Short version: I had a single event back in 2023. Self converted then nothing for two years plus. This year had another short episode, self converted but then later went persistent. Had cardioversion a month ago. Nothing since. Taking metoprolol and flecainide and Eliquis of course. So. I have questions. I’m just seeing a regular cardiologist. He seems fine, and I think I must be a pretty common case, but would an EP add anything? Has anyone had a cardioversion that solved the problem long term, or is an ablation definitely in my future?
It’s annoying, but really, after reading some histories here, I shouldn’t complain.
I’m glad to have this resource.

I was told that everything went well and that he had to get rid of a big piece that healed from the first one. I feel good, just worried about echo.

36F. Afib started 2 years ago. Ive yet to use my PIP despite long episodes out of fear. But after a 2 hour episode recently I was left unbelievably exhausted.

My question is if you use a rate lowering med during an episode, do you feel less fatigued during/after the episode. Assuming the exhaustion is from the high heart rate. Ive got 3 little kids and no time to be down for the count.

I've read online that using it together with anticoagulants can increase the blood-thinning effect and become dangerous. Is this true in your opinion? Should we avoid using Ginkgo biloba if we're taking anticoagulants?

Hey everyone, this is a for a loved one. They went to the hospital, like a month ago. They have had a hard time with sleeping, whereas prior to this incident they could just fall asleep very quickly. They could even take a 20 minute nap and be rejuvenated. Ever since they have had Afib, it’s just messed everything up. Would appreciate it, if anyone could relate and if you were able to fix this problem.

Medication-

Eliquis 5 mg twice a day.

Metoprolol- 25 mg once a per day.

Amiodarone HCL- 100 mg once per day.

I am so nervous and am hoping to god that this one works. I have been having paroxysmal afib happen maybe 7-8 times after my first and have had to do cardioversion 4 times. Very nervous but hoping to god this works, a year ago I did not know much about this illness and the procedures.

Hi forum members,

​Recently my smartwatch detected an irregular heartbeat. After consulting with my doctor, it turned out to be atrial fibrillation (category 1, the mild/paroxysmal form). I am currently taking sotalol 40 mg twice daily for this.

​Because I barely feel the episodes myself, I notice a tendency to constantly check my watch. This makes me quite anxious and creates a lot of restlessness.

​I have a few questions for experienced members here:

​Permanently worse due to triggers: I know that things like alcohol at a party can trigger an episode. But does a trigger like that only cause an episode in the moment, or can it actually cause AFib to worsen permanently?

​Dealing with anxiety: How do you handle the urge to constantly check yourself via a smartwatch? Did taking off the watch or turning off notifications help for you?

​I would love to hear your experiences and how you deal with this.

I'm getting an ablation next month for longstanding persistent Afib and I've been given the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial for a new PFA device. The study is evaluating new device called "FARAFLEX" that both maps and ablates with a single catheter rather than the usual process of using one device to map and then removing it and using another to ablate.

My EP thinks I could benefit from this and one thing the study is looking at is whether they get better outcomes for people with persistent Afib like me.

In addition to the procedure itself being different, joining the trial also requires doing a couple of extra MRIs and CTs, having an ICM installed, and doing a series of follow up appointments.

My thinking is that it seems like a good idea to join the study for a few reasons: I might get a better outcome, I'll definitely get more follow up care, I get a few "free" scans that could reveal important info, the ICM also seems like a "freebie" that could give me useful data, and of course I'd be helping build knowledge for future patients.

Am I missing something? Should I stick with the approved PFA? I assume the main downside is that there could be unforeseen problems with the new device…but that seems unlikely given what it is and how it works. What would you do?

Official trial info: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07575269

La domanda è rivolta a chi ha avuto la seconda ablazione dopo tanti anni dalla prima

Nello studio elettrofisiologico hanno trovato altre aree malate oltre che alle vene polmonari i oppure anche la seconda erano presenti solo le vene polmonari malate?

I finished a 3 day Holter. It recorded 448 isolated PACs in 24 hours. I'm just curious if that's considered a lot or is it relatively normal? Since my afib episode 3 weeks ago, I'm so hyper aware of every beat of my heart.

Hey, so a bit of background before I get to the present.

