cardioversion

[deborahj]

Hi, all,
I am apparently still afibbing despite attempts at chemical
cardioversion with amiodarone...i am due this cardioversion procedure in two weeks, and hey i know its small and low risk in the scheme of things, but I can't help worrying ( a bit ) about it.Finally my bp and heart rate are levelling of after being sky high .
At my local hospital, the right hand does'nt know what the left is doing, metaphorically speaking, and my g.p.is unable to tell me more than I already know about the procedure, and simply not informed enough to advise on such topics as arrythmia, magnesium. potassium etc.
can one's heart feel good in afib ever?
Is sinus rythym always preferable....What studies have been done regarding the longevity of sinus rythm induced by cardioversion?.Do any folk out there have advice about the procedure?
do most people know when they are in afib???

is anybody's fib tied to hormones i'e not valavular??? has anyone consulted alternative practitioners with regard to afib?


thanks in advance for your advice
DEbs xxx

 

[Mb]

Hi Deb!

Gosh, you've asked a ton of questions. I strongly recommend you get onto "Google" and do a search under a-fib and cardioversion. There are tons of articles out there on both!

My husband has been in chronic a-fib (persistent a-fib, 24/7) for about two years. He was in a-fib before, and after the surgery.
He was cardioverted about 6 weeks after being diagnosed as being in CHF, a-fib, and his two valves needed to be replaced. (He had rhuematic fever when he was 19).

The cardioversion worked. For four days. When he reverted back into a-fib, it hit him like a ton of bricks. I don't think he realized how much better he felt when he was in sinus rythm.

There are two ways to attempt to treat a-fib, which is a debilitating condition. The first is rythm control.....which is drugs and/or cardioversion, and the second is rate control through drugs. My husband is on attenenol, for rate control. His HR is controled when at rest, but when he does even moderate exertion, it goes wacky....over 200 BMP, which of course is not an efficient rate for his heart. There are other things that can be done though.

The cardioversion, if it works, will make you feel a whole heck of a lot better. Whether you stay in normal sinus rythm or not depends on the underlying condition, how long you have been in a-fib, etc. etc. etc. I truely hope this works for you.

It is a very easy procedure. They give you a drug that puts you to sleep....quickly. They then shock the heart using those debrillator pads, your heart stops for a wee bit, then goes into rythm! My husbands doctor did have to shock him twice, but what a beautiful graph of a heart in rythm! They can wake you like within three seconds (I do not recall the drug they used), and you have very very little side effects! He did have the marks on his chest, which took about two weeks to heal. Not painful.

I know you will enjoy the research on the internet. I think you will find there are tons of folks out there who are in a-fib, and have gone through lots of procedures to correct the problem, or to ameliorate the symptoms.

Best wishes!!

Marybeth

 

[epstns]

Deb, you don't mention your age (and I won't ask a lady) but my mom, who is 80, has had CHF and A-fib for several years. She had cardioversion twice, and as others said, it was truly a "nothing" procedure. The first time didn't last, but the second has -- with meds (and I don't know which ones). She had other arrythmia problems, though, and now has an implanted pacemaker. After all this, she is doing fine. When I call her on the phone, it is a 50/50 chance that she's home. More likely out somewhere.

To her, not a big deal. Results were very well worth it.

HTH
SteveE

 

[Jean]

DEB, I cannot help with the cardioversion info, but I am hoping that with the way you say your local hospital and doctor are so messed up that they are not the ones scheduled to do your procedure! Find a qualified together facility and staff. Good luck.

 

[Bill Hall]

Hi Deb - Here is some information about afib from my personal experience. First, the experience was very simple and easy, no pain at all. They put me out and used a paddle to shock my heart. When I woke up a few minutes later, they told me it was successful. That lasted just a few hours. They put me on amiodarone and within a month after surgery my heart went back into normal rhythm. I didn't even sense that it went back to normal rhythm. I have had no problems since then. I also wanted to mention the hospital roommate (after my surgery) who had been afib for 20 years. He said that it was no problem, he just had to remember his medication.

