Yep, yours truly paid a visit to the hospital Wednesday night.

I'd been getting ready to head in to the office when I felt my heart begin racing. It wasn't totally uncommon - for as long as I could remember, there were times where my heart would start pounding for no reason, and then go back to normal after 10-30 seconds. These episodes were typically many months apart and seemed to pose no threat, so I never really gave them a second thought.

Except Wednesday morning, when the racing didn't stop. Sure, I tried to lay down for a bit, thinking that would help. After all, it always had in the past! No dice.

Thinking it was just anxiety from an unpleasant work-related unemployment hearing I had to testify in (via phone) later that day, I left for work and didn't give it too much thought. But even afterwards, my heart was still going nuts. A few hours later, the episode still continuing (and after a good scolding from my wife and co-workers), I had a colleague take me to a nearby Urgent Care to get checked-out.

Once there, they ran an electrocardiogram on me. Expecting to hear, "Well Mr. EA CO AS, your heart is fine - it must be anxiety, that's all,' I started to put my shirt back on.

The doctor said, "Well, here's what's going on. You have an irregular heartbeat right now, caused by being in what's known as 'atrial fibrillation.' It's treatable with medicine..."

"Okay, great - where can I get it?" I asked.

That's when she told me the paramedics were on their way to come get me, and I was going to be hospitalized! Talk about a shock - ambulance? Hospital? SERIOUSLY?!?

The Urgent Care doc and the paramedics freaked me out even more when they told me they were stunned I wasn't in serious pain - apparently my heart was at over 210 beats per minute. I mean, what do you say to that - 'am I SUPPOSED to be in pain?'

Long story short, I ended up freaking out my wife, family, friends and co-workers, spent 6 hours in the E.R. and was admitted to the hospital for overnight observation (where I was awakened every 2 hours for vital signs and to have blood drawn - I look like a damn heroin addict, with at least 8 puncture wounds on my arms and hands now), got a prescription for beta-blockers and now at the age of 35 years, 11 months - HAVE A CARDIOLOGIST. Fun.


So - anyone else here ever have a run in with our friend Mr. A-Fib? How did it turn out for you?

My dad went through the exact same thing some 7 or 8 years ago. Even the part about "am i supposed to in pain" and the surprise in being hospitalized is identical....

Since then he has been on daily medication (a pill every morning), and he can no longer drink anything with caffeine.
I got scared at the time, but he has been fine ever since.

Good luck with your new life and your new cardiologist  

Quoting EA CO AS (Thread starter): So - anyone else here ever have a run in with our friend Mr. A-Fib? How did it turn out for you?

I daresay that for those whom it didn't turn out well for won't be posting on this forum anytime soon.  

But more seriously, I know a couple of people that have experienced similar things, and with proper care, they've been just fine with little effect on their daily lives and long-term health. Glad you got it checked out, and feel better soon.

Hi EA CO AS,

I recognize the psycho part. At similar age out of the blue I got a kidney problem, operation and 7 days in a hospital. Being totally dependent on staff, family, everybody. For a strong healthy young father thats a serious feed back on the ground experience. Never had something before and it feels a bit like your indestructable body left you in the cold. I'm 100% now, but it takes some time to loose that feeling.

Similar to EA CO AS I had indications of the probem beforehand for years, but pain always went away and it was given a muscle pain indication. Since then I push people around me to not neglect small discomforts that come back now and then but have medics have a serious look, something can be slowly building up without you knowing.

Quoting EA CO AS (Thread starter): So - anyone else here ever have a run in with our friend Mr. A-Fib? How did it turn out for you?

I just met him a little over a week ago. During our softball game I went for a pop up, and as I was walking back to third base my heart started racing, and my eyes went into tunnel vision. I refused to pass out because there was one more out to go. When I got home it continued, and when I woke up the next morning it was still happening. I decided to go to the med center where they gave me an EKG and also determined that I have art fib. I had an echo cardiogram done on Tuesday, and am seeing my physician this coming Wednesday to get the final results. Most likely the doctor will adjust my blood pressure medication to one that has a beta blocker in it and all will be well. I am happy that I found this out now, as I am due for my FAA medical in three months. Better to get it taken care of now, rather than being denied my medical and having my wings clipped.

