How Do You Manage Your Afib Symptoms?

In a recent call with 25 women, we asked every participant how they experience atrial fibrillation (Afib) as well as how they manage their symptoms and what tips and tricks they use. Here are their answers.

How Do You Experience Atrial Fibrillation?

Experiencing an atrial fibrillation attack can be a very stressful experience especially if the cause for it is unknown. Also, the way people experience the feeling of an arrhythmia can vary greatly due to severity and other subject-specific reasons. Here are some feelings and experiences of women with atrial fibrillation:

• Uncertainty
• Anxiety
• Fear
• Fatigue

More physical manifestations reported included:

• Throbbing in the neck area
• Dizziness
• Losing consciousness
• Skipping heartbeat or flutter

Participants also reported symptoms arising more often later in the day or at night and this caused issues with falling asleep.

Wish to read more about the differences between women and men when it comes to afib manifestation? Visit our Women and Afib information page.

What Do You Do In the Event of an Atrial Fibrillation Attack?

These questions had many types of answers but most of them concentrated on either taking one’s mind off the matter or on trying to manage the attack symptoms as best as possible. Here are some example answers to the question of atrial fibrillation attack management:

• Staying Calm
• Taking medication
• Relaxing/sitting down
• Doing some cycling
• Going for a walk
• Doing breathing exercises

Some less common answers that might also be helpful include:

• Drinking cold water
• Cleaning around the house
• Telling someone about how you feel

Learn more about the pharmacological treatment options that exist for afib and the effect of lifestyle factors on afib.