Atrial Fibrillation

[subarumits]

Badda said:

lizardbrain said:

Don1 said:

Get yourself a Kardia device - the recordings are worth their weight in gold.

Lots of things can set off AF - salt, booze, alcohol withdrawal, meats, lack of sleep, stress, exercise or the fact the moon is in the third moon of Pentecost….

Keep a diary about food, drink and other factors. Good luck..

Can this device monitor st depressions ?

The Kardia will provide an ECG however, I believe their most advanced is still just a 6 lead so presumably the precordial leads will not be seen.

And theres a monthly fee!

[Yahonza]

subarumits said:

Bumping this back into 2023. I think I have an AF problem. Last year lying in bed reading I could feel my heart rate racing....again....really feel my heart pound, then my legs started shaking quite badly. i have a monitor so strapped that on and i got a reading of 200/120, sweating a bit and legs not shaking as much. Sober.....no booze that night. Called 111 and they werent a lot of hel tbh, so drove to hospital and after sitting in AE at midnight on a sunday for 4 hrs managed to see a doc, a quick ecg and nada. Go home.....rest up. The heart racing has been going on for the last 5 years.

Now it happens everynow n then. I will wake up at 2/3 am and my heart will pound, maybe 100/120 bpm. It especially happens if I have drunk maybe a large G n T then a 1/2 bottle of wine with a meal with a whisky chaser with coffee after......IF I dont drink at all, I hardly wake up with my heart banging.....
Yeh I know...

I am on Lisinopril 20mg twice a day, Amlodipine 5mg, Simvastatin 20mg. I'm 66 OK weight, dont smoke, caffeine is from Tea and my diet is ok as well.......

The Heart doc that I had a telecon with says I have to have an echo something and that I should get a ecg capable smartwatch to wear. had a quick google and piglgin heck, they arent cheap....

Edited by subarumits on Tuesday 11th July 21:31

Well you've kind of answered your own question regarding alcohol. What you have observed is consistent with expert opinion about alcohol consumption and incident AF. There are two things in drinks that can trigger AF / mess up heart rhythm - the byproducts of alcohol metabolism and the metabolites of fermented grapes, etc. I would also keep note of food triggers and other things, and see a specialist if you can. As you are already in the system, as it were, with the other conditions, then they should really look into the abnormal heart rhythm too.

[Don1]

subarumits said:

Badda said:

lizardbrain said:

Don1 said:

Get yourself a Kardia device - the recordings are worth their weight in gold.

Lots of things can set off AF - salt, booze, alcohol withdrawal, meats, lack of sleep, stress, exercise or the fact the moon is in the third moon of Pentecost….

Keep a diary about food, drink and other factors. Good luck..

Can this device monitor st depressions ?

The Kardia will provide an ECG however, I believe their most advanced is still just a 6 lead so presumably the precordial leads will not be seen.

And theres a monthly fee!

Not for me. And trust me, I'm not special.

[halfpenny43]

Is AF hereditary ??

Reason for asking is my Mum was diagnosed with it about 4 years ago - palpitations and a very slow heart beat (35 / 40 bpm) occasionally. A visit to A&E during one episode drew the diagnosis, and has been on medication -- not sure what this is.
All was well until about 6 weeks ago when we were together at a family dinner and she complained of not feeling well and promptly collapsed and stopped breathing for what felt longer but was probably in reality 5 or 10 seconds. We put her into the recovery position, my sis did some sternum massage and attached a defib which was fortunately not needed whilst we waited for the Ambulance.

This was a Saturday night and on the Tuesday she had a pacemaker fitted with 2 leads to help regulate the electrical signals controlling the heart (how it was explained to me in simple terms).

Now both my sis and I notice that at night - particularly after a late night espresso or 3 or couple of glasses of wine - we're awake during the night with a fast pounding heart beat. So I'm wondering if AF is hereditary, and there are tests that can be done to see if you have or are at risk - should we be getting this done ?

