ask: Atrial Fibrillation at 33 years old!
I went into the hospital this last Thursday for stomachaches and nausea but never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would end up with heart problems. My heart was racing from 150-180 and had to give me "BOLOS" to increase my blood pressure that was 60/40 in order for them to get it over 100 and them start treating my heart. I am always up beat and too busy to realize and pay attention to my body but after this scare I am making sure I monitor myself. I am now taking aspiring 325mg, and Toprol XL 25 mg. Sometimes I am still out of breath and have to tell myself to calm down but also feel down at times too (like today). My question is now what? I have a follow up with the cardiologist after my discharge from the hospital. Do you think this problem will go away or is forever- what do you recommend for me to do now? Thanks for your time, I am new at this whole heart thing and had no idea but I found your website so any insight you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!
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Hi Anon
Thanks for your post and at 33, it's not surprising that you are new to having heart issues! I'm glad you are ok!
AF is the most common form of irregular heart beat. The main risk of AF is that blood is not pumped out of the hearts upper chambers, then some blood might remain and cause clots, which may result in a stroke.
Your doctor at your follow up may talk to you about taking medications to stop clots from happening. It could be aspirin or something prescribed.
Some people have permanent AF and need to make life long modifications to their lives, including exercise and medication, as well as monitoring their cardiac health.
Others are lucky enough to temporary or intermittent AF. There are four categories of AF in terms of whether this will be a lifetime issue for you or not:
First detected - one diagnosed episode.
Paroxysmal - recurrent episodes that self-terminate in less than one week.
Persistent - recurrent episodes that last more than one week.
Permanent - an ongoing episodes without termination.
Your healthcare team will determine which category you fall into - hopefully the first one.
As I said, medication and exercise can be your options, you can also get x-rays, an electrocardiogram, or use a holter monitor (to monitor your heartbeat)to make sure your heart is continuing to beat normally. Some people need a catheter ablation if medication does not work.
And remember that although this is frightening, it's not usually fatal or dramatically life-changing.
We have an AF page here on EmpowHer and beneath you will see all the videos, news stories and personal accounts of other with this. You can find it here :
http://www.empowher.com/search/google?cx=001740413268797642882%3Axdyajny...
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May 6, 2009 - 1:08pmThis Comment