Over weight

[Hazbil65]

Would being over weight help trigger AF

[sweetiepye]

According to my Doctors the answer is yes . Also sleep apnea which is caused by over weight also causes AF. So losing weight should defiantly help and that's what I am struggling with right now. My Dr. , who is over weight, has AF , and sleep apnea, is always telling me this. My thin Dr. tells me the same thing. It must be true. Pam

[PeterWh in reply to sweetiepye]

You are correct on all fronts.

[sweetiepye in reply to PeterWh]

That's very unusual for me.

[Hidden]

Yes. Key to keeping AF at bay is a healthy lifestyle - diet, exercise and stress free!

[BobD Volunteer]

You have AF so anything or nothing can trigger it. That said being overweight will not help. A change to a better life style may well improve your Quality of Life in many ways.

[tony85]

Yes definitely. I lost 50lbs two years ago and have not had any symptoms of AF since.

[jeff1257]

I can only tell you my experience. I had what I now know were episodes of AF for about two years. In May 2015 the episodes were coming every few days and lasted from a few hours to 14 hours. My doctor gave me flecainide, which kept me in NSR. I was also tested for sleep apnea and started using a CPAP machine.

After reading about the Australian study showing weight loss could stop AF, I adopted some severe lifestyle changes. I went on a diet, started to exercise (brisk walking) and gave up alcohol (which I'm sure was a trigger for me), all of which resulted in losing 100 pounds. I have not had an episode of AF since.

As an added bonus, my high blood pressure is now normal without any medication and while I haven't ben retested yet, I think my sleep apnea is either gone or at least much better.

I stopped taking flecainide in January 2016 and now take only apixaban.

So, I say if you need to lose weight, do it. It may well help your AF and will certainly have other health benefits. All the best.

[stix]

Not sure if this will be helpful but in Feb 2013 I was at 20.5 stone, I was then rushed to hospital with a blocked bowel and after ct scan I was advised they thought it was cancer, so immediately had surgery only to be told it was not cancer (phew) but chrowns/IBS. Any way during that week in hospital I lost 3 stone, and since over time now down to 12.5 stone with out trying to loose weight. But only since I lost weight I developed AF in Feb 2015 and was told that it could be loosing fat from my heart area that could of started my AF.

Now not saying don't loose weight but be careful not to loose it to fast.

[Councellor]

Having read all the above, I would say you are slightly correct and slightly wrong.

I also have constant AF (NHS terminology), currently taking, Bisoprol, Rivoxapran, Digoxin, Diltiazem and Ramipril. Plus obstructive sleep apnoea (also NHS terminology), and currently using a full mask CPAP machine. Plus I am now under a memory clinic as oxygen and blood circulation has severely affected my cognitive behaviour.

The problems I have with your observations above is that when I was diagnosed 3 years ago, I was 50 years old, male, about 16stone ex boxing, rugby player. A tad overweight, but more built like the proverbial Brick 'out house'. I also believe like so many on this forum, that I had symptons long before diagnosis, but didn't realise what was happening.

Unfortunately for me so far, all efforts by doctors, ablations, cardioversions etc have all failed.

This has led to lack of energy, literally not being able to get out of bed sometimes, resulting in a massive weight gain, 6 stone in 3 years. Which has now led to severe depression. I am about to start this Healthy4life programme, containing a 3 point attack, seeing a fitness guru, dietician & psychologist. I will keep people posted about this as 2017 progresses.

My health is currently so bad, that it looks as if I will have to register disabled.

Therefore sorry about the long winded story, but the start of my reply as stated above is correct; Definitely the longer you can remain fit and remain the correct weight will be of benefit.

But sometimes circumstances are beyond our control, and weight excess was not the starting point for me.

[Hazbil65 in reply to Councellor]

Good luck sir I hope all turns out for you

[barbara2]

My EP cardiologist said it definitely makes a difference. Excess weight is a contributor to a fib. He suggested that weight loss would be beneficial to me.