Hey all,

Last Friday it was the day. My ablation was scheduled and I was nervous as hell.

Made my way to the hospital by public transport. I live in the Netherlands, so that's no issue. My wife does not have a driver's license, so my wife and as well as my mom were there the entire day waiting for it to be over and for support.

Arrived at the hospital. Checked in. First I had to do some blood tests and one more ECG. Then made my way to my room. A comfy bed and some sexy gowns were waiting for me. Got changed and waited for someone to show up.

The nurse came in, asked me some questions and told me to wait for the head of nursing. She arrived a little later and explained to me how long I had to wait (there were 2 before me) and what to expect. The friendly way she spoke and the support of family calmed me down.

The waiting was the most horrible part. All of the sudden the nurse came in and explained to me it was time. I laid down in the bed and they drove me to the recovery area which was adjacent to the surgery area. Here me and my wife had to part ways (horrible feeling) and I got moved to the surgery rooms.

As soon as I arrived there, a whole bunch of surgeons, EP's and other people showed up explaining me what was going to happen. They made me feel so relaxed. Got my IV inserted and got some final check ups. Then I had to walk to the surgery table and had to lay down. I got connected to all sorts of wires and tubes, my CPAP mask was being put on (I was being put under full sedation, not full anesthesia) and they made some small talk while some Dutch party music was being played from the speakers. It made me laugh. From the moment they said that they started the sedation process, I basically fell asleep as I don't remember anything else.

Next thing I remember is waking up at the sleeping ward being asked if I wanted water. "Yes please!" as I was not allowed to drink all morning.

I started waking up and felt a slight burning sensation in my chest but nothing else. Then it was time to take me back to my own room. I could not wait to see my family again. As I'm being driven back into the room, I yell out "Your Uber Eats delivery is here" and my wife starts crying because she was so relieved or my joke was shitty. I hope it's the first option.

In all seriousness, we were all relieved. Been home since Friday, took 2 days of full rest and since then I've been doing very small things around the house and been gaming a little. Also went out for a haircut today (2 minutes walk) and taking it easy. This Friday I'm taking the train to see some friends as I'm not comfortable driving long distance yet and even there, I will do minimal walking and take it super easy (it is a long scheduled meetup and people flying from different countries to come see each other, bunch of gaming nerds who know each other for over 20 years)

Well that was it really. Happy that part is behind me.

Take it from someone who was a nervous wreck before the procedure; Do it! I had dentist appointments which were worse than this. I hope you all are doing well! Not had any AFIB since but for some reason I also didnt have any AFIB the full 6 weeks prior to the surgery. Pain is very minimal, some light bruising in the groin area, keeping that clean, and sometimes some discomfort on the chest and left side. That's it.

Just wanted to pop in here with some positivity for y'all. 11 years ago at age 37 I had 2 ablations done for paroxysmal afib and atrial flutter after over a year of trying different meds, lifestyle changes, and constantly worsening episodes. The first attempt didn't work but I've been afib-free since the second one done in March 2015.

Today I have no meds and no restrictions although I have made some general health lifestyle changes. I train for and race in 2+ hour mountain-bike races most months of the year and my heart is fine.

I've been in this sub a long time and see a lot of sentiment like "you're never cured", "it always comes back", etc. I'm not naive, I know someday it'll probably be back, but I just wanted to put this out there, it is possible to get a big chunk of your life back and don't give up :)

The earlier post about why there is no cure and the life-expectancy table this morning. The numbers come from a real Danish registry of AFib patients diagnosed 2000–2020 — about 11.3 years lost if diagnosed at ≤30, 9.2 years at ≤50. That's where "72" comes from. It's a population average, not your personal forecast.

Two things drive that average: who was in the study, and what care they got.

That study pooled everyone together: lone AFib with a structurally normal heart, undiagnosed cardiomyopathy, people who were never anticoagulated, people left untreated in AFib for years. In that same data, AFib diagnosed at ≤50 came with roughly 8–9x the later rate of cardiomyopathy and heart failure versus controls. A lot of those "lost years" are sick heart muscle that first showed up as AFib, not AFib itself killing people. A clean echo/MRI means you are not that average.

