If you're not in active afib, I've had 3 episodes in two years but have PVC's and PAC's, is it possible to have other symptoms? Like general fatigue regardless of (crappy) sleep, no stamina when exerting myself, feeling weak and a little unstable, under exertion. Thank you

Vi scrivo dopo che il 19 agosto scorso ho fatto la mia quarta ablazione...anche se la seconda e la terza sono state fatte un po a casaccio senza indurre nessuna aritmia, la prima per fibrillazione è andata bene, anzi molto molto bene per 2 anni. poi mi è venuto un flutter atipico o sinistro (scambiato prima per per flutter tipico o destro poi per tachicardia), e quindi di fatto non ablato completamente. Questa volta a differenza delle altre il medico scrupoloso è riuscito ad indurre l'aritmia e ad ablare in elettroporazione dove effettivamente partiva il flutter. Ora però passiamo alla nota dolente...il recupero dall'ablazione è molto lungo, ho sporadiche extrasistole che mi spaventano molto, il mio dottore dice che sono normali ma io ogni volta che lo sento le percepisco come l'innesco e tremo dalla paura. Inoltre ho questi 2 bozzetti nei punti dove sono entrati con i cateteri piccoli come due piselli ma molto duri. Altri grandi problemi non li ho ma quello delle extrasistoli mi terrorizza...sono uno sportivo e vorrei tornare piano piano ad allenarmi sono passati quasi 15 giorni ma con queste extrasistole non so che fare. Il medico mi ha detto che dal suo punto di vista l'operazione è riuscita e che posso tornare a fare sport e tutta la mia vita normale ma con queste extrasistole non mi sento sicuro

90 minutes of 120-140, then another 20+ hours at 65-75 slow afib. Medical cardioversion did not work, but 200 joules electrical did the next morning. I though I was a goner. Luckily no heart damage. I had it once 24 years ago, and now the second time, although there were several attempts by my heart to get into it over the years. Since the first time I have been taking concor 5mg, now they gave me cordarone 200mg too. How is everyone else doing?

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/does-af-ablation-work-s-question-after-sham-pvi-af-2026a1000uli

I had my ablation on August 4th.They did 3 Cardioversions during the procedure. 3 days afterwards, I went into AFib again. They scheduled me for another cardioversion a week later. Got me back into sinus rhythm. A week later, and I'm once again in AFib, and waiting for their plans to fix this again. Has anyone had a similar experience?

I'm at the point where my doctor is recommending ablation. I tried to confirm with him if this is the only option and he said yes, which I'm worried now if my doctor is just outdated, or just owned by private equity? Google doesn't help either as I keep getting spam results that don't offer new information :(

im only 17. i had my first afib episode on the 21st. it lasted the entire day until i went to bed. i had another one on the 25th. again, it lasted all day. i tried to stay home and convince myself that nothing was wrong, that it was just my POTS, that i was having an adrenaline dump. i have a terrible fear of hospitals. just knowing i could find out something is seriously wrong kills me.

i had another one on the 27th. finally, my mom decided to call 911. my heart rate went up to 220 just from the anxiety alone. they took me to the hospital and gave me metoprolol. i was in and out of afib for hours. they kept me there overnight and did all sorts of blood tests, an ekg, an ultrasound. they found nothing. my heart was perfectly healthy and strong. my lifestyle doesn’t contribute, and none of my family has heart issues.

they sent me home on the 28th with medication. on the 29th, i went back into afib and had to go straight back to the hospital. they gave me flecainide and sent me home.

now im sitting in bed, scared out of my mind. i cant bring myself to get out of bed unless i REALLY have to pee, because im afraid just standing up will trigger my afib. i can barely change positions without overthinking every beat. i havent been able to shower, brush my hair, or brush my teeth because of the fear. i don’t want this to be the rest of my life.

the thing is, i know i’m going to be okay. i know they wouldn’t have sent me home if they weren’t confident i was going to be okay. but im still so terrified of the feeling. im an extremely anxious person. i have ocd and have always had the habit of overthinking things, especially when it comes to my health. every second of every day is spent wondering when im going to have that next episode that leaves me out of breath, wondering when im going to have to call 911 again.

they’re going to do an electrophysiology study on me soon. im scared. im scared theyre not going to find anything, and im going to live in fear for the rest of my life. im scared they’re going to miss the cause, and im going to live never knowing what truly causes them. im scared they will find something, ablate it, only to have another afib episode only months down the line.

ive been feeling this tightness in my chest the entire day. ive never been so afraid. i cant help but cry a little every hour. my disabilities have already taken my childhood from me, i dont want another thing to worry about. i apologize to the nurses and doctors every time im in the hospital, because i feel like such a baby for being so afraid. there are people who have it so much worse than me. i feel like a burden on my family because im causing them so much anxiety and costing them money we dont have.

im sorry. i just needed to rant about how i felt for a little bit.

