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Atrial Fibrillation and Cardiomyopathy
none | 11/16/22 | Hot Tobasco

Posted on 11/06/2022 12:46:05 PM PST by Hot Tabasco

Not looking for medical advice, just a support group from fellow members who may be undergoing the same medical issues.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: cardiac; heart; massivevanity; vanity
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To: Hot Tabasco
Had AFIB and didn't know it. Started gaining weight and thought it was just from getting older.

Got what I thought was the flu. It progressed over time to what I thought was double pneumonia. Couldn't lie flat to sleep - had to be elevated.

Finally went to the ER. They hooked me up to an EKG and immediately called a "Code Blue".

Ejection Fraction was at 17%. Heart couldn't keep body from water retention. My internal organs were almost shut down - estimated two days from death.

Five days in the hospital - and only an extremely powerful drug (with side affects of stroke and/or blindness) was the only thing that could knock my heart back into normal sinus.

Went from no prescription drugs to lots.

Fast forward...

3 months of cardio rehab. Went from barely walking on a treadmill to jogging almost 3 miles on it. EF was measured after that to be at 55% (normal).

They told me I would be on prescription drugs for the rest of my life. Didn't want that.

Had an ablation procedure with a 3% risk of not going well. They accidentally punched a hole in my heart, filling the pericardium up with about 1 cup of blood. Oops. They fixed it and inserted a drain.

Kept exercising and building up my endurance.

Today I'm free of all prescription drugs. Take a baby aspirin three times a week.

If I can do it, so can you.

Best

21 posted on 11/06/2022 1:42:18 PM PST by politicket
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To: Hot Tabasco
My brother is going through this right now. You have said everything he has said to me, almost to a word.

He is on heart meds and his condition is slowly improving, up 7% in efficiency over the past 4 weeks. The docs will take the vest off of him when the numbers stabilize at 35%.

22 posted on 11/06/2022 1:43:07 PM PST by pfflier
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To: Hot Tabasco

Suffered from AFIB for 10+ years, had multiple hospitalizations with drugs and/or shock treatments for cardiac conversion. In 2006 it was suggested that I consider ablation. The first procedure helped but I still had occasional AFIB. After another hospitalization I had a second ablation procedure. I have now been AFIB free for 12+ years without having to take any drugs. While it worked for me, there are some trade offs that affect mainly strenuous activity when you would want your heart rate to be elevated. That said, I am generally well pleased with my results.


23 posted on 11/06/2022 1:45:28 PM PST by Boomer One ( ToUsesn)
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To: Hot Tabasco

I had a bad episode of Afib 2 years ago. Woke up one morning and was so dizzy I couldn’t couldn’t get out of bed without help. Took me to the hospital in an ambulance and they told me I was having Afib. It resolved itself in the ER. To my knowledge that is the only time I’ve ever had it. It left me with some dizziness and balance issues but physical therapy helps. I am on Eliquis and baby aspirin to prevent clotting in case another episode occurs. I keep a close watch on my blood pressure and use a Kardia monitor check for Afib whenever I feel “off”. Best wishes for a full recovery.


24 posted on 11/06/2022 1:47:15 PM PST by Brooklyn Attitude (I went to bed on November 3rd 2020 and woke up in 1984.)
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To: pfflier

bttt


25 posted on 11/06/2022 1:49:34 PM PST by thinden (buckle up ....)
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To: Hot Tabasco

A fib can be treated with meds to slow the heart like Beta blockers and Calcium channel blockers. In the cath lab they can do an ablation to cut the electrical pathways in the left atrium which can be the problem. They will want you on some anticoagulant to keep slow moving blood from forming clots.
Look into the Watchman device in the left atrial appendage as a more permanent clot prevention therapy.

My problem was a bad valve, and my EF was down to 15% 5 1/2 years ago. I had it replaced surgically, and my EF is now up to 30%. Still working and living life, but I have slowed down. Thank heaven for good health insurance and short and long term disability policies. I took 6 months to recover.


26 posted on 11/06/2022 2:03:52 PM PST by outofsalt (If history teaches us anything, it's that history rarely teaches anything.)
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To: Hot Tabasco

Take a look at Strophanthus as a remedy. I think this is a metabolic problem. Change your diet to a proper human diet.

Check out Dr Tom Cowan, https://drtomcowan.com/pages/strophanthus ,
and Dr Ken Berry on YouTube.


27 posted on 11/06/2022 2:16:39 PM PST by RonEB
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To: JeanLM
Have you had a catheterization to see if that can be fixed?

Underwent a Heart Cath. and all arteries and veins were 100% clear.......Which was a good thing.

28 posted on 11/06/2022 2:31:19 PM PST by Hot Tabasco
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To: libertylover

The vest will only activate a shock in the case that I go into afib and pass out............Instructions will be broadcast from monitoring device to call 911.....amazing technology


29 posted on 11/06/2022 2:33:44 PM PST by Hot Tabasco
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To: pfflier
The docs will take the vest off of him when the numbers stabilize at 35%.