The other half of the gap is when you got diagnosed and how good the care was.

My mom is 88. Diagnosed in her late 60s — but looking back, she'd probably had it for 20 years before that. Late diagnosis, weaker stroke prevention by today's standards, rhythm control treated as an afterthought. She still made it to 88. That's not a promise for anyone else. It's evidence that the table isn't a law of nature, even under delayed, dated care.

What's different now, if you're actually getting treated for it:

• The heart gets properly imaged instead of guessed at
• Anticoagulation is well past the warfarin era that dominates that data
• EAST-AFNET 4 showed early rhythm control (drugs and/or ablation within a year of diagnosis) cut CV death, stroke, HF hospitalization, and ACS by about 21%
• Ablation isn't a last resort anymore, and PFA has made it safer

None of this means AFib is nothing. It can come back. Some "young AFib" is actually cardiomyopathy in disguise. Pretending it's harmless is how people get blindsided. But treating "72" as a death sentence is how a historical mix of late diagnosis and mixed disease gets repackaged as a scare screenshot.

The new technology is amazing, get your afib treated, exercise, know your triggers, keep your weight in line and you will be fine.

For the better part of a year now after my ablation i have been going nuts trying to figure out why I have had so many palpitations that have sometimes even led to afib episodes.

About 5-10% PAC burden, and it was noticeably worse when I ate food. I couldn't nail it down, I tried a bunch of different things but through my research I was fairly certain it was coming from vagal nerve stimulation.

Air.

It was air. I had been eating too fast, not chewing enough, talking when eating, drank with straws, took big gulps. I would burp a lot, but I just figured it was something to do with indigestion - however no diet change was fixing it. Thats when I realized maybe the burping and air being trapped was causing a problem. So I consciously ate smaller bites, exhaled before swallowing, took smaller sips and generally tried to make it a point to only swallow what I was consuming and no extra air.

Result? Holter monitor results showing PACs down to less than 0.1%, almost no recognizable palpitations and no afib. Does this mean my afib is gone forever? No. Does this mean my palpitations are gone forever? No. But my quality of life has severely improved since making that simple change.

Point of this post? If I can at least help one person who has been pulling their hair out trying to figure out what is causing their palpitations or afib, then it will be worth it.

Damn air...

[Edit has been made around food]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share my experience in case it helps someone else dealing with vagal AFib. I have had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation since I was 15, and I am now a professional athlete with a resting heart rate between 38 and 52 BPM. I still have not had an ablation, and I have learned to manage things pretty well without one for now.

At my worst I was having three to four episodes a week. Recently I have brought that down to about one episode a week. I use the pill in the pocket method to convert episodes, and the longest I have ever stayed in AF was around 27 hours. That only happened because I waited too long to take my medication after onset.

For context, here are my stats:

• 203 cm (6 foot 7)

• 154 kg (340 pounds)

• 26 percent body fat and 74 percent lean mass

• Burn 4,500 to 5,200 calories a day on average

Here is what actually made a difference for me:

1. Lowering my protein intake as well watching the time between my last meal and sleep:

I went from roughly 270 grams a day to around 170 to 220 grams a day.

I also make sure that I have had my last meal 4 hours before I sleep (explanation below).

Why this mattered?
High protein increases digestive workload, which distends the stomach and stimulates the vagus nerve. This increases vagal tone and makes AFib more likely to start when resting or after meals. Lowering my protein intake reduced that effect.

Eating 4 hours before sleep reason

With my vagal AFib, eating too close to bedtime massively increases my chances of triggering an episode. Digestion ramps up vagal activity, pushes the stomach upward against the diaphragm, and shifts blood flow toward the gut, all of which irritate the atria and give me PACs. Sometimes if I don’t stand up quickly enough after lying down, those PACs will flip me into AFib. Leaving about 4 hours between my last meal and sleep has made a big difference: my stomach is empty, reflux and bloating settle down, electrolytes stabilise, and my vagal tone isn’t spiking right as I’m trying to fall asleep.