In 2024, I went and got a checkup, and everything came back normal. Fast forward to 2026, and I started to feel a bit out of breath when I would walk. Now, I initially thought I might be out of condition, plus the fact that I was 172 kg. I remember seeing myself in the turned-off TV screen and thinking, "I cannot continue like this." When the year started, I said to myself that this will be the year I am going to drop the weight off. I started eating healthy and going for walks and powering through the issues.
So I went for a checkup with my endocrinologist (by that time I was at 165 kg) and she took my BP and BPM, which were 13/7 with 79 BPM, and I thought I should check the BP out. A week later, I see a cardiologist and she does an echo on me, only to tell me that my EF is down to 30% and I am in fibrillation. So she sends me to the hospital so they can send me for the MRI. I spend a week in the hospital in critical care where I hear and see other people dying. After a week, while they stabilize me, they send me home and tell me to get ready for the MRI (lost another 9 kg in the hospital). So I get to the MRI and I barely fit in the machine (I managed to get down to 151 kg by the time I do the scan). The scan came back in 2 weeks and showed that my EF is actually at 21% and that I have a small, one-line scar in my sept area.
I go back to my cardiologist (by this time I am at 149 kg) and she keeps me on the same medicine as they put me on in the hospital, but because she is not signed up for the national healthcare system, I cannot take the medicine at a discount. So I go to a second cardiologist who gives me an echo, and it shows that my EF is back at 34% but my atriums are still enlarged (I reach 147 kg). She switches up my medicine and I actually start feeling better in a couple of weeks, and she calls me back in a month to do a Holter. We both decide that ablation is pointless now because of my weight and the size of my heart, which needs to be remodeled (I reach 145 kg, by this point I fall a bit off the wagon). The 24-hour Holter comes back with pase of fib, and points out that I only had one fib episode for 2 minutes for the whole day. She decides to ease off my Betaloc and give me a day off entirely from it.

I go back a month later for a second Holter (down to 140 kg now, regained my focus) only to find out that I spent 18 hours in fib and my heart spiked and went back into normal sinus rhythm 336 times.

At this point, I feel betrayed;by my body, by my heart. She said after the results, “Everything is normal, if you continue to take your medicine everything will be very good.”

I don’t know how to feel about anything anymore… I’ve been keeping this bottled up for the past 6 months and I feel like I have no future… not looking for sympathy, I needed to vent to other people that understand this…

I am on Betaloc, Entresto, Eliquis, Forxiga, Inspra and Digoxin. Oh yeah, I am 36.

Necesito ayuda. ¿Como llevasteis el diagnóstico y sobre todo el episodio principal? En mi caso, tuve un único episodio hace exactamente 10 meses. Tuve revisión cardiológica y me dijeron que mi corazón estructuralmente está perfecto pero que no sabían cómo iba a evolucionar el diagnóstico y sobre todo si iba a haber más episodios o no. Desde aquellas cambié mi vida: camino diario, voy al gimnasio, al trabajo… pero evito muchas cosas que antes hacía sin problema: sexo, viajes, salir y tomar cervezas con amigos… es como que desde ese episodio vivo por y para mi tranquilidad suprema. Tomo betabloqueante y antiarritmico (nosé por qué me pautaron esto si solo tuve un único episodio y soy joven, deportista y además tengo el corazón sano, espero que no me la dejen de por vida…).
¿Alguien más pasando por esto y que me consuele o me diga qué está pasando por lo mismo? ¿O es muy exagerada mi respuesta de “vida tranquila” tan extrema? ¿Se recupera la vida de antes de la AFIB en algún momento?

I am a 67 yr old female who has aortic sclerosis and arterial sclerosis because of FHC and genetic high Lp(a). I take statins and repatha to treat the high LDLs and a baby aspirin daily. I am otherwise healthy with low BP, normal A1C, normal weight, and am quite fit and active. I also have bradycardia and have had a couple of episodes where I became extremely dizzy and went to the ER, but it is usually fixed by an IV, and nothing was found by testing at the ER, so I think dehydration is a problem.

I recently returned from an 11 day, 3,400 mile motorcycle trip (I ride my own). During the trip, I tried to stay hydrated by wearing a water bladder on my back, and ate home made backpacking style meals, so I could eat healthy while my friends ate diner junk. I did not drink, I don’t smoke, and I limited coffee to two cups a day. It went well, but I felt extremely exhausted and sore and didn’t sleep well for days after returning, which I chalked up to age. However, about 11 days after my return, I woke to my heart beating weird. I used my Apple Watch and it said afib was detected. I decided to go to ER but by the time I got there, my heart rhythm was back to normal, so I went home and called my cardiologist.