In the past, I used to have tachycardias too. I first realized I was having them when I was a teenager but I had been having them all my life.

I went to the Dr to have it checked and turned out that I had an accessory pathway in my heart which was causing me episodes of rapid heart beat (around 180bpm). The problem is called WPW syndrome. I was instructed not too drink coffee or coke and to avoid extenuating activities.

When I was 16 I finally visited a second doctor who recommended having the extra pathway surgically removed considering the amount of anxiety the condition was causing me. I had the surgery (a very easy procedure called catheter ablation) and never had the problem again.

Best luck!

Sorry to hear this. Though better to catch it before it catches you, so to say.

Glad to hear your okay EA CO AS, sounds like you might be in for a little bit of a lifestyle change. Less caffeine  , but more Red Wine 

Quoting EA CO AS (Thread starter): So - anyone else here ever have a run in with our friend Mr. A-Fib? How did it turn out for you?

I haven't but have come across many that have been diagnosed. Like the others here, it's a good thing that it has been caught early. With a good cardiologist, routine checkups, and lifestyle changed, you should be fine.

Generally the Cardiologist will probably do a full workup since this is your first time. It's important to know where the irregularity is coming from and what to do next.

Thank you all for the good wishes - they're appreciated!

Quoting Keesje (Reply 3): it feels a bit like your indestructable body left you in the cold

  

Completely. It's a weird feeling to realize, for the first time, that you can't completely trust your body 100% like you used to.

Quoting STT757 (Reply 7): sounds like you might be in for a little bit of a lifestyle change

I hope not - I like my lifestyle! And that's the weird part; I don't smoke, rarely drink, have never even TRIED drugs let alone abused them, eat a low-fat diet for the most part, and the only caffeine I get is in the form of perhaps 1 Coke Zero every other day.

Can't say there are really any definitive lifestyle triggers at play here.

Quoting Mdsh00 (Reply 8): Generally the Cardiologist will probably do a full workup since this is your first time.

Along with the electrocardiogram, I had the echo done the next morning, plus I was on dilatizem and heparin via IV drip all night and most of the next day.

I go back to see the cardiologist in 2 weeks for a follow-up visit, but was discharged from the hospital without any restrictions (dietary or otherwise) and a prescription for 81mg of aspirin plus a beta blocker daily.

So I'm guessing things aren't THAT bad - at least I hope not, anyway!

Quoting EA CO AS (Reply 9): Along with the electrocardiogram, I had the echo done the next morning, plus I was on dilatizem and heparin via IV drip all night and most of the next day. I go back to see the cardiologist in 2 weeks for a follow-up visit, but was discharged from the hospital without any restrictions (dietary or otherwise) and a prescription for 81mg of aspirin plus a beta blocker daily. So I'm guessing things aren't THAT bad - at least I hope not, anyway!

Not too bad. I guess depending on the results, the cardiologist will decide whether to do a billion-dollar workup or just keep monitoring it for now. Just keep up with the appointments and you should be fine.

Quoting EA CO AS (Thread starter): Thinking it was just anxiety from an unpleasant work-related unemployment hearing I had to testify in (via phone) later that day, I left for work and didn't give it too much thought.

Been there a few times myself. That alone got my heart beat up.

Quoting EA CO AS (Thread starter): Long story short, I ended up freaking out my wife, family, friends and co-workers, spent 6 hours in the E.R. and was admitted to the hospital for overnight observation (where I was awakened every 2 hours for vital signs and to have blood drawn - I look like a damn heroin addict, with at least 8 puncture wounds on my arms and hands now), got a prescription for beta-blockers and now at the age of 35 years, 11 months - HAVE A CARDIOLOGIST. Fun. So - anyone else here ever have a run in with our friend Mr. A-Fib? How did it turn out for you?

Glad to hear your okay. It is no fun when your heart does funny things. It is what keeps you alive. Good thing you got checked out. I agree with you, ambulance, hospital, and heart in the same sentence will freak anyone out. I have had the same issue as you, and also had a mitral valve prolapse (not sure if I spelled it right), and had a few pass out on the floor episodes before. Not a comfortable feeling at all.

