Atrial fibrillation and hip replacement surgery

Hippychic

Hi. I was scheduled to have my second hip replaced this week, the surgery on the other one having gone well 9 months ago. However, this time I went into atrial fibrillation after they gave me the spinal anaethetic: erratic and very high heart rate, combined with very low blood pressure. The operation was abandoned and I am now facing heart tests, despite having no previous identified heart problem. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if so, how this proceeded. Could the operation ever go ahead safely?

Louisa77

Hi @Hippychic

Welcome to the Community - we are a friendly supportive group.

Your recent hip replacement has been cancelled due to concerns occurring during the anaesthetic. The important thing is that they are making sure you are safe and checking you for any heart problems.

Hopefully some of our members can pop along if they have experienced this.

Do keep us posted how you get on and hopefully you'll be having the surgery very soon.

Best wishes

Louisa (mod)

Hippychic

Hi. Just an update. I have now had 4 visits to A&E with the atrial fibrillation and it still isn't fully controlled. I'm now on a cocktail of medications, including blood thinners. The heart tests came back normal, with the cardiologist saying the fibrillation must have been caused by the anaesthetic I was given for my hip operation (which was then cancelled).

Would I have signed the consent form for the hip operation if I had understood that anaethetic could do this? Probably, because it is no different than accepting the risks of hip dislocation, infection, etc., all of which are also described as rare, but which we accept because we are so desperate to get out of hip pain. But the reality is, my health has been wrecked and I still don't have the hip replacement.

jamieA

Hi @Hippychic

I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in 2020 and put on Sulfasalazine and Naproxen. 3 months after this I was put on methotrexate and 3 months after that I suffered a bout of AF and tachycardia. I had no previous history of heart issues. The NSAID was immediately stopped. 4 months later I had a recurrence of tachycardia and when admitted to hospital was seen by a rheumatologist who reduced my MTX by half. I had no further issues until May this year where I had a contrast agent injection during an MRI scan and suffered an adverse reaction including a bout of tachycardia again. I'm now on 4 PsA drugs, 3 heart drugs and a vitamin D supplement. I've now been diagnosed with high cholesterol - despite having a very good diet, exercising, not smoking and no alcohol.

Personally I think the various drugs, steroids and treatments I've been on have added to my medical issues.

I hope your AF is stabilised soon.

Hippychic

Hi @jamieA

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post. I'm sorry you have had a bad time too, and hope matters improve for you.