a-fib

[Largehearted]

Good morning folks.

Last evening we had dinner with my in-laws. My father-in-law was feeling some chest discomfort, sweating. and not feeling like he was getting enough air. My wife and I immediately took his pulse, which was dancing around like a popcorn in a kettle. I looked at Sue and said, "This feels like a-fib!"

It took some doing, but we convinced him that he needed to go to the ER. He kept protesting that he was feeling better, but we (all the family present) managed to load him up and I drove he and my mother-in-law in.

Sure enough he was in a-fib. Now it is just a matter of discovering why he is having a-fib and treating him properly. I finally felt like my bouts with a-fib came to some good!

I'll visit later on today and see what they have discovered so far. Do keep him in your prayers.

Peace,

Leon

[shirleymahoney]

Yes Leon do keep in touch with us, it is a good thing you were there

I hope it isn't anything too bad and i will keep him in our prayers

Shirley

[Reenie]

He will definitely be in my prayers. I'm glad that you were there for him and were able to help him. It stinks that you had to know first-hand what he was going through, but at least you could convince him that this might be serious.

Reenie

[Sarah]

afib is popular

I think I read somewhere that afib is the most frequently occuring arrhytmia and it strikes a lot of older people.

It can sometimes happen for no apparent reason all (idiopathyic afib) -- even one of my cardiologists has it!

Anyway, your fil should be on coumadin to reduce his stroke risk and also be aware of all the side effects and consequences of Cordarone (amiodarone) which is the drug they will probably recommend to treat the afib. See any on-line drug reference library for info. There is a 2% chance of going irreversabliy blind, for example.

There are, however, several other drug therapies for afib such as Betapace (sotalol), Norpace (disopyramide), and Tikosyn (dofetilide).

Keep us posted!

Sarah

[Abbygirl2]

Leon, Hope your FIL gets feeling better soon.
Take care.

Pam

[angall]

Hi Leon
Isn't it amazing what we learn about our disease may eventually help others? Thankfully you were there and knew what to do.

I will include your father-in-law in my prayers.

Take care

[Pam Alexson]

Leon,

Let us know how all is going . So happy you were there for your father-in -law and your family. It had to make a scarry situation much better. One more validation for why you are here always helping others in many ways.

My best,

Pam

[Tigger1]

Leon,

Good thing you were together having dinner. No telling what would've happened if he was just sitting home. If he's like my father-in-law, he would've just sat there and not gone to the ER.

I'll keep him in my prayers. Please keep us posted...


Tigger1

[Largehearted]

Hi everyone.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for my father-in-law. It turns out that a-fib may be a small problem compared with some other stuff. Today they finally did a heart cath (it seemed like they decided to do it on a whim), and they found the following.

There is some plaque build up in several places with one spot at 70% in the LADA and another at 30% in his RADA. On top of that he has a huge aneurysm on his LADA from the proximal into his mid-portion of the artery. Needless to say we are so grateful that we were able to get him into the hospital when we did. We should find out tomorrow how they intend to treat all of this.

Grandpa can be a bit of a hypochondriac on good days so he is pretty frightened right now. He is only 64 so he feels like his body is starting to betray him.

The ironic thing is that the EP Dr. who first saw him in the ER is the same one who placed my ICD and the cardiologist who did the heart cath today is the same one who performed my cath in 1993. It is indeed a small world.

Thanks again for all your prayers. I pray for this community regularly too.

Peace,

Leon

[shirleymahoney]

Leon

I will keep your father in law in my prayers, you make sure you take good care of your wife and her mother , this is going to be a challenge the the entire family

Shirley

[Linda]

Leon, We'll be praying for your family, esp Dad - Linda

[Lisa Salberg]

I am glad you and your wife took prompt action to help your FIL! My thoughts and prayers are with you all. If there is anything we can help with just call!

Lisa

[Reenie]

I'm glad to hear that your father in law is getting good care. Seems like the afib was a good thing! He (and all of you) is in my prayers.

Reenie