How did I turn out? Fine, have not had any issues with it for years. I was on a medication for it, but eventually they took me off of it. Keep up with your cardiologist, and take good care of yourself. We are getting to the age where heart issues are knocking on the door. Oh yes, and try to avoid those unemployement hearings via phone! LOL! I did not enjoy those when I was in management.

My father has atrial fibrillation, and I think he first had it when he was in his early 30s, as well. He takes medicine for it every day, but every five or six years it comes out of nowhere and he gets a trip to the hospital. Actually, before they invented the medicine that helps the condition, you'd be put under and your heart would be shocked (with the paddles) back to a normal rythym. My dad is now 51, in perfect health, and it's not a hindrance at all in his daily life (he still drinks caffeine too) -- aside from taking a few pills every morning.

Anxiety attacks can be really bad. They can even feel like real heart-attacks

I had a friend who had one at the controls of a car, he said he felt like his chest was being sat on by an elephant, left arm went numb. He got out of the car, had his passenger (who was his mother) drive. They went to the nearest hospital, when he got out he said he could barely walk right and he said it felt like his jaw and tongue weighed a ton and it was hard to speak correctly. He was admitted to the E.R., they did an EKG, did blood-work, no sign of a heart-attack, and a CT. They found nothing, and he was discharged within a few hours of arrival.

All that was a panic-attack... (I was actually quite surprised when he told me about the whole thing, as I, myself have experienced anxiety-related problems before --I've never had one that felt so bad that I would have mistaken it for a heart-attack)


Andrea Kent

Quoting Blackbird (Reply 13): I had a friend who had one at the controls of a car, he said he felt like his chest was being sat on by an elephant, left arm went numb. He got out of the car, had his passenger (who was his mother) drive. They went to the nearest hospital, when he got out he said he could barely walk right and he said it felt like his jaw and tongue weighed a ton and it was hard to speak correctly. He was admitted to the E.R., they did an EKG, did blood-work, no sign of a heart-attack, and a CT. They found nothing, and he was discharged within a few hours of arrival. All that was a panic-attack...

I wish this were a panic attack. Unfortunately, the EKG said otherwise - it was a case of atrial fibrillation. Normal (sinus) rhythm wasn't established until around 3am - meaning I'd been in continuous a-fib for 18 hours, averaging 180-190 beats per minute (topping out at 210).

Quoting EA CO AS (Reply 14): I wish this were a panic attack. Unfortunately, the EKG said otherwise - it was a case of atrial fibrillation. Normal (sinus) rhythm wasn't established until around 3am - meaning I'd been in continuous a-fib for 18 hours, averaging 180-190 beats per minute (topping out at 210).

Were you cardioverted with a machine or medication?

Main worry in A-fib aside from the heart rate is the risk of blood clots going to the coronaries, and especially to the brain. Since continuous A-fib means that the blood isn't flowing out naturally, there's a risk of clots forming and then getting shot out of the heart to somewhere else where they can stop flow to a major area. This is what the Aspirin, heparin, or Coumadin helps prevent.

Quoting Mdsh00 (Reply 15): Were you cardioverted with a machine or medication

Medication - dilatizem.

Quoting Blackbird (Reply 13): Anxiety attacks can be really bad. They can even feel like real heart-attacks

I had one before. My heart went into overdrive, face became numb, and scared my family crapless.

Quoting Blackbird (Reply 13): All that was a panic-attack... (I was actually quite surprised when he told me about the whole thing, as I, myself have experienced anxiety-related problems before --I've never had one that felt so bad that I would have mistaken it for a heart-attack)

Andrea, if you get stressed out easily, you may have one. My sister has had these and attests with what you said.

Hunter

Quoting EA CO AS (Thread starter): The Urgent Care doc and the paramedics freaked me out even more when they told me they were stunned I wasn't in serious pain - apparently my heart was at over 210 beats per minute. I mean, what do you say to that - 'am I SUPPOSED to be in pain?'

