Paul's Guestbook

Paul Rose  Hi Gabi,
Great to hear from you, and happy to relinquish the zipper/zapper lead back. Now I'm not sure you needed to go quite as far as another set of surgery to get it. But since you have, I'll continue to support you all the way. Cant believe just how long it has been since we first met on the then HVJ.

Glad to hear that your heart is strong and your suspicions were vindicated. Sounds like you have a "intelligent" surgeon who can communicate - more than half the battle. You will be back from your re-repair in no time. In the meantime perfectly acceptable to take those rests along the way, make the best of it and indeed you know the plan is nice and easy until you're back up and ready to restart your Zumba.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Your Pom friend Paul

Paul Rose  Hi Penny,
Great to hear from you too, I often think about my Mountain Biking inspiration! 😀😀 Hasn't time flown. Hope all is still going well and Looking forward to hearing all about the last 4 years on your anniversary 😀. Back at you with the hugs xo

Paul Rose  I have been corresponding with Rach right from the start, am absolutely gutted that she is having such a tough time. Did not have these emotions before the surgery, just really hope that everything starts to turn around for her - she is no longer a member of the leaky hearts club band, just an achy breaky broken heart looking to mend - real soon

On the INR, what dose are you on? Mine was 4.7 towards the end, which was alternating 4.5mg & 5mg days. If I needed to get it up a little I did the 4x5 and 3x4.5, similarly to lower I did it the other way around - that worked for me.

Take care and let me know how your zap goes.

Paul

Paul Rose 
Hi. Gabi, thanks for the nomination, definitely flattered but it is a democratic process and will need to contact all the founder members :-)

My INR was right on the bottom limits when they did the cardioversion. But the cardiologist and I agreed on the risk and it's been humming along nicely ever since. I had to stay on warfarin for 6 months after - did I ever say I hate the stuff! Anyway, it's the most amazing sensation when you feel your heart kick back into rhythm. I hope that you are there too.

You can definitely cope with anything, Heart surgery, a DC shock that's enough to start a small truck or lorry depending on where you live and that was the easy stuff ;-)

Good luck with the shock, may it be on time And have all the right results. If you have to wait to get your INR back in range, then just make sure you get tested every seven days and adjust as needed.

Now as for club activities, keeping P-waves, rhythm guitar, and sense of humour for starters are all in. But most of all right now, hoping that Rach pulls through her tough time.

Good luck with the zap

Paul

Paul Rose  Hi Gabi, thanks!

Here's to you regaining your P-wave, the marker that you are indeed out of Afib and back in Normal Sinus Rhythm. May your retune stick and the music play on.

I have found a great Afib information community @:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AFIBsupport/
Its a yahoo group and you may need to subscribe

Good luck

Paul

Paul Rose  Hi Gabi! Thanks, and I am happy to report I feel great. Yes, still got rhythm and have been loving every minute of it for approx 13 months 5 days and 2 hours... Not that I'm counting :-)).

I had been in Afib for 15 months after diagnosis. My surgeon was an optimist and it proved to be a correct diagnosis. No ablation, wait until heart remodelled to shrink to normal size, this is where having a large heart was not a good thing and as they say the rest is history. The sword of Damocles is still there,, but most of the time right at the very back of the cupboard, stored well out of the way. I have a BP cuff that detects Afib, and every time that I have worried that it just might be back, I pop it on the cuff, take a quick measurement and so far have had an all clear .

I hit the gym for a hard 1 hour workout 2-4 times a week depending on my work load. BP 107/75 and resting heart rate now down to 62 ish. In workouts I can push my heart rate close to 170 - that's right at the upper limits for my age and high aerobic training:-)


Good luck with the cardioversion and please do let me know how you get on. I will be pulling for you.

Cheers

Paul

Paul Rose  Hi Ken,

Apologies for not responding earlier.

Hope you are still in NSR, the exctopics stay away and off as many drugs as you can be.

Cheers

Paul

Paul Rose  Hi Ernie, Thanks!

In no time at all you will be looking back at the other side of the mountain with absolute wonder. Often it may feel like a roller coaster, but the end of the ride is worth every minute.

Take care and all the very best with your journey

Paul Rose  Hi Jeff, Thanks!

The waiting really is the worst part. I did lots of research which made me really comfortable with what needed to be done and put the risks into perspective. Once I had gained trust and confidence in my surgeon the rest became much easier. I can empathise with the worry though - I second guessed myself a few times. The difference even a day after surgery is amazing, euphoria ! And the success rates are getting better all the time.

Good luck and take care

Paul Rose  Hi Connie! Thanks and happy anniversary too.

I can echo the feeling lucky and never cease to be amazed at the skills of the medical teams. Interested in which eye you had the "shutters" on and is your BP low too. I came off the Bisoprolol (ACE inhibitor) and have been free from dizziness since then - as my BP is just a little higher :-)

Happy Anniversary for the 17th and many, many more of them. Looking forward to our year anniversary!