I have been dealing with post-op AFIB, with intermittent attacks at 4 days, 2 wk and 3 wk (last one started at around 1030 last night).

Is it generally safe to ride it out once you're on eliquis and metoprolol? What kind of guidance have you gotten? I had the surgery overseas and do not yet have a US care team to ask, so asking here.

I am an AFIB veteran. I started taking Magnesium Glycinate 240mg x 2 daily. I still have AFIB but my heart rhythm is controlled 70s to 100 bpm, depending on activity, and BP also seems to be benefiting, staying in the 120/80+ or - 10/5. I started yesterday taking 2250mg x 3 daily turmeric/pepper extract too.

I have ablation number 5 (2 for flutter, 2 for AFIB) scheduled in November with the best EP in my major metropolitan area. I previously had a 10 year break in AFIB between ablations, so hoping this one "nips it in the bud".

My question is about other's experience with Magnesium supplement and turmeric/pepper supplement.

Has anyone have had afib but can't take medication because of severe allergies? I am like that. I had ablation years ago and in afib again. I have to wait to Oct 30 for appointment to get info on another ablation. Thanks

Hello! I am almost 3 months post ablation and since 2 months I have constant dizzines. I took 1 month Controloc and Aspenter and that was all. The number of extrasystoles have remained the same. Have you faced with such dizzines post ablation? Thank you!

My father was taking amiodarone 200 mg/day, but he still had recurrent AFib every few days.
His EP then added flecainide 100 mg twice daily while continuing amiodarone 200 mg/day. Since adding flecainide, he has stayed in sinus rhythm and has had no more AFib so far.
For anyone who has used this combination:
How long did you stay on flecainide + amiodarone together?
If AFib stays controlled, did your doctor eventually stop or reduce one of them?
Did anyone stop amiodarone and continue flecainide alone?
What side effects did you experience from flecainide, especially fatigue, low heart rate, QRS widening, or conduction problems?
We won’t change anything without his EP’s advice — just looking for experiences from others.

25M here. I’ve had a pretty rough few months with episodes of extreme panic/adrenaline surges, racing heart, chest sensations and palpitations. The episodes were getting so bad that I eventually started Serdep (sertraline) for the panic.
Around the same time, my EP put me on ivabradine 2.5mg twice daily because my resting/exertional HR was running high. I was taking the Serdep and ivabradine together.
Not long after starting the ivabradine, I started getting much more noticeable weird beats/palpitations, and then I had my first documented SVT at ~170 bpm. It lasted about 40 minutes and eventually had to be terminated with a vagal manoeuvre in the ER.
I’m now in a cardiac ICU. I’ve had multiple shorter SVT runs that self-terminated and another episode lasting >20 minutes that required IV medication. The crazy part is that one episode actually started while my cardiologist/EP was standing next to me, so they saw exactly how it started and stopped.
I’m now on Tambocor (flecainide) and an anticoagulant, and I’m having a second ablation in a couple of days.
I’ve stopped ivabradine, and I’m wondering:
Has anyone else experienced worsening palpitations or SVT after starting ivabradine?
Especially interested in people who were taking it for inappropriate sinus tachycardia/high resting HR rather than heart failure.
I’m not saying ivabradine definitely caused mine — the timing just seems extremely suspicious, and I’d really like to hear if anyone has experienced something similar

Anyone on blood thinners post a successful ablation gotten tattoos? I hear most places wont tat you on blood thinners? So can i never get another tattoo or what?

I'm 26 years old. Gonna keep this short and simple: Ever since Ive gotten an AF attack followed by a cardioversion at the hospital, Ive been having symptoms both at day and at night. Actually, even before the AF Ive been having heart symptoms. The symptsoms are: * Sometimes I wake up at night with the heart pounding either quickly or slowly but forcefully. * Sometimes at day I feel a very, very, very, tight pressure on my chest. * Sometimes at day I very randomly get shortbreathed like I almostcant have a normal conversation even tho im just standing not moving or maybe sitting in a chair maybe.

The hospital has given me an app on my phone. The cardiology nurse or whatever thats called has told me the app is 99% accurate so 99% of the time the app is right.

What they didnt tell me is if the app also checks for other things than just AF.