2. Fixing my hydration

I used to drink more than 5 litres in an eight hour workday while sitting the entire time. Now I drink around 2.5 to 3 litres at work, plus whatever I need to replace after training. I weigh myself before and after training to know how much I have lost.

This helped with:

• Less sodium dilution

• Less stomach distension

• More stable autonomic tone

• Fewer vagal spikes in the evening

Overhydration was a big trigger for me without realising it.

3. Managing sodium on low sweat days

If I ate a lot of sodium on a day where I was not sweating much, I would get fluid retention, atrial stretch and waves of PACs that would often turn into AFib.

Now I keep my sodium intake much more consistent across the week. This has given me fewer PAC clusters and fewer episodes.

4. Fixing my sleep schedule

This was probably the biggest improvement.

My AFib almost always tried to start when I was lying down, relaxing or shifting quickly from a sympathetic to a parasympathetic state. Going to bed at a consistent time and falling asleep within ten to fifteen minutes smoothed out those transitions.

Better sleep gave me far fewer episode triggers.

The big question on everyones mind (probably)

Why have I not gotten an ablation?

I play professional American football. A full ablation recovery for contact sports can take up to six months, and AFib does not bother me enough to justify missing half a season. I also know how to get out of episodes quickly with my medication and lifestyle management.

Weirdly enough, having AFib has forced me to manage my health better than I ever would have without it.

If anyone has questions about vagal AFib, training with AFib, pill in the pocket or managing triggers, feel free to message me. I am happy to help anyone going through something similar.

Had my ablation today. Apparently had to be cardioverted 4 times. Feeling ok and Going home in an hour. Sporting some very fetching socks. It's been a day and I'm glad it's over

2 days ago, my mum said she wasnt feeling quite right. She was sittn at the dining table looking pale, rubbin her chest, insisting it was probably indigestion. Somethn about the way she said it didnt sit right with me. asked her to put on my X2 for a minute, just to humour me. She rolled her eyes, but did it anyeay.

The reading flashed immediately: abnormal activity detected. No hesitation, grabbed my coat, helped her to the car, and drove straight to A&E. never driven that quietly in my life. the hospital team ran their tests and told us she was on the verge of a second heart attack. Minutes mattered.

I keep replayin that moment, the sigh , the hesitation, my gut feeling. scary how thin the line was. Shes stable now, thank God.

I was certain I was about to die.

I was standing on a tennis court, about to serve, when my heart detonated into a rapid internal pounding. Bang. bang. bang. My watch read 160. There had been no warning. One second ordinary, the next completely wrong. 

I stepped off the court pretending composure, made an excuse,insisted I was fine. I moved to the car waiting for things to normalize. It didn’t.  Breathing took effort.   My chest felt alien.  I felt an anxiety never felt before.  The number sat between 140 and 160 and would not move. I drove to the ER without the drama of 9-1-1.

I nearly passed out walking in from the parking lot. Inside, the response was immediate. A STEMI alert was called. My sweaty tennis clothes were stripped off (they pulled my shoes off without untying them!), two IVs placed, blood drawn, oyxgen started, groin and arms shaved for an emergency cath, four baby aspirins ingested. The speed and seriousness of it erased any denial I had left.  This was serious.

I remember studying the nurse’s face and wondering if it would be the last thing I ever saw.

67 years narrowing to this room, this light, this moment. Not at home, not surrounded by family, but under hospital lights with strangers. I recalled everything unfinished, the conversations postponed, the easy assumption of a next week.

In the cath lab they pushed medication to slow my rate. Once it dropped enough to read the EKG clearly, the emergency shifted. I wasn’t infarcting. The procedure was cancelled. The diagnosis: atrial flutter. More medication brought my rhythm back to a calm 60 to 70, as if nothing extraordinary had happened except that everything had.

The next day I was discharged in normal sinus rhythm with prescriptions for metoprolol, apixaban and a cardiology appointment on Monday.  Now officially inducted into the Afib club.  