Paul Rose  Hi Adam! many thanks and great work on an amazing site. I have become an ambassador for it in the UK ;-)

Paul Rose  "Thanks! Good to see you are happy and fantastic that you have stayed in NSR, long may you stay that way. Needless to say I will be staying away from Ephedrine.

All I need to do now is emulate your second Cardioversion. My BP averages 101/70 and heart rate 71 bpm, OK for now. I would like to get off the meds to get away from any long term side effects and my systolic BP up a little . if I stand too quickly I can get a little dizzy. That said I am really happy to have a p-wave and to wait for a while if it gets me to the goal."

Paul Rose  Hi Ken

Apologies for not replying earlier.
That encounter with Amio sounds awful and good to get off it, I hated the stuff quickly enough. Did they put you on Rhythm and rate control meds (ACE (and BETA Blockers) after surgery?

I was in Afib for nearly a year before the operation. I was offered a Electrical Cardioversion at the time but declined as the stats then were not on my side. I discussed having a maze to eliminate my Afib with my surgeon, with his stats he is one of the best in the world, and he was not convinced it was the right way to go - so we agreed no "maze". The theory was that post surgery your left ventricle remodels and gets smaller and my Afib should resolve - hence the not pushing the heart too hard in rehab. Well I was a little skeptical, but it worked! Waited 2 months post rehab... still in Afib (No P-Wave). Had the shock and as they say to now, the rest is history.

My understandin as a layman on Electrical (DC) cardioversion - an electric shock is used to help your heart beat at normal rhythm. It's usually given if your arrhythmia has lasted longer than 48 hours. DC cardioversion is apparently less likely to work if the arrhythmia has been present for over a year. It's also not suitable if the irregular rhythm is coming and going, since it's most likely that the arrhythmia will return after DC cardioversion.

The results of DC cardioversion in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation indicate a high initial effectiveness but poor long-term effectiveness:
70-90% patients with chronic atrial fibrillation will be converted to sinus rhythm by DC cardioversion
60-75% of successfully cardioverted patients will revert to atrial fibrillation within one year

Co-ordinated atrial activity may not resume for 2 weeks following cardioversion even if sinus rhythm is apparent on the ECG

The DC Cardioversion itself was painless, I was under a general anesthetic. I believe the procedure is only conducted if you have a missing P-Wave, I was sedated, the strangest part was being in NSR after and feeling a normal heart beat. I am still on Rythm and Rate control and Warfrin just in case I go back to Afib. Although I am hoping to get off them all :-)

I have found a great Afib information community is:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AFIBsupport/

Its a yahoo group and you may need to subscribe

I have quite a few bookmarks that go through the nitty gritty of DC Cardioversion, happy to email them to you if it helps

Hope you have spontaneously reverted.

Paul

Paul Rose  Hi Linda,

Tell Elsie she is doing a fine job and that you will get used to her thumping around. Sounds like you have a real winner there. Time to relax and let elsie get moooving on with her job :-)

Hope all is well

Paul

Paul Rose  Hey Leo, thanks, it is a great shock to have!

I saw the SCUBA link and it looks promising. Just hope that the Afib goes away completely and I get off the Warfrin and rest of meds at some stage. Althought Warfrin is better than a stroke any day.

Paul Rose  Hi Linda! It was much easier than the chest crack and definitely worth the electricity bill. Now have a heart that beats with Rythm :-)

Keepin on mooving in style, and have a happy and uneventful recovery...

Paul Rose  Hi Patricia! thanks and it still is shocking! I keep checking my pulse just to make sure and getting used to an NSR heartbeat. Two days and counting..... Just hoping it sticks

Paul Rose  Thanks for the wishes, and it has been successful so far. Just hope it sticks

As for the pram race, Rehab anchors says not this year, unless you want to push and I will sit in the pram for ballast

Cheers

Paul Rose  Hi Dee!

Appologies for not keeping the Journal up to date. Started reading a book and got too engrosed!

Yes Heather dropped by and it was good to catch up with her... No office talk though.

I am trying to keep within the thresholds set by the Rehab team and know it is the right thing to do as too quick leads to a quick relapse. Also I'm listening to the consultants not the Drs :-)

See you soon!

Paul Rose  Hi Borden & Hellen,

Thanks for the wishes, and yes it was successful. Hopefully it will stick.

Hope you had a great time in Quebec, lets try and skype soon

Paul Rose  Hi Heather,

Thanks for reposting, it was male menapause that caused me to delete it!

Really enjoyed both Olympics and Paralympics. Missed the final day of the Ryder cup though... Travelling up to Papworth.

On the FOP, first objective is get in and out of Rehab.. Yeah, Yeah , Yeah (queue song!) then out of Afib and finally back into work at Team Target. Clearly all dates negotiable and already accomplished two of them :-)

Have the gold medal up on the wall in a place of honour

See you soon