My AFib adventure: A cautionary tale...

[SS336]

I’m glad to Beemerguy and everyone else is doing better. It is an eye opening experience to say the least.
I’m in my late 70s and if you don’t mind I will add my story.

I had my bout with this last November. Was having a racing heart beat and went to Urgent care and they sent me to the emergency room. HR was 158, they put me on drugs with an IV and it came back down and went into sinus rhythm. They gave me prescriptions for a blood thinner, Eliquis, and Metroprolol tartrate and put a Ziopatch on my chest. Worked fine for about 2 weeks.
Then it didn’t, went to the emergency room and they ran more tests, put an IV in and got my heart rate to lower. Called the hospital about 20 miles away and talked with a cardiologist and he said send me to that hospital and they will have a room ready for me. My wife doesn’t drive at night so I called a friend and he took us. Got there and they asked me how I got there. Told them I drove over and they were not pleased. Emergency room was supposed to transport me over.
They operated the next morning. Since I hadn’t been on blood thinners long enough they first did a TEE Transesophageal Echocardiograph. Then they did the Cardiac Ablation. 3.5 hours later I’m back in my room with the “poodle cut” and IV and a monitor on my chest. Felt fine with a little hangover.
Next day I went home and thought, well I’m glad that’s over. Wrong. The next afternoon I felt my pulse starting to climb and drove myself over to the emergency room. an IV, more drugs and a Cardio Version later back in sinus rhythm. Sent me home with a change in drugs to Metoprolol Succinate.
Needless to say I was starting to get a little concerned.
But have been fine since. The Ziopatch was on during this whole ordeal and when the Doctor got the results it startled me. My max heart rate had reached 223bpm.
It’s been a couple of months and all is well so far. but I still have that nagging feeling that I could have died and every once and a while, at night, I lay there and listen to my heart.

 

[Jon651]

I've been dealing with A-Fib for nearly 30 years now, and have gone through everything you've described and more (some multiple times, like cardioversions and ablations). I am one of the few out there who can tell you from first-hand experience the difference between being cardioverted with a standard defribrillator and a bi-phasic defribrillator! I dealt with this mess throughout the second half of my fire department career, fighting to stay at work through all the meds and treatments. Frankly, A-Fib is NOT easy to live or work with!

In 2001 I took (what was then) the "nuclear option" and had an open-heart procedure called the Maze (a.k.a. - the "Cox" procedure, named after the surgeon who developed it). I was young(er), and tough(er) and did it so I could stay on the job. Back then, catheter ablations were not yet up to the point they are today but the Maze was so invasive (including being on the heart-lung machine for 4 hours) that they no longer do it open-heart any longer. I had a 2-3 year recovery afterwards.

Once my A-Fib was handled, the next issue for many years was A-Flutter (fixed with ablations); then came A-Tach (also fixed with ablations and meds), but for the last several years my heart has been doing great! Once I finally retired I stopped trying to "work with it" and simply allowed my cardiologist(s) to do all the things that would have otherwise prevented me from staying on the job so things have been going so much better. This includes allowing my pacemaker to do much more work than when I was fighting to convince my department that I wasn't dependent on it - this alone was a huge positive change in how I felt.

Good luck with your journey, and welcome to the club! We have really cool jackets. And cookies...

 

[Beemerguy53]

Thanks for your kind words, guys.

SS336, I experienced the same roller-coaster ride, the same concern you did, wondering if my doctors would find the right combination of meds and treatments to get my heart beating normally again. It really forces you to think about your mortality. I too take Metoprolol, and Eliquis, and a couple of other meds...the ladies at my pharmacy all know me well by now! I'm really happy to hear you're doing okay...

Jon651, I am amazed that your Fire Department allowed you to continue your career after your bout with AFib. I was in the Baltimore City FD from 1974 to 2004, and I am fairly certain I would have been retired, or at least relegated to a position outside of fire suppression (Fire Prevention or something like that) if I'd developed any heart problem then.

I now have 20 years in my second public safety career, and while it isn't as physically dangerous or as stressful as firefighting, it is demanding and does involve a bit of physical activity. When I developed the AFib, and wanted to come back to work afterward, my boss wanted a written statement from my doctor attesting that I was fit for duty, and able to perform my job safely.

We are all indeed very lucky to be living in this country, and in this era. Not too many decades ago, if you had a bad ticker, your doctor couldn't do much more than advise you to take it easy and try to make you comfortable until the inevitable heart failure. Now, even after almost 72 years, and more than 2.7 billion heartbeats (yes, you read that right) I seem to have at least some good years left in the old pump...very cool!

 

[Jon651]

Beemerguy53 - Once upon a time, we were taught that A-Fib was "benign" and people just had to live with it. I can tell you with absolute authority that AF if NOT benign. The problem is that even though treatments are MUCH better, after all of these years there is no recognized, approved and consistent cure - you just have to get lucky. In the end after I retired I just let my doctor fry all the wiring in the upper chambers of my heart and allow my pacemaker to do its job full-time. This was the best decision as far as my comfort and controlling the A-Fib/A-Flutter/A-Tach that I ever made, and would be my personal recommendation if asked (not that anyone has asked, of course!).

When I was working (and I've been retired for 11+ years now), it was a real fight to stay on the job. I was one of the very few nationwide who actually managed it. The Maze procedure did nearly fix my AF but it took nearly 3 years to recover to a point I could go back in the field and I needed a pacemaker during that time - which was yet another issue because the NFPA fitness standards at the time said I couldn't be dependent on it. That is a long, sordid story about how I stayed at work but I did it - and took a "normal" retirement after 25 years with my last department (29 overall).

The majority of AF cases start when the patient is much older and won't have to deal with all the employment issues I did. Unfortunately for me I was afflicted with it much younger and had to fight, fight, fight. Thank heaven my union local stood by me - I will pay dues with them for life for that support!

Cheers and good luck!

 

[jeffrefrig]

Post #24 is an example of why many people will only work for Union companies/employers. Good luck and health to all involved.

 

[SMSgt]

Post #24 is an example of why many people will only work for Union companies/employers. Good luck and health to all involved.

Two things I learned from union members in my first week working with them: Never do anything on Thursday/Friday that can't be pushed off until double-time weekends, and--They can make me come to work, but they can't make me work. (Straight from the union members' mouths.)

The union workers lived up to every negative stereotype I ever heard.

 

[Marshwheeling]

Fascinating thread, to see the different approaches different people have undergone. I was diagnosed with A-fib about a year ago. After a couple of cardioversions and a couple of different meds, my cardiologist decided to skip the ablations and put in a pacemaker, which he did just last Wednesday. I am still pretty sore, but look forward to seeing how this works out.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I had my annual interrogation with my EPO yesterday. I am pacing normally and I have 4 years of battery life until my next explant/implant which will be number 3.

Life is good.

 

[Doug M.]

I had temporary Afib after my bypass, which is not unusual. A further assessment required for the transplant program showed it was gone. I have always pretty pretty active and my ticker is in good shape; the bypass was for an artery that was pretty clogged. That's likely genetic. My care, from everyone of every speciality, has been excellent. Some of it is really devoid of fun, but I do not have to enjoy it - I have to appreciate it.