A day in AF......

[jade100]

Hi all,
Well this morning I woke up at 3.30am with a funny feeling & my valve ticking very irregularly.

We went to A&E & they told me I was in atrial fibrillation. They took troponin levels (heart attack bloods) blood cultures, just incase it was triggered by infection or blockage. all came back clear but waiting on blood cultures (AGAIN!) no temps though.

After seeing the cardiologist he told me that 1 in 3 people go into AF post surgery so that was a little bit of a relief. After 9 hrs and 2 doses of beta blocker my heart spontaneously went back into normal rhythm. If it hadn't they were going to shock me in the morning under sedation.

How many of you have had this? I hope to be able to stop posting about problems & start just getting on with life! It definitely gets to you after a while,

Cheers guys

Ross

 

[AgilityDog]

I dunno how it is in the UK, but many of us in the states get put on amiodarone for 3 months after surgery, to prevent/block/stop the a-fib, particularly if we had any prior to surgery.
A-fib is certainly uncomfortable.

 

[epstns]

I had a coupleof bouts of afib post-op, even though I was taking amiodarone to prevent it. The last recorded bout (my pacemaker keeps track for me) was just about one month post-op. Since then, all is well. I guess it is pretty common for valve patients to experience a few bits of afib. No fun, but usually resolves with time.

 

[guyinva]

6 days after my surgery (still in the hospital) the PA came in and removed my temporary pacing wires in preparation of going home the next day. About an hour after they were removed, I went into A-Fib. I was immediately put on IV Amiodarone and it took 24 hours for me to convert back to normal sinus rhythm. I went home with a 3 month prescription for Amiodarone. 22 months later I'm now have episodes of PAC's but so far no more A-Fib.