Heart aflutter again.

You've had a tough time of it, @Brenda5 ... the cardioversion doesn't sound a lot of fun ... and very scary  :( 

Take care xx wishing you all the best and hope it all settles down xx. 

Since I have had 2 ER trips in the past 3 weeks due to stress related Atrial Fibrillation here are my tips.
1. Wear something easy to get off, top, bottom and feet.
2. Make sure you catch a nurses eye when everyone else is bypassing you to the triage sign in because you can barely stand up.
3. Don't eat before going in. They may need to anaesthetise you for cardioversion.
4. Ask for a commode to pee well before they have planned to take you to resuss for a cardioversion. I was given a paper bedpan under me to pee laying down. Believe me when they have finished putting a liter into your arm all of that floods the little bit of cardboard.
5. When they administer 50cc of medicine into your arm before cardioversion, make sure the BP cuff is not inflating. It is very painful and the drug will not go in. Tell them and they will wait until the cuff goes down.
6. Make sure they take the pillow out from under your head before they sedate you and go to sleep with your teeth clenched so you don't end up biting your tongue when they do 'charge 200, clear!' 

Yes the doctor in the ER did a diagram for us. He showed where the regular electrical impulse is to make a heart beat and then he drew a smaller second spot closer to where the impulse goes to the heart. Its the interfering second one which was the problem. I have an idea thats what palpitations are too but they only last for about 5 to 10 beats and they are gone again. Mine lasted hours.

WOW!   Sounds like they may be on the right track there, @Brenda5  .... Did they do a drawing of what your heart beat looks like (on the ECG) vs a 'normal' one?   My GP did that for us re Keith's .... He has a first degree block ... where after the first 'small beat', he has a 'long rest' before the main 'ka-donk' beat (it should be a quiet short rest.)  If the 'ka-donk' doesn't kick in ..... it is not good!!

Hope it all gets sorted with the cardio, soon!!  xx

Sotalol is pretty effective - just don't wash it down with milk, it impedes absorption - my otherwise terrific cardiologist didn't tell me that when he started me on it in hospital!!

I have an appointment with a heart specialist on the 20th. My GP would like my medication changed from Metoprolol to Sotalol as he says its better so between the two doctors they should be able to sort something out. 
Two heart beats feels like a lot of beats one minute and the next, when they line up together you can see it banging the chest without touching it. Atm it just kicks in occasionally but there is risk of stoke when I have one of those episodes so they may look in to my taking more than just Aspirin and put me on Xeralto to thin the blood.
I just want to get back out fishing. I don't care what they give me just do it.

Hope all goes well with your appointment @Brenda5 :smile: I'm currently hooked up to a holter ecg monitor for 24 hours after my post chemo echocardiogram showed a frequent extra beat too. I've already self diagnosed all sorts of outcomes with the help of Dr Google (I know ... don't Dr Google) but after bumping into a nurse friend who said 'oh I have them too' I feel a bit more relaxed and will leave the diagnosis to the experts :smiley:

@Brenda5   Keith has something similar (also probably caused by his chemo in 2010.)  

I think there is a different 'outcome possibility' depending on whether the extra beat is in the top or the bottom chamber ..... 

I know that Keith can't take a specific dementia medication as it may interfere with his irregular heart beat  :(  - but it isn't bad enough for a pace maker.

Hopefully they'll get it sorted for you so you can get that kayak out!!  

@Brenda5 and @kmakm We do share a lot on this forum, but sharing heart-beats - now that's a first! Real scientific breakthrough!
Hope you get some answers from the GP, Brenda. xox

@Brenda5 Oh that's where mine has gone!

My heart regularly skips a beat which apparently is not a problem. Is having an extra one an issue? K xox