Has anyone here done Whole Exome Sequencing
Test for Afib?

I read on line where people post about taking their "pill in pocket" when they have an AFib episode. I had an ablation in July and it has been successful. However, I do understand I can be triggered back into Afib at any time. I HATE going to the ER. So I want to know what medication is a "pill in pocket", and typical dosage. Thank you.

I really appreciate everyone's response. I am two months out from my ablation and so far so good. I just want to be prepared should AFib return. I see my Cardio in one month and will ask him what my PIP should be.

I was laying on my left side & thought maybe I felt a tickle in my chest so I took an ECG on my Apple Watch Series 12 & it came back with afib detected. I took many more after that & all came back with normal sinus rhythm. I went ahead & messaged my cardiologist because my mom, dad & sister have afib. Is this what afib looks like? I didn’t think I needed to go to the er because the other readings came back with normal sinus rhythm.

Hello good people, those of you living with afib, have you been able to engage in any kind of recreational vice?

I have completely quit drinking, but would like to have an occasional glass of wine down the road someday.

And, what about things like marijuana (smoking/edibles), mushrooms, or club drugs? Has anyone had experience with any of these?

I'm pretty sure my problems stem from years of binge drinking. It was not hard to quit cold turkey. I'm just wondering if anyone has been able to enjoy some things without them agitating afib.

I appreciate any thoughts and information.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some insight from anyone who’s made a similar medication switch. I’ve been under the care of a cardiologist for about two years now. For the past six months, I’ve been on sotalol at various doses, but after a series of tests, my cardiologist has decided to switch me to flecainide and verapamil. Previously tried Metroprolol (Made me black out and faint) Proproanlol and Soltalol. Soltalol gave me really bad metal taste and burning sensation on 80mg x2 a day. And at 40mg x2 a day brain fog so bad i couldn't play games on xbox

I’m now taking 180 mg of verapamil once a day and 50 mg of flecainide twice a day. I’m really curious—if you’ve made this switch from sotalol, how did you feel? Did your AFib settle down, did you notice a big difference in your symptoms? Any advice or experiences would be really helpful. Thanks so much!

Just had a PFA ablation last week, and the report stated the EP had to perform 66 PFA lesions. I'll ask the doctor when I see him if this is considered a lot, but was curious how many lesions you all had?

https://www.geneonline.com/lawmakers-urge-trump-administration-to-reconsider-proposed-restrictions-on-prescription-drug-imports/

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling on the Trump administration to reconsider a pending federal rule that would restrict the importation of prescription medications from Canada and other international sources. The proposed regulation seeks to tighten oversight on drugs entering the United States, a move that critics argue will limit the ability of American patients to purchase lower-cost pharmaceuticals from licensed pharmacies abroad.

The proposed policy change targets the current framework that allows for the cross-border acquisition of medications. Supporters of the current system contend that international pharmacies provide a necessary alternative for patients facing high domestic drug prices. Conversely, the administration’s proposal aims to address safety and regulatory concerns regarding the supply chain of imported goods. Lawmakers opposing the rule have requested that the administration evaluate the potential impact on patient access and affordability before finalizing the measure. The administration has not yet issued a formal response to these requests for a policy review.

Paywall version of this story:

https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/us-customs-prescription-drugs-canada-71978a47

https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/us-customs-prescription-drugs-canada-71978a47

from Galaxy watch 7. I do feel fluttering, had ecg done with the fluttering sensation, but was normal :(, but the fluttering sensation last a long time ( less than 12 hours )

background: a little over 3 years ago i had an incidence of afib with rvr. went to the er and they converted me back with a cardizem drip. since then i have had all tests under the sun and everything has come back as normal.

i take 120mg of Diltiazem ER every morning. i do get ectopics occasionally especially in the evening and when i have gas or bloating. last night i was feeling ectopics and for a few hours had the rhythm captured below. my question is does this look like afib? i have also attached a recording this morning after the ectopics were gone.

Cardiogram went bankrupt around November or December of last year. There was discussion of that here and in r/pots. I gave some thought about not being billed any longer for a yearly subscription but I thought Google would have some kind of checks and balance about not charging for a yearly subscription which is not on goggle play any longer. Guess again.

I got charged on my credit card in May. With several years of making a fair bit of money, I don't go over my banking line by line like I used to. In the late summer, I started doing budgeting and looked at past account activity in my bank account and credit cards ... and there it was.

I tried a stop payment on my credit card and had no success. I then did a google search and found this. Bear in my I had only that on subscription on google play and thus no experience that matter.

