Anyone with Improvement in Arrhythmia?

[BonnieB]

I should get my CPAP next week. I know it will be life changing. I'm so hopeful from what I've read on this forum that my blood pressure will decrease. I haven't seen anyone talk about what CPAP treatment will do for arrhythmia. Can this improve as well? Please say yes. I sure don't like the side effects of the medication for it.

[jules]

your blood pressure may decrease - not everyone does - in fact I didn't get to drop any of the BP meds - I even offered to gain all the weight back to get off them but the docs didn't like that idea

however, I haven't had the heart arrhythmia problems as much that were caused by low O2 levels at night so that did improve but I was never on meds for it

[moombeam]

Bonnie
What Kind of meds are you taking? I take meds also and had no side effects
is just improvement heartbeat.
I also was hoping for more improvement there. But because the Arrhythmia was documnented by ekg didn't really think there would be.
CPAP has taken away the rapid heart beat that woke me several times at night,
relieved the sleep deprivation symptoms, gave me back engery for the day. Plus
put the UMPH in my life with brain power. Oh and my blood pressure is back to normal range for me.
If meds side effects are real problem try different ones there are plenty to work from
depending other life issues if you have any.

Just my experience Moonbeam

[dave21]

Hi Bonnie,

When I was diagnosed 5 years ago for OSA I thought I was having heart attacks. My chest was heavy, it was painful to breath and I was getting skipped heart beats every 3 seconds for an entire week. I had to go through 3 months of that torture for the doctors to realise what it was then wait an additional 3 months for them to sort me out with a machine.

Since being on CPAP I don't get these like I did. I do still get them, but arrhythmia's / skipped heart beats or irregular beating do still occur with me from time to time. e.g. when work stresses me out to the point I can't cope, or when I drink too much caffeine (I try to stay off it now) and if I drink to much alcohol. If any of those 2 or 3 come together at once then I will get skipped heart beats that may last for several hours but not days or weeks.

I guess it depends on how many you are getting, I could count 1, 2, 3 and it would feel like my heart would skip a beat (my chest would thud as the next beat came in more heavily). My heart would then race for a while then slow down to the point where it's beating slower than it should do, almost like a panic attack and it would yo-yo between both extremes.

CPAP has done wonders for me and although I can't tell for you as I don't know your condition or history or whether you have any other underlining heart problems/disease, I will say it's worked wonders for me

[slibhart]

It may be too soon for me to say, however, my last major arrhythmia was in September. It was a very scary one and was so severe that I thought I was passing out and having a heart attack. I ended up in the E.R. and they were able to record it and got it stopped with medication. This particular episode started me on the path with the Pulmonary Doctor who ended up putting me in a sleep study which confirmed my OSA.

Now, several months later, no other episodes. I hope it stays that way. I am also on a medication to slow the heart down. I am working on losing weight and the CPAP treatment is definitely helping with sleep and better quality of life.

I hope all this information helps answer your question.

[BonnieB]

Thank you for your responses. I'm on Flecainide (100 mg twice a day) and coumadin. The Flecainide has been 100% effective in eliminating the arrhythmia and my doctors have done their job. But immediately upon taking this drug a year ago, I felt nervous (very uncomfortable) and that has continued, my eyes immediately and then progressively have gotten blurrier, and I have never ending loud ringing in my ears, which didn't start until December. I'm kind of in a tough place because I don't want to go to the next step, which is ablation or a pacemaker. I'm soooo hoping that either the apnea has caused these symptoms which I have been attributing to the Flecainide and they go away with therapy or I can work with a specialist to find out if the arrhythmia goes away on its own after I've been on the machine for several months. (Based on my experience, this person may not exist.) Sorry for the attitude.

[diboja]

There are many causes of arrythmias as you are probably aware of....
In my case I have PVC's (premature ventricular contractions) and was taking an anti-arrythmia med.

I have been on CPAP treatment for 5 months and by month two my arrythmias stopped and I discontinued the meds completely (after discussing it with my doctor). So far so good.

BUT that was with my particular type of arrythmia - there are too many types of causes of arrythmias and it may work for me but others may not be helped.

[Jersey Girl]

I also have documented arythmia - I take atenelol every day and it keeps me steady - some times if I am ill - it's possible that it will still occur and then I have to take a little more. I am very lucky - no side affects, just a nice, steady heartbeat.

So sorry that you are having troubles with this medication - have you asked your cariologist if anything else might work better with less side affects?

Jersey Girl

[CiresWrossed]

Hi Bonnie,

I've been dealing with AFIB and sleep apnea now for about 9 months. The very first AFIB episode I had sent me to the hospital for a couple of days to be cardioverted. It was a wake up call for me and forced me to realize that I need to make some changes. So I finally went back to the sleep doctor and got a prescription for CPAP. Unfortunately, the CPAP has not halted the AFIB but I have never had an episode as bad as the first one. In fact, I have been able to convert myself every time since with light exercise. I spend about 30 minutes on the treadmill and things are back to normal. My cardio doc put me on rate control medicine which at first worsened my depression but after I changed to a calcium channel blocker things improved on that front. However, I was still having incidents about once a week.

If you are not aware of it I would also recommend you check out the forums at http://www.afibbers.org (look for Current Bulletin Board). There are a lot of people there that are very familiar with arrhythmia's and they will likely have some helpful suggestions. Starting with I'm sure looking at a few supplements that many AFIB suffers have used to try to control the problem.

Good luck!

[SleepyBobR]

I believe my a-fib was aggravated, if not caused, by my OSA. I used to wake up with my heart racing and it would sometimes then go into a-fib. Other times, I'd just wake up in the morning in a-fib. These episodes would always end without intervention but they were becoming more frequent when I went on medication (Sotalol). This medication has been very effective and has held me in normal rhythm since last summer. Since going on CPAP, I no longer awaken with my heart racing like I used to but I have no direct evidence that my a-fib would not come back if I went off my medication. I have considered trying this once I really get my CPAP therapy nailed down because, like you, I'm not that crazy about the side effects of the medication.

[BonnieB]

Thank you for the web reference. I will definitely check it out. And thank you for all of your personal experiences. I don't feel so alone (and without options). Bonnie