I am interested in hearing what other individual's afib symptoms feel like to them and how they determine if they are truly having afib episodes...descriptive and time frames. Thanks in advance!
Afib Symptoms : I am interested in... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Afib Symptoms
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REITIRED
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I was never in any doubt as I was ultra aware of what my heart was doing but symptoms were adrenaline rush followed by palpitations, very high HR -180+ weakness, breathlessness, pre-syncope, very low BP resulting in syncope unless I remained prone for the duration.
Many people are completely unaware of anything going on & only know they have AF when pulse taken in screening or ECG.
Those are the 2 extremes & there will be everything in between. Many people also suffer gastric issues with AF, especially if AF is Vagal AF.
ECG is the only way of confirming AF though.
What are your symptoms, if any?
I had an episode in the er when dehydrated from a 2 week stomach flu. Cardiologist put me on eliquis and an antiarrythmic drug. Periodically I feel ectopic beats but hrate is normal and in what I believe sinus rhythm. I'm just confused...I'll be seeing Dr next week for follow up on bloodwork...my cholesterol was a bit high but under 200 now. Also having another echo Monday as Dr couldn't find my original results on his computer (which was within normal limits in March)... go figure...confused and frustrated!
The only way to really know is by ECG. Many of us have a mobile device called a Kardia which enables you to take your on ECG which will tell you if you go into AF & will show ectopics. AF & Ectopics can feel similar.
Maybe worth investing?
When my AF was paroxysmal, coming out of the blue for no reason and lasting for different lengths of time - 4 - 36hrs. It was violent and hideous and felt like a box of angry frogs leaping around in my chest. It used to scare me to death and make me feel exhausted and tearful. It would gradually wind down and stop. It often stopped when I was asleep at night.
Now that it's persistent, all the time, I barely notice it at all. It's AFing away in there but gently so that I just carry on with my day. Occasionally it becomes a little stronger for a short period, but that just means I am aware of my wonky pulse a bit more.
I was really scared when I just got the lone episodes that one day it would become persistent. And then it happened and I'm far better off like this. I've had 1 cardio version in hospital after about a year of persistent AF and it worked and held for at least 2 weeks (when it was checked by ECG). But some time later I needed another ECG for some reason and that showed back in AF. I had not noticed to revert.
I hope that's helpful.
Hi, you sound just like mine. What medication are you on ?
And do you manage to carry on your day to day business as normal or do you have to pace yourself at all ?
Thanks I’m due to see cardiologist beginning Sept, I’ve had echocardiogram.
Hi, I just take Apixaban for anticoagulation and 2.5mg Nebivolol beta blocker. I should perhaps take more of the beta blocker as my resting heart rate is in the 90's, but I don't want to be artificially slowed down. I was on Bisoprolol but didn't like it.
I don't think the condition slows me down. I'm very sub-par but that's because I'm very hypothyroid and I don't respond well to thyroxine, the only thing the NHS will give me.
It's been an 8 year struggle and will have made the AF worse. I need T3 but have to buy it, which involves a private endocrinologist and private prescriptions. I'm still titrating my dose upwards.
Everyone freaks out about T3 and says "if you take too much you will end up with AF". Well you also get AF if you don't have enough T3 and I've been in that position for a long time. The cardiologist freaked out when I first saw him because I was taking a tiny amount of T3. He blamed me! He knew nothing about it at all. He made me promise to stop it and thus put me back by a year in my attempts to get well. He's just left. But I don't care what the next one says, I need T3 and I seem to need plenty of it and that's what I'm going to get. EP's seem to understand this much more than cardiologists. Thyroid treatment in this country is terrible. I could do without fighting the cardiologist over it too.
Thankyou for your reply I’m on Levothyroxine 100mcg
I also take Apixaban, 10mg Bisoprolol and 62.5mcg Digoxin
I’m still trying to get myself back to normal. I’m lucky at the min as I can work from home. I haven’t actually tried a long walk or anything like that
My HR fluctuates a lot so am a bit wary of doing to much at the min, but must start soon.