Told me the same, only 36%.....Don't know what follows until I meet with cardiologist in the next two weeks.........Thanks

30 posted on 11/06/2022 2:39:40 PM PST by Hot Tabasco
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To: Hot Tabasco
I was diagnosed with a left bundle branch block and a 39% ejection fraction 15 years ago. My PCP concluded that I was in heart failure. I did some research and found some of the work of the late Dr. Stephen Sinatra. See
Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Stephen Sinatra

Dr. Sinatra had lots of anecdotal evidence on the value of COQ10 (e.g., he administered a shot of COQ10 to an old woman on her deathbed and she was able to walk out of the hospital a few days later). The protocol Dr. Sinatra and others developed was large doses of COQ10, carnitine and ribose. My version of the protocol is :

200 mg ubiquinol
4 capsules of Propel (from Life Enhancement) or equivalent
5 grams of ribose
The above are repeated 2x per day.
One goal of the protocol is to raise the blood level of COQ10 to 3.5 mcg/ml; mine is above 4.
After I had been following the protocol for a few months and a COQ10 blood test showed my level was about 4, I told my cardiologist what I was doing and he told me to stop. I ignored that advice. In an appointment a few years later he said, "you're doing better than I expected."
If you decide to follow the Sinatra protocol, don't expect support from your physicians.
Recommended reading:

L-Carnitine and the Heart
The Coenzyme Q10 Phenomenon

31 posted on 11/06/2022 2:52:07 PM PST by Ragnar54 (Obama replaced Osama as America's worst enemy and Al Qaeda's financier)
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To: John Milner

I suspected I had AFIB, but when doctors examined me they all said I was fine.

I had to get a new cardiologist, because mine retired. The new guy is from India. When I talked to him about AFIB, he said it doesn’t look likely, but he put me on a mobile monitor to track me.

The next day I had the symptoms and the cardiologist immediately called me. He asked how far I was from my pharmacy. I told him I was in my car maybe 1,000 feet from the pharmacy. He told me to go to the drive through and they would have a prescription ready for me. I was to take the prescription and wait at the pharmacy until he told me I was OK to leave.

I’ve been on the medication ever since and I bought a watch that can detect AFIB. I’ve not had any serious issues since starting the medication. But he said it was severe AFIB.


32 posted on 11/06/2022 2:56:41 PM PST by gitmo (If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is it?)
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To: gitmo

I have had AFIB since 1998.It came and went for a few years, so in 2007 I had a catheter ablation....piece of cake.. It seemed to stop the AFIB for a few years, but now it is back and it is serious. Because with low blood pressure (sometimes as low as 61/42) walking 25 feet requires sitting down immediatelyto keep from passing out. I have a pacemaker and am on blood thinner plus Amiodorone. They are recommending another Ablation and that sounds ok with me. I am 87. If I don’t make it that is ok as long as THE BIG RED WAVE TSUNAMI comes through on Nov. 8th.


33 posted on 11/06/2022 3:24:45 PM PST by Islander2 (instead..)
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To: Hot Tabasco

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.


34 posted on 11/06/2022 3:24:56 PM PST by pfflier
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To: John Milner

When it happened to me 20 years ago my cardiologist said that about 30% who went back into normal sinus rhythm stayed there. I was not one of those unfortunately.


35 posted on 11/06/2022 3:35:50 PM PST by ChildOfThe60s ( If you can remember the 60s.....you weren't really there..)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum; Hot Tabasco
Same thing happened to me in August. Four days in the hospital. Atrial fibrillation. Congestive heart failure. I had the CCP/Fauci virus a year before. I think that’s when it started. I don’t care. Going to live like there is no tomorrow. I take my blood pressure three or four times a day. I only take the drugs when my blood pressure is above 130/90. So far I have been able to go weeks at a time without taking it.

The upside is I will probably drop dead someday instead of taking a long time to die of cancer or dementia. Works for me.

I have been recently diagnosed with this and feel pretty much the same way. I drink lots of purified water, which is God’s natural blood thinner, and take high quality fish oil, and natural nitros oxide like beet powder, verses the pharmakea junk they wanted to put me on. Staying active, not overdoing it. Don’t lift any heavy weights, do more cardio activity. Mostly Mediterranean diet.

I sinply don’t trust the medical industrial complex anymore, so am definitely not interested in giving them any money. I’m much happier for it, no matter long much longer I live. Thank you for sharing your own story which made me feel better about my own situation. God Bless.

36 posted on 11/06/2022 3:40:50 PM PST by Golden Eagle ( What's in YOUR injection? )
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To: Hot Tabasco

You won’t need it while you wear a vest, but some wear devices like the Garmin Vivosmart or the Fitbit charge to monitor their heart rate. Not sure whether they will detect random fibrillations, but if you go into atrial flutter it will read as a high rate.

Devices like the EMAY Portable EKG Monitor ($99 at Amazon) will let you look at the waveform if you are feeling unwell.


37 posted on 11/06/2022 3:50:33 PM PST by FarCenter
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To: Hot Tabasco

I belueve its called the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association


38 posted on 11/06/2022 4:23:36 PM PST by jdirt
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To: Skooz

Ask about a cardiac ablation for AFIB


39 posted on 11/06/2022 4:28:38 PM PST by RFEngineer
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To: Hot Tabasco

I have a 49 year old male coworker who may have gone into AFIB twice or had a stroke? They made him wear a monitor for 4 weeks and didn’t have a second episode until a few days after his monitor was removed.

Cardiologist and neurologist visits are underway and they are trying to figure out what the hell is wrong. He is not overweight in the least. He and I have worked closely for 21 years and he is otherwise healthy… though his father was the first male to live past 65/70.

He has been vaccinated (don’t recall if it was the one or two jab) but has not had any boosters.

Side note: have an extremely health and trim 30 year old female coworker who is getting over her first bout of COVID. Heard her tell another coworker that this was a wake up call for her to get her second booster 🙄


40 posted on 11/06/2022 5:31:47 PM PST by Married with Children
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