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  • glenbo

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    My doctor thinks I have afib, or atrial fibrillation, since it runs in the family and my heart has been going into palpitations lately. She's set me up with a cardiologist, should be going in a week or two for echocardiogram and sonograms. Meanwhile, I'm wondering if anyone who has or has had afib had any problems with the recoil and blast from large caliber handguns? 44 magnums and larger do have noticeable recoil and the blast can certainly be felt all over. I'd ask the cardio but I don't really expect a doctor from India can relate to handguns and their use.
    Texas SOT
     

    candcallen

    Crotchety, Snarky, Truthful. You'll get over it.
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    I have afib, have had a handful of heart attacks and have four stents. I've never noticed recoil being an issue. Cheesecake yes, recoil no.
    So Schumer must be attempting suicide. Over and over and over...
     

    skfullgun

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    I had A-fib. It lasted for 3 months straight, 24/7. I was exhausted!
    I had a cardiac ablation and it helped. I still had 2-3 days a month when I would go into tachycardia or arythmia. Then I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea.
    I was staying with family and was told I kept the house awake snoring. Since my deductible was paid already I did a sleep study.
    Turns out there is a major connection between apnea and A-fib and my cardiologist never even pursued it. When I started sleeping with a CPAP my A-fib was gone except for the occasional skip of a beat- maybe once a month.
    Go do a sleep study. When you stop breathing at night the pressure in your thoracic cavity builds up greatly. This leads to heart damage which causes AFib.
    To answer your original question, I have never noticed a connection between recoil and heart rhythm.
    However, deep, loud bass in music has made me feel pressure in my thoracic cavity.
     
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    glenbo

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    Thanks for replies. I also asked my older sister, who has had afib for over 20 years. She said she doesn't think it would be a problem, since one of the quickest ways to end an episode is making yourself cough as loud as you can, over and over, until it quits. So I'm not going to worry about it and hope to get to the range soon since there are 2 44 magnums needing breakin.
     

    benenglish

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    My sis used to regularly shoot 7x47 and .30-30 pistols back before her heart problems had been fully diagnosed. She never had any ill effects from recoil/blast/concussion.

    Further, she never has had sleep apnea but did eventually go into serious, long-running AFIB and VFIB problems. One night it got so bad she wound up in the emergency room where they had to stop her heart to reboot it. (It's really odd watching a team of doctors, nurses, and other specialists gather around a family member for the purpose of killing her, even if she was only "dead" for less than 15 seconds. Despite my rational brain knowing it was for her own good, I still have nightmares about it. But that's another story.)

    She had an ablation. It was a total miracle. They don't all work as well as hers but she got a perfect, total cure instantly without another instance of heart palpitations of any sort over the last ~15 years.

    If you need such a procedure and you're near Houston, PM me for info about her doc. They guy is, literally, one of the best in the world.
     

    single stack

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    TWIMC, the folks that may have a pacemaker in their future, please note that the doctor may have a preference for which side to install the device but it is fine to have it put in the opposite side of your long gun mounting shoulder.
    An unrelated issue is lasik surgery.
    Be mindful of which eye you want to use for front sight clarity and which eye for distance.
     

    mnpshooter

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    I do not have Afib, but I know a lot about cardiology. I have 26 years in the medical field 22 in ER a few in ICU and a couple doing cardiac stress testing. Recoil will not be a problem with Afib or any life sustaining rhythm. Afib can possibly be controlled by medication or cardiac ablation. It is common to have Afib occur with respiratory diseases like chronic bronchitis, COPD, and even pneumonia. There are a lot of people that are in permanent Afib and lead a fairly normal life using blood thinners to prevent clots which are the biggest risk with Afib.
     

    boazguey

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    Thanks for replies. I also asked my older sister, who has had afib for over 20 years. She said she doesn't think it would be a problem, since one of the quickest ways to end an episode is making yourself cough as loud as you can, over and over, until it quits. So I'm not going to worry about it and hope to get to the range soon since there are 2 44 magnums needing breakin.
    How did it go?
     

    V-Tach

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    30% of the population will experience Atrial Fibrillation. It does not change one's life expectancy. Yes, higher risk of clots forming in the left atrial appendage which when dislodged can result in strokes.

    The top of the heart (Atria) squeeze then the bottom of the heart (ventricles) squeeze. When the Atria fibrillate instead of squeeze blood does not get properly pumped out of the Atria and can pool in the left atrial appendage located in the left atria (kind of like a small sac) That's where the highest risk of clotting occurs that can result in stroke.