I’m pretty much a symptomatic although have very occasional bouts of feeling it in my throat.
My goodness 10mg of Bisoprolol and Digoxin?! Strewth. That's a lot. That would floor me. I was on Digoxin when I first went persistent. But after the cardioversion they told me to stop it, so that was one gone.
I love the "box of angry frogs" description; mine's like a squirrel or fish flopping around.
I don't know when I'm in Afib however I'm very aware of and very symptomatic with my high number of daily ectopics and svt.
Are you on meds?
I'm on 2.5 Bisoprolol but I'm hoping my Cardiologist will suggest trying something else when I see him next week.
I'm surprised no blood thinner as that's the first thing they put me on...then the antiarrythmic as well. I have had no side effects ...hopefully will not. It is hard to wrap my thinking around this new mess 🤷♀️😳
My husband found out he had AFib on ECG before a knee replacement. He doesn't feel anything but keeps track with kardia mobile device. He is on atenenol and xaralto.
IT seems like it affects people differently. I've had 4 AFIB attacks over an 8 year period and I know when it is happening. I feel a pounding in my chest that is impossible to ignore. My main form of discomfort is the mental anguish associated with trying to get it under control. Other than that there is no weakness, pain, but there is a barely noticeable shortness of breath.
My husband has no attacks as such, when he is tired he rests. He tries to do any jobs in the morning as he gets tired later, it does not seem to worry him. I am the worrier, but he is on Warfarin, the more modern drug is not suitable. Apart from blood tests he has no problem..
I can totally relate to your description,,,,same for me,,,about 4-5 bouts actively in the past 5 years,,,,trips to the ER,,,only the 1st time was I on a cardizem drip for 5 days to convert to normal,,,,the other events just ended on their own after a few hours,,,,scary none the less! I consider myself fortunate,,,,it could be so much worse!
Hi Reitired.
You look to young for that from your picture 
For me at the moment shortness of breath is a (the) main one. Check your pulse too which can often give a good idea about afib. You can feel really drained as well - not the best of feelings. Having a feeling of being lethargic is another - no energy at all.
Good luck
Paul
I woke up with a racing heart just out of the blue it was awful. About 5am so got up and tried deep breathing plus ice water on face but it carried on for a good few hours. I felt dreadful like I had an adrenaline shot, like a cold sweat and clammy with nausea. It eventually calmed down but I could actually feel my heart pumping fast over 100 which was so uncomfortable. The doctor has suggested an event recorder but I don’t know whether it’s a one off as I’ve only had it twice before in the last couple of months. I’m 68.
"It eventually calmed down but I could actually feel my heart pumping fast over 100 which was so uncomfortable"
I'm with you on that one !
Paul
I was asymptomatic , my only symptom was 5 to 8 secs of fluttery feeling in my upper chest then it disappeared. But when i checked my pulse manually i coukd not tell what it was doing, but put on my garmin cheststrap and I am doing 165bpm sat down.
"I am doing 165bpm sat down"
Ouch Rob. To high for my liking ! Speak to a medic if it's still like that.
Paul
I could not tell, no pain no breathlessness , i have been running at 243 and i could not tell then either apart from the Garmin ( I did stop until. It reduced.) I used to go running to get out of Afib and back to NSR. Unfortunately that trick stopped working after 20 months. We are all different.
Very true Rob - we are all different. Your rate sounds high to me though (certainly at rest). Keep your eye on it
Paul
Its sorted - I had an ablation 3.5 years ago, not had it since🤞
That's an easy one, I've been in permanent AFib for about 6 months, feel awful all the time...!!! Did have six days of sheer bliss following a Cardioversion but alas it didn't last...... I am getting used to it though, I have a perception of feeling better now than I did last week and so on.... but the symptoms stay the same....
I think many people's symptoms are amplified, or even caused, more by their stress response than the AF itself. In my case, the symptoms of brain fog, weariness and general malaise have been getting progressively worse over the years, as has the length of each bout.
