Is there any research taking place in... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Is there any research taking place into the causes AF. My EP said that there is an increase of AF which is not only due to aging population
Very good question I'd like more detailed information about what causes the electrical imbalances, no one has found what causes migraine either. Terjo
I have heard there has been/is research into electro-magnetic fields and their effect on the heart and body in general. I wonder whether there is a correlation between the increasing incidence of AF and the widespread ownership of mobile phones?
Nature versus nurture. I have had ectopic heartbeats for over 20 years and lone paroxysmal atrial fibrillation for nearly a year. My identical twin brother started having ectopic heartbeats only a year ago.
If we knew what caused atrial fibrillation we would be a long way to finding a cure.
Scarring to areas of the heart caused by viruses (influenza et cetera ).
Magnesium and or potassium deficiency.
Genetic predisposition (family members from both sides suffer from this disease).
I wonder if a good place to start looking would be why anti-arrhythmic drugs have the opposite effect on some people.
Having different effects on people is definitely something that should be researched. Personally I'm very fed up with being doubted about my reactions to different drugs because they're not on a list of statistics ! If you find anything please post it. Terjo
Terjo, it was assumed I would be ok on a low dose of beta blockers even though my heart rate was already too low, it knocked 10 beats plus off me down to 42 and I had no strength in my legs at all. They seem to ignore the contra-indications on the leaflets as if they know better. We are supposed to read them why don't they.
Very good question, I know for sure it is hereditary in my case. Maybe a lot of people have the potential to develop it and as with some cancers there could be a trigger of some sort. Life is certainly getting more and more stressful and as you say more and more things with strong electrical fields are around that people can be sensitive to. Prolonged exposure to office equipment. Food for thought.
I think there are triggers; but not a common one. Maybe it's a combination. There seems to be a belief that AF becomes more common with age, which seems credible. In my case I first had two separate occasions of AF when I was 32 years old and a very fit young man. No mobile phones of any consequence around - but I was overworked and highly stressed, which was all they could put it down to then. Like you, Ms-J-W, I view electronics, wi-fi and other wireless gadgets with some suspicion!
It may be because more and more of it is being detected? Like with diabetes and high/low blood pressure, more people are being tested as routine now. There has been a push on advising people how to take their pulse - maybe that has turned up more people.
I would be interested in knowing what the "increase" is that your EP mentioned; 100's, 1000's?
I think the same amount of people had it in the past the longer people live the more chances of things going wrong and as you say only now are more people being detected maybe by more routine tests being done. If someone died of a stroke years ago, that was that and no thought was given as to why. As I have researched my family history on all of my grandparents I certainly see a pattern of strokes heart attacks, heart defects etc. A bad combination of genetics and the amount of stress just in daily living. It would be interesting if there is a difference in the number of people who are well off with no money worries and those who have a daily struggle to survive.
When I was a student nurse many years ago, AF was just considered part of getting older, we could monitor it but apart from digoxin you just had to put up with it and there was no mention of it predisposing a stroke, so we have come a long way, we know a lot more about it, and therefore more people are being diagnosed. It is a growing problem though, I can't remember the numbers but it is said it will increase considerably in the next few years, but a lot of that is because of better detection.
Eileen
I am 20 weeks post ablation and am now AF free but have been having periods of ectopic beats. I have been looking at my diet to consider any food reactions that cause them and i suspect excess sugar intake to be a contributor to the problem and that long term high sugar intake may have contributed to the cause of AF for my own situation.
A recent 5 day period of ectopic beats seems to have been brought on by eating yoghurt and chocolate , this caused me to look at the ingredients and I was shocked to find that the low fat yoghurt has about 24 gm of sugar , that is about 6 teaspoons .
Looking back over the last 20 years I have often had two or three of these per day as snacks , thinking that I was eating healthy. Add this to a like for chocolate , sugar in my coffee , a touch of sugar on my cereal and the same through the rest of my diet . I suspect that long term excess sugar intake from a modern diet , could combine with other factors to sensitize the heart .
For myself , whilst being otherwise fit , normal weight and active I do consider that my diet has been poor , with an excess of convenience foods , bisquits , cake , yoghurts etc , that have had a high sugar content and over the long term have contributed to my AF problem.
Eat well
phil
Very informative replies, but where does the electricity come from ? What actually causes it to drive the heart ? Perhaps I'm just thick. I'd really like to have it explained in lay mans language though. Terjo
