Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...
"A-Fib.com is a great web site for patients, that is unequaled by anything else out there."
Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
"Jill and I put you and your work in our prayers every night. What you do to help people through this [A-Fib] process is really incredible."
Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI
“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP.
Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017
“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD
FAQs Coping with A-Fib: Single Episode?
“Is it possible to have a single A-Fib attack and not have any others? I had a single episode of A-Fib 17 months ago and was successfully converted in the emergency room with medication (Cardizem drip). Other than an occasional PAC of PVC, I haven’t felt any A-Fib symptoms since.”
Once an area or areas in your heart start producing A-Fib pulses, it’s usually hard to turn them off again.
But whatever you did seems to have worked for you. Since your episode over a year ago, I’m assuming that your doctor has taken an annual ECG, and that you don’t have ‘silent A-Fib’.
Have your doctor keep track of your blood chemistry to make sure you don’t get into chemical imbalances that might trigger A-Fib again. (When you went to the hospital for that single episode of A-Fib, what kind of imbalances did they find from your blood tests?)
You may want to look into taking supplements or foods that help keep your heart chemistry in balance. (See my article, ‘Natural’ Supplements for a Healthy Heart.)
PACs and PVCs are considered benign—people with normal hearts have them too. But with A-Fib, they often seem to be precursors of an A-Fib episode.
For your own peace of mind, ask your doctor for a Holter or other type of monitor which you would wear for one to three days or longer. The test results would tell if you have developed “silent” A-Fib which you may not be aware of, but which can be just as dangerous as symptomatic A-Fib. (Some would say that silent A-Fib is even more dangerous because of the progressive risk of stroke and unnoticed heart deterioration over time.)
Thanks to Joan for this question.
Go back to FAQ for the Newly Diagnosed A-Fib Patient
Last updated: Monday, June 18, 2018
