Case Study of an Atrial Fibrillation Arrhythmia Patient

Select the section you wish to view from the list below The Symptoms The Diagnosis The Treatment A Referral to an Electrophysiological Cardiologist The Ablation The Recovery Conclusion Roger Age 5 !ale Diagnosis" Atrial Fibrillation The Symptoms Contents

# noticed the first sign of symptoms $a feeling of nerve activity %ithin the chest& %hilst at %or' one day( # %as used to doing a very physical )ob and had done so all my %or'ing life( At the time of these first symptoms* as # recall* # %as more concerned about my daughter+s impending %edding and the speech # %ould have to ma'e there( The feeling of the nerve action across my chest lasted for about ,5 minutes the first time* but # started to e-perience this on t%o or three more days over the ne-t month( There did not seem any physical reason for this happening* # %as not doing anything different to %hat # had done for most of my %or'ing life* but they did start to occur at all different times of the day( # suffered these symptoms for five months before # first %ent to my . P( # e-plained the symptoms to him and his first reaction %as that it may be a heart problem( This # remember being /uite a shoc'* as there had been no history of heart problems %ithin the family and being a relatively fit person # found myself as'ing* 0ho% could that possibly be12( The .P %as very reassuring* he felt my pulse to chec' for any irregular beat and then recommended a referral to the local hospital for further investigation( The Diagnosis Contents

3ithin eight %ee's # had received an appointment %ith a heart specialist at the local hospital( During the consultation # sho%ed him the record # had 'ept of all the episodes # had e-perienced since my first visit to the .P and his first reaction %as that it could be a heart rhythm disturbance( The Treatment Contents

During the ne-t month # had t%o EC.+s* an Echocardiogram and a seven4day event recorder( 5n the ne-t visit to the heart specialist he confirmed the diagnosis of a heart rhythm disturbance due to Paro-ysmal Atrial Fibrillation( 6e %as very reassuring during the consultation* e-plaining that the symptoms # %as e-periencing %ere nothing to %orry about* but more of a nuisance( 6e prescribed medication to lo%er my blood pressure* but this had little effect(

The ne-t consultation %as about one month later and this time the specialist prescribed anti arrhythmic medication and beta4bloc'ers( The initial effect %as very good and # %ent a full ten days %ithout any symptoms( 7nfortunately the effect of the medication made me feel very lethargic at times* %hich made %or'ing /uite a challenge( # made a daily diary of the Atrial Fibrillation episodes over the ne-t seven months and tried all different doses of the medication to see %hich one %as more acceptable( The ne-t appointment # had %as eight months later( # %as still e-periencing the symptoms %hilst ta'ing the medication so the consultant changed me to another form of anti arrhythmic medication* %hich had a much better effect* and # felt that the medication had made a vast improvement to me( The only problem %ith this medication %as that they %ere only effective for a short period of time* %hich meant that %hen the effect of the tablets %ore off the Atrial Fibrillation %ould restart( Sadly this occurred most days by then( The heart specialist then recommended a referral to a hospital that had an Electrophysiological Cardiologist( A Referral to an Electrophysiological Cardiologist Contents

3ithin t%o months # received an appointment to see a cardiology consultant at a specialist heart hospital( At the consultation the specialist referred to a procedure called electrophysiological study and catheter ablation* suggesting that it may be able to cure the problems # %as e-periencing( 6e put the probability of success at that time as 89:( 6e e-plained the ris's of having the ablation done* but at the time the episodes %here lasting for some considerable time once the medication had %orn off* so # as'ed to be put on the %aiting list for this procedure( 6e changed the medication bac' to the previous type # had been ta'ing* hoping that the effect %ould last longer* but over the ne-t three months # %as still getting the episodes for four or five hours a day( #t had become totally life changing and every day became a challenge( The Ablation Contents

# received a letter from the hospital %ith the date the procedure %as to be performed and a %ee' before this date # had to visit the hospital for a pre admission chec's at the hospital( # %as given a ;54minute information session about the procedure( # thought this %as very good and it put my mind a rest( The follo%ing %ee' # arrived at the hospital for the procedure that %as called Pulmonary <ein #solation( # felt /uite rela-ed and calm on the day and # %as also very pleased to be there hopefully and # remember thin'ing that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel for my condition( =efore the procedure started # %as given medication to rela- me( The catheters %ere fed up into the heart from veins at the top of both legs* there %as no pain and the time seemed to go very /uic'ly( A blood pressure monitor on my arm %as ta'ing measurements every ,5 minutes and as # recall* the only real discomfort # e-perienced %as %ith the vibration of the ablation* %hich # felt in my teeth( The consultant and nurses %ere e-cellent and # felt reassured %hen they 'ept chec'ing on my %elfare during the procedure( #t %as all over in less than three hours but it actually only felt li'e >9 minutes(

The Recovery

Contents

# %as ta'en to the high dependency unit to recover for the first fe% hours and # %as being chec'ed constantly( # made an uncomplicated recovery from the procedure and %as allo%ed to go home the ne-t day( For the first t%o %ee's # had home rest( # %as still recommended to ta'e the medication for eight %ee's after the procedure and reduced it gradually(

The Conclusion

Contents

#t has been almost t%o years since the ablation procedure and at the moment the Atrial Fibrillation seems to be very much improved( # have had a couple of very small episodes of the condition that have probably lasted ;5 minutes in total( This is a vast improvement to the ?> hours %hich %as the %orst episode # ever e-perienced( # am still ta'ing medication to control high blood pressure but apart from that # only have to go to the hospital for a yearly revie% of my condition* %hich # find reassuring to have( Although the symptoms have no% almost completely subsided # feel that it is al%ays in the bac' of my mind* remembering the difficult days # had having to deal %ith this condition and %ondering if it could ever return(