Re: Cardioversion...Thursday very early

[Guest guest]

Christian:

Good luck with your cardio tomorrow. Sending prayers and angels of

protection your way.

Debbi, OU Alum in OKC

[Guest guest]

Christian - How'd it go? I hope well?

Ed in VA

[Guest guest]

Christian - How'd it go? I hope well?

Ed in VA

[Guest guest]

Christian - I was cardioverted a week ago last Sunday, and am still in NSR

(after 6 weeks of afib). I still have a few " fast beats " here and there, but

the dr said that was actually a good thing, since it meant my heart was trying

to go back into afib, but the medication was keeping me out! Not sure what to

believe, as the new drug I'm on (Tikosyn) is very much a rhythm drug, when I had

only been on rate drugs before. My entire cardioversion was done right in my

hospital bed, and took just three minutes from the time they put in the

anesthesia until I was fully awake! I was already in the hospital with IV, so

that saved some time.

I was put on Tikosyn (250 twice a day), and continue to take diltiazim (120 per

day), coumadin (for at least three months, if no more afib).... they also put me

on lisinopril, but I was taken off that just yesterday. My husband and I are

not taking any precautions against pregnancy, and apparently liprinosil (or

lasinopril) can cause fetal death in the 3rd trimester, so my dr said " get

off " ... so I did.. it was only a temporary drug to keep my heart from

reconfiguring anyway.

My doctor also said that after a long bout of afib, the first three months are

the critical period during which it's apparently pretty easy to revert back into

afib.... I always think that perhaps my heart has " learned " to beat irregularly

and got used to it... who knows! I go for a stress test on Monday, just to see

how things are going, since I'm off to go scuba diving on Wednesday.. if I pass

the stress test my doctor will give me the go ahead to dive.. if not... well..

we don't want to think about it!

You don't mention drug therapy post cardioversion, but if you're not on

anything, I might suggest you talk to your doctor, and at least get something to

control your heart rate.. keep it nice and slow! If you don't go that route and

are not on any drugs, I would definitely take it really easy for a few months!

Good luck,

Stef

Christian Thwaites wrote:

Thanks to all for your kind words.

There is an excellent write up on the a-fib site to

get the technical side of things. My experience was

pretty straightforward. I arrived at 0600 at St

Francis Hospital in Hartford Ct. Great staff and very

attentive. Prep time was mostly trying to get an IV.

Coumadin messed up my veins: I heard mutterings of

“not getting flowback”.

I was wheeled into the operation room, put out and

woke some 20 mins later with mild burns and NSR! Felt

elated and am now resting. I have to keep the INR

levels right. But if I get some months relief I will

be even happier. My cardio suggested it might

revert might not. Somewhat hit or miss but I knew that

going in. What other experiences have people had on

Lone A-Fib remaining in NSR after cardioversion?

Christian

p.s. I attach a copy of my EKG read out for anyone

interested on the site. I had no “P” waves and about

300bpm in the atria for the last 3 months. The AV node

was doing a great job fighting the signals back.

=====

Christian Thwaites

__________________________________

[Guest guest]

Christian - I was cardioverted a week ago last Sunday, and am still in NSR

(after 6 weeks of afib). I still have a few " fast beats " here and there, but

the dr said that was actually a good thing, since it meant my heart was trying

to go back into afib, but the medication was keeping me out! Not sure what to

believe, as the new drug I'm on (Tikosyn) is very much a rhythm drug, when I had

only been on rate drugs before. My entire cardioversion was done right in my

hospital bed, and took just three minutes from the time they put in the

anesthesia until I was fully awake! I was already in the hospital with IV, so

that saved some time.

I was put on Tikosyn (250 twice a day), and continue to take diltiazim (120 per

day), coumadin (for at least three months, if no more afib).... they also put me

on lisinopril, but I was taken off that just yesterday. My husband and I are

not taking any precautions against pregnancy, and apparently liprinosil (or

lasinopril) can cause fetal death in the 3rd trimester, so my dr said " get

off " ... so I did.. it was only a temporary drug to keep my heart from

reconfiguring anyway.

My doctor also said that after a long bout of afib, the first three months are

the critical period during which it's apparently pretty easy to revert back into

afib.... I always think that perhaps my heart has " learned " to beat irregularly

and got used to it... who knows! I go for a stress test on Monday, just to see

how things are going, since I'm off to go scuba diving on Wednesday.. if I pass

the stress test my doctor will give me the go ahead to dive.. if not... well..

we don't want to think about it!

You don't mention drug therapy post cardioversion, but if you're not on

anything, I might suggest you talk to your doctor, and at least get something to

control your heart rate.. keep it nice and slow! If you don't go that route and

are not on any drugs, I would definitely take it really easy for a few months!

Good luck,

Stef

Christian Thwaites wrote:

Thanks to all for your kind words.

There is an excellent write up on the a-fib site to

get the technical side of things. My experience was

pretty straightforward. I arrived at 0600 at St

Francis Hospital in Hartford Ct. Great staff and very

attentive. Prep time was mostly trying to get an IV.

Coumadin messed up my veins: I heard mutterings of

“not getting flowback”.

I was wheeled into the operation room, put out and

woke some 20 mins later with mild burns and NSR! Felt

elated and am now resting. I have to keep the INR

levels right. But if I get some months relief I will

be even happier. My cardio suggested it might

revert might not. Somewhat hit or miss but I knew that

going in. What other experiences have people had on

Lone A-Fib remaining in NSR after cardioversion?

Christian

p.s. I attach a copy of my EKG read out for anyone

interested on the site. I had no “P” waves and about

300bpm in the atria for the last 3 months. The AV node

was doing a great job fighting the signals back.

=====

Christian Thwaites

__________________________________