Does any of you still drink alcohol, I used to drink 4 or 5 cans of lager while I watched TV every night, I am 65 and I have drank for years and I was told that it was alcohol that give me AF. I miss not having a drink and I would like to have 2 or 3 cans some nights.
Alcohol.: Does any of you still drink... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Alcohol.
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777777
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Yes, I like my wine. 😜 Doesn't seem to make a bit of difference in my case. I have almost daily AF episodes whether I've had a drink or if I've not had