I've seen several cases of A-fib and I've never heard the patient complain of pain. Racing heart and "not feeling right," yes. Some vague chest discomfort, sure. But not outright pain.

You need to have a number of studies done to make sure it was A-fib and not, say, SVT or something else (SVT is often "curable" by a minimally invasive catheterization procedure). For now, just do what the cardiologist says. Your heart is kind of an important organ.

Keep us posted; you're in my thoughts.

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 18): I've seen several cases of A-fib and I've never heard the patient complain of pain. Racing heart and "not feeling right," yes. Some vague chest discomfort, sure. But not outright pain.

My father's symptom is never chest pain. Like you mentioned, he just feels funny, and then he checks his pulse only to realize it is either extremely fast or extremely uneven or both. Then its time to go to the hospital. Interestingly, it has corrected itself on the drive to the hospital a couple of times, but he usually goes in anyway just to get the "all clear."

If you would like, I can see if my father would be willing to e-mail you his experiences with it. He's had it for around 20 years with five to seven episodes.

I was in the hospital twice for overnight observation in April - due to a sudden increase in severity and persistence of asthma. One of the things I experienced for myself for the first time was the effect of large amounts of albuterol on the heart. My heart didn't race but I had palpitations that made me feel like my heart was a rubber ball bouncing in my chest. I also found out that I am allergic to yet another medication... compazine, which they gave me as an non-competitive treatment for an albuterol-induced migraine, which then caused me to go into a two-day-long delirium (recognized after I was already discharged.)

Quoting EA CO AS (Thread starter): got a prescription for beta-blockers and now at the age of 35 years, 11 months - HAVE A CARDIOLOGIST. Fun.

I take 20 mg beta blocker before performances or competitions. Those suckers work.

Quoting MD-90 (Reply 21): Quoting EA CO AS (Thread starter): got a prescription for beta-blockers and now at the age of 35 years, 11 months - HAVE A CARDIOLOGIST. Fun. I take 20 mg beta blocker before performances or competitions. Those suckers work.

I take a 25mg metoprolol tablet each day, along with a single 81mg aspirin. I'm trying to figure out if I feel any differently than I did prior to the a-fib episode on Wednesday, or if anything I'm noticing is only in my head. I guess time will tell on that.

I'm real sorry to hear that EA. I just said a prayer for you, if that means anything. Life can make us feel so vunerable at times. I'm glad it sounds like the doctors caught the problem. I really hope the medicine works out, and you can live your life without worry. I wish you all the best, happiness, and lots of health. Take care buddy.

Dave

EA CO AS after my "situation" I went into a revalidation intensive sporting class for a few months that really boosted my condition to a level better then it was for 10 years. My boss provided hours during working time. It worked even better for "my head"   I can really recommend it!

Quoting EA CO AS (Reply 22): I take a 25mg metoprolol tablet each day, along with a single 81mg aspirin. I'm trying to figure out if I feel any differently than I did prior to the a-fib episode on Wednesday, or if anything I'm noticing is only in my head. I guess time will tell on that.

The thing I love about beta blockers is that for me I feel absolutely normal. I don't think you should feel anything when you're taking them except feel normal without the racing heart. I take them because sometimes (not always) before a performance I get nervous, get a big adrenaline dump right before I go onstage, then thanks to the adrenaline my pulse is elevated, my hands tend to shake (obviously a bad thing for any woodwind player), and it really throws me off.

Supposedly you'll feel strange if you exert yourself and go up a bunch of stairs or do something that would naturally elevate your heart rate but I've never noticed anything unusual.

Quoting DavestanKSAN (Reply 23): I'm real sorry to hear that EA. I just said a prayer for you, if that means anything.

It means a lot, actually. Thank you.  

Quoting Keesje (Reply 24): I went into a revalidation intensive sporting class for a few months that really boosted my condition to a level better then it was for 10 years. My boss provided hours during working time. It worked even better for "my head" I can really recommend it!

I'm assuming this is some sort of advanced training regimen? I'd be interested in hearing more about this.

Jeez, bud. Take care of your ticker.