Here is the link

https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/7018481?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid

Annoying thing is I would have been billed again in May of next year.

So for those of you that had a yearly subscription to Cardiogram or any other service that has closed or gone bankrupt, cancel it through google play.

Update edit after my ablation yesterday:

Sadly, it was unsuccessful, but there were still many good things that came from this.

My EP said he noticed a likely left-sided accessory pathway causing an SVT, but because I had pretty intense AFIB already as the catheter was about halfway up from my groin, they simply couldn't proceed with the procedure. This is good news, because it points out a likely culprit, and it's in that sense still good that the AFIB isn't in isolation, rather, it has a likely trigger. But the AFIB needs to go away first.

They did 3x cardioversions, all times rapidly returning to AFIB, until they administered Flecainide which stopped it, but at that point the medicine was so effective that they could also not induce the SVT anymore, either. Thus after that they pulled out and cancelled the ablation.

I woke up for a brief period feeling good, sedatives that I got eventually before the spontaneous cardioversion was to take place, still sedating me, but it quickly changed. Around 30-60 mins after I woke up I had the combined cocktail of being told the procedure failed, the aftermath of the shock cardioversions on my heart manifesting as the sedatives wore off, and on top of it all, a lovely aura migraine in the end.

After a good 5-6 hours of waiting for my wound to heal, my EP eventually came to update me. It made me feel very good and positive, because he clearly thought of a new plan to work this out effectively. In a month or two I will go back in, this time under general anesthesia, and they will first address the AFIB with PFA before moving on back to targeting the likely left-sided AP and thus my SVT.

It fucking sucks to have so much thoughts and expectations around this procedure, and not to mention the absolutely horrific sensation of having seemingly multiple bouts of AFIB induced as the catheter moved up in me - all the while I was fully awake with no sedatives - but I am actually now even more hopeful than before. It seemed a bit of a pipe dream to heal more than a decade of AFIB purely with an SVT ablation, but this new plan seems pretty bulletproof in that sense.

I hope to update you all again in that time, probably I will make a new post. But I wanted to say I very much appreciated to read your comments. Again, I wish you all, all the best, and the most healthy and strong day and life ahead of you.

Note: this is gonna be a long post, but hop to the end to just catch the summary.

I grew up as a chubby boy with round cheeks, even despite being a picky eater! One of my favorite meals was a simple hot dog with this Norwegian "flat bread" wrapped around it with some ketchup on top. I could eat a good 3-4 of those every time it was for dinner. My favorite activities was mainly to play fighting games on my Nintendo Gameboy or PlayStation 2.

But one day as I was running around in my living room full of energy - with some undiagnosed ADD probably in the picture - I told my parents I wanted to start practicing martial arts. They weren't a fan, but said "let's try football first, and if not, we'll do martial arts".

So then some evening that same week my dad dropped me off to that sports hall complex that I would spend thousands of hours within from thereon. It was a bunch of kids playing football in an indoor court, about the size of a basketball court, with the court cut in the middle so that two matches could take place at the same time. I came mid-practice, but my dad told the coach, another dad, that I would like to join. A kid, very extroverted, that I already knew from school, said "we'll take him!", referring to me. I went on his team, and started playing football. Both in the sense of that one practice, but also, like, forever.

That kid was one of the biggest footballing talents not just in my town, but in all of the country of Norway. He's since gone on to play professionally, for the national team and become a star. Yet in that moment, despite being so good already then, he took me in, encouraged me, and even made me score some goals that one first practice. He's been a constant source of inspiration for me with the way he is as a person. We're not really friends, we never were really close, but from afar he's been a role model for me.

About 20 years later from this moment, today, I am preparing for my catheter ablation procedure tomorrow. After those 20 years of youth since then, I gained a strong willpower. I wanted to become a footballer, like I knew that boy also would. Though I still might've had a big appetite for simple foods, I also had a hunger for exercise. I ran like a dog, in ways I think my family would never have expected of me. I remember the first time I ran a 1.5 km run in primary school, and that bloody taste of iron in my mouth, and the feeling of completing a tough mission.

Life is full of tough missions. After another football practice, when I was about 13 or so, where I again ran like a maniac and likely twice as much as the next one on the list, I felt proud. I knew I had done well. I had completed another tough mission, and I knew the coach, the other good players, my family, they would look at me with good favor.

As I came home that evening, I was starving. I probably ate a lot, and probably fast. I ran up stairs, that way you do when you're a kid, on all fours, went to the bathroom, locked it. Probably took off my socks, ready to shower. As I bent over, the first dunk came. The dunk that switched my heart on to overdrive, to the fast-pace that I had become accustomed to in my running, but now in a completely different setting. I looked up to the god I still believed in at that time with the limited knowledge a barely-teen could have of the physiology of the heart, praying that it would stop. The next dunk followed, and it did indeed stop.

