What did afib feel like to you?

[dornole]

Those of you who have had afib, what did it feel like to you?

It seems like more often lately, I feel like my heart is pounding for no reason. Also, my HR seems to spike sometimes. Not extreme, but it will be maybe 90 BPM when I am just sitting at my computer where normally it'd be about 70. When this happens I feel emotional too like I might burst into tears or jump out of my skin.

I emailed my docs to see what they want to do but would also like to hear your afib experiences and the diagnosis and treatment plan.

Thanks!

 

[VikiVix]

My episode s that were most noticeable were when my heart would beat 3or4 times then one big beat like a push and it felt like I could feel it at my throat. I take flecainide for the heartbeat and have to take warfarin to prevent blood clots .

 

[Warrick]

to me it feels a bit like that butterfly feeling you get when your on the downside of a ferris wheel

( not to be confused with the "Final Destination" feeling when you look at all the nuts and bolts and hope they are done up tight.... )

 

[Ryanvs]

For me a combination of fast, firm heart beets mixed with a butterfly feeling. Not painful but after awhile it would take my breath away. When I had an episode in hospital my heart rate would go up and down between 90-160bpm.

 

[epstns]

What most of you are describing sounds more like tachycardia - when your heart beats overly fast.

When I had afib shortly after AVR, it was so profound that it totally took my energy away. The last time my pacemaker recorded afib of any severity, I was in the audience at a play. It just very quickly became nap time. I fell asleep for 10-15 minutes, than awoke feeling normal again. I suspected afib, and at my next pacemaker interrogation we confirmed the date and time, to the minute. Felt strange.

I also had a recorded afib session (I have a pacemaker, and it logs when this happens) was when I suffered a pinched nerve in my back. The pain and muscle cramping was so severe that it pitched me out of a chair and down face-first onto the floor. That one, too, was confirmed to the minute the next time my device was interrogated.

My mother also had chronic afib. She said that when hers kicked up, she would be out of breath just walking across the room, but it didn't put her to sleep.

 

[Warrick]

Not tachycardia for me, I had a bit of that to start with but it settled down, now when I feel it thats the first thing I listen for is the valve ticking speeding up but it doesn't

do get the wind knocked out of me feeling occaisionally but it generally lasts a matter of seconds