Hello All
Seen quite a few sporadic comments around consuming alcohol after an ablation.
Just to confirm then, is the general concensus that we should avoid all alcohol after your abaltion even if a success, although not touched any alcohol since new years day, I have not really got my head round on never again.
I don't think there is a written rule Mick. I've read posts where some people have issues with a single drink, so have given in and some don't have any issues at all. I had my ablation roughly the same time as you and like you more or less gave up after New Year. However, went out for a meal over the weekend and shared a bottle of wine with the Mrs and had a couple of beers too with no problems experienced. What effects one person is not necessarily going to bother another one. In the past with me it was binge drinking. I used to have an episode the evening after a boozy session.
I don't see a problem with an occasional glass of wine or spirit but binge drinking is a known cause of AF. I think the answer is to try an occasional tipple but keep it in moderation. If it affects you then don;t ever do it again.
Prior to ablation I recognised that having more than one drink could trigger the AF. When you talk about the risk after an ablation do you mean that drinking too much would trigger one bout of AF or do you risk creating a problem with the heart which results in regular AF resulting in a further ablation? I ask because I was not given instruction to keep off of alcohol although when I have bouts of Eptopics or flutter, I am asked how much alcohol I consume. Generally 3-4 pints a week but on special occasions maybe 4 pints in an evening. I think what I am asking is does alcohol consumption cause damage to the heart resulting in AF for moderate drinkers?
It is always something doctors ask regarding alcohol consumption. My feeling is that if an ablation is successful then you don't (at that time) have AF so why would it be a trigger. The BUT is that many doctors do feel that excess alcohol is bad for one the question being what is excess? I find even in high summer a couple of large glasses of white wine before dinner do me no harm at all ---most of the time. There are on the other hand times when even one mouthful raises my heart rate and even though no AF I don't continue. One needs to know one's own body .
Since AF begets AF, even one bout is bad as it could enable a return I fear.
Personally if I had three pints of beer I would be out for the count never mind spending the next three hours in the loo. lol
Bob
Thanks Bob. I love my real Ale and the thought of giving it up altogether is not good. I believe that I have been AF free since second Ablation but like you said, one day it could be ok to drink the next 2 pints or a few mouthfuls can cause some flutter or eptopics. They say a curry can have the same effect but I am not about to give up a curry either 
I think you are crazy to consider taking this up again. The recent cardiology conference in San Francisco hammered hard on the idea that it is our lifestyle that got us here in the first place. The recent LEGACY trial found that weight reduction could goo a long way toward eliminating AF.
A beer now and then? sure, man has got to live. Pounding 8 or 10 like the old days and I know it will be back to AF for me. Not worth it.
Bayfield, one thing I don't need is to lose weight.
I have not been a big drinker for years really, just a couple bottle of becks and I will be a happy bunny.
Must admit though, if someone was to say no alcohol then no more AF then a no brainier but to go teetotal , but as we know that's not likely to be the case.
Dear Mick, I haven't had an ablation but in persistent AF. Just over two weeks ago I stopped drinking alcohol. I used to have a glass of wine a couple of nights mid week and at the weekend. Coincidence or not, but since stopping the amount of chest pain and discomfort has decreased significantly. I will try a small glass now and again to see if there is any correlation - if I have to give up I guess I will get used to it!
Thanks all for the advice.
Think best idea is to probably indulge prior to my hols, even just a couple of beers.
Have been out socially a few times, mainly for dinner since my ablation and just drove so no alcohol.
Not on warfarin but Rivaroxaban.
Hi Mick, I had my ablation on the 15 January and had completely given up alcohol before then. Last weekend I enjoyed a glass of champagne with no effect so will drink on special occasions with caution
The key after an ablation (and indeed before it) is to avoid inflammation. So this means a generally healthy lifestyle - moderation in food, alcohol, etc. The rules are the same as for stroke avoidance:
- BMI 20-25
- 30 mins p.d. of moderate exercise
- moderate alcohol intake (which is better than none)
- non smoking
- healthy diet (low sugar, high fruit & veg)
I would also add one other - healthy teeth and gums. Gun disease has been shown to be a cause of AF and heart disease.
Tick all these boxes and your risk of stroke is reduced by a huge 80% and your risk of AF recurrence will be reduced as well.
Mark
I am in persistent AF. Originally my consultant EP said ideally no alcohol or absolute minimal (what ever that means) and a minimum of three no alcohol days a week. Then in the run up to my cardioversion last November he said no alcohol and none afterwards to try and hold in sinus rhythm (only lasted a week). I only drank a couple of bottles of wine a week before being diagnosed, so hardly binge drinking!!! Not had any alcohol for 5 months now and defiantly would not want to drink any so as to minimise the affects of AF. I was also told that alcohol "encourages" rogue pathways to form as well as sometimes directly triggering AF attacks. However we are all different!!
Agree Peter we are all different, I know a guy locally who has been persistent AF for nearly four years and he drinks every weekend, mainly wine, and has little affect on his AF.
Considerng my symptoms pre ablation I may well be in the group that alcohol is probably best avoided.
I will however give it a go sometime prior to my scheduled holiday 21st April, to see if I can tolerate just a couple of beers at least whilst lounging around in the sun and watching some cricket.
Mick, was alcohol the cause of your AF? If so was it from binge sessions or did it effect you even in small quantities? When you found out you had AF did drink bring on attacks? I like a beer and binge drinking aggravated my AF, but I do believe the AF was brought on by dehydration, as I also suffered episodes after long cardio workouts. I don't want to give up the odd drink and I don't want to give up exercise, so for me it is a case of suck it and see. What is one mans meat is another mans poison. If you had no issue with a beer before your ablation Mick, then I guess the odd responsible drink shouldn't be an issue. Have a look back through some of the previous post about alcohol and you will be surprised how varied they are. Hope you have a good holiday.
Jason
Alcohol was unlikley the sole trigger for my AF, being lone Afib my EP even suggested to much exercise along with binge drinking at weekends could of been the underlying factor as lone Afib would could only really be brought on by lifestyle.
fisrt epissodes however were all brought on by alcohol, never exercise, so suppose indications are pretty conclusive the alcohol did bring it on, however exercise became more apparent around the end of last year.
But going back to last year, after being diagnosed i had two iffy months, followed by the whole summer months of nothing, which, being summer I drank plenty, only for the AF to return late October.
However that all said, with what knowledge I have gained the last few months around diet and supplements plus the ablation, fingers x'dd I may be in a better position to tolerate a few beers, lets hope so anyway, holiday without a beer just does not bear thinking about.
What a fantastic post and responses, the first time I can really relate with everyone on here. I was told that the cause pure and simple of my AF was excessive alcohol and excessive exercise. Now in permanent AF, however it is clouded by bisoprolol (meaning I can't feel my AF). However, this means that I continue to drink and occasionally over exercise, which I'm sure is not really doing me any good as I'm in AF all the time.!!
Got my 6 monthly hosp visit in June and will again ask the question, do I need an ablation, every time so far the answer is no, if you feel no symptoms of AF you are fine, the ironic thing is that I am constantly in AF. ?
I don't think anyone can really say what causes af. I was given so many reasons and to my surprise found quite a history of heart probs in the family. I was also told a virus tho it is my personal belief that it was continued and prolonged stress following a marriage break up. But who knows? I may always have had it and as you get older it gets worse. Cdertainly I was a fit child but I couldn't run so that's a bit of a clue. If your consultant is so sure of your course he must be a miracle worker. I found the ablations (x3) helped me a lot but didn't solve it.
Learning to live with it, which includes changing my drinking habits to outlaw spirits nad train myself to love wine (!) has been the best course of action.
Steve
Not sure how folk cope in Permanent AF, PAF was so debilitating for me at the end and prior to my ablation.
know a guy up the road from me who is also permanent, and like you he runs a lot and also doesn't bother to much on his alcohol content, he takes one med 800mg dronedarone and he seems fine, hes a few failed ablations though.
Never got my head around why Perm AF seems to be easier to manage that PAF.
I must have missed this thread. Exercise was my AF trigger and strange though it might seem, the only times I had an AF- free run was when I'd had a couple of glasses of wine the night before. I stopped drinking completely for three months leading up to my ablation but it didn't help the AF at all. i now drink a little bit a weekends and it hasn't started my AF up again.
sounds good, must admit I stopped drinking on new years day, and still had a couple of AF episodes prior to my ablation on the 17th February.
I think going by how my AF has behaved since being diagnosed, that if in a bad period that range of things made it worse, and when in good periods it will be case of just being sensible and best managing it.
Like I have posted before, if I would of had half the knowledge (gained from this site) last year as I do now, then convinced my symptoms would not of gotten anywhere near as bad as they did pre and post xmas.
And to that alone, I will toast on my next beer -
I had my ablation 8 weeks ago now. I think I resisted the urge to drink for two weeks. Now I'm back at work, a few beers with friends is ok. I think its all about personal choice and if its one of your triggers
It's what triggers the individual but I have half bottle of wine every night. It is without doubt stress that triggers mine and strangely too much talking.
Hi all, im a 28 year old lover of life who like you suffers from this horrible arrhythmia. Mine started 6 months ago, where my hearts electric system just went haywire on the day after drinking at a party, and never returned to normal since. Went to the doc , got diagnosed with AVNRT, and was told with an ablation the chances of getting cured are 95%-98%! Did the ablation a few weeks after getting diagnosed, and it turns out i am part of that 2% failure rate.. since then ive been on a high dose of verpamil and flecaiine. I am considering a second ablation, currently researching the best hospital/doctor and trying to make my way towards. But judging by your posts , my research and speaking to some other arrhythmia sufferers, and correct me if im wrong, a successful ablation does not mean you will become 100% normal, it does not mean you can return to your previous self , drink lots of alcohol , coffee, energy drinks , smoking , etc... A successful ablation just means you will be off the meds, but still need to stay away from all things that might aggravate your heart, or risk getting the condition back.
Had i known this, i probably would not have gone through the ablation in the first place.
Worst part about suffering this disease is having to live with limitation, having some freedoms stripped away from you, having to change your lifestyle, change who you are, and miss out on so many things..
Right now life is a struggle everyday.
Wish you all the best of luck and hope you are coping better...
Realistically I think that you will have less problems and restrictions now having had an ablation than if you never had one.
Was the % success rate for that particular arrhythmia quoted a published figure or the doctor's personal one. Sometimes medics can overstate because they don't scientifically keep records. Also there is no formal measure or quantification. So for instance one could measure success if the patient was converted back into NSR. The next if patient was in NSR one month later. The next if in NSR three months later. The next six months and so on.
As my dad used to say you are at where you are at even if that wasn't where you expected to be. You can only move forward but you can only look back to learn how to move forwards.
Sometimes two ablations r needed. My first cardio-version was successful in 2018. My first this year was not, they shocked me three times. instead of out-patient I was admitted & given amiodarone by IV. My pulse was ranging 120-150 then after 1 1/2 days it ranged 109-129. My 3rd day in hospital I rec'd my second successful Cardio-version needing to be shocked twice. I have a hx of getting sick & having anxiety attacks with anesthetic. All three times it was just like dosing off nicely then waking up from a power nap voraciously hungery. Amiodarone is temp till ablation because of risk factors like cardiac toxicity, ect..
Plus metropolol,& Eliquis. Then about 1 week later develop sinus rhythm up to 129 pulse possibly due to dehydration after gardening & hauling water. They increase 25 mg metropolol from 2xday to 3xday. if I go to 130 may increase metropolol to 50 mg at am.The next day an EKG confirmed not in Afib. Will have my ablation in about a month. I gave up coffee more because it was interfering with my afternoon naps. I do hot chocolate or decaf. I have two glasses of wine Monday,Wednesday& Friday. Occasionally we don't have Ohio grand-children on Saturday & will drink two days in a row. Often go for one week without drinking when babysitting for Chicago grand-boys. Actually my pulse lowers after a drink. My triggers seem to be exercise &/or dehydration. Both hospitalization were after violent coughing with the flu & dehydration. I've been on a diabetic diet for years with great control since beginning Victoza.. My main & hardness goal to achieve is consistent exercise. Praying & having faith for myself & all you guys also. We just got to keep moving forward.
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