As to determining if it is AF, the best way is to actually listen to your heart (with a stethoscope?) or get someone else to do so. You can easily hear the lack of rhythm. Feeling your pulse is somewhat less effective, as not all beats of the heart will result in an actual pulse of higher pressure, if it beats while empty. Nevertheless, the lack of rhythm can be detected if you are careful. The rate cannot be determined that way, both because of the lack of rhythm and also because of the missing pulses as above.
The best way is to own the right tech. Both high end smart watches with an ECG function, and devices like the Kardia, will interface to a smart phone and let you take a 2 lead ECG which is a definitive result as you can see the lack of rhythm easily, even if you cannot interpret any other things a cardiologist would see. It will also give you an accurate rate which can be scarily high.
Hi I'm the 'box of frogs in the chest' kind of gal. Sometimes it feels life a baby sitting on my chest. I get exhausted and 'puffy' (out of breath doing anything). I feel every heartbeat, there is no way I would not know. The first time it happened it felt like my heart was literally trying to force it's way out of my chest now it rumbles around in there like a lost soul or box of frogs (pinched that from another respondent but says it all) . We are all so different but uniquely wonderful!,🌻
I definitely know when I have an episode. I become giddy then a pain shoots up my arm into my neck and jaw. My heart beats rapidly and I have to sit because I feel so awful. My breathing becomes rapid too. If I try to do anything slightly strenuous I get really breathless. My episodes last about a day and a half and I have them every 7 to 10 days. I am on medication, the usual ones and of course a blood thinner. So this is me, hope you don’t experience it so bad.
I had the arm shooting thing! Very scary. Went to GP and they said "what do you expect me to do about it?" They didn't know what it was and neither did I.
Do you get the same symptoms with every episode? I do.Like you it is no good going to the doctors because all you get is a blank stare. It could be the body coping with the stress of what’s happening with the heart. Just a guess.
No, I tend to get different symptoms, but with an intense weakness being common and sudden onset breathlessness if walking. I actually hadn't realised that all these odd events were likely to be Afib but have learnt a lot in the last few days from this forum - even the frequent weeing I've found puzzling can be a symptom apparently. Complicated because I also have chronic intractable migraine so there can be an overlap of similar symptoms with the aura, which, again, can be different each time. Another GP diagnosed the Afib but as it's paroxysmal it didn't appear on the next cardiology tests. It also runs in the family as my dad had it and my brother has it.
Do you get the arm 'shooting' on one side always?
Yes shooting pain one side but it always goes up to my neck and jaw and gives me pain for many hours. Like having a heart attack I should think. I have had AFib for 23 years now with the same symptoms. Changed my life when it was diagnosed. It went undiagnosed for 15 of those years. The doctors just said they didn’t understand my symptoms. Until I told one doctor that when it happened I passed lots of urine, it’s then that he said it could be my heart and next time it happened I should dial 999 . Which I did and it was diagnosed then. Nothings changed though, even with a pacemaker installed. Still suffer on😢. I have never been offered an ablation or cardio version. Sounds awful but hopefully you will be able to the help you need and elevate your symptoms. Fingers crossed for you.
Hi, as soon as my AF starts I notice the increased heart rate…..it shakes my chest and I feel tight chested rather than out of breath. I then check with my Kardia and ride it out. I can usually carry out tasks like preparing meals but sometimes I just need to sit quietly and make sure I keep hydrated.
