I’m 77 yrs old but had been in great physical shape, very active in sports, biking, & around the house & yard, etc. Then I was injured in a freak accident 8/30/17 when a car crashed into a building where I was a customer, sending me to emergency vascular surgery for compartment syndrome (R. calf.) I spent 4 days in hospital, had 2 surgeries in that period, & am now assigned to Physical Therapy for several mos. About 10 days after the accident, my vascular surgeon referred me to a cardiologist for heartbeat concerns just noticed by him; I’m now diagnosed with A. Fib, on blood thinners for rest of my life, & had a cardioversion in 10/2017. My cardiologist says because I hadn’t had an EKG prior to my accident, he can’t say that the AFib was caused by the accident & the resulting horrific stress (for example, I was told by the ER doc that my leg might be amputated, had to undergo gen. anesthesia, of which I am very leery, & have been forced to spend more time idle in the last 3 mo. than ever in my life – I NEED to be active.)
Prior to my accident, my only health issues were hypertension (well-controlled via meds) & a bum knee; I’d been seeing my primary care doc at least annually.
Do you feel the accident may be implicated in my 9/2017 diagnosis of A Fib?
Age: 77
Male
Medications: warfarin (now!); lisinopril; hydrochlorothiazide
Hi
compartment syndrome = internal bleeding, sever bleeding can cause heart problems like Atrial fibrillation
Good luck
Hi.
Yes, at times accident or traumatic injury can cause damage to heart muscles causing Afib..
However proper medications can help in alleviating the symptoms..
Also get regular checkup done to see how it improves..
Regards.
Hi,
In my opinion yes sure it could be the cause of atrial fibrillation as it is a secondary complication of compartment syndrome.