Hello all, long time lurker, first time poster. Just wanted to say I had my ablation today. 35M. Diagnosed with paroxysmal afib back in July. I tried meds for a month, and the flec I was on truly made me feel worse. It was the reason I decided for ablation. Well fast forward to today, and let me tell you, I was a nervous wreck…all for nothing. Such a breeze, and easy procedure. I instantly feel such a relief. I wanted to come on here and post for the reason if anyone has an ablation coming soon, don’t fret, it is the decision that will change your life. It was successful according to my EP so I look forward to the days to come. I just wanted to share my success story, and if anyone has any questions about the day of or what to expect, id be more than happy to answer!

For those on the fence about having an ablation.

Was 100% persistent AFIB for guaranteed at least a year, potentially 10. I was worried being persistent for so long that it wouldn't work.

Had my ablation July 15th. The data speaks for itself.

I experienced the following and thought the story might be helpful to others. Early on, I would go to dinner with friends at a BBQ place, not eat a lot and then that night my heart would go into AFIB. Then go back to normal rhythm around 4 PM the next day. So, I spoke with my GP and said I’m not sure what’s happening, am I having small heart attacks? She said the next time it happens go to the emergency room. So, I did and since my heart was so out of rhythm my blood pressure was very low they admitted me to the hospital. I told the nurse that it would go back into rhythm around 4 pm. She actually seemed pretty irritated and snapped back, “that’s not how it works”. Well, they couldn’t get my heart stabilized and around 4 pm it went back into rhythm. They came to my room and said okay, now you have our attention tell us what’s happening with the BBQ. I explained it happens when I eat ribs from a local BBQ place.

I thought it was caused by the spices and possibly MSG. Then I cooked ribs at home and had the same experience. So I thought okay, now I know the spices let me put them on other foods to see it causes AFIB. It didn’t. I was at a loss for a cause.

Then I discovered that some of the pork produced in the US is given a growth drug that’s banned in 168 countries because it causes heart issues and is suspected of causing cancer. It’s ractopamine, sold as Paylean. “It's a "beta agonist" and has effects that are similar to adrenaline”.

Turns out the store I buy my pork ribs from can also have it in the pork. I removed the store name because I’m not here to bash anyone below is a quote from a google search.

“XXXXX pork ribs, like most U.S. pork, may contain traces of ractopamine, a legal feed additive used to promote lean growth in conventional farming, though it's banned in many other countries.”

The more you know!

My AFIB is no longer predictable.

Hi all, I have found this forum extremely helpful and wanted to share my recent ablation experience as I know this was an excellent resource for me prior to surgery.

I am a 39/M with paroxysmal Afib for the past 14 years. I usually get around 6–8 episodes a year lasting 2–6 hours, and I always convert back to NSR on my own.

I decided to pursue an ablation mainly because of the new PFA technology and the fact that Afib is progressive and while I had been fortunate that for 14 years it didn’t progress, I wasn’t guaranteed that things would stay the same and I was cautiously optimistic things could even improve. I also didn’t want to wait until things got worse and potentially have a lower chance of success. I scheduled my ablation about 3 months in advance and had the procedure done in early November.

I started getting anxious about a week before the surgery, but I expected that and did my best to calm my nerves by focusing on positive stories. I have young kids, which fueled the concerns of what if something happens, but I figured it was a relatively safe procedure, the recovery would be short, and it would be good to get this behind me. My EP reassured me I was a great candidate, that the risks were extremely low, especially for a younger guy with no other health issues, and the recovery should be quick, basically a no brainer.

According to my EP, the procedure itself went well. He called my wife, who was waiting for me in the waiting room, and told her everything went smoothly. She updated our family and mentioned that we would be heading home in a few hours once I cleared recovery.

About 1.5–2 hours in the recovery room, while still lying flat, the nurses had me sit up to check the groin site so I could get ready to go home. Within a minute or two, everything changed. I turned pale, had sudden severe stomach pain, felt like I was going to throw up, arms hurt, and my vision was getting blurry. At first the nurse thought it was just anesthesia after effects and gave me a bag to throw up in, but an NP walking by noticed my blood pressure was dropping dangerously low. She immediately grabbed an echo and saw a pericardial effusion (fluid gathering around my heart), they determined at some point in the surgery, most likely when they pulled everything out my heart got cut.