I’ve had about 12 AFib incidents in 2 years. 1st was mid triathlon - totally unable to run, no pain, so I walked, had no idea what it was; then I got a Kardia 6L which I use after nearly all exercise sessions; several asymptomatic AFibs during/after exercise (more ectopics than rhythmic beats and no P wave on Kardia); then about 5 semi symptomatic AFibs, lightheaded, power loss cycling …., then about 3 lightheaded unsettling AFibs not exercise related just before my very timely catheter ablation 3 days ago …. definitely recommend the Kardia 6L but don’t get spooked by it ie don’t get over anxious - it’s just an aid, main detection tool is the health service, and don’t expect a cardiology team to jump every time you get a reading
My first couple of episodes of afib were of the bunch of frogs in the chest type. Now they are less violent. I normally feel a few ectopics and then a feeling of constriction in my throat. Sometimes I have gone into afib when sleeping and the feeling of constriction has woken me up. I pee a lot in the first couple of hours . Usually the episodes last between 8 and 12 hours and towards the end I sweat a lot. My heart rate averages between 120 and 150 and I often find that the extra beta blocker I take does not reduce it that much. Once I have had a slight dizzy spell when returning to NSR. The last two episodes I have gone back into NSR when busying about doing housework!
Mine, Paroxysmal, brought on by heavy meal, too close to bedtime. It comes in the night for many. Same script...thinners and HR rate/BP control meds.All good for now, but like so many here have gleefully informed me...it's for life...good thing it didn't show up until I was 66 😏
But seriously, you will be fine. Stress and anxiety are also triggers, so try and chill. Deep breathing, nature walks if you can.
How did I know? Well, as luck would have it, I wear an Apple watch...long before my afib, so I knew the monitoring and alert feature was on my wrist already. I initially bought it for my fitness OCD...I ride, hike..a lot 😝 , and my wonderful wife worries, that because of where I hike...wilderness trails here in Canada...that I may fall down and smack my head one day, encounter a bear or pack of coywolves ( yes actually a thing here) and being my watch has "fall detection" and emergency alerts, she feels happier about the old coot wandering about the forests alone 🙂.
So, Kardia, Apple/Android watches and/or a quality BP/HR monitor is worth investing for peace of mind going forward.
Hello Retired 
Having an episode of P-AF is instantly recognisable to me, it is like someone flicks a switch ,
I 'feel 'my heart accelerate ,
The pulse in my wrist is rapid and irregular,
There is a hard pounding in my chest and back,
I am breathless,
My legs feel weak,
Energy drains from my body and the smallest task requires a lot of effort ,
There is a strange sensation in my throat near my carotid artery ,
I need to pee a lot
I have a dull headache too these days.
A few hours later another switch is activated and the P-AF is gone..
Every person is different , you may not experience the same symptoms as another person with AF
I'm in the camp which knows immediately when Afib has struck. My heart feels like it's lurching around inside my chest. It can last for about 3 hours. Sometimes it's stronger than at other times. Last October I ended up in A&E with a bad episode where I was getting very breathless. It's triggered by a list of things. Fortunately I haven't had an episode for some months now.
I have PAF and usually get this at night after 2-3 hours of sleep. It seems to be influenced by stress and/or eating large or late meals. Episodes typically last 6-8 hours. I experience the PAF as irregular rather than fast: heart rate varies from about 75-125 bpm.
Some have asymptomatic a-fib where they don't even know they're having an episode. Mine is very symptomatic with the feeling a squirrel is running around the inside of my chest. When feeling my pulse, my heart rate is all over the place and the beats are very erratic. I feel very out of breath when they occur. Mine in the past have lasted anywhere from a few minutes to 2-1/2 days.
Had random episodes for several years but didn't know what it was...Then it started happening more often - wildly irregular pulse most often and sometime the feeling of heart pounding with being short of breath. The nurse to whom I mentioned it suggested it could be serious so I saw the cardiologist. Second time I went it I was in an episode and Holt a few weeks later the Holter monitor showed 70% of the time over four days. I could generally tell when it was happening but most often without absolute fatigue and shortness of breath Had an ablation and all has been good for four years but take metoprolol and Elliquis as well as meds for BP and cholesterol. My FitBit was useful...when I was in Afib the heart rate went blank!
Thank you for the link 🌻
You might want to consider a Cardiac Electrophysiologist
We call them EP's here in the US. I suspect you have them in the UK but not sure what they call them there. They are cardiologists trained and specialized in electrophysiology - which seems to be at the "heart" (excuse the pun) of AFIB.
👍 Nice! Good Luck...
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