Atrial fibrillation or Afib - does anyone have this?

[Shurelyshomemistake]

Firstly I should say I am off to the docs first thing next week, I'm not daft :)

I think I may have developed this :( I've always had palpitations particularly before my period but this is a bit different as I am getting runs of irregular beats not just "gap gap thud" IYSWIM.

Seems to be provoked by weight lifting, stress and alcohol. I can stop it by doing valsalva manouvre.

I'm a bit scared to be honest and worried it is going to make getting life insurance and travel insurance etc more difficult.... oh and the risk of stroke etc. Not a minor thing!

If it is this, does treatment largely remove the risk? Will I still be able to gym/swim/ski?

Am overweight but currently tackling this successfully but feel guilty I might have brought it on myself :(

Anyone??

Me! I have weeks where I have nothing and then a week of really bad symptoms.
Go to your doctors and get a referral x

Just bookmarking as DH has this. Back later

Oh thanks both :) will get myself along to docs pronto presto.

Did you notice wierd rythyms wonky or was it picked up by doc?

I noticed them first . Heart would accelerate away for no apparent reason.
I had an ecg and it showed a prolonged pause in my heart rate over night.
Saying that though I am totally fine. I can go weeks with no symptoms at all and days when I have 3-4 episodes a day.
I don't worry about it now though , when it happens I know that it will be over and back to normal very quickly.
Get some tests done to see if it needs worrying over xx

Yes, son had/had it. He had a treatment involving a catheter up into his heart and it seems to have settled since then. He is able to gauge when it is coming on and control his heart rate - he has learned how to do that.

Glad to hear you are fine with it. Not so scared now I've spoken to real live folks and done a bit of reading.

Mine is not fast beats but irregular ones. Maybe AF, maybe nothing, may be something completely different. Who knows?!? See what doc thinks ...

DH gets bouts lasting 24 hours or so where his heartbeat is quite fast and all over the place. He gets very tired and breathless during these bouts. Only treatment he has had do far is betablockers.

May well be svt. Very difficult to tell the difference without a 24 hour heart monitor so don't panic!

Ooh I'm having a 24 heart trace to find out why my heart keeps speeding up! It's horrid when it happens. Sorry your heart is misbehaving OP x

BestisWest that sounds unpleasant for your DH.

Mrs Wooster thanks for your reassurance. Must stay away from Dr Google.

Gleegleek good luck with your trace. Hope it's nothing.

As far as I know, exercise is good. Magnesium and bananas too. But first things first, get thee to a doctor and get checked out.

I have been having episodes of this since the summer. Saw a GP this week, had an abnormal ecg (which was all over the place) and was sent straight to acute assessment unit (this put the wind right up me!) I have been diagnosed with ectopic beats and referred. I was so concerned I paid to see a private cardiologist (NHS 8 month wait!) who did an ecg and an echo and confirmed ectopic beats. He said they are benign but I am waiting for the 24hr ecg to confirm how many I have. They are pretty much constant for me and make me feel spaced out and uncomfortable. I do sometimes get breaks from them but when I have them they are very noticeable and I have lots of missed beats (on day 5 of latest episode) Sounds a bit like what you are describing. The consultant reassured me after the echo that as long as there is no history of heart problems or underlying condition they won't hurt you. Do get referred and checked out properly though.

To answer your questions I can live a normal life with these but will have to try to learn to ignore them when they happen. They can be treated with beta blockers but many people choose not to take medication when they know they're harmless. I have also noticed alcohol and lifting heavy weights and stress can set them off.

I had these and it ended up being a peri menopausal symptom! Gone away since I started hrt 4 years ago. I'm 44.

I wonder if this might be what triggered it with me Hammers- I'm 40 and have been getting other vague symptoms of peri.

My dr this is mine is caused by peri too
Just started HRT