I’ve got irregular heartbeat after having two heart attacks – should I be worried?

Q) I AM a 63-year-old male and recently I have been diagnosed with having an irregular heartbeat.

Before I got medication, I was waking up with my heart beating out my chest.

Sometimes it was so slow I thought it was going to stop.

It affected my sleeping.

I also get sharp pains and a feeling of being out of breath.

I have recently started on Bisoprolol and am also on Apixaban.

I have had two heart attacks since 2006.

Is there anything to worry about?

A) The commonest cause of an irregular heart beat is Atrial fibrillation (AF).

It’s a heart condition where the heart beats irregularly and faster than normal.

It’s very relevant that you’ve had heart attacks as this increases risk of developing AF.

Bisoprolol is a beta blocker – a medication which slows the heart rate, and you’re also taking Apixaban which thins the blood and prevents blood clots which are a major risk of having untreated AF.

The condition affects over 1.6million people in the UK and what’s especially concerning is that an estimated 300,000 people are unaware they have it.

AF elevates stroke risk to five times that of the general population.

But appropriate treatment, like you are on, reduces this risk significantly.

For all readers, it’s important to attend NHS Health Check appointments when invited between the ages of 40 to 74, as one of the tests is for AF.

Tip of the week

A study this week found that untreated vision loss is a risk factor for dementia.

Lots of people can get an NHS-funded eye test, including those over 60 years old or who have diabetes.

Don’t delay!