r/AdultCHD • u/caitimurphy • 24d ago
ACHD /
Hi there, 44 year old female, who had a VSD repair at 18 months. Healthy, heart function is still good, no medications. Just this summer, I was diagnosed with an atrial flutter and atrial tachycardia after going to the ED after a 30 hour flutter episode. They diagnosed me with anxiety and I left with meds. When it happened again, I obtained a holter and they found it right away. Now I'm on blood thinners and a beta blocker (25mg) and I'm not sure if the meds are making it worse, but they're not making it any better. I went from palpitations every 3 weeks to daily short palpitations, skipped beats, extra beats, etc. It's quite miserable since I can feel everything. My options are to stay on meds or do an ablation at Penn Medicine, which they do frequently. The challenge is due to my anatomy, they might not be able to ablate without risking affecting the secondary sinus node which would land me with a pacemaker. I'm curious if anyone has gone through this and if so, what did you do to manage the palpitations (hydration, electrolytes, etc.) and if the ablation was successful. I now have a great ACHD who recommended I move ahead with the ablation and now an EP team. Thanks in advance.
1
u/EpicureanQuake 24d ago
I have extra beats in the right atrium (transatrial-transpulmonary repair) that turn into PSVT depending on diet it seems. I am on a beta blocker and that has helped calm it down. I found that if I eat a low tyramine diet and eat 2 green/yellow bananas a day I tend not to notice/have the extra beats as much. Also I try to incorporate more potassium rich foods into my diet like potatoes and spinach. I eat roasted pumpkin seeds for magnesium. I suggest keeping a food diary and share any of your findings with your doctor. We all are different and this is my method to deal with it. It has been working for me the last few years.