IS IT SAFE TO DRINK ALCOHOL WITH AF? - Atrial Fibrillati...
IS IT SAFE TO DRINK ALCOHOL WITH AF?
Is it safe to drink alcohol? Period. Many will say no it isn't and for sure if you find that alcohol sets off an event then of course it is stupid to persist but the general rule is 2 units for ladies and three for men per day. Alcohol can affect INR levels of course so needs to be taken into consideration there.
There is evidence that excessive drinking can be a trigger for AF in some people but then so can over exercise so everything on moderation.
Got to go now it is wine o'clock..
Bob
Hi Bob , I have had so many different opinions on alcohol I just don't know what to think. So , I am completely abstaining , which is a shame as I love a relaxing glass of wine but now I am so frightened to even have a sip !!
Hi bebe7637.....I have got a bit like that, sadly.....not had a glass for months..... on holiday in France (what torture!) I just had a sip followed by a big gulp of water...(which is probably non -effective anyway)...I was Ok one night, but the next I was very fluttery at bed time...could it really have been just a couple of sips set me off?? Or just tiredness? Its hard to experiment isn't it??? The last thing you want to do is 'set it off"!!!!!!
Ok. Thanks bob. Yes everything in moderation 
Yes Trish it is in moderation, as long as alcohol is not a trigger for you.
Just about like everything else to be honest, ndo not give up an occasional glass of wine, just don't get sozzled.
Be well
Ian
Hi I've read the posts on alcohol. And yes I think it does trigger my AF. I try to limit it to a Saturday night or social occasions. If they ever happen these days. but I've found even caffeine does it and nicotine. My consultant says my heart is healthy. But I'm just unlucky to have AF. It started 5 years ago when I was only 46 no one in my family has this problem I went through a divorce and custody battle. It may have been the stress 
I used to drink the same amount of red wine every day for decades. But eventually I came the conclusion it was a trigger, but I was kidding myself it wasn't. It was often/usually fine, but occasionally it wasn't and it would set me off, usually in the middle of the night. I think in theory it may be OK, but in practice you may have a glass too many, or maybe without sufficient food, or it's just one of those days, pass! So I went tee-total about 6 months' ago and to my amazement I do not miss alcohol one tiny bit. I have found some good alcohol-free wine (at £2.50 a bottle ) and discovered that what I missed wasn't alcohol, it was holding and sipping a glass of red wine when watching the tele. Same with beer, I drink Becks Blue which is actual beer, but with the alcohol removed.
Koll
PS. My dose of Warfarin had to increase from 7.5 to 8 mg a day to compensate, and my cholesterol went up high. Waiting to see on that one.
Hi Koll,
So what impact has your abstention had on your AF? Do you mind if I ask how many glasses a day you had before?
Cheers
Mark
Hi Mark, I had 2 large glasses a day, after food in the evening. My arrhythmia during the night pretty well stopped after going tee-total. It seemed to come on about 2-3 a.m. before, only slight usually, but annoying. I never drink during the day but did have a cold beer or two during the day when on holiday, then my 2 large glasses on wine in the evening. That really brought my arrhythmia on and made me realise I was walking a tight rope, so went tee-total.
People say they feel better after giving it up, but can't say I feel any different at all. I used to feel a bit groggy and slow sometimes and put it down to the wine, but I'm still the same now
Hi Koll, that's pretty conclusive. It sounds as though you have vagal AF, so alcohol might affect that at night by relaxing you too much - you could try a coffee! Do you find big meals also bring it on?
Mark
Yes definitely vagal and I have to avoid big meals, and only drink decaf tea and coffee. I don't have AF though, seems to be ectopics. K
Being honest with myself, a big reason why I had a few months persisting with Aspirin before committing to Warfarin when I was first diagnosed was that I didn't want to drastically cut down on my drinking. I was never a "problem drinker", but through my twenties and early thirties I was almost always over that recommended alcohol limit that Bob mentioned.
For the next twenty or so years, I cut my alcohol consumption to below the safe limit, but I would still binge drink on a Saturday night. When I finally opted for Warfarin, I would still have a couple of pints on a Saturday night (the only time I would touch alcohol during the week), but the trend towards me tending to have episodes which started in the early hours of a Sunday morning or when I went bed on a Sunday night continued.
In April 2012, I decided to go tea total and, although I've not seen a decline in the number of episodes I get, they are likely to come any day of the week now - the number I get on a Sunday has declined.
I tend to think that no two cases of AF are exactly alike, but, in mine, I think it's reasonable to conclude that my chances of having an episode on any given day are higher if I have drunk alcohol than if I haven't.
Just to add, I'm exactly like Koll - I don't miss the booze at all, but any pub I visit has to serve Becks Blue!
Interesting what you say about Becks Blue. Long before I was diagnosed with AF I used to find that ANY alcohol tripped me off into my wobblies as I called them. I then tried Kaliber alcohol free beer (sponsors of one of my competitors in BTCC actually) and found it was even worse! Alcohol free beer is made like ordinary beer and then has the alcohol removed by reverse osmosis so I came to the conclusion that it wasn't the alcohol but an enzyme formed during fermentation so went totally tea total. Long after diagnosis and tempted one evening over dinner by a Gevrey Chambertin I found that if I sipped it and enjoyed the subtle flavours I was fine so now drink within my daily limits some days not at all.
