Its all about the stress ?

[steve60]

Hi everyone, I've just spent a week in Rhodes and not once did I feel the dreaded Afib kick in (I'm now on 1.75mg of Bisoprolol), virtually in normal sinus rhythm for the whole holiday and drank like a fish !!!, came back home and within a day pulse jumping around again, I have to say though its nowhere near as bad now I take the Bisoprolol. To me the answer is staring right at me, cut out the stress and cut down the Afib

[Hidden]

Hi steve,I agree with you that stress is a big part of AF but it is not everything,and combating stress and anxiety does help a great deal.Wish we all could just holiday every week it would be great.

[jennydog in reply to Hidden]

Three weeks ago I had two awful AF attacks early evening. I was scheduled to go on a 4 day holiday the next day. Dreading it. Would I be able to cope? Well, I went and was fine and I've been fine ever since. Sod's law - ablation next week.

[jeanjeannie50]

I agree with you totally re stress.

I've had PAF for about 9 years and it was only last year that I suddenly realised mine was caused mostly by stress. I gave up my job in January of last year and then in October ended a stressful relationship. I notice now that if I get any stress at all my PAF will try to kick off.

A few weeks ago I could hear my neighbours rickety fence creaking in the wind when I went to bed. I felt really cross, wondered how I was going to be able to sleep and why they couldn't hear it and sort it out. I got out out of bed really agitated and then my heart started racing! However for the first time ever I was able to halt the attack almost immediately by doing the long breath out technique.

I also think that sitting for too long can trigger attacks.

[Mrspat]

What is stress? Some people thrive on it, it makes others ill. There's mental stress and physical stress.

I read an article once in which a high-achiever type said that she felt ill if she had a lie in. Sometimes guilt causes me stress and will even make my heart bump, such as if I am relaxing rather than doing something I ought to be doing.

I worked myself back into AF a few months ago, leading up to a cardiology appointment. Not because I was particularly worried but because I knew that we would be having a difficult conversation about anticoagulation.

Yesterday my heart was bumping a bit as I was trying to fine tune some holiday plans. I got really irritated because it took longer than I thought as I couldn't find just what I wanted. Making holiday plans often stresses me out and I am often stressed just before I go. Has to be done though. I love holidays.

I used to avoid exercise that made my heart beat faster. Having had a racing heart, I was always worried that it would never slow down again. I've largely got over that since heart surgery and I now find that mild or moderate exercise is helpful. Heavy exercise or eating large meals definitely makes my heart work harder than it thinks it should.

Probably I seem quite callous at times as I will deliberately avoid situations or people that I know cause stress. Cognitive behaviour therapy has helped a few times when I've been forced to face a stressful situation.

[Hidden]

I think stress is a massive part of AF. I changed jobs because of it and I know I could never have coped in my old role now, so glad I changed.

[Langara]

I agree, I think stress is a major contributory factor of AF. I suffered a couple of extremely frightening bouts of AF after an operation to remove a large tumour - when I was particularly anxious that the tumour may prove to be cancerous ( thank God it didn`t), and also when we had a serious financial problem a few months later. Since then I have only had a few minor AF hiccups when I have felt tense over certain issues.

Incidentally Rhodes is one of my favourite Greek islands, and where I am hoping to go later this year.

[dedeottie]

For me it is not individual episodes of stress but long term anxiety. However a million other things must do it as well so I've given up trying to figure it out.x

[wpw62]

I only have to hear my family arguing to feel stressed and my heart rate gets faster. Learning to distance myself from it. Good to hear you were well on holiday as I have just booked a holiday to Northern Cyprus. hopefully I will be totally relaxed once I get there.

[wpw62]

Incidentally I love Rhodes too.

[lizwright]

Yes it is the same for me when I go to Africa. It is stress I am sure.

[Hidden]

I'm glad you had a great time on holiday - undoubtedly stress is a major factor in AF, I'm sure it is for a lot of us. Not the only one, to be sure, but a big one nevertheless. Wish we could holiday all year round!

[Barb1]

For me, I wish that it was stress that makes the AF worse but neither holidays, rest or good company make my persistent AF go away. 24/7, 5 years, it is there except for breaks of 2 weeks, 2 months and a year after ablations. But I don't let it stop me from going away and making future plans.

[Hidden]

I saw a write-up on stress and AF and it made the point that it was often/usually emotion, not stress. That was brought home to me when I went to a concert to see my favourite blues band, and when they played my favourite piece of music I burst instantly into AF big-time, caused by sheer pleasure .