Possibly a Stupid Question....

[Tazzydee]

Hi,

At the risk of sounding rather silly. Does anyone's AF kick off if they have a bad bout of wind? I seem to get gas trapped under my left rib, it hurts and my heart kicks off. It eases once I start a string of burps....

Thanks

Tanya

[Peddling]

Be assured, it's not a stupid question. Many of us on this site are convinced our AF is linked to digestive issues.

[Tazzydee in reply to Peddling]

Thanks- strange. I never had and digestive issues until I was diagnosed with AF....

[Hidden in reply to Tazzydee]

Could it be more the other way round, digestive issues triggering AF?

I get AF if I simply eat too much even without digestive problems or wind (other than being full) !

[Tazzydee in reply to Hidden]

Not sure. My AF seems to have been caused by an extended period of stress which lasted around 18 months. So maybe that has upset my digestive system too...

[BobD Volunteer]

Quite apart from the interaction of the vagus nerve which is a well known trigger for AF I always felt that as the stomach expanded either with too much food (Koll) or with wind then this presses upwards and compacts the heart which reacts badly. If nothing else it makes one more aware of the heart.

[seasider18 in reply to BobD]

I have had the link with digestion and heart since the 1970's but I have only had AF since having my aortic valve replaced in 2015 although I had ectopic beats probably since I became hypertensive in 2000.. I get all the signs that seem like a heart attack until the wind comes up. I joke that I have indigestion going down my left arm.

It concerns me more when my BP goes up with the irregular beats. Overnight Sunday and yesterday morning I had a very bad episode ( after a rather exotic dinner) with two BP mid morning readings of 196/129 83 and 185/114 79. By evening I was back to a more normal average of 126/73 75 over three readings. While my BP monitor does not cope well when in AF as I get error messages and some readings may be spurious but GP and hospitals using better equipment have had similar results.

[blackcat123]

I agree. Definitely find if I ate too much or have wind it used to start an episode of AF. Even now although I haven't got AF after my second ablation I find it can cause a run of ectopics.

[Finvola]

Yes - gut and heart for me go hand in hand, although I suspect that AF triggered the enormous racket which my gut produced during episodes. Since having AF controlled by Flecainide, any sort of upset stomach now causes runs of ectopics

[Hidden]

Hi Tanya,

When I first related the start of AF with food I had eaten, yes!

My symptoms were, massive, massive and painful bloating in the area of the heart, left side if chest, massive burping, very noisy gurgling from intestines, flatulance and diahorrea.

Not in that order, not all at the same time definitely at random.

John

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I bet you were popular Hidden 😀

[TenorJK]

I agree With all the above "burping for Britain" is a big factor in my AF and tachycardia so keeping an eye out for symptoms can avoid most of the above sometimes. Hot drinks and indigestion remedys plus hitting and massaging my back helps.!!!!!!!Doesn't sound very sophisticated......Jo

[Junoesque]

Yes I agree with everyone. I definitely think AF is associated with food and wind. When I mentioned this at the hospital they said no. But I read recently that they maybe having a change of mind about this.

[horseblister]

Once when I was in hospital I was burping and hiccuping for Brtiain, it may have annoyed the other three patients in the bay but the gastrologist just said keep it up safer out than in, he did not want another patient to deal with, the other three had caused themselves problems by keeping the wind in.

[Tazzydee in reply to horseblister]

Good to know! I wasn't very popular last night 😊

[Polski]

Taking a capsule of ginger oil - available from a Health Food shop - helps to bring the wind up fast, so one then feels better.

(I haven't had the problem of wind causing AF, so I can't comment on whether the ginger helps to stop that, but if it shortens the length of time that the wind lasts, I suspect it might)

[Shellyrich]

I don't think it is a stupid question and I am glad you asked it as I experience the same thing. ☺

[Tazzydee in reply to Shellyrich]

Hi Shelleyrich. Glad it helped - just read your intro and very similar to myself. Two Cardioversions on at the moment and just reverted back to flutter after a month of NSR. Let me know if your near London... my family.don't really understand either.

[Shellyrich in reply to Tazzydee]

Hi Tazzydee, I live in Birmingham. It can be hard when your family don't really understand what it is like, my mom came with me to my recent appointment with the Cardiologist and has a bit more of an understanding now. Some good news is that I have received a date for my ablation which is taking place in 4 weeks. Fingers crossed it will help with my symptoms and I can reduce the dosage of the medication I take. Take care 😊

[Tazzydee in reply to Shellyrich]

Good luck with that x

I had to come into A&E on Tuesday as my cardioversion reverted and they have now worked out that I need an ablation so hope I don't have to wait too long! My HR is currently 130 and the medication isn't really touching it. Will get there eventually. Waiting for CV #3 to see if can tide me over for a while!

[Shellyrich]

I have had 5 cardioversions since November 2016. My last one was on 31st May and so far I have stayed in NSR (apart from having a few eptopics). I hope you don't have to wait too long for your ablation.

Take care.