AF Triggers

[Garywf]

Does anyone out there have a comprehensive list of AF triggers?

[BobD Volunteer]

We are all so different that is sadly impossible. One needs to identify one's own triggers by a process of elimination I'm afraid.

Bob

[jeanjeannie50]

No list as such that I know of but a lot of us have the same triggers. For me it is artificial additives to food -mostly sweeteners and stress.

[Enjoy]

Mine is Caffeine

[Hidden]

Heh, that would be a good but long book to write. Mine are caffeine, chocolate, too much alcohol, stress, low levels of potassium... I'm sure there are loads more.

[Garywf in reply to Hidden]

Gee that list seems a bit tough! I can deal with the potassium one by eating more bananas, not sure about the rest though.

[Drounding]

Similar to above. Caffeine, stress, lack of sleep, low potassium, alcohol and some foods. Lots unfortunately and it's not easy to be 100% sure either about any of them.

[squirrel21 in reply to Drounding]

Also similar to me.

[wpw62]

Stress with me. Told to avoid all exercise. Stopped drinking alcohol Will have to monitor chocolate - not sure about that. Also changed to decaf tea.

[Garywf in reply to wpw62]

Decaf or green tea for me as well. Hard to avoid ALL exercise, that's a tough one.

[Bagrat in reply to Garywf]

I read somewhere green tea is a no no with warfarin which is sad as I like it.

[rosailor in reply to Bagrat]

Hi Bagrat.

I too love green tea, I was taking it before I started taking warfarin.

When I started taking warfarin I told my health nurse she said that iOK just as long as I continue to take the same quantity..

Seems the dose of warfarin you need depends to a degree on your diet.

Greens like lettuce,brockly,green tea reduce the effect of warfarin

so to bring your INR reading back up to compensate if you started taking green tea your warfarin dose would need to be increased

That's what I was lead to believe anyway

[pip_pip in reply to Bagrat]

I drink Green tea all the time. Never had a problem. Altho regular drinking would accomodate a regular ir.

[Hidden]

I forgot, lying down is a trigger as well. None of my reactions to triggers last long.

Koll

[Garywf in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Koll, I could deal with most on your list, but ALL food is another matter entirely.

[Hidden]

I think the main one with me is stress but also I have to be carefull not to over exercise

[Garywf in reply to Hidden]

Stress gets quite a few mentions as a trigger but a difficult one to avoid. Exercise is interesting as some people name it as a trigger whilst others say it can settle AF.

[Hidden in reply to Garywf]

Hi Garywf,I used to cycle 10 miles a day on top of doing a manual job did a few weights and after getting home went up to school to help my wife who was the caretaker,so as you can see i wasn,t a lazy person and i tried to keep my self fairly fit.Since my ablation although i want to get back in a routine of fittness i find if i do to much to soon it knocks my progress back 2 weeks each time i try to do a little bit extra.My doctors told me to stick just to walking so Iv,e built it up slowly and now do 2.5 miles a day.It,s 5 months since my ablation and I suppose your age makes a difference to how soon you recover I,m 62 now so i suppose i can,t expect to much although I,d love to get back on my bike,just don,t rush it take it slowly and good luck

[dedeottie]

Life! Impossible to isolate exact triggers but definitely anxiety as opposed to stress and unfortunately, alcohol. X

[Garywf in reply to dedeottie]

Stress and alcohol seem to be two of the big ones.

[kakapo]

I'm more interested in the underlying causes than triggers. I don't like tea and coffee and have way too many alcoholics in my ancestry to ever want to touch alcohol. Initially I thought chocolate might have been a trigger but the reality is in my case anyway AF just turns up when it feels like it.Sotalol and flecainide definitely made it far worse and magnesium supplementation seems to reduce frequency.

Ectopic beats on and off over one to 2 days normally precede an attack in my case and I wonder if I could control the ectopics would the AF go away.

[sautee]

Overeating (i.e., a larger than normal lunch AND dinner) seems to be a trigger for me. Some afib events continue to be random - no identifiable triggers. Frustrating!

[Bagrat]

Nothing specific but last time was with a viral infection so cardiologist said that caused it. I felt more likely dehydration and exhaustion.

[mumknowsbest Volunteer]

I have no triggers that I could recognise, it would just suddenly kick in and that was that. Everyone is different as Bob said and I think you would need a massive book to list all the possibilities because as you noticed what is a trigger for some people can be a way of stopping it for others.

Eileen

[Garywf in reply to mumknowsbest]

Yes it will be a large list & to demonstrate that I will consolidate all the answers and post the result.

[Maitha]

Others list look similar to mine in addition to migraine for me which is related to food mainly , heavy meals , sleep directly after a meal specially at night , flue and blocked nose

We are all different and everyone may have different triggers

Maitha

[Thomas45]

Defintely coffee and soya, perhaps caffeine.

[Garywf in reply to Thomas45]

Thanks Thomas, from the responses received caffeine is right up there with alcohol & stress.