[Penny Whistle]

Just get yourself a monitor like https://www.amazon.co.uk/Braun-iCheck-Pressure-Mon..., which gives you BP, heart rate and AF readouts.

[Ruskie]

Penny Whistle said:

Just get yourself a monitor like https://www.amazon.co.uk/Braun-iCheck-Pressure-Mon..., which gives you BP, heart rate and AF readouts.

Absolutely not. Get yourself straight to the GP if you have any concerns. What if your readings are abnormal, how are you going to interpret them?

Anyone has any concerns speak to the GP. If your having any chest pain you call 999 immediately.

[Slowboathome]

I have a Kardia device, provided by the NHS.

There's no monthly subscription unless you want additional data.

After each reading it tells you whether you heart rate is normal or abnormal.

If the latter, I have to email the reading to the NHS team.

[biggbn]

Ruskie said:

Penny Whistle said:

Just get yourself a monitor like https://www.amazon.co.uk/Braun-iCheck-Pressure-Mon..., which gives you BP, heart rate and AF readouts.

Absolutely not. Get yourself straight to the GP if you have any concerns. What if your readings are abnormal, how are you going to interpret them?

Anyone has any concerns speak to the GP. If your having any chest pain you call 999 immediately.

Yup, straight to GP, no messing about.

[Ruskie]

Slowboathome said:

I have a Kardia device, provided by the NHS.

There's no monthly subscription unless you want additional data.

After each reading it tells you whether you heart rate is normal or abnormal.

If the latter, I have to email the reading to the NHS team.

That’s different to buying your own machine. You have a plan in place in case of abnormalities.

[Slowboathome]

Ruskie said:

Slowboathome said:

I have a Kardia device, provided by the NHS.

There's no monthly subscription unless you want additional data.

After each reading it tells you whether you heart rate is normal or abnormal.

If the latter, I have to email the reading to the NHS team.

That’s different to buying your own machine. You have a plan in place in case of abnormalities.

I understand that. But if I didn't, it would give me a way of monitoring my heart rate so I could decide when I needed to go and see the GP (and would then have some data to talk about).

I currently check my blood pressure at home every couple of months and if I detect a problem I'll make an appointment. Ironically I did this 7 years ago and made an appointment with the doc. Unfortunately I suffered a stroke 2 days before the appointment, for which the BP was identified as a contributing factor.

But you're right in that when I initially had heart rate symptoms my first port of call was the GP.

[Penny Whistle]

biggbn said:

Ruskie said:

Penny Whistle said:

Just get yourself a monitor like https://www.amazon.co.uk/Braun-iCheck-Pressure-Mon..., which gives you BP, heart rate and AF readouts.

Absolutely not. Get yourself straight to the GP if you have any concerns. What if your readings are abnormal, how are you going to interpret them?

Anyone has any concerns speak to the GP. If your having any chest pain you call 999 immediately.

Yup, straight to GP, no messing about.

Useful for monitoring, after diagnosis, medication, treatment, etc..

[GT03ROB]

Just to say if you suspect you may be suffering with AF even periodically get your ass down to a GP.

I put a thread up on this subject a while back.

But the short version is I was suffering with AF for 3 months….. I has a TIA (mini stroke) which it took to partially identify it. Initially they thought it was a flutter, so I had an ablation in Sept last year, but they found AF during that procedure. I had the ablation last week for the AF.

[Penny Whistle]

I had cardioversion for my AF, which sorted it for a few months but it returned. Booked in for another cardioversion later this year. My cardiologist found the record from my Braun monitor very useful.

[Ceeejay]

Well it looks like I get to contribute to this thread.

About 3 weeks ago I was sitting watching tv at about half nine at night, feeling a bit tired after a swim in the afternoon, and felt a bit funny, checked my watch and my heart rate had shot up to 150 and was all out of rhythm… went straight down to A&E, had a basic ECG, at which point they said I was in Afib. They popped me a beta blocker, to get the heart rate down and put me in a bed overnight for monitoring.