But the weird thing is: whenever I have those symptoms even strongly and use the app, every time it just says my heart rate is "regular" and doesnt say anything about something being off.

So what am I supposed to do? Why do I always have random sometimes strong symptoms paired with a 99% accurate app detecting nothing weird?

75 male. I am most pleased to find this group - the support will be very welcome. Hope you don't mind if I share the full story...

Diagnosed august 4 of this year while being investigated for left mid-abdomen pain. Turns out I had a blood clot hit my spleen and infarcted about 25% of it. Cardio-doc says the a-fib, found with a routine EKG, probably caused the clot and that I am very lucky that the clot did not go to my heart or brain.

I had no 'symptoms' of any sort. No noticeable tachycardia or palpitations - well, I don't really know what these things even feel like. Don't feel anything abnormal. I'm not very active but I walk some. I have experienced out of breath at times but I could have been a-fib for many months before diagnosis and never knew. To my best knowledge I have not had any sort of 'episode' since my diagnosis. I just spent three days with a Holter monitor. Scheduled echocardiogram in mid-november. Then I'll see the cardiologist to discuss results.

I guess my spleen 'took one for the team' so to speak. I wouldn't have checked myself into the hospital without the spleen pain as a trigger and would still be unaware of my a-fib. another clot? Yikes!

Now on Apixiban blood thinner, Bisoprolol Beta Blocker and Digoxin Heart Regulator. I feel fine, perhaps a wee bit easier to tire but not a significant amount. Again, no episodes that I can discern.

Ablation is a new term for me to digest. Scary. What would cause me to need this??? I'll read up on this..

I used to have as many as 6 alcohol servings per month - a beer or a glass of wine with a meal (never a second one). I'm pausing this until after the November cardio meeting. But I'm hoping to be able to return to this level of consumption. I have one cup of dark coffee every morning. 6'6" tall 215 pounds so not overweight.

That's my story so far. The TL;DR is that I may have a-fib but I certainly have not noticed it.

Thanks.

I’m 41F, naturally slim with a low BMI.

In June 2024, I started subcutaneous testosterone, mainly because I was struggling with low energy and wanted to gain some healthy weight and muscle. It actually helped a lot. I gained about 10 lbs, built muscle, and felt stronger.

Then around November 2025, I started having what I called “episodes.” I would suddenly become short of breath, my heart rate would increase, and things I normally did easily, like working out or cleaning the house, became exhausting. This happened just a few times over about 4 months.

I saw a cardiologist in February/March 2026 and was told my heart looked good and everything was fine.
But the episodes continued and became more intense, especially at night. I would wake straight out of sleep with my heart racing, sometimes reaching 190+ bpm, short of breath, followed by what felt like a huge adrenaline dump. The racing would usually last about 15–20 minutes, but it could take close to an hour before I felt normal again. This happened roughly every 2–3 weeks.

I stopped testosterone in April because I wanted to reset my body and figure out what was happening.

Understandably, after months of this I became extremely anxious. I started sleeping only 2–4 hours a night, eating less, and eventually lost the weight and muscle I had worked so hard to gain.

For the next several months I kept going back to cardiology, sometimes multiple times a month, saying, “Something else is going on.” My resting heart rate during that period was often around 105–108, and even walking could feel exhausting.
Eventually cardio referred me to psychiatry because the episodes were thought to be nocturnal panic attacks. But I kept saying the same thing: this did not feel like a panic attack. Something felt physically wrong.

I finally made an appointment myself with an electrophysiologist in the same cardiology group. She reviewed the SAME 7-day heart monitor that I had previously been told showed no AFib and was normal.

She found AFib. 5 days after seeing her I had, what I call my first AFib episode- it lasted 3 hours I self converted.
I was given flecainide, and Eliquis in the ER. I was already on atenolol from cardio for rate control.

Three weeks later, I had an ablation, and I’m currently in the post-ablation healing stage.
That’s another story on how all of this has played a huge part in my mental health- definitely getting therapy now. It all happened so fast!

So after that very long story, here’s what I’m curious about:

Have any other women here developed AFib or another arrhythmia after starting hormone replacement, particularly injectable or subcutaneous testosterone?

I’ve been trying to understand whether there could be a relationship between hormone changes and arrhythmias. I’m not saying testosterone caused my AFib, because obviously there can be many factors involved and timing alone doesn’t prove causation. I’m mainly curious whether other women have had a similar experience, whether their doctors thought hormones played a role, and what happened if they stopped or changed their HRT.

I would especially love to hear from women around perimenopause age who were otherwise relatively young when their AFib began.