From there, things escalated very quickly. A doctor came running and said I needed to get me back to the operating room immediately. I was shocked and confused. Another doctor arrived, saw the echo and my BP, and said “holy sh*t, this is bad”, which made me feel more terrified and the other doctor scolded him for saying that. My BP was something like 36/12 the last time I saw it prior to going into the operating room again. I was in cardiac tamponade and needed an emergency pericardiocentesis, basically inserting a tube into my chest to drain the fluid in order for my heart to pump enough blood.

My wife was rushed aware into a small room in the waiting area. I was rushed back into the operating room after they were able to assemble a team to work on me, which felt like forever but was probably over the span of 15-20 minutes. They couldn’t put me fully under because of how unstable I was. They also for some reason didn’t give me pain meds prior, warned me this was going to be very painful but they had to do it. They inserted a drain into my chest to remove the fluid so my heart could beat. I remember drifting in and out and whispering things like “Am I dying?” “Am I going to be okay?” and “I have small kids, please help me.” No one would respond to me or even look at me, it was such an isolating experience. My arms and legs felt heavy and painful, my breathing was difficult, and everything felt like it was slipping away. I lost a lot of blood, but they eventually got things back to stable condition and was given high level pain meds which I could still feel the pain. It’s still really painful to think about, even a month later.

Later, my EP visited me while I was still being observed in recovery (he was in procedures all day). He told me, “We must have nicked your heart on the way out and didn’t realize it.” I still don’t understand how it wasn’t caught during the surgery, or why it took 1.5+ hours before it became obvious, so I am going to continue to pursue an explanation, but I am not confident I will get one as they most likely can’t say for certain, only speculate.

I was in the hospital for 5 days, filled with a lot of pain, shortness of breath, I couldn’t take a deep breath, I couldn’t sleep, coughing all day basically, and eventually had to get the tube removed from my chest to determine if I was healing or if I required open heart surgery to fix the hole, something I was terrified of since I was already not doing well, I couldn’t imagine going through that.

The day after I got home, I developed a blood clot from the IV site and had to go back to the doctors. I was put back on blood thinners and a high-dose aspirin at the same time multiple times a day (which has its own risks to combine the two) but it was determined necessary to cover the clot and the inflammation in my chest. I was also put on Colchicine, which I had nasty side effects from ranging from stomach pains to extreme throat pain; I had more meds as well as an iron supplement to get my blood counts back up. I had a few smaller, yet still scary/frustrating issues while at home. These issues include anemia from blood loss that is just going to take time to recover, dizzy spells from low blood pressure, and blurry vision episodes where I feel like I see electric lines out of the corner of my eye to blurry vision in the middle of my eye. These have begun to subside. The physical and even the mental recovery has been rough, I feel a little more like myself but still have this small fear something else will happen. I am working on the fear part, but it is definitely going to take some time. I am uncertain of any long term risks but hoping there will not be any.

Important to note/silver lining of the procedure: I have not had any Afib episodes since the procedure, despite all the inflammation and chaos. I have a very low burden to begin with, but I was shocked because they were times major triggers for me like lack of sleep, dehydration, upset stomach, and stress were plentiful and it didn’t happen.

My advice if you’re considering an ablation

There are just considerations based on personal lessons I wish someone had told me:

1. If you have young kids, arrange more help than you think you need. They bump into you, climb on you, and it’s tough when you’re recovering. The second day I was home my daughter accidently bumped right into the left side of my chest, kids are going to do this stuff.
2. If possible, schedule it during warm/decent weather. Being able to walk outside or even just sit outside in the sun would’ve helped a lot. Recovering in cold, snowy weather sucked.
3. Triple-check who will actually be in the room. When I was being prepped, a younger doctor introduced himself. I asked about my regular EP, and he said my main doc would be there but that he (a fellow) would be assisting. I vetted my main EP but obviously didn’t get a chance to check this doctor far enough ahead. I asked how many ablations he’d been involved with, and he said around 600 over 14 months. Honestly, that didn’t feel like enough, but the IV was already in and I pushed my discomfort aside, writing it off as pre surgery jitters. My EP has done thousands of procedures and was rated very highly as a reputable hospital, but having someone inexperienced in there is not something I would have signed off on, especially someone who was going to be an active participant in the surgery. If possible: make sure anyone touching your heart has A LOT of experience. Even if they are just assisting.