I think it was Voltaire who once wrote." There was a night, I don't remember when, There was a girl, I don't remember her name. And there was a wine and it was Chambertin."
Bob
I don't drink but I still got AF . I looked and looked but I never found any trigger.. Eat, drink and be merry , Just do it all in moderation and back off if it is causing a problem
I drink wine every day and I am fine. It is not a trigger for me, stress is 9and sometimes bread). About half a bottle of red or white. Before eating. It works for me. I do not drink spirits any more except very occasionally and in small amounts. I suspect they would be very bad for me.
That made me smile Bob! Very interesting what you say about the brewing process - I tend to have between four and five bottles of Becks Blue on a Saturday night now and used to wonder what would happen if I switched to ordinary Becks just for the night. However, the only alcohol I've tasted in a little over two years came recently when someone bought me an ordinary Becks by mistake - I took a sip and it was all I could do not to spit it out!
I drink but not a lot now. Moderation is the key.
The other benefit of going tee total is that it saves you a fortune - enough for me to buy a new titanium bike. Like the others, I do not miss the booze and it has helped enormously in removing one of my key triggers. Been 18 months now and bouts of AF seem to be decreasing - but time will tell.
I stopped drinking alcohol completely for about 6 months. However I do now have 1 average glass of my favourite red wine most but not all nights. If I am not at home I don't drink at all as the wine is poor quality usually and I have become very discerning. It's not worth clocking up the units on something I don't really enjoy. Stopping for 6 months was good as it broke the cycle of drinking more than I should. Is it a trigger fore me? Well I have A.F. episodes wether or not I have been drinking BUT often when I have A.F. I have had a drink so I guess a bit like you Bob. The wine has to be good to make it worth it! X
Hi trisha,just read today in paper one cardiologist gives his patients 2 glasses of red wine a day,after studying the French who eat more fat on average than us smoke more than us and are less active or fit as us but have less than 50% heart problems than us and they drink red wine like we drink water.But like people say if it,s a trigger for you don,t try it,it,s fine with me but i only have a glass or three at weekends then let my guts rest all week.
Hi.
Well I have a bottle on a Friday evening. Do you think this is too much ?
Only if you drive after
Curry and a bottle of Malbec for my regular Friday evening meal
If you feel ok with no after effects I would say its ok others will disagree but i enjoy a wine at weekend but i always stop short of finishing the bottle.
Depends on how big the bottle is
I couldn't possibly answer your question as I'm not qualified. What I can say from my own point of view is that I am on a statin for cholesterol and ramipril for high blood pressure. For AF I'm on warfarin and a beta blocker. The only concession I've ever made to this bloody AF was no cranberry products at all. I am managing to control (but not necessarily cure) my AF by a couple of diets, one of which has alot of exclusions among them all 'real ales'. Apart from that I carry on doing what I've always done well - booze on - G & T, alternated with only two brands of bottled beer which I can handle every other evening, and red or white wine depending on what I feel like. Some times I only have a couple of small glasses of wine, sometimes half a bottle. No problems so far, but, it really is a question of trial and error by each indiviual and their medical condition and even then half a dozen people with the same condition can all react differently to alcohol - and medications for that matter !
Aussie John
Well, I gave up alcohol because it might be a trigger. However, if I am in AF in the evening I have a large glass of red on the grounds that it can't cause any harm then!
Peter
hi,i am 74 years old with paf,idrink two and half pints of strongbow cider every night and don't have a problem.
Hi, I'm in permanent AF so I don't have episodes . Nothing triggers it . It's just there . I can't even find my pulse ! I enjoy a glass of good wine and look forward to it and see it as a sort of treat , before AF and my stroke I would drink a lot more and more often. Now my taste buds have changed and I'm lucky if I can finish the glass. ! But champagne is my downfall ! Thank goodness I can't afford it more often. We are all different , but as everyone has said , everything in moderation , and don't deny yourself little pleasures , life is for living and enjoying
I wouldnt personally been there done that...the thumping of your heart when alcohol (poison) is fed into the blood stream should tell you something...
Can someone enlighten me please, all this talk about what causes AF? I'm led to believe that AF., is to do with the electrical circuit of your heart and by the way electrical circuitry has a lot to do with may aspects of the human anatomy, so therefore it might be better to see a good electrician with a volt meter lol!
Drinking doesn't tend to set off my AF, well not directly, however depending on if it was a heavy night dehydration does. I have certainly cut down on drinking and certain foods, but like my EP said you have to enjoy life and if life involves a drink or two and you have no issues, then make merry. As so many people have stated, everything in moderation. So many things have set off my AF and if I was to give them up, then I may as well become a Monk. Giving up certain pleasures may not make you live longer, it just feels like you are Seriously, you know yourself better than anybody, so go with how you're feeling and do everything in moderation.
I try to remember I can enjoy life without a drink, luckily we have a good selection of alcohol free beers which are no different to the real thing. So, I have those when I want a beer. The last two times I drank I had 24 hour plus episodes which started between 2 and 3 am
Its simply not worth it, I dont need to drink to have a good time.
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