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I agree with gloaming's answer but let me see if I can simplify it a bit.... Quotecolindo If the electrical signals are coming from the gut then it's a gut problem and not the heart. Is that correct? Maybe it would be if electrical signals come from the gut, but they don't. The source of atrial signals is well documented and well understood. In a normal heart all atrial signalby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I wasn't suggesting anything over the top, but rather just emphasizing that most people significantly underestimate their water needs. I've actually encountered people who literally never drink water. For example, there was a woman with afib on another forum who was big into pickle ball, and she said it seems her afib gets worse after long days of play, especially in hot weather. I poinby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotecolindo Is the scar tissue you refer to, that which is formed arround the pulmonary veins? Also do the ablated scars break down over time, as in Travis case, he had no flutter for 8 years after his first ablation. Yes, that's the scar tissue I refer to. No, an adequately done ablation line will not heal over, but an inadequately formed one will, which is exactly what explains many aby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotetvanslooten If the ablation is a success, that means the scar lines are durable and are blocking ALL abnormal signals, correct? Yes, after the ablation lines have formed scar tissue and become non-conducting, and that takes a couple of months. Hence, the blanking period. Flutter happens after an ablation because flutter is caused by electrical barriers in the atrial tissue that arenby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
No, fluid retention doesn't cause pericarditis. But it's not unusual for anesthesia to hinder kidney function for a period of time after a procedure, plus they give you a boatload of fluids during an ablation, so adverse fluid retention is always a possibility. As always, if Natale is doing one thing and everyone else is doing something else, I'm going with what Natale does. Heby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Just use your index and middle finger instead.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I agree that 1 minute of afib is nothing to be concerned about, and it could even be Kardia misinterpreting a run of PACs as afib. I've seen it do that. What may help calm down the PACs is a daily magnesium supplement and a high-potassium diet. You can also buy some low-sodium V8 juice and drink a can of that when you're feeling a lot of palpitations. In low-sodium V8 they replace tby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteDaisy Is post-ablation pericarditis associated with fluid retention? I remember that some complication is, but forget which one. It results in fluid accumulation in the pericardial sac surrounding the heart, but not elsewhere in the body. I can't think of a complication of ablation that causes generalized fluid retention, but anesthesia can if your kidneys are slow to "wake up.&qby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I know of several people who've developed complications following an ablation such as pericarditis, and the symptoms of those complications often didn't appear until hours after the procedure. I think holding overnight is prudent and releasing the same day is overconfident. The last situation I would want to find myself in is being in some local ED at 3am with chest pain following an abby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
How can what be? That study doesn't apply to you. It looked only at people with afib who had already experienced a stroke. It's no surprise that having a stroke means you're at higher risk of having another one. That's reflected in the 2 CHADS-Vasc points assigned to people who've experienced a previous stroke or TIA.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuotePixie Carey, I agree with you completely. What I find interesting is that I had my TEE at a large medical center that uses the EPIC electronic medical records. That is what St.David’s uses also. However, I was told the disc is needed to confirm the results. I am assuming the disc gives Dr. Natale more information than the written report. Yeah, he's definitely going to want to seby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuotePixie My written 6 month TEE report has been received and are in my records for physician review, but I will not get the final results until the disc is reviewed. Well, electronic medical records (EMR) aren't universally adopted yet, of course, but the acceptance rate in the US is so high that I haven't had a medical visit with anyone in several years where I had to request paperby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteDaisy And yes, I’d assume that the facility that did the CT scan would send Dr. Natale a CD but that is probably something that the patient would need to arrange. These days with electronic medical records you probably won't have to do a thing. Once the radiology place does the scan, it will appear on your medical record and be available to almost any doctor you see instantly, includiby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I would do the CT. With modern CT machines it's minimal radiation, probably less than an airplane flight to Austin. I would expect Medicare to pay for the redo as long as Natale's staff documents it properly, which I'm sure they'll do because they do stuff like that day in and day out.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Not a problem. There are some (poorly done) studies out there showing that MRIs cause mercury to be released from amalgam fillings, but that was only found when they used extremely powerful MRIs using 7 tesla, which is more than twice the power you'll be exposed to. It's really of no concern.by Carey - GENERAL HEALTH FORUM
I don't find that study convincing. They're basically just collecting raw data and not comparing those taking Xarelto to another age-matched control group not taking Xarelto, so it doesn't really tell us much and doesn't make a case for Xarelto causing vitreous detachment. Yes, people over 60 taking Xarelto suffered vitreous detachment more often than other age groups, but soby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Well, that is kind of strange and I can't explain it.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteDaisy I was just surprised at how my HR returned to pre-ablation levels as so often rates remain elevated for many months. For a full ablation, yes, but maybe not for a small touch-up? I noticed no HR increase at all following my Watchman, which was a lone procedure.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I can't imagine how a Watchman could affect heart rate so I'm sure that's due to the touch-up he did.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotekitenski Thanks for this, in my case I seriously think taking 100mg flec seems to bring on more episodes of Afib, a higher resting HR and also the pre-atrial contractions, whereas dropping it to 50mg this morning and this evening appears to have dropped my resting HR to "usual" and the pre-atrial contractions have stopped. Yes, switching beta blockers was purely to try and addreby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
That first ECG shows pre-atrial contractions in a bigeminal pattern. I spent months putting up with that. It's annoying but harmless and if it continues long enough your brain will get used to it and you won't notice unless you think about it. The second one is probably either flutter or atrial tachycardia (can't distinguish with a single-lead device). The third is just plain old aby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteYuxi Since then, I have switched to see this new EP, he has me on 50mg of Flecainide BID, but still no daily Metoprolol. Do people normally take Metoprolol daily with Flecainide? Most EPs insist on it, but a few are willing to take the risk. Just because your HR is 90-120 during an afib episode doesn't mean that's how fast your atria are beating. They could be beating at 300 bpmby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteYuxi I had experienced flutter after taking 150mg of Flecainide as PIP. Had to take Metoprolol to bring the HR down. When you take flecainide you should take metoprolol at the same time. This is because there's a very rare but potentially dangerous condition flecainide can cause called 1-for-1 conduction, usually written as 1:1 conduction. That's when the AV node begins conductinby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotehds Thanks. It’s very unnerving so your responses and support mean a lot to me. Is this something that warrants having my ECG checked immediately? I understand that it can be unnerving, but you're in no danger. Always remind yourself of that. Nobody dies from atrial arrhythmias. Is it worth getting an ECG immediately? No, but it's worth getting one sometime soon. Please dby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sounds like Anti-Fib might be right. You may have gone from afib into flutter. That's common in both directions (afib -> flutter and flutter -> afib).by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Anxiety increases blood pressure, so yes, it's normal.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotehds Thank you for this! Would you happen to know if a 2-lead ECG would detect flutter? It will not. A heart rate of 110 incapacitates you? How does it do so, you become short of breath?by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotesusan.d But they always tested me when I was in flutter in the ER and my results were elevated. I don’t think I was an isolated case so I speculate it’s a standard test if a patient presents themselves in the ER in AF or flutter. I've never been tested and certainly not in an ER. I've never seen or heard of anyone being tested for that in an ER setting. Not sure why they even botby Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming I don't see why there's an implicit assumption that one has AF from the get-go. Because that's the patient population it was originally designed for. Although I suppose it might be used more generally in some cases, I've never seen it referenced in any context other than afib.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotegloaming I looked to give myself .....WAIT! There is no obvious place to assign me a detriment if I have a history of AF or other arrhythmia! Wouldn't you think that has a place? That's because the CHADS-Vasc score was originally intended only for patient with AF so it assumes you already have it.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM