AF at night

[pattiannj]

I have been well controlled on Bisoprolol & Flecanide until gastroenteritis sent me into violent AF I spent 24 hours in hospital & my meds were changed. Bisoprolol increased & Flecanide stopped as some VT shown on an ECG in the ambulance. Once home I keep having AF attacks - have seen a cardiologist privately & Bisoprolol increased again to 2.5mg twice a day. Now for last 4 nights I have had AF as soon as I get into bed, it lasts all night but resolves at get up time. I do manage some sleep as it is gentle - heart rate 140. I know this as have an Alivecor. Any one throw any light on this phenomenon. I see the cardiologist in a week & will have a monitor - a small patch type one of American origin. Wish I had it now. I am so apprehensive at bedtime which of course doesn't help.

[Hidden]

Hi pattiannj,

In my personal view - and I am a non medic type, just a person diagnosed with paroxysmal AF - no surprise there. I am suggesting the vagal nerve may be an issue here. Vagal nerve is ( very very briefly) a nerve in the central nervous system which is the communications superhighway between the brain and many organs - notably linking the heart and digestive system. so with gastroenteritis no surprise your lurch off into AF.

Regarding your night time AF just review the timing of your last meal of the day and exactly what you eat and the size of your meal.

Many of us find it is better to eat early, and eat small and try and be aware if there are any foods which you maybe sensitive to, intolerant of or even allergic to.

Suggest you read up on the vagal nerve.

Good luck.

John

[BobD Volunteer]

What John says makes a lot of sense and I agree that vagal mediation may be at work here. What you might like to discuss with your cardiologist is that Bisoprolol may not be appropriate for those with Vagal AF. Since AF starts "when the vagal tone is low" ie when you are at rest, it seem counter intuitive to slow things down with a beta blocker. Have a look at the many posts on vagal issues by using the search facility top right.

[pattiannj in reply to BobD]

Thanks Bob I did always wonder about vagal interaction. Flecanide & Bisoprolol had worked for me for years - do you know if these drugs are good for vagal AF ?

[nwasyd1]

I also suffer night time AF / vagal AF, admittedly not as severe has you have described, so along with being very specific re the eating times and diet I have also had success with magnesium. It works well from me, might be worth looking into. There are several posts that you can read on this site.