Since many who have atrial fibrillation also have high blood pressure, this interesting new study out of Vanderbilt University Medical Center may be of value to know about.
This study finds that, contrary to the current U.S. hypertension guidelines, thiazide diuretics need to be combined with “potassium-sparing” drugs to reduce sudden cardiac death risk.
Read Caution for Those Being Treated for High Blood Pressure
11 months ago I was diagnosed with Afib. Warfarin was prescribed, I had 14 Severe Side Effects including severe insomnia, a ‘chemical burn’ sensation in my mouth, tongue & lips, & elevated blood pressure. Metoprolol was prescribed for the blood pressure, resulting in an additional 5-6 NEW side effects. 4 months after diagnosis I felt as though I was ‘losing my mind’, (Depressed, extreme anxiety, Frustration, anger issues) & my Primary Physician who’d diagnosed Afib refused to change or take me off the medications. As a result I left his practice & went to a new Primary Physician who changed my medications to Eliquis & Diltiazem. Over the past 5 months I’m having reactions to each of these, but not as severe as with previous med.’s. I’ve isolated reactions to each, & decided the one that needs to be changed is Diltiazem (for blood pressure).
My Primary #1 Concern when changing Med.’s is the potential Side Effects, what Damage are they going to do to my overall health.
Margaret,
Thank you for sharing your afib story and your symptoms. You may be interested in joining our patient discussion forum (http://forum.stopafib.org/index.php) to connect with other patients who collectively have a great amount of knowledge and experience. You may want to post your story and questions there, and you may also learn a lot from others who have already shared their experience.
You’ll need to join to see and participate in the discussion. To do so, go to forum.stopafib.org, and click on the big red button that says, “Sign Up”. Once you sign up by registering your email address, your preferred username, and a password, you’ll receive an email to confirm your interest in joining the forum. Click on the confirmation link in that email, and you are ready to go. You’ll be able to log into the forum, read the discussions, and participate. I hope that you are able to find others to connect with there that can give you advice, suggestions, and hope.
There are many resources on living with afib that you might find helpful.
For more information on afib and afib management, we have many resources available to you.
• News Stories on afib http://www.stopafib.org/news.cfm
• Patient Resources at MyAfibExperience.org
• Afib Blog
• Video Presentations from the 2015 Atrial Fibrillation Patient Event
• Replays of our 2018 Patient Conference
• Replays of our 2019 Patient Conference
• StopAfib.org Library: If you already have an account, you can log in here: https://stopafib.knowledgelink.tv/ To create an account, go here: https://getinrhythm.com/stopafiblibrary/
• Please consider attending our 2022 conference! The 2022 Get In Rhythm, Stay In Rhythm® Virtual Atrial Fibrillation Conference will be August 5-7, 2022 in Dallas, TX and will also be available livestreamed online. Learn more at GetInRhythm.com.
Best of luck to you! We wish you sinus rhythm.