardiologist when I see him tomorrow.

Just wanted to follow up to say I saw my Cardiologist today. I showed him the Kardiamobile reading that showed the afib. He said they were erring on the side of caution and that it was a run of pvcs and not afib. He said the heart palps on the holter monitor show pacs and pvcs but no afib. He said the runs of pvcs and pacs might possibly be due to my electrolytes being a bit off (low magnesium and low sodium). This was partly because of a lot of water drank during the time I had COVID. He said I should ensure either taking a multivitamin daily or have gatorade or the v8 juice. Thank you everyone for your helpful responses.