A-Fib along with aortic regurg - have you experienced it

[ks1490]

Hi, I have been diagnosed with aortic regurg and a dilated aorta and, since my diagnosis over a year ago (and prior to that), I have been asymptomatic. With 2 exceptions - in July I had an episode of quickened pulse which my cardio diagnosed as atrial fib. I took Toprol 25mg and it went away 6 hours later. I've been fine since then, and my echo since then showed no change. This morning at 5am I woke up with the quickend pulse and afib again, took toprol again and am waiting for it to subside.

My question is - have other people experienced this? My cardio chalked up the July episode to chance and said it was not related to my aortic valve issue, not a sign that the valve situation was getting worse. For those who have experienced this, can I ask what you experienced and what you were told? thanks.

 

[Cooker]

Hi,

Sounds like a replay of what I had. I had surgery in Feb. to replace my valve and also had Ablation done to correct the afib. So far so good. Afib can be a booger. If you drink do so in moderation, over doing it can bring it on. They say caffiene can cause it but that did seem to bother me at all.

Good luck. There are many who live with afib and I am sure you will hear from them too.

Tom

 

[CathyK.]

I also had some a-fib last year, a few times. I think mine was brought on by stress. Since the rythm was fine they didn't worry about it too much. It would slow down after a while after taking Toprol. Haven't had any lately, but decided to do something about what was stressing me out then. Good luck!!

 

[bvdr]

A-fib was actually the first concrete symptoms of heart problems I experienced. I at first had widely spaced (months) episodes that would last from under an hour to several hours and corrected themselves without any intervention. These episodes started coming more often and finally I told myself that if it happened again I would go get it documented at the ER and look into the matter. I was already sure of it being atrial fib but didn't know why I was getting it. The next time it happened I went to the ER and ended up being chemically cardioverted and put on several cardiac drugs and a schedule of cardiac tests to have completed. I was diagnosed with Rheumatic Heart Disease and have since had my mitral valve replaced. My left atrium was very dilated and that very often leads to atrial fib.

An important consideration for you is whether or not you need to be on warfarin now. I was told at Duke that I should have been on it long before I was and that I was very fortunate not to have had a stroke.

I also have noticed that if my potassium levels dip even a little before normal I end up back in atrial fib. Some people, my dad for instance, have atrial fib constantly for years and except for having to be on warfarin are not even aware of it. When I am in it I am quite short of breath.

I hope you soon have a resolution to your satisfaction since it really isn't nice to have issues just hanging in the air without explanations. Good Luck!

 

[Susan BAV]

I went into some severe A-fib after my AVR. The first time it came on was right after I had gotten home from the hospital after the surgery and I sat down and drank a cold glass of pure white grape juice. I really felt like either the coldness or the fructose triggered it. I had to go back to the hospital and be put on some super med to get rid of it, Sotalol (if I'm spelling it correctly). They gave me potassium IVs also.

That said, however, occasionally some rapid hearbeats suddenly come on me again and I have found that if I COUGH REALLY HARD, a time or two, it stops.

Has anyone else tried this?

I've also found that if I exercise regularly and keep in better shape, I'm not aware of any rhythm issues. I think that with me it is an issue of my heart muscle not keeping toned or something.