I remember when I first noticed it… a fluttering sensation in my chest and a not-unpleasant, light-headed giddiness. I looked over at my lovely, smiling wife of 43 years and thought: “Ahhh. How about that? She’s still got it“.
Then, after a minute or so, as beads appeared on my shaven head, I had second, less rosy, thoughts… “Hmmm. What if something is wrong?“ I felt fine… apart from those damn sweats.
Thankfully, my lovely wife is a nurse. Hence, she is super-practical and matter-of-fact on demand. Next thing I know – no arguments – I am lying down, blood pressure machine attached to my arm while she monitors my pulse, takes my blood sats, and applies a stethoscope to my chest.
I had it confirmed later by doctors after an electrocardiogram (ECG) and the use of a Holter monitor, but my better half picked it at the time …. I had atrial fibrillation, also known as AF or AFib.
It turns out I had probably had AF for quite a few years but had never noticed it before. Never felt a flutter. I felt OK at the time, apart from having that bout of the sweats, and have felt fine each time I have had a subsequent episode of it, but AF falls into the theme of my occasional lifestyle columns under the banner of Stayin’ Alive (because it beats the alternative): There are some silent killers out there.
Thus far, I have discussed hypertension and sleep apnea in these articles. AF sits with them because it puts you at risk of blood clots, increasing the risk of stroke, heart failure and other cardiac complications.
So, the disclaimer to start: I am a journalist, not a doctor, but I know what I am talking about. However, if you suspect you might have what I have, see your doctor ASAP, and don’t take my word for it.
OK, so what is AF? It is an irregular and often very rapid heart rhythm, AKA, an arrhythmia. If your normal heartbeat is like a rock song – steady 4-4 time – you move into jazz-fusion territory with AF. Your heart’s upper chambers, the atria, beat chaotically and out of sync with your lower chambers, your ventricles. Some people get shortness of breath and dizziness and the feeling that their heart if pounding out of their chest. Others, like me, can be blissfully unaware that their ticker is doing its best Buddy Rich impression.
So, what can be done to fix you? AF treatments may include medicines, therapy to shock the heart back to regular rhythm and procedures to fix faulty heart signals. First cab off the rank is generally the drug route… I was quickly put on a blood thinner called apixaban to lessen the risk of blood clots. Other blood thinners include warfarin and rivaroxaban.
For more severe cases, other treatments may include cardioversion to restore a normal rhythm, catheter ablation to fix the source of the problem, or a pacemaker. Treatment depends on a person’s symptoms, risk factors, and other health conditions. Lifestyle changes are also recommended. Yes… groan.
Electrical cardioversion involves an electric shock to reset the heart’s rhythm. It is done under general anesthesia. Pharmacological cardioversion uses medication to restore rhythm. A catheter ablation is a minimally invasive procedure where catheters are guided to the heart to “burn“ or “freeze“ the heart tissue causing the irregular rhythm.
Lifestyle changes such as managing weight, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol, and managing other conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes can also help.
So, AF is not necessarily a life-changer – unless you count the annoyance of having to take apixaban twice a day like me – but it is not something you should take lightly. Since I was diagnosed, I have cut down on alcohol, lost 10 kilos, keep my blood pressure and cholesterol well down and do all I can to avoid diabetes.
Who knows… at this rate, I might make my wife’s heart flutter?