    What cause atrial fibrillation? The most common causes are:

    1. Family History
    2. Heart disease (heart attack etc.)
    3. Heart valve replacements
    4. The aging process. As we get older our skin gets very thin, but our heart muscle gets thicker. This can cause changes in the electrical conduction system of the heart.
    5. Obesity
    6. Chronic long term illness like kidney or liver disease
    7. Hypertension
    8. Sleep Apnea (if you have a spouse they can tell you if you have sleep apnea. Do you quit breathing in your sleep.....most wives know...

    Symptoms:

    Some patients are asymptomatic and have no symptoms
    Shortness of breath
    Palpitations
    Chest discomfort
    Dizziness
    Excessive fatigue
    General weakness

    Treatment can depend on type of atrial fib

    Blood thinners Not all blood thinners are used for Atrial Fibrillation. The coagulation cascade is very complex and blood thinners are specific to different diagnosis's. Aspirin is not a good blood thinner for Atrial Fibrillation.

    Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation comes and goes. Depending on duration of the atrial fib you might not need to be treated. Example: Only lasts a a couple of minutes twice a year

    Persistent, longstanding atrial fibrillation. Which generally require anticoagulants (blood thinners)

    Fresh onset of persistent atrial fib can be treated medically (drugs) and or electrically (synchronized cardioversion) where they attempt to shock you back into rhythm. Synchronized cardioversion can work and may or may not last long term. You are sedated and a defibrillator is used. The difference between synchronized cardioversion and defibrillation is when the shock is delivered at a specific point during the heart cycle. An echocardiogram is always done before to assess if there are clots in the left atrial appendage. Any clots would keep the cardioversion from being performed. Folks who have been in Atrial Fibrillation for years are poor candidates for synchronized cardioversion.

    Atrial Fib can be fast or slow. If it gets too slow, a pacemaker can be warranted. Generally fast Atrial Fib is treated by medications. Both can also be treated with RF Ablation

    Electrical treatment can also be RF Ablation. Generally under sedation (not usually anesthesia). Small catheters are generally placed femorally (groin) and positioned in the heart chambers/valves and outflow tract. The catheters can be placed in the artery and veins. Then the electrical conduction of the heart is mapped. The catheters have several electrodes attached to them.

    This is generally performed by an Electrophysiologist (they are also a Cardiologist but specialize in rhythm treatments). When they find the accessory pathway (where the conduction issue is) they use another catheter that uses radio frequency to ablate that part of the heart muscle. Thus elimination of the Atrial Fibrillation. It is sometimes not 100% effective, but close and may or may not last long term. If successful and the patient has been on anticoagulants (blood thinners) they generally continue taking them for at least 6 months.

    A Cardiologist can also place a device into the left atrial appendage effectively blocking it off preventing clots from forming there. No long term anticoagulants (blood thinners) are indicated after placement. The current device is called the Watchman


    But to answer the original question........recoil has no effect on Atrial Fibrillation.

    Disclaimer: I am not a physician and in no way should this information be construed as medical advice to any particular person(s).
     
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    glenbo

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    How did it go?
    Welcome to TGT. I never had an appt with the cardiologist. I went to our family doc, she made the appt, but then the rice rabies hit and everybody shut down. The doctor (cardiologist) would only allow a few people at a time in his office, and I got really irritated waiting to see if I would ever be seen, so I just forgot about it. It has come back a few times, but nothing like the first time. The last 2 years we have had someone else mowing the grass during the hottest time of the year, so that's no longer a threat. I exercise and go for fast walks some days when I'm able to get up early enough, and that seems all I need to keep it from happening. I still haven't made it to the range, but those guns were stolen anyway.
     

    outdare

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    I went into AFib while I was working on fence in 100 + temps. Doc said it was caused by dehydration. Had the ablation done and I am fine. They had me on meds while I waited for my surgery. It was a day surgery in at 5am out by 1 at Med City in Dallas. I had about four days or so light duty to allow the plug(entry point for the scope to heal). I had no Ill effects while I was shooting with AFib.

    Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk
     

    Double Naught Spy

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    30% of the population will experience Atrial Fibrillation. It does not change one's life expectancy.

    Sort of like MS doesn't shorten your life expectancy, only everything associated with it does. Afib won't shorten your life expectancy. Strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, blod clots etc. that are associated with afib most definitely can impact life expectancy. So while afib doesn't do it by itself, it raises the risk for this other things to harm and kill you.

    Blood thinners are not a treatment for afib. They are a treatment to prevent blood clots (and also strokes) as caused by afib. This is sort of a critical point of understanding. Saying that afib doesn't affect life expectancy really misses a critical medical point.

    Used to have afib. Ablation and cardioversion to correct. No longer have said issues. Never had any issues with shooting per se because of it, but certainly could have it the tachycardia onset while shooting.

    Tachycardia is only of the things associated with afib. Runaway heart can also kill you.
     
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