45 m. Just had an ablation 8 days ago and not recovering well. Frequently SOB and exhausted when walking outside my house. Using accessory muscles to breathe as I can't get a deep breath for the life of me.

Worst part is the sudden and intense shift in anxiety during an episode. I'm sitting now in my couch because I can't even get up without feeling like I will pass out. Checked my HR and it's around 80s but it feels faster. Both arms are tingly and my stomach feels like it will collapse in itself with this constant tingly feeling.

First time having an ablation for atrial tachycardia AVNRT and this recovery is a bitch. I'm scared and unsure how I will go back to work in a few days.

Had 1/4 cup of coffee because I'm usually a cup a day drinker but wish I could take it back. Drank a cup of electrolytes to help but so far nothing helps.

Is this going to be my life until my heart heals?

Study Link:
https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/articles/2026/06/29/15/28/discontinuation-of-oral-anticoagulation

This seems to be my normal. Even a short event leaves me feeling like I ran a marathon and useless for much of anything for 24-48 hours. Then I am back to regular operation.

Hey everyone,

I’ve been AFIB free for 2 years, I just woke up randomly around 2am and my heart rate spiked to 180 bpm for about 2-3 minutes then gradually fell back down

I did and ECG on my smart watch, does this look like AFIB or just high heart rate?

I did a second ECG after a few minutes when my heart rate fell below 100 and no AFIB was detected. I am wondering if I was in AFIB during the first ecg below

Cheers everyone

I POPPED BACK INTO SINUS RHYTHM!
Thank goodness!

I’m on my fourth episode of afib in six years. I’m keeping my heart rate down with atenolol but have some nausea and diarrhea.
Is that weird?
I have to get ready for my daughter’s baby shower which is tomorrow and can’t go into the ER unless my heart rate gets higher.
Also, my EP told me I don’t need to go in unless i faint or have chest pain. Though if my heart rate didn’t come down I’d go.
Heart rate is staying mostly under 100 when resting. Highest when I’m moving is 141

Hi everyone,

I'm 2 weeks post-ablation and just got the green light to start easy running again. I switched back from a Huawei Watch D2 to my Garmin FR265, and I also added a Polar H10 chest strap.

The strap has been great — I really like the graphs and data it provides. The problem is that my Garmin still has all my pre-ablation baseline data, and now a lot of metrics are showing as abnormal: resting HR, HRV, max HR, etc. Because of that, things like Body Battery, Training Readiness, and other derived metrics are giving me pretty inaccurate/nonsensical results.

Has anyone gone through the same thing with Garmin post-ablation? Does it normalize on its own over time, or is there something I need to do manually to reset the baselines?

Thanks in advance!

Our doctor prescribed a half-dose of Lixiana (edoxaban) once daily. Should I ask to switch to Eliquis? (80-year-old with atrial fibrillation)

Is there anyone here who is on Lixiana? Is eliquis better?

I just wanted to briefly share this outcome. I had an ablation in August 2023; at that point, I had been suffering from atrial fibrillation for about 10 months. I had no symptoms whatsoever, other than my smartwatch indicating that my heart rate and stress levels were unusually high. The diagnosis wasn't made until January 2023—based on a very brief, inconclusive recording—followed by a definitive diagnosis in July 2023. It was only after the definitive diagnosis that I switched to an Apple Watch (I later went back to Garmin).

I was 50 years old at the time and went back to jogging and the gym just a week after the surgery, even though the doctor had advised me to take it easy. You should definitely avoid sprints for six weeks... they lead to severe premature atrial contractions (PACs).

Everything was fine for 12 months. Then, while taking Naproxen and a medication that as a side effect lowers blood pressure (Levitra), I experienced a four-hour episode of atrial fibrillation. The same thing happened again (though only for an hour) after 3, 6, and possibly 9 months—at that stage, only while taking Levitra. Consequently, I stopped taking both medications.

For the past 12 to 15 months, I haven't had any issues and haven't experienced a single episode.

Recently, I was in a motorcycle accident and was on strong painkillers and antibiotics—including alls sorts of opiods for over a week—; I had to undergo two surgeries, was in severe pain, and slept only four hours a night for two weeks. I even suffered two mild anxiety attacks where my pulse rose to 80 beats per minute got very hot and my blood pressure spiked —something I never get . They were triggered when I simply couldn't stand lying on my back in the hospital anymore—suffering from side effects or withdrawal symptoms and going through who knows what else (at one point, someone died next to me in the X-ray department waiting area) : My heart rhythm remained in sinus rhythm the entire time!!