 

[joy]

Hi Deb, I will tell you what my cardio told me...THey have these electrophysicists who can go into your heart and shock whatever muscle is cauing your heart to be in A fib and usually it is shocked out of a fib forever. I was having a lot of PVC's. I thought they were a'fib, but they were ventricular, not atrial. I would have a couple of premature beats and then my heart would go into normal rhythem. Hope this helped.

 

[hhardt]

cardioversion

I had af and uneven beat problems, even with a pacemaker. The lack of good control even caused me to have to go to the ER. Amiodarone got my ventrical to do better but I had to continue with the coumadin to keep the AF from causing a stroke. Had the cardioversion and have had no trouble since. I am off the amiodarone and the coumadin for over 18 months now with no AF. I am 2 months shy of my 2nd anniversary of avr and pm.

My sister was having the fast pace problem, but not afib. She had the procedure Joy mentioned, cardiac ablation, and is now completely normal. She has gone from almost invalid status to enjoying life again. She rejoins the church choir this week.

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi deb!
you will find that there are many people who live with chronic afib and take coumadin adn do very well.
my father is one of those. he has a st.jude's av and is in chronic afib. i may be wrong, but i imagine it takes its toll at some point. right now my dad is in the hospital with chf, still in afib. he never opted to do anything about it because he was in afib even before his surgery 3 yrs ago.
joey was cardioverted years before he had hsi surgery when he was in afib and meds wouldn't do the trick.
it was very quick and he remembered nothing. they, fortunately , only had to shock him once and then he was fine.
they did put him on meds (betapace/sotolol) to keep him from going back into afib (it worked well).
four days after his surgery joey went into afib and those old meds wouldn't do the trick, so they opted for amiodarone.
it worked like a dream and he is weaning himself off it now.
there was another member on this site for awhile, bobm193, who also had cardioversion done and waws put on amiodarone. they had to shock him quite a few times , but last i heard it worked. you might want to email him also.
i hope this helped some. wishing you all the best.please let us know when you are going in for it.
stay well, sylvia

by the way, i take atenolol for arrhythmias and palpitations that my cardio thinks are hormone related, so it is possible!

 

[hensylee]

My brother had a-fib. They put him on amiodarone then forgot to do the cardioversion so he stayed on amiodarone for a long, long time and is left with permanent damage - Eventually, another dr did the cardioversion, he was put on coumadin which he still takes and guess he will always. It's been a couple years now and he is still in rhythm, but I know it doesn't always work. I feel brother was one of the lucky ones. They put him out, and put the paddles on. He doesn't recall the procedure, but came out with a slight 'sunburn' is all. Not a bad procedure and a good one, but sometimes doesn't work. You must try anyhow and I pray it will work for you. God bless

 

[FredH]

i AM NOW IN A-FLUTTER

i AM NOW IN A-FLUTTER

Hi Deb,

I have had trouble with a-fib and a-flutter since my surgery over 2 years ago. I had a real problem after my surgery and they put me on meds and did cardio version 3 times in the first two weeks after my surgery. That combined with drugs kept me in sinus for about 3 months. I went off my meds and went back into a-flutter. Again they did cardio version and it worked. I then went on a combination of Flecainide Aced 100mg and Lanoxin Tabs .25mg. I was fine until last weekend and went back into a-flutter. Since my cardio doc was not available I went into emergency where I was assured that I was not in a-flutter by the emergency room doc and the cardio doc. They did not put me on blood thinners as a result I developed a blood clot in the heart. When my cardio doc checked me on Tuesday he said I was right and the other doctors were wrong. Now I will have to stay on thinners for at least 2 weeks before they can try a cardio version. When they do the cardio version you are out and back awake before you know it. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BEEN ON BLOOD THINNERS FOR AT LEAST 2 TO 3 WEEKS BEFORE THEY TRY OR RUN A SPECIAL ECHO TO LOOK FOR A BLOOD CLOT IN YOUR HEART. A normal echo will NOT show a blood clot. They must put a tube down into your stomach and look from there. Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.