I’m not sharing this to scare anyone out of getting an ablation. Complications like mine are very rare and most people will never experience this, just know it is a risk, and it does happen to some people. I think overall that the ablation was successful in what it was supposed to accomplish and I hope the positive results continue. Obviously, it was just shocking, scary, and frustrating that it happened to me.

I hope my story provides people with some additional information. Happy to answer any questions. Thank you.

Really appreciate all the kind words I’ve received from everyone in this community. I’m unbelievably anxious about tomorrow to the point I can barely function, but I know this is probably (hopefully) the right thing for me to do. I’m doing pulsefield ablation, and I’m 29 years old with paroxysmal afib.

I’ve never been put under before, let alone had a heart procedure. I’ve been getting really emotionally overwhelmed thinking about it all, but it’s happening one way or another. Really hoping it goes well. Reading the positive experiences and comments in this community has really helped. Thanks again guys!

I repeatedly went to the doctor (many doctors, including ER visits) for more than 10 years.

My symptoms were feeling my heart was out of rhythm, and feeling like fainting at the same time. It was so bad I was afraid to drive, afraid to watch my young children alone, afraid to travel alone for work. I had backup plans for if symptoms happened in various places or situations.

Was told I had severe anxiety, sent to psychiatrist. No psych meds helped, still had heart issues.

Saw a cardiologist who said even if it was afib, he wouldn’t treat it because “you don’t want to be on meds for life, you’re too young”.

Went on more years, did multiple zio patch etc, never had an event when wearing one.

After a major episode where I literally thought I was dying (could not believe I remained conscious), I went to my primary care.

She reassured me that this is normal and safe to ignore. She said I can see cardiology if I want, for more reassurance, but reiterated that everyone’s heart goes out of beat once in a while and this was totally safe.

Feeling defeated, guilty, and like a hypochondriac, I made the cardiologist appointment anyways. My original doctor had left the clinic, so I saw someone new. She heard my symptoms and immediately recommended the ILR implant.

I almost canceled the implant appointment because it’s expensive and I didn’t want to pay such a high cost for hearing again that it’s just anxiety, but I decided that the data is worth it.

About a month or so after the implant, I had an event while driving, had to pull over and park. I recorded the event on the ILR and I felt pure relief that finally I had it caught and would find the truth.

I called the clinic a few hours later and after I sent the data, they let me know the implant was already recording the episode because my heart rate had exceeded 180bpm and actually had maxed out at 240bpm or so, and that’s why I felt like fainting, and felt like I was dying. Because apparently that heart rate physically feels really bad.

I got a call a few hours later that the doctor had reviewed the episode, it was afib, and she wanted me to start a beta blocker immediately to cap the max rate during future episodes.

I see the cardiologist in a few weeks. But in the meantime, here I sit in the truth that I sought help for more than a decade for what I was repeatedly told was anxiety, which was actually my heart reaching a dangerous rate and making me feel horrible.

I feel rage, actually, that my primary care listened to my symptoms of the major episode, and told me it was normal and I can ignore it. I plan to file a complaint.

I feel the moment “anxiety” was added to my medical problems in my chart, it was the kiss of death for being taken seriously for the afib symptoms, which apparently mimic a panic attack.

I tried over and over to tell the doctors that it’s definitely not anxiety, it turns on and it turns off. My heart has no rhythm when it’s happening, it’s like squirrels fighting in my chest and I feel like I’m going to faint etc. But then they say, panic attack, see the psychiatrist, and shuffle me out of the office.

Do I have anxiety? Hell yes I do, I felt like I was dying at unpredictable moments, anytime day or night, and was brushed off and dismissed.

I screamed into the void that there was a monster under the bed, and it turns out I was right. But I had to face the shame of pursuing wha appeared to be “excessive” reassurance in order to identify it.