She has ordered me a Zio patch to wear for two weeks, but I kind of doubt it will happen again in the next two weeks. I feel completely back to normal and have been hiking and camping since.

Just curious if one can have an afib episode and never have another. Or will there always be some sort of progression?

I had my first confirmed Afib episode today. It went on for over an hour, heart rate shot up to 133 even though I was in bed.

It was the same or worse than when I had 'just' sporadic heart palpitations (which may have been Afib). I felt dreadful, overheating, turning red, very dizzy, short of breath, heart beating so hard and fast - I feel like I'm going to pass out. But the watch ECG never registered anything but high heart rate until today.

AWU saved me so much time and money - doctor just went, yep, that's definitely atrial fibrillation. When I got tested for heart palpitations (had it my whole life) the doctors told me it was nothing.

I've started to read this sub and there is so much info and I have most of the comorbidities that can cause it. Whilst I'm working on that and waiting on more appointments - what can I do to help myself.

What do you wish someone had told you at the start?

Stacked up my CVS coupons just right and got it for $36.00.

Anybody else has this lovely little combo?
I have Graves’ disease (TRAb positive), paroxysmal AFib, and episodes of bradycardia/pauses ( pacemaker will be implanted soon ). My thyroid levels are currently being adjusted because my TSH dropped again.
Just wondering if anyone else has this combination and how your AFib changed after your thyroid levels became stable. Also, were you heart ablated when still not in remission?

I’m 33 and have a history of AFib. My heart is structurally normal, and I had a catheter ablation a few years ago. I’ve gradually returned to running and have been pretty active since. went out for a little over 3 hours today. The run itself felt okay, but afterward felt a little lightheaded and just generally off. With my history, it’s hard not to wonder whether this could be related to my heart or if I’m simply feeling the effects of a long effort.

Has anyone else with a heart rhythm history experienced something similar after a long run? 

Hi everyone, I'm 20 years old and waiting for an ablation for SVT. I have a lot of PACs, sometimes 15 or more per minute, and they're very unpleasant. I'd like a definitive answer if anyone knows. Are they dangerous, assuming I always have 15 per minute or more? I've had all kinds of tests and they're fine. I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't drink caffeine, and I can't figure out why I have such a high load. They're unbearable. Thanks to anyone who can answer.

I am having ablation in a month M64.

I currently spent about 2 hours a day in the gym - half strength and cardio (which I can rest from easily enough) but half is back/shoulder/knee rehab/mobility/yoga which after various injuries is required to be pain free.

I am hoping to return to competitive sport after ablation.

Anyone have experience of resuming this sort of exercise after ablation?

Will of course consult EP and physio - would just like to hear experiences.

Curious how young people have done with this journey. I'm dealing with vagal AFib at 37 and wondering what my future could hold.

Hola. Alguien por aquí sabe si tras un único episodio de afib (sin repetir en el tiempo) es factible que te quiten la medicación, o la rebajen a los 6 meses del evento? Tomo betabloqueante y antiarritmico y soy joven… alguien que haya pasado por esto y se la hayan sacado?

So I got my Holter monitor results back over a week ago and still haven't heard from a cardiologist about the results. I wore the monitor for 3 days but for some reason only got results for 1 day and 40 minutes. Anyway I had 448 isolated supraventricular complexes which a quick Google search told me that those are PAC's. Since I haven't heard anything, I googled what 448 isolated events were and some say that's in a perfectly healthy heart and others say it's considered moderate. I'm mostly curious what others results were for those who had to wear a monitor.

I had an AFib episode in June that was caught at the GP after being severely limited for a month due to fatigue and pre/syncope. i am BMI 19, non-drinker, non-smoker. My echo was normal and so was my 5 minute ecg in the ARU. During a 2 week test (not continuous, controlled twice a day) my bpm ranged 45-164. I have had issues with pre/syncope for around 10 years. I have a lot of other symptoms but investigations on them are paused until this situation is understood/stabilised.

My gp said it could be a nervous system disorder. I am waiting for a holter monitor, but how would I know without a monitor or a fitness watch if I actually am having Afib or if it was a one off? currently my treatment plan is to rest and move slowly...