[waterbuffalofarmer]

Since last I posted about dads heart op no date has been set Dad had another ep last night of atril fibrilation and took his meds, but it never worked, so this morn mum took him into a&e. He is still there now and they are trying to get it back to normal, they are trying a new medication on him which is called  adenizine, well when I say new I mean new to him. Apparently it stops and starts the heart. If that doesnt work it will br electric shocks. He may have to stay in hospital tonight if it doesnt work trying to keep positive but it can be a little difficult. Barts hospital assessed him but they are dilly dallying, which is highly annoying. We are now looking at next year for his op, which id highly inconvenient for us and him as its mad from feb-october, what with milking, calving, lambing, shearing, hay. I dont know what next year holds but whatever it may be we will just have to manage. I am really sorry to be venting this, but I needed to be able to talk about it somewhere. I dont want to worry mum any more than she is.

[PK]

I hope all goes well. Try not to worry too much about the future as the mind will work overtime on the worst case scenarios.

[sabrina]

Hard time for you hope your dad gets well.

[Bionic]

I know it's easy to say don't worry but if you can channel your vibes on something else.


Let's hope the new meds do what they are supposed to for him until he can have his op.

[paddy1200]

Does your father have atrial fibrillation or SVT? adenizine is usually used to slow the heart rate in SVT (supra ventricular tachycardia) AF is usually treated with Warfarin and sometimes beta-blockers

[Black Sheep]

Does your father have atrial fibrillation or SVT? adenizine is usually used to slow the heart rate in SVT (supra ventricular tachycardia) AF is usually treated with Warfarin and sometimes beta-blockers

Adenosine in AF sounds odd to me too - perhaps it is a more complex arrhythmia? If they're at this point then they must have exhausted beta blockers, amiodarone, flecainide and so on... you'd hope!

Warfarin is used in AF but has nothing to do with the rhythm itself - it is used to reduce the risk of stroke associated with the condition. [member=42855]waterbuffalofarmer[/member] I presume your dad is either a) under 65 and otherwise very healthy, b) on some form of anticoagulant or c) has decided against having one? If none of these this is a question he needs to ask.

Presume they are looking at an ablation procedure? Hope he's sorted soon.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Yea he has AF according to his consultant. His brother had the other one, but was sorted ages ago. They managed to use that med to regulate it all and he is ok now, back home and having some rest. Yea he is only 51 and is very fit and healthy. He has had this for nearly 9-10 years and has been treated via meds for it. It only got worse after his first ablation procedure went wrong, the guy who is supposed to be doing it next time  professor schilling at barts, I think, will be a lot better.  He is currently on warfarin, bisoprelol and flecenaide, I think they gave this to him to help him as an emergency this time. Still worrying though and especially for him. Dad was in A&E all day today, until 1/2 past 6pm

[Fleecewife]

If it's a cardioversion (electric shock) he's going for, then genuinely don't worry.  I have had 7 and all but one was successful, for a time at least.  The experience is a non-event as the patient is sedated so doesn't know or feel a thing until it's done. 
Many people live on meds only with AF, enough to bring the heart rate down somewhat, plus an anticoagulant.  Without knowing the details of your dad's condition, I would say place your confidence in the doctors, and don't try second guessing what's happening - every person with a heart condition is different and the treatment for each is tailor made for them.
Heading for surgery, your dad needs to be calm and relaxed and not have to even think about if things are hectic on the farm.  Is it possible for you to bring in hired help or HelpX students to tide you over until he has totally recovered?

[paddy1200]

I don't think they cardio-vert AF patients. I may be wrong of course.
this is informative

https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/atrial-fibrillation

[Fleecewife]

I don't think they cardio-vert AF patients. I may be wrong of course.
this is informative

https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/atrial-fibrillation

The cardioversions I had done were to correct AF.

[paddy1200]

As i said, i may be wrong.

[Lesley Silvester]

It's a very worrying time for you all. I do hope that he gets the treatment a lot sooner.

[Black Sheep]

He is currently on warfarin, bisoprelol and flecenaide

That sounds much more like it as a set of meds [member=42855]waterbuffalofarmer[/member]. Ablations are also tricky things - a decent proportion of people need a repeat procedure due to new electrical pathways firing up that weren't detectable at the time of the first procedure.

Cardioversions (both electrical and pharmacological) are definitely used for AF. The limitation of electrical ones, as inferred by [member=4333]Fleecewife[/member], is that unless they are done right at the onset of the first episode of AF then the success rate long-term often isn't great. Seven is quite a number!

[Marches Farmer]

Do you know why Barts are dilly-dallying?  Can you cut right down on stock numbers for next year to ease the work burden?

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Do you know why Barts are dilly-dallying?  Can you cut right down on stock numbers for next year to ease the work burden?

Idk tbh. My eldest brother lives just up the road so he may be able to help out a bit, we also have a good farming friend nearby so he may be able to help us too. No not really, we are trying to build up genetic quality atm, but we may be selling some more in a year or 2, of the lower yielders. We'll just have to organise everything on a large chart. Hopefully if the op is early next year he may be fine for shearing and haymaking, but only helping that is. We have professionals come and do it for us, its just the lugging of the bags or hay bales after which is the problem. If push comes to shove we may hire someone as a temp help.