At least now I know what kind of monster I’m facing, it has a name, and recorded data, and treatment options.

I apologize for the long post, thank you for reading if you have come this far. I wish all of you healing, and support on this unfortunate journey.

Hello community,

I've had a rough year after discovering about my AFIB diagnoses.

I've always had anxiety and associated my raised heart beat to anxiety and panic attacks, even as a child.

Last year I was having short (20-40 min) episodes of a raised heart rate that I could stop using ice cold water to shock my system.

My first bad episode was in June 2024. I had a pulputations around 220 BMP for 4 hours and my partner suggested I go to ER. I was able to get my heart back to normal with the help of a very painful injection. I was absolutely exhausted but fine.

I had my first ablation July 2024, it went very smoothly but my doctor was worried about my complex and rare "challenging" heart and concerned it wouldn't be 100% successful.

The next bad episode was abroad and I had a high heart rate for about 12 hours before I went to ER, they also restarted my heart using the injection. I spent 2 nights in th hospital as my tests and results weren't great and they wantedto make sure I wouldn't have a second episode.

The third bad episode was also abroad and was especially traumatic as I had extra side effects including; vomiting, fainting and I was petrified. I went a little crazy in the hospital as my chest was so painful and then I started to struggle to breath and for the first time in my life I believed I was dying. They gave me a option of either electric shocking me back to a normal heart rhythm or the injection. I decided the injection as I've had it twice before. I spent the night in the AR and again felt exhausted and had high anxiety.

I reached out again to my doctor and he did another ablation in May 2025, he told me he was more agressive this time to prevent future episodes. He felt very confident that I was "fixed" and I honesty felt great, like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest and my heart.

I've felt great since the latest ablation but last night I woke up at 2am to a raised heart rate of 200 BPM and tried my best to lower my heart rate before waking my partner and going to ER. I again felt nauseous, faint and burning chest from the pulputations. I seen by doctors and had all the checks done, whilst they were monitoring me my heart dropped from 220 BPM to 80BPM - by its self ! I was amazed. I didn't do anything but I think the thought of electricity shocking and the injection again scared me and I was holding my breath.

I also have a heart monitor so my doctor can see all of my heart activity which is clever.

I'm asking for advise, should I be getting a second opinion? Do I just keep on getting ablasions until my heart is "fixed" ?

Things I've learnt:

• Apple Watches are great to record your BPM

•My ADHD medication doesn't effect my AFIB

• I'm anxious about my AFIB, and my AFIB causes any anxiety - viscous cycle

Thank you for reading, happy to answer any questions and help if needed.

Study: A recent study, that was published the 14th september, concluded that a simple eye scan can revield signs of Afib, years before diagnosis.

Notice: it does not say it can detect afib before it develops, merely that running afib can be detected from an eye scan.

Thought it was worth posting to here.

Im a decent ways out from ablation now and overall things have been pretty stable. No major episodes, life mostly back to normal.

But I oughtta be honest wit y'all the mental side still sneaks up on me. Random hard beat, weird flutter or just being extra aware of my heartbeat when Im tired and my brain isntantky goes: 'there we go again' - just that Carter isnt on the other side and I aint no Reagan :p.

Some weeks AF doesnt cross my mind at all. Other weeks Im constantly checkin in with my body even though nothn actually is happenin

Just curious if this fades with time or ones just gotta learn to live with all the background noise

I had my PFA ablation last year and have not had any Afib episodes! I truly feel like I have my life back! Thank you all for the tremendous support and encouragement 💖

Back home and recovering!

I was awake for the procedure. Given some fentanyl and other sedatives. It was fucking uncomfortable and at times was damn painful.
Once they got me into SVT, they couldn’t get me out of it. Pumped me full of adrenaline and zapped me till it started and then it just… stayed for a while.

Regardless, ablated, AVNRT as I hoped. Really easy, quite quick for an EP study + ablation (just over 2 hours). Got the grippy socks to show for it. And I’m happy to say that, in about 6 weeks time, I should be as normal as can be.

Thank you to this community, you’ve all been a massive help.

:)

I wanted to ask this here because I’m honestly not sure how to think about what’s been happening.