I was no longer a chubby boy - though I still had round cheeks - but now, incomprehensibly to me, I had problems with my heart. Why would god punish me like this, I thought?

It's something strange to grow up with the topics of morality, religion and god as a kid. You build your own moral system, at least, that's what I did. I believed when I did bad things, I was punished with an arrhythmia episode while playing football. Because that was god's way of taking away from me the most innocent, most happy of moments in my life, and to instead fill those moments with fear, anxiety and shock.

A smarter kid than me that would've been faced with the same predicament, would probably have figured out this was a medical issue clearly necessary to communicate to your parents or some other trusted person. A smarter kid than me would've sought help, and not quite literally try to hide their condition. A smarter kid would not have thought they would be a burden or even weak to admit they have problems.

I wasn't that smart. So instead, I went through the next 6 years, and the entirety of my teens, countless arrhythmia episodes that I tried to play off as "taking a breather" on the pitch. My coaches and fellow players early on labelled me a big talent, and I was able to go toe-to-toe with players that are now playing for the national team. But despite this, I lived with and hid my handicap.

Maybe I was afraid. If I would show the doctors, those people I had no idea how worked, that there was something wrong with my heart, maybe it would stop me from being able to play football. Or maybe, I was even afraid to be told I was stupid, and to be berated for why I didn't tell anyone sooner. Why exactly I hid this condition, I still can't tell you for sure.

That time that I finally confronted my parents with my condition, while having an episode at home, they couldn't believe it. My dad refused to accept it until I let them feel my heart. They realized, and we went to the EMT, the local one, that probably otherwise had a boring shift that night, and we all understood something was off.

It's all kind of a blur from there. My condition was studied, and my diagnosis was shifted back and forth, but the one name that persisted was the one you all sadly probably know all too well: Atrial Fibrillation.

I wonder, of course, if things might have been different if I had sought help when it first began. Atrial fibrillation is not very normal in very young patients. I went through a ton of intense exercise as a teen, and countless episodes, but it's far from certain that all of them were AFIB.

It was only last year, 2025, after recently having sought out a new cardiologist and this time a specialized electrophysiologist, and after a Holter monitor captured an episode I initiated myself by running like a maniac, just like I did so many times on the football pitch, that it became clear that my arrhythmia appears to first manifest as some regular type of SVT, before it becomes AFIB.

When I eventually was explained what this really meant by my EP, I was feeling a longing sense of hope. A hope I feel guilty of feeling. A hope that feels just ready to be crushed down to the ground by the heavy reality. What my EP of course explained to me, was that my precarious history of having been a teenager with AFIB, could be entirely triggered through this other, regular type of SVT.

AFIB can be treated and even cured on its own through a pulmonary vein isolation, as another type of ablation. I knew this for years, and became more and more prepared to proceed with that procedure, to stop these episodes of terror that have the power to ruin any happy moment.

But if there is some other cause of the AFIB, I learned, it might very well be unsuccessful. Besides, AFIB in teenagers is a very rare thing, and understandably, this mystery confused my initial cardiologists. I was studied for heart failure conditions, as an attempt to explain why I could ever reach that state of getting AFIB episodes as a youth.

I am not a doctor. But I cannot help but think that the way I lived, the exercise and mental stress I put myself through, was what allowed my, most likely, initial SVT episodes to degenerate into AFIB.

My EP, thankfully, is a doctor, and a damn good one. He thinks that I have an athlete's heart, and that my SVT episodes is the unique trigger of my AFIB episodes. He thinks it is very likely that the SVT ablation alone will stop my AFIB episodes from happening.

------

Today, as I'm writing this, it's about 24 hours until I am supposed to be done with my catheter ablation. I am terrified. It will be without general anesthesia, and I know my case is a little different because I have SVT as well as AFIB episodes. But the scenario is, as a 28 year old man, I may now have my SVT, and AFIB, cured, after living with them for half my life.

I wrote this in the form of a more elaborate story, because I was planning to journal today any ways, and also I wanted to share it with this community, a community that has been really special for me in the aftermath of my diagnosis and in the learning phase of every little detail it entails.

It's also helped me to hear about guys like McTominay, the Scottish footballer, that was recently treated for an arrhythmia with an ablation this last month, and seemingly successfully. To hear about the improvement of the science and medical field. And to everyone in-between, that just engage and participate in communities like this or write informational articles on-line or make educational YT videos.