Everything had settled by morning, and I had a an echo cardiogram, which showed no issues. Was sent home with no advice, and got a letter to see a cardiologist in August!!

Then Boxing Day I woke up about 4am, with same symptoms, so back off to A&E again… more ECG’s and a beta blocker and things had settled within a few hours. This time they think I was dehydrated, and that could have been the cause. Now waiting to get a 48hr ECG test.

Already have an Apple Watch so that’s for a setting for identifying AF, by doing more frequent HRV measurements.

Want to find a cause now as it’s put me off exercising. Last year I had been running about 20k a week and felt a bit funny after some runs, but never thought anything of it.

Age 47, don’t drink, don’t smoke, BMI about 30, so first aim is to lose some timber

[MXRod]

Following installation of ICM to monitor AF ,June 22 I had a near fainting attack ,I triggered the ICM ,next day misses marched me to A&E as i was still feeling off , fast tracked to cardiology , at same time get a call to attend cardiology ASAP , told them I was already there ,less than 24 hrs later electronic ignition installed ( pacemaker) , 18 months on, no further problems

[rdjohn]

Penny Whistle said:

biggbn said:

Ruskie said:

Penny Whistle said:

Just get yourself a monitor like https://www.amazon.co.uk/Braun-iCheck-Pressure-Mon..., which gives you BP, heart rate and AF readouts.

Absolutely not. Get yourself straight to the GP if you have any concerns. What if your readings are abnormal, how are you going to interpret them?

Anyone has any concerns speak to the GP. If your having any chest pain you call 999 immediately.

Yup, straight to GP, no messing about.

Useful for monitoring, after diagnosis, medication, treatment, etc..

I had AF for 15-days in Jan 2020. Cardioversion seemed to fix it in one hit and I had ablation later that year.

I home monitored for a year afterwards and thought it was a useful tool. However, I would say that when I had AF, it was so obvious that I did not need a monitor. I would now know immediately if it did start again and the only answer is visiting your GP, and hopefully quickly seeing a cardiologist for treatment.

Unfortunately, the first step always seems to be treating it with Amiodorone, rather than stopping it ASAP.

[Ceeejay]

Well after a couple episodes before Xmas and another in January, I put my hope in the NHS, was given a 48hr ECG, and then got bored waiting for the outcome. Had a referral to the cardiologist in the local hospital, but not until August…. Found the same consultant in a private hospital so put my hand in my pocket to get an appointment early, as I can’t be dealing with the uncertainty….

He’s put me on Flecanide in the short term, and given me a referral to Wynthenshawe Hospital to see about getting an ablation done. At 47 and no other issues they think that’s the best option to get back to normal, rather than popping pills for ever.

Anyone wanna buy a ropey FN2 Type R??? Need to find some cash!!

Oh and here’s an output from my watch during my last episode… it’s all over the shop!!

[lizardbrain]

Can I ask how the private NHS interplay works? I recently booked a private appointment with the consultant who saw me on the NHS last year. Do they have access to NHS records? What happens to the NHS referral for smame guy? Are the paths separate or can they refer you back to the NHS?

Also does your apple watch state it sees signs of Atrial Fibrillation
or is that your own interpretation of the egg?

[Ceeejay]

Yeh the consultant had access to all my records, which we went through together.

And yes the watch interpreted those results as exhibiting AF, but that detail was only obtained by me choosing to do an ECG, by opening the function then holding a finger on the crown.

It’s also passively assessing Heart rate variability, every hour I think, and will pop up a warning if it’s recognising any AF, and also giving some sort of average time in AF. As mine is very infrequent I don’t see anything meaningful

[Imasurv]

That’s how I found out about mine, the watch told me. Started very infrequently but became more frequent over time. I went private and the consultant wrote to my gp to receive copies of my medical records and they also informed my gp of the treatment I was receiving. All seemed to happen pretty seamlessly from my perspective. Had an ablation privately at the age of 49 two years ago. It meant I could control the treatment provided and not be restricted by the nhs to their preferred treatment and waiting list and would do the same again given the choice.