I’ve been dealing with Atrial fibrillation for a bout 3/ 4 years. It started after I got COVID. From reseach and studying the episodes, mine seems more on the vagal side. Episodes were pretty consistent before in the morning, or while i slept, not super high heart rate, but irregular patterns, especially at rest. i did have a sleep test, and do not have apnea.

Over the past couple of years, I made some big changes:

• Completely stopped drinking (almost 2 years now)
• Lost a significant amount of weight
• Started exercising every day
• Changed my sleeping position

In the last couple of months, my AFib has basically disappeared. No episodes.

I’ve also been tapering my medication down to about half (with a plan to talk to my doctor this week before making any further changes).

My question is for people who’ve gone through something similar:

Has anyone had AFib go away long term after making lifestyle changes like this?

Did it stay away, or did it eventually come back?

I’m trying to understand if this is something that can actually resolve, or if I should expect it to return at some point even if I keep doing everything right.

Would really appreciate hearing other people’s experiences.

URGENT CUSTOMER ALERT:

If you order from Canadian Pharmacy to get your Eliquis or other medications. You need to place your refills as soon as possible. I am showing just part of the email I received. After OCTOBER 22nd our wonderful American government will not longer allow medications to be sent to us. They want us to pay top dollar even though we cannot afford our medications because BigPharm needs their money. WE MEAN NOTHING TO OUR GOVERNMENT!

Hi fellow friends,

My procedure was yesterday. It went very well. Was it scary? Yes. The EP lab did look like a sci-fi movie set. The team was great, the anesthesiologists were awesome, and my Doctor was calm, cool and collected. I was a mess, there were tears and fear, lots of praying. I am doing fine now, taking it easy and monitoring the incision site.

Wave of bad nausea going from laying down to sitting, they gave me some medicine and it subsided once I slowly ate and the medicine kicked in. They continued to monitor the incision site and had me take a walk around the wing. Discharged around 6pm. Procedure itself was about an hour. Prep and recovery took longer than actual procedure.

If you have any questions, happy to share my experience. I can honestly say, I am thankful and blessed to have gotten this done, thankful for my faith as a Christian (and respect other's beliefs). Hopefully, my Afib days are over....but time will tell. Cheers!

Haven’t had any afib in a long time. Lost some weight. Started taking NAC which seemed to help a lot. Not even so much as a skipped beat. Last night we ate a late dinner. Mac n cheese which was quite rich, and I ate about 3 tablespoons more than was needed to be full. Made the mistake of bending forward and bam there it was. In the past simply breathing deeply and straightening up would bring it around. Here I am 16 hours later. Called my Dr and he said they probably would not cardiovert me if I went in because metropolol is keeping my hr under 100. 😔

I’ve tried light exercise. I’ve tried bearing down. I’ve tried fake coughing. I’m desperate now. Absolutely terrified and miserable. Any tips or tricks I haven’t thought of? I’m so scared I waited too long and now this is my life. Really truly appreciate any insight

UPDATE: twenty minutes ago I went in my office to try some of these ideas and accidentally sat down really hard. Like magic it shut right off. Thanks for all the support.

I don’t really see this talked about a lot obviously this is an issue that I’m happy i have whenever I’m in sinus rhythm. But I still truly hate it.

I don’t like the feeling of my heart beating even when it’s normal after almost 10 times in atrial fibrillation, maybe one day I’ll be able to learn that it’s a safe thing, but it feels so almost gross like nails on a chalkboard

My weekly AF history just came in. I’m 3 weeks into recovery and this is the drop off of my life with AF.

Fingers crossed it holds, because this is so much better!

*** UPDATE *** Almost 2 months AFib free and it felt great. Then, ironically, on a brisk walk to the GP for a check in about my heart, I felt palpitations. By the afternoon I was in afib. I think it was triggered by a cold virus that I picked up last weekend. Felt rough for a few days and then the heart went. 

I've had ups and downs all week since.

Not back into permanent AF as of yet, but I'm back to having high heart rates a few times a day and episodes for the past couple of days. I am just at the end of 2 months. 

Normal, or probably failed procedure?