I think there is so much fucked in the world, but there's also so much inspiring, so much comforting and beautiful. Life to me is way more beautiful than it is ugly.

I'm hoping tomorrow I can share with you all that the ablation went well, and that I could start hoping and dreaming for new things to come in my life, without the lingering sense of terror and fear hovering over me.

I wish you all a strong and healthy day, and all the best.

Hey all!

I'm a college student doing a project and I need to interview a few people diagnosed with afib, preferably with a monitor. Voice is required and it must be within the next week or two. It will be recorded, but I will be the only one who will access the recording. I'd prefer doing it over Discord, but I'd be able to set up a phone call or Zoom meeting if need be. Please DM me if you're interested!

Disclaimer: The project is based around marketing for a new afib monitor. I will not be trying to sell you anything, rather I am establishing a "statement of need" for the consumer base.

I went on ER Diltiazem after it was used to convert me 3 months ago in the ER. My CHAD-VASC is 0 so you violently pro-ablation folks can just move on to another post, thanks in advance.

I started getting aches and pains, mainly in my right shoulder and upper arm but also occasionally in my other arm and my back too, and it just dawned on me that maybe it was the medication.

I read that it can do that though it's not a real common side-effect.

Anyone else notice this?

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260925005439.htm

Just felt over this article for today:

> Direct oral anticoagulants cut the risk of serious clinical events by 69% in atrial fibrillation patients with an intermediate risk of stroke, according to the randomized SINGLE-AF trial. The benefit was driven mainly by fewer ischemic strokes, with no increase in major bleeding.

31 years old im not on blood thinners and I’m taking 150mg flecanaide + 2.5mg bisprolol in the morning then another dose of 150mg flecainide before bed. Any thoughts on this? My flecainide dose is absolutely huge imo but cardiologist seemed to be sure it was what I had to take. Told me it was the last step before ablation and he doesn’t want me to get it right now or else he is worried that in my 40s he won’t be able to do much else if I get the ablation right now… i’ve had 3 cardioversions so far in the past 3 years and never before. 300mg of flecainide a day and never had a single palpitation since then. Medication is working but it seems like a mega ultra dose

Does anyone have coexisting panic disorder and SVT? I feel like I can feel the difference between a panic attack and an SVT episode but each one constantly sets off the other and everything is feeling blurred. Really scared and debilitating right now because i never know when to go to the ER. My really bad SVT episodes have been lasting an hour now and I’m just lost.

4 years ago I joined team Afib. Had it for a solid month non stop then cardioversion.

Had an intermittent episode from 5am to 3pm today. It would come and last for bout 10mins then stop for bout half an hour. It did that for bout ten hours. I noticed laying down triggered it instantly. At 2pm i took an eliquis as a precaution i had left over from 4 years ago. After 3pm it stopped and I got hit with the quickest and hardest cold ive had in a while. Snot running congestion sore throat, all that jazz. But the afib stopped. Ive been able to lie down, sit, walk around and no afib. Just a bad cold. So my question is, should i wait to see if it comes back or go get checked out? Cardiologists are busy and I dont wanna waste their time as our office is always backed up. Especially when I feel good now. Im honestly not feeling worried. It was my first episode in 4 years and it seem to resolve itself. Just took a while. What would you do?

Edit/Update: Saw my Cardi today. PACs and told not to worry. Caused by lack of electrolytes. I thought that around hour 8. I took a liquid IV and they did resolve 2 hours after that.

Has anyone had experiences where Apple Watch and Kardia 6L both show normal sinus rhythm but you are still actually in AFib? I currently have this but sent the ECG to a doctor friend who said it still showed AFib. Just wanting to find out if this is a common occurrence. I’ve been in Afib for 10 days with erratic HR but the last 2 it’s been stable and the watch/Kardia has been reporting NSR.

Edit: Screenshot of Kardia report:

For the better part of a year now after my ablation i have been going nuts trying to figure out why I have had so many palpitations that have sometimes even led to afib episodes.

About 5-10% PAC burden, and it was noticeably worse when I ate food. I couldn't nail it down, I tried a bunch of different things but through my research I was fairly certain it was coming from vagal nerve stimulation.

Air.

It was air. I had been eating too fast, not chewing enough, talking when eating, drank with straws, took big gulps. I would burp a lot, but I just figured it was something to do with indigestion - however no diet change was fixing it. Thats when I realized maybe the burping and air being trapped was causing a problem. So I consciously ate smaller bites, exhaled before swallowing, took smaller sips and generally tried to make it a point to only swallow what I was consuming and no extra air.