Fred
[email protected]

 

[deborahj]

thanks

thanks

Thankyou everyone for your responses.i had to shed a tear about how kind and caring and informative you all are.i think I am simply a coward when faced with new procedures, and recognise that there are people on these boards whoare going through or have gone through really difficult and dangerous operations...I send my love and regards to them.
I don't know how long I have been in afib...as i have not been called for a checkuop for a number of years and hesitated to demand one due to a combination of cowardice and feeling ok...like life was good.i have parents who are elderly and have heart problems (angina and my mum a stroke-at an early age) after my initial heart valve problem and replacement.They really need good news about me...anything else is a bit much for them.
Considering i am pretty assertive in the rest of my life, when it comes to physiological problems I become a nervous wreck.I had unnecessary surgery when I was a young child and have never quite recovered my faith in the healing profession..
In all probability I am going to take the day off (self employed work) and have the cardioversion.i guess i am worried about failiure,that the technique won't work or even that my heart needs to be acting like it is for my own preservation, and that cardio versionwill cause a life threatening problem for me while under general anaesthetic.having said that i certainly do'nt want to be awake!!!!
i guess i have never felt tenacious since the valve replacement...my body ( tho not beautiful always strong...)had let me down.I think I need that American non -judgemental way here, because I think somewhere i believe I did something bad.Does that make any sense to anyone out there?Rationally...I know that this is an accident of fate,so why do I feel soooo guilty!

I know that so many of you have more difficult problems than me,
and i wish I had more of the traditional stiff upper lip approach,but I don't...I am a squishy mess!

thanks again
debs xxx

 

[hensylee]

Deb - you made one statement that stood out to me. And we have seen it here before. "I had surgery as a young child". A few others have also had surgery as children and it left them with a dread of all future medical procedures and the "I don't want to go there" syndrome. Nobody can blame them or you. Very traumatic experiences always remain with children all their lives - just ask Scottie and La and a few of our other members - and nobody can wipe it away. Two of my children carry painful mental scars to this day because of medical procedures done in their childhood and their dread is real and frightening to them. There is no guilt connected with any of our childhood events. After all, we were children. So, don't feel like you could have done anything different along the way. You will bear this one, too, as you have everything else in life but perhaps you can consider the childhood experience as having nothing at all with what's happening today. My thoughts and prayers are with you. God bless

 

[Nancy]

Hi Deb-

Many, many people share your dread of medical procedures. Actually, that's why there are so many folks on this board. It's because during their pre-op period they have apprehension. It's the most normal thing in the world. Then when things are over with, they come back to help others go through similar things. I'm betting that you will too.

Maybe if you take a deep breath and think about it this way, it will help a little. First of all, this is a good procedure which has a chance to get you out of afib. Second, it's a fairly common procedure, so they have all the wrinkles worked out and know how to avoid the pitfalls. Third, in most cases here, when this is done, it's done by a medical person who specializes in this and other related procedures, so they know the procedure cold because they do it all the time. Fourth, when you consider your whole life, this is a very small percentage of time, the procedure itself is over with in the wink of an eye, all the rest of the time required will be in the prep and the post-procedure phase. Fifth, getting out of afib will make you feel and function a lot better.

So even though you're worried about it, it's a good thing to do. I'm wishing you all the best and will look forward to hearing how things went for you.

 

[deborahj]

sinus rhythm!

sinus rhythm!

For how long who knows...but it feels so much better.
The procedure was over in a flash of the pads; the staff were fun, supportive, and the consultant nurse was very well informed, and took our notes, did the procedure and brought us a cup of tea and a sandwich after!. There were three people in for cardioversion that morning , a wide age range... so it was interesting chatting to them .I was woozy for the afternoon yesterday, but I went to the opera tonight, (my second) which was fab.I have a rounded oblong 'sunburn' patch on my chest from the cardioversion which was a bit itchy, and tingly but not painful.Thanks to everyone who replied to my post...my earlier fear was mediated by your experiences.
thanks

 

[terry40]

deborahj

deborahj

Great to hear the procedure went well, and I'm sure the rest on this thread who encouraged you will too!

terry40

 

[hensylee]

That's great news, Deb. For all of us, the apprehension ahead of time is the worst of all - from the smallest to the largest procedure, makes no difference. The unknown, you know. Glad it went well and you are left, this time, with a good experience to fall back on in the future. Maybe it has belayed the childhood experience.