I've never had that but I did have an episode of pericarditis many years ago. Here's how it happened. I'd been working in a paper mill in upstate New York, smoking two packs of Pall Malls a day. Working in 100 degree wet heat in a mill and then going outside in 30 below winter weather isn't healthy. I had a cold and I kept getting sicker and sicker and sicker but I kept on going to work.

Anyway, one day I was off work and decided I'd wet a line and see if there were any trout to be had. I was cruising along in my 1968 Ford Fairlane and I heard this knocking noise. I thought it was a bad wheel bearing or something and I pulled off the road and shut off the engine. I could still hear it and it was coming from inside my chest. I went straight to Doc Lowell's office, he took a listen and handed me a bottle of the heaviest duty cortisone pills and said "You gotta quit your job and get healthy or else you might die real soon."

Soon after that I left work in the mill and moved back to Jersey and my stepmother paid for me to see a cardiologist and I had regular EKGs for a number of years. Every once in a while I have one and it shows that I sustained no damage, which is kind of surprising I guess.

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 18): I've seen several cases of A-fib and I've never heard the patient complain of pain.

The little bit I know about A-fib makes me wonder too. A-fib is a more common arrhythmia than is generally known and the main reason is that is it easily misdiagnosed unless you are with an expert cardiologist. Most monitoring systems will say "irregular" when they see A-fib and this can delay diagnosis.

It can be a precursor to stoke and is a more expensive arrhythmia to treat if not caught early. If your cardiologist has not scheduled it yet I think a Holter examination would be in order. This entails wearing a small recording device for 24 or 48 hours then having the data downloaded and analysed.

I was born with a congenital heart issue that wasn't discovered until I was sixteen.....long and short of it, I had an angiogram done at Children's Hospital in LA, come to find out I have what is known either as a dextra-cardio or scimitar syndrome. I was born with a right lung that only operates at one-third capacity, so the left lung pushes the heart a bit over to the right side, creating a heart murmur, hence the dextra-cardio. I see my cardiologist every four months. And if that's not enough, I'm borderline hemolytic anemic, so I see my hemotologist every six months.....and my pulmonary doctor every twelve months.

My thoughts are with you, EA CO AS...

Quoting EA CO AS (Reply 26): 'm assuming this is some sort of advanced training regimen? I'd be interested in hearing more about this.

The company docter got the briefing from the hospital and make a 4 month revalidation program with me. He recommended it to my boss. He knew a physiotherapist that used a sporting school in a business center close by the place I work.

The psysiotherapist did a physical examination and did a day zero intake condition test (measuring my condition (hometrainers, heartbeats, blood pressure) in several ways and put it in a computer program that made graphs.

After that she set tagets together with me and made a training program that was executed in the sports school with her and a few other folks, twice a week, one day early, another day later in the afternoon. At the end of the period she did another measurements that confirmed (I knew already from the various exercises) I regained a strong condition.

My insurance paid the biggest part of it the therapy, my boss gave me about 3-4 hours a week. As I said I think it had a very positive effect on me. I didn't like sportschools before that (I sport outdoors)

EA CO AS, although there was definitely some data showing up on your EKG, that doesn't preclude it from being induced by anxiety. (Not saying that it was ... just encouraging you not to rule it out).

Sometimes people have the mistaken idea that if physical symptoms are anxiety-based, then they are 'imagined.' That's not really true though. People have heart attacks and strokes caused by sudden or chronic anxiety.

Another thing I wonder about is your blood sugar & hemoglobin levels. Do you notice the high heart rate episodes have any direct correlation to when & what you eat? Sometimes people will feel a jolt in their heart rate about 10 minutes after eating a big meal.

Quoting Diamond (Reply 31): Do you notice the high heart rate episodes have any direct correlation to when & what you eat?

No, not at all. The times I've most often noticed them (again, the every-other-month 10-30 second occurrences) are when I'm relaxing on the couch or getting into bed; in both cases, this is usually late in the evening.

Quoting MD-90 (Reply 25): The thing I love about beta blockers is that for me I feel absolutely normal.

  

Although it's weird - one week into these beta-blockers, and it's like nothing can get me anxious or excitable anymore. I've turned into the most sedate person alive. Must be what Valium feels like.