I will be going for an ultrasound of my heart to see if there is any damage. It rained last night but I slept through it, I like the sound of rain. Heavy fog this morning but clearing off. Night time temperatures all below freezing now. Winter is coming. It is deceiving with the silent electric heat. Well it has to come or there can be no spring.
I'm still 1 because of age, just and being male. I'll talk to my doctor. Aspirin was recommended but may not be enough. I know there is an operation to repair this but don't know it's success rate.
Aspirin (ASA) does work as a blood thinner (anti-coagulant) as well as an anti-inflammatory. The choice of which anti-coagulant to use when someone has afib depends on certain pre-existing factors or conditions that the patient has. We use something called the CHADS2 Score. The higher the patient's CHADS2 score, the higher the patient's risk for developing a blood clot and having a stroke. Those with low CHADS2 scores (0 or 1) can be managed with ASA. People with a CHADS2 of 2 or more need to take a stronger anti-coagulant (e.g. Coumadin, Eliquis, Pradax, Xarelto).
Sometimes home blood pressure monitors will give you an idea that something might be wrong. When the heart beat is VERY irregular (as is the case with afib) and fast, home BP monitors are not really able to get an accurate reading...or they will get readings that vary greatly over a few minutes. They will likely also show the heart rate being very fast.
I have seen people that have absolutely no idea that they have afib...and some of them have heart rates over 150 bpm when just sitting there. Other people are very aware of going into afib. These are the people that present to the ER where medications and/or cardioversion are used to get them back into "normal" rhythm.
Yes the problem arises when blood doesn't get removed from the heart and clots. I'm using aspirin because it is also an anti inflammatory. A lot of times A fib just feels like you have overworked and are tired. It shows somewhat on a monitor, but if you suspect it at all it should be checked by the hospital. I may have had it for years.
Some people don't know they've gone into afib. Other people feel it as soon as it starts. They can feel their heart racing, feel palpitations, feel dizzy, short of breath, tired, or just generally unwell.
The problems occur when a person doesn't know they're in afib because it can increase your risk of having a stroke if you are not on the correct medications. When the blood doesn't pump smoothly through the heart, clots can form. If those clots leave the heart and travel to the brain, a stroke occurs. Blood thinners like Coumadin, Eliques, Pradaxa, and even Aspirin help decrease this risk.
When you go into A fib you pump less blood so have less oxygen so you gasp. You pass out for a second and come too right away gasping. Most meters can't record fib so if it says 150 it could be much higher. But they usually have a skip detecter. A white heart that flashes and points to the number. bp can be very low 65/40.
Tonight I have 118/78 p 84. Beta blocker will lower pulse but raise BP as it does it.
My Doctor figures I've had this more than six month.
Cardio, Just raised Beta blocker from 25-37.25 BID. It worked.
Davit
PS I need to lose some more weight and get cholesterol checked.
