Darren's Journal

Hi im wondering if any one here had mitral valve surgery that caused afib. I am in that position after mtral repair 18 monyhs ago...i recently had a pulminary vein isolation ablation to treat the afib. I was told it went well but 2 days later had a full blown afib attack. They loaded me with ameoderone to put me in sinus rythm. Starting with a massive 1200mg per day.i have weaned down to 100mg per day. Its been a moth and i get very breathless and tire easily.im frustrated as it says in articles i read that a return to normal activity takes 7 days. Im worried the breathlessness is a more underlying issue. I had an echo done which says my EF is normal at 50-60%.which is a relief as im worried about chf. Heart issues just suck. Im active and do a physical job this shit just holds me back. And feed bavk would be appreciated.im not at all happy just now

Hi. Darren here from newzealand. Ythere is a major study and scientific research into a possible Cure for afib and other arryhmeas funded by scientific and medical research here in nz. Its headed by a leading expert in neurology with a team of cardoo experts. It involves looking at the brains function in sendindg electrical signals to yhe electrical cells in the heart nd treating the area of the brain. A lot of pioneering work has been done in newzealand and a team are traveling around the world lecturing about the studies. I only recentley read this and according to article they are looking at doing a procedure that can do away with drugs like ameoderone and blood thinners and also ablation. This kind of research gives a lot of hope for afib sufferers.i will post more info as it comes up

Hi. It is 11 months since my mitral valve repair. What was meant to be a routine repair resulted in complications from dresslers syndrome. Atrial fibrillation. Severley enlarged left atria. Lv dysfunction. Atrial flutter with rapid rates of 220 this resulting in a flutter ablation. 2018 was a shitty year and so much fear a misery from the on going issues. I will be having a pulminary vien ablation for afib in october. Im happy to report that im currently med free incl blood thinners and beta blockers. Also stayed off the evil drug ameoderone. Am managing 10k walks. Working as a self employed house painter and coping well with it. I get a flutter occasionally but it passes. And for some reason fell permanently light headed. Wondering if im not quite getting enough oxygen. Any one else get that ? Wishing everyone out there on in this group best wishes in all they are going through. Gret to know we can share and know we are not alone in our journeys

Does any one know of a phenomenon called reverse cardiac re modeling? For example mtral valve regurgitation causes left atrium to severley enlarge so it has re modled. After mitral valve repair over time it can reduce back to a more normal size and function.that is reverse re modeling. This can happen if you have a steady sinus ryyhm. I get afib as a result of severley enlarged LA. Mitral valve was fixed last year and if anyone out there experienced there atrium returning to normal or improved be good to hear. Thanks

Hi everyone from newzealand i have a special word for all of the bros and sisters. This is a word from the newzealand maori language used a lot down here it is KIA KAHA and it means STAY STRONG. Remember there are millions of us heart warriors out there. We are not alone.x

Hi. Darren here from newzealand. Glad to have found this group today. Im a 52 yo male and was diagnosed with mitral valve regurgitation in 2013. I was told there was no other issues with my heart and told i would be moniterd for any changes in my condition. I carried on with my normal active life which included physical work.boxing. hiking. Traveling. Riding my harley and hot rods. I never smoked or bothered with drugs but liked a social drink. It came as a surprise that i had a heart issue but by 2017 i noticed symptoms. SOB. Tiredness and some palpatations. The doc said it was near time to have my mitral valve repaired so it was done successfully in june 2018. I did very well with recovering over the first 6 weeks. Depression did get me a bit and some bizarre emotional scenes but learned this was normal. I ended up getting a bad dose of pericarditis then a fib which i had never even heard of. Then after a scan was told my left atrium was severely enlarged and i had moderate lv cardiomyopathy. To be honest i was devistated to find this out considering my lv function and left atrium were well in the normal range pre surgery. I developed a nast atrial flutter which drove my heart rates up to 220 bpm. Had a close call walking on the beach and was rushed to hospital where they loaded me with the terrible drug ameoderone. I did not do well on it as it affected my eyes and thyroid function and liver function. It stopped the flutters but i refused to take anymore. Next it was an ablation to fix the flutter which worked well but in early feb after a heavy gym session i went into atrial fibrillation and that lasted 5 days in and out of sinus rythm. Its been decided to do an af ablation in the next 6 months. I have to be honest and say theres been a lot of anxiety and sadness through this whole ordeal. I have managed to stay in sinus for the last 7 weeks and been walking several miles every day. I get SOB sometimes and some chest pains. Am eating a heart healthy diet and lost 12kg in weight to help my condition. I cant help having a deep underlying sadness and disappointment i ended up with heart structure issues and arythmeas. Its 9 months since my op and im really wanting a full recovery from this. Its beginning to really piss me off now. Thank you for reading my story would love to hear from anyone. Thankyou and good luck to everyone