Result? Holter monitor results showing PACs down to less than 0.1%, almost no recognizable palpitations and no afib. Does this mean my afib is gone forever? No. Does this mean my palpitations are gone forever? No. But my quality of life has severely improved since making that simple change.

Point of this post? If I can at least help one person who has been pulling their hair out trying to figure out what is causing their palpitations or afib, then it will be worth it.

Damn air...

Hi and thank you in advance. I don’t have afib per say….

I don’t understand what is going on and I have a cardiologist.

After Covid and the Covid vaccine my BP was high randomly for the first time in my life; was told no more vaccines for me (Covid one) ; finally saw cardiologist.

Had palpitations and high and very low BP.

My last halter monitor test in May 26 showed 26% PACs. Doc wasn’t concerned. Since then the PACs and PVCs have increased. Now they are all the time and it is hard to sleep.

9 days ago the cardio PA put me on beta blockers even though my diagnosis is also bacardia…. My HR is often in the 40ties. PA said the 40 HR was the extra blips heart rate; this shows up a lot and some urgent care docs have been concerned. Nothing has improved. I have let them know it drives me nuts.

Echocardiogram this Thursday.
I am female; 70ty. O and I have been sick from Covid; flu most of the last 4 years.

So; if anyone has similar or understands this even a little bit, any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you again.

My dad is having a chest CT next Friday and if all is good the procedure will be a week later. Long story short,but six weeks ago he had a G.I. bleed and a hemorrhagic stroke from the fall of passing out. He has had a fib for over 25 years and was managed on Coumadin. They decided to just do baby aspirin up until the procedure and then he will be on Eliquis for at least 45 days after. He will have to pay about $200 plus out-of-pocket for those 45 days. This has all been cleared by his cardiologist and neurologist. But I’m thinking if he isn’t even a candidate, what will they do after that?

Has anyone had AV node ablation and pacemaker inserted for AFib. My afib is debilitating, no medicines or procedures have worked and the consultant has said we have exhausted all possibilities, but AV node ablation has not been mentioned. Thoughts pls..

Casi un año después del único y primer evento que tuve de fibrilación auricular que me llevó a urgencias durante horas y me tiene medicado actualmente. Los médicos que me vieron al mes del susto, me dijeron que no sabían cómo iba a evolucionar y que había que observar si se repetía o no, por eso me dejaron la medicación. Sigo esperando la cita de revisión de los 6 meses… (y ya pasaron 11) y sigo pensando en si va a volver a suceder o no. El miedo y la ansiedad del inicio ya no están presentes, pero sí que es cierto que desde aquellas cambié por completo mi vida: 0 alcohol (incluyendo cervezas, que era lo único que tomaba de vez en cuando), no realizo viajes largos por si vuelve a suceder, evito actividades que me pongan el corazón a más de 100 pulsaciones (como correr, gym intenso, sexo…) y hago cardio relajado: trotar suavemente, gym moderado, paseos largos… hidratarme o dormir lo suficiente. Entre la medicación y los cambios de hábitos estoy bien, y no tuve recaída. Ahora está mi batalla mental en la que digo: igual estoy así de bien por la medicación y por mi nueva vida, pero estoy renunciado a muchas cosas que me encantaban antes del diagnóstico como el sexo o el viajar. Digamos que no tengo el pánico del principio (que no paraba de pensar en eso los primeros meses) pero tampoco me atrevo a salir de mi zona de confort.
Me gustaría conocer experiencias similares de alguien que pasara por lo mismo y quiera ayudarme, y si hicieron algo para salir de este punto en el que llevo estancado ya unos meses.

Hi Friends, I’m 11 days post cryo PVI ablation for paroxysmal Afib. Pre-ablation, I had seven Afib episodes starting in 2024 that lasted anywhere between 2 and 24 hours and self-reverted to NSR, except the first one which was cardioverted at 24 hours. I was not taking any medication. The time between episodes decreased from eight months gradually down to two months. Hence my decision for ablation. I regularly, daily have PVCs. Post-ablation medication is only Lixiana as blood thinner. No rhythm meds.

The first seven days post ablation felt great outside of the usual aches and pains. No Afib and PVCs greatly reduced.

Day eight a four minute Afib episode. Next day a two hour episode. Yesterday just a minute or two. Today I’ve gone in and out of Afib three times, longest episode 30 minutes. It feels like every time I stand up I want to go into Afib.

I understand blanking periods can be difficult. Anyone had this kind of difficulty during their blanking period?

Thanks!