Chemo & AFIB?

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max2111
max2111 Member Posts: 8 Member
edited March 2022 in Breast Cancer #1

Hello Everyone,

In 2013, I was diagnosed with Stage 2B Breast Cancer. Thankfully it did not metastasize. I did 16 rounds of chemo: FOUR - Red Devil, 5FU, & Cytoxan and TWELVE of Abraxane followed by 6 weeks of radiation. I also did a year of Herceptin after chemo.

I finished everything but the Herceptin in 2013.

Is it possible that this many years later, that this treatment could cause AFIB in my heart?

I don't know if I have AFIB but I have some of the signs.

Thank you so much 😊❤️

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  • Christy001
    Christy001 Member Posts: 7 Member
    #2
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    Hi,

    i don’t have a specific answer to your question. And I don’t have AFIB. I have tachycardia (rapid heart beat). When I went through treatment in 2019, I’d swear my heart rate almost never registered below 120 while I was in the doctors office or the treatment center the whole year. It would often be up at 140. 😳😬 But I kept telling my Doctors it was just my PTSD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. We’d done a full battery of tests and the cardiologist had cleared me for treatment and for the surgery for the chemo port. He wasn’t happy about the tachycardia, but my blood pressure was low normal, and he understood I had more immediate problems.

    i’f had what we called “tachycardia with anxiety” prior to all this, times when my heart rate spiked. The overall tachycardia problem was being partially managed/disguised by the anxiety meds I was taking. But those changed in fall of 2016. I spent 2017-2019 telling my pcp that I was “just going through a brief hard time, it was situational, and I’d calm down. It was better at home. Mostly. I had my logs for her to see. 🙄🤦‍♀️

    In 2020 she put her foot down, we did the full run of tests again. I passed and it came up as pure tachycardia and she put me on a half a dose of beta blockers a day — and FINALLY my body isn’t kicking of my anxiety systems for no reason, or ramping them up to a level 5 when only a level 2 is needed.

    TL;DR I sympathize. Go get it checked out. No matter the reason for it you’ll feel better knowing the answer whether you need treatment or not. And you won’t be making yourself crazier each day by worrying about it. It can be a tough thing to go back to doctors again. But sometimes worth it.

  • carol_
    carol_ Member Posts: 1 Member
    #3
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    Hello, I have a-fib that comes and goes most of my adult life. With me it is unmistakable: uncomfortable palpitations, rapid heart rate, faintness, pressure in my neck. If you have a constant irregular heart beat, you should be evaluated ASAP because ongoing a-fib not treated gives you risk for developing a blood clot. If the irregular beat comes and goes, you should see a doctor who can monitor you to figure out what's going on. It's important !

    Good luck to you.

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