triggers

[atrialfib]

Is they really such a thing as a trigger,sometimes I can have a couple of glasses of wine,sometimes I cant,sometimes I can eat anything, sometimes I cant, any thoughts?

[BobD Volunteer]

You have AF therefore you will have AF. END OF as they say. Some people may well be able to isolate triggers. For me one was alcohol or to be more precise something in the making of alcohol since it was just as bad with non alcoholic wines and beer which are made in the usual way and then have the alcohol removed by osmosis. Even by stopping drinking I still had events but less predictable.

[Paddinton in reply to BobD]

My triggers (for A Flutter) seem to be tiredness (main problem as continuous ectopics make me tired all the time), chilli and stress. Not reliable though, sometimes they start it off, sometimes they don't and frequently it happens without any triggers I can think of, except for stress, difficult to avoid.

[Hidden]

All the normal ones for me, alcolhol, caffeine, too much to eat etc. I still have caffeine when I want to, before a game of golf or cycling, but otherwise decaff only. 

[dedeottie]

Life is a trigger for me! Seriously though I know I dont have the vagal sort of A.F. but other than that my A.F. has a life of its own and is very fickle. X

[LindaDaisy]

Don't go there - "That way madness lies". Some times something triggers an episode (over eating, not eating, dehydration, dark chocolate, a row or a stressful incident, etc&, etc) other times these things have no effect. You end up cutting out stuff and then you realise it's running your life and you are still getting episodes. So now I mostly avoid possible triggers but not always if it doesn't suits me. Now I concentrate on getting calm when an episode starts. If I panic it escalates but most of the time, if I keep calm it will become bearable after about 15 mins. 

[BobD Volunteer in reply to LindaDaisy]

good call.

[Janna501 in reply to BobD]

I am so amazed , reading that people can continue to cycle , climb etc with a fib. Do they mean they can manage that with a heart rate 100 plus , how could that be safe? Doesn't it strain the heart?  I had another episode yesterday, just while still in bed, heart pounding out of my chest, and I know my fear was sending it higher . I took extra bisoprolol, some iced water and it began to slow down. When I could stop shaking enough to use my Kardia, it said the ecg was normal, ( not a fib ) but very high hb, so if I wasn't in  afib what was happening ?

I am so confused with it all , and still fearful, full of admiration for all of you that are coping well ...

[Flaka in reply to Janna501]

A trick the doctor told me when your heart rate goes real high is this. 

Hold your breath and push real hard like you are having a bowel movement.  Sounds strange I know but it works. Do it several times and for as long as you can.  It works for me.

[booboo73 in reply to Flaka]

That's so strange...that's worked for me in the last couple of days and I thought it was in my head... I will be trying again...just hope im alone! X x

[KipperJohn]

I had a discussion about this with the arrhythmia nurse this week prior to my second ablation on Monday. Never found any common trigger with all my recorded episodes.  I avoid alcohol, caffeine etc and am reasonably careful with my diet. Mine similarly has a mind of its own. The EP is going to look to seal off any gaps from the previous ablation and appears confident that he will find a few. However If he doesn't find any he  won't ablate and will then have to look elsewhere for the cause.

[Gaygay45]

People look fot triggers so that if possible they can avoid them. Naming a trigger empowers us in our quest to control our episodes of AF. 

For me it strenuous exercise but some days I can climb hills with no trouble and other days I have to stop half way up a flight of stairs. 

I think like most things in life it is multifactorial. For me being tired or hungry or thirsty or being anxious. You can,t avoid them all but you can be aware.

[Flimmeri in reply to Gaygay45]

All true, fully agree.

[atrialfib]

thanks everyone,i am starting to think we blame all these things trying to feel a bit of control.

[dave1950]

At first  thought it was just anxiety, a sort of panic attack. But then which came first? I still feel this is the biggest trigger but since my first episode 6 months ago I have had, possibly:- bloated through food, bad dream after eating cheese late at night, twiice for no reason  and once when exercising. Fear of getting it and thinking about it too much seem to be the worst for me.

[Alan_G]

I can really empathize with this. Every AF episode I have had over the last 2 or 3 years has started after drinking, sometimes even in the act of drinking. I can drink alcohol without having an episode, but the more I drink, the more the likelihood I'll pay for it later. If I stick to approx 2 units a night I'm usually okay, but more likely to be okay on beer as opposed to wine. I started to have soft drinks towards the end of the evening but have found cold, sugary soft drinks will often immediately kick start an episode, even before the liquid has settled in my stomach. That has even happened to me at home when I've taken a soft drink such as a J2O out of the fridge. These episodes are instant! I get no prior warning and so as soon as I feel my pulse is irregular, I just have to relax and ride it out, be it 8 hours, 18 hours, or somewhere in between.

This is different to other 'triggers' such as sudden stress/panic about something, or going out into the cold, outside, from a warm house. With these I can get that 'funny feeling' in the chest, but it's a warning. If I ignore it, I'm pretty sure I'd go into AF, but with these I can react and prevent the episode providing I say calm, relax and do deep breathing. It may be minutes, or at worst a couple of hours, but the end result is that I remain in NSR. So far, and I know things can change/progress, if I get the 'warning', I stay in NSR by reacting accordingly.

When I first started getting AF it was always in my sleep, but it's years since that has happened. I put this down primarily to my low intake of alcohol these days.

[Robyncarmen in reply to Alan_G]

Hi Alan I've found Spanish White Wine is fine for me. It has no Presertives in it. But if I Drink Australian Wine with lots of Presertives in it I'm straight into AF. It's got to be the Preservatives. I told my Cardiologist & he's going to hand on the info to his patients. It all helps. Try it. 

Alefante Blanco. From Spain

Give it a go. See what happens lets know. Good luck  

Rob xx

[KFog]

I haven't found a trigger; I just try to be moderate with caffeine and alcohol. Exercise makes me feel better, but I have paroxysmal AF. I don't think I could do that if I were in AF all the time.

[Caradomben]

I find drinking cold  water , caffeine, alcohol and eating late in the evening all triggers for me .  

[Lizty]

My main trigger is just doing a little too much of the following-

eating -

drinking glass of wine - 

sleeping  -

not sleeping  -

worrying -

working -

walking -

talking (that is the worst one!)

If I lie on the settee watching tv all day, reading and sipping tea, I am fine....!!!!

[djmnet]

If there's one thing I've come to realize it is that many things such as spicy food, too much alcohol, MSG, dehydration, etc. sometimes, but not every time, trigger my afib.  If I gave up everything that had ever triggered it, I wouldn't have much of a life.  So I've learned to tolerate it and use the pill in a pocket when it shows up.  

[DrewOTB]

Foods that are high in tyramine: aged cheeses, fermented foods, etc

[denny-62]

Di too have tried to eliminate various known triggers but to no effect. I think that it just happens and they say the heart remembers and it becomes a habit

[Rozu]

Hi, I too am confused by the inconstancy and the variability of triggers regarding proximal AFib. However I suspect that what is going on with my gut is connected with my episodes of AF. I get them first thing in the morning.  I feel a fullness in the chest then on getting up I start to belch quite badly usually. After belching and feeling stressed frightened and angry and after having breakfast the AFib subsides. Talking to a nutritionist in a herbal shop confirmed that fermentation in the gut and intolerance to wheat and or dairy products could be the culprits. Im working on this through research, trial and error as well as guidance from the nutritionist and I seem to be more in control than before. Could say a lot more about this but it could take too long.  It's worth investigating as a lady in a supermarket told me her AFib is due to a gut problem and it's officially acknowledged by her gastroenterologist.  I dhsll perservere with this research as solatol made matters worse for me. Good luck to all

Rozu

[PeterWh in reply to Rozu]

Ate you taking solatol for your AF?

[fogducker2]

anything that affects your liver can trigger a fib...coffee,chocolate, alcohol.....

tough to stop these but it saves problems. I gave up all 3 immediately

[Flimmeri]

So hard to know for sure. I have noticed that at times after a big, heavy meal can trigger af. Also too much alcohol. I can get away with one glass of wine drinking it slowly is ok. Second glass questionable. Same with coolers, rum and coke eyc. So now I have given up my occasional drink. Sipping on non alcoholic stuff!😕