Exercise and diet and AF

[Plai]

Has anyone helped reduce or get rid of AF by exercising and dieting. The heart is after all a muscle so hopefully it can be made stronger.

[Hidden]

Anything you can do to help the heart is excellent and can only benefit you. Diet can help as well as it can remove a trigger. Exercise can be a trigger for some. Some people find exercise can put them back into sinus. My answer to your question would be no but it can help.

[Buffafly]

As AF is an electrical fault a stronger heart will not cure it, in fact too vigorous exercise can make it worse. But as Richard says a healthy lifestyle will help you cope.

[Plai in reply to Buffafly]

Thanks

[Mercurius]

Exercise is tricky problem. May help prevent the aFib (or even terminate it) via suppressing vagal responses, but if the exercise is too much can trigger it. What is the optimal workload? Hard to say. Likely is is different for different patients.

[Hidden]

I am convinced there is no one cure but like our victorious Olympic Hockey team training schedule, 100 things done very well, all assuming you just have Lone PAF

Diet and regular steady exercise are certainly important. Also another one is simple deep breathing (breathe in, hold count to 4 breathe out for 6), I read recently this simple habit a few time a day reduces cortisol and makes the body more alkaline.

I have found you have to be prepared to make a lot of changes as most of us are have been living the wrong way for a while to cause AF. I have found keeping a diary recording various like supplements taken , amount of sleep, what you've eaten if out of the ordinary helps.

[hirwaun]

Hi exercise is good for heart but doesn't stop AF. I eat healthy go to gym 3 times a week also do walking when feeling ok. Unfortunately does not stop AF I had an episode once when I was on treadmill mill and had to go to A&E to be cardioverted. Every time I have an ECG they say my heart is healthy it's just my electrics that let me down. I would suggest that you exercise as much as possible though. I am booked for second ablation so hope it works this time.

[Plai in reply to hirwaun]

Yes I hope it works for you. Thanks for the information.

[MarkS]

Exercise and weight reduction have a major impact on AF. See this trial:

medscape.com/viewarticle/81...

You may need to log in or sign up but it's free. They took 150 adults with AF who were overweight with large waist measurements. They divided into a control group and and an intervention group. The intervention group had a low calorie diet and just 20 mins of moderate exercise (walking or cycling) 3 times a week.

After 15 months the intervention group had lost an average of 14.3kg. They had an AF burden of one sixth that of the control group - i.e. a massive 6 times less AF episodes, duration and severity.

Basically, if you fall into this category then reducing weight and exercising beat ablations and drugs hands down.

[Hidden in reply to MarkS]

Ive had a fib 14 mo now. Didnt tolerate the meds so at month 5 I sought a second opinion with an EP. He took me off all meds and talked to me at length about healthy lifestyle changes, wt loss etc. He said the a fib should be less aggressive.Ive lost 30 of the 50 lb and got out of a stressful nursing job and now exercise daily. Since then, in 8 mo, Ive only had one mild 90 minute episode and feel great. Praying it continues.

[MarkS in reply to Hidden]

That's fantastic you're a great example.

[Plai in reply to MarkS]

That sounds like me not excessively overweight but never had a waist so that is where I need to lose. I nust seriously start dieting again and getting a bit of exercise. Unfortunately my knee is also playing up ao need to take it steady. Thank you.

[chris45558]

I really believe that exercise and diet work. I have lost over 10kg and cycle loads.

I am fitter at 50 than I was at 30. I have reduced my meds by half (flecainide) and not a single episode of AF for over 5 months.

I am on the 5.2 fasting diet and my blood pressure has gone from 140/90 to 120/72 (last reading).

I saw my cardiologist about 6 months ago and he said lose weight and cycle as hard as you can. I have and its worked for me.

I maybe lucky who changing my life style has helped my AF.

[yanbart]

I think I could write a book on this myself, but will try and keep it simple for everyone's sake...I am 43, take 2 x 50mg of flecainide per day, have done since I was diagnosed 2 years ago this Summer. Last April I ran the London Marathon whilst on flecainide which had stopped me getting horrendous/scary palpitations but I was still with irregular heart beats on occasion. Is that still PAF? I'm not even sure myself.... Anyway, I found the long training runs helped me to stay in rhythm but inbetween the training runs I was doing no exercise. I completed the marathon in 3hrs 45mins weighing in at 14st 7lbs. I became a little complacement after 'my success' and had a 3 month break from all exercise whilst I completed a garden project. I put on a stone and a half. I was 16st. I noted my AF was creeping back. I decided to do something about it. I found the weight very hard to lose this time. Back in September 2016, I literally could not run a mile. It was embarrassing. I started slowly and by Christmas I was back up to 6 miles. It was very hard work and taught me a lesson. Anyway, to get to the point, since the New Year I decided I needed to do more than just running with days off to recover (I wasn't built for running my Wife tells me!) in order to shed the weight so I started swimming and cycling until I was doing something most days. I have recently joined a Triathlon club and whilst I am yet to do a Triathlon, I am loving the training and more importantly for those of you who haven't given up reading yet, my irregular heart beat/PAF has improved no end. For me, the harder I train and exercise, the better I feel, the better my heart feels. I wear a heart monitor with my running and cycling and check what zones I am in at different times but I have stopped worrying and started enjoying myself. I am now just under 14st 7 again and hope to get slimmer yet. Some nights when I go to bed and lay on my side, I feel my heart is irregular and that is the first time I notice that day but these occurences, for now at least seem to be getting less the harder I train/fitter I get and/or the more weight I lose. So for now at least, I am happy...

yan

p.s. I am seeing a cardiologist tomorrow as it happens (coincidentally) so if anything changes, I will let you know asap!

[Plai]

Thank you everyone for your words of wisdom. Starting diet and exercise very soon subject to results of echocardiogram.😀

[Hannalore]

It is the electrical pathway that is dodgy not the muscle.