Coping with A-Fib: Normal Heart Rate?Atrial Fibrillation: Resources for Patients

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

Doctors & patients are saying about 'Beat Your A-Fib'...

"If I had [your book] 10 years ago, it would have saved me 8 years of hell.”

Roy Salmon, Patient, A-Fib Free,
Adelaide, Australia

"This book is incredibly complete and easy-to-understand for anybody. I certainly recommend it for patients who want to know more about atrial fibrillation than what they will learn from doctors...."

Pierre Jaïs, M.D. Professor of Cardiology, Haut-Lévêque Hospital, Bordeaux, France

"Dear Steve, I saw a patient this morning with your book [in hand] and highlights throughout. She loves it and finds it very useful to help her in dealing with atrial fibrillation."

Dr. Wilber Su,
Cavanaugh Heart Center, Phoenix, AZ

"...masterful. You managed to combine an encyclopedic compilation of information with the simplicity of presentation that enhances the delivery of the information to the reader. This is not an easy thing to do, but you have been very, very successful at it."

Ira David Levin, heart patient,
Rome, Italy

"Within the pages of Beat Your A-Fib, Dr. Steve Ryan, PhD, provides a comprehensive guide for persons seeking to find a cure for their Atrial Fibrillation."

Walter Kerwin, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

FAQs Coping with A-Fib: Irregular, Not Rapid

“Can I have A-Fib when my heart rate stays between 50-60 BPM? My doctor tells me I have A-Fib. I usually have episodes which last under an hour, but I don’t always have a rapid heart rate. Sometimes when I lie down to go to sleep, an episode comes on. When I check my heart rate, it’s irregular but not rapid.”

In some cases it’s possible to have A-Fib and still have what appears to be a regular heart rate. Your atria can be fibrillating, even though your heart doesn’t beat rapidly. How can that be? When you take your pulse, you’re counting the beats of your ventricles, not your atria. So, your atria can be fibrillating, while your heart beat appears normal.

When listening to your heart through a stethoscope—you’re listening to your ventricles, not your atria.

Let’s say, for example, that you have A-Fib and your left atrium is fibrillating (quivering, beating) around 300 times a second. But in your case, your AV Node circuitry may be functioning very well, like a gatekeeper, to minimize the rate at which your atrial A-Fib pulses affect your heart rate (i.e. ventricular beats).

In another instance, some people have “silent” A-Fib (A-Fib with no symptoms) and appear to be in normal sinus rhythm (NSR). Their Atrial Fibrillation may only be discovered when they have a routine physical exam that includes an EKG. We don’t know enough about silent A-Fib, but untreated, it can kill you. Many people who suffer strokes are later found to have silent A-Fib.

Older people sometimes can have a slower form of A-Fib which can look like normal sinus rhythm, but they still have symptoms such as fatigue-tiredness and difficulty with exertion. Some forms of Atrial Flutter (4:1 ratio or slower) may also look like a normal heart rhythm.

But for most patients, their Atrial Fibrillation appears as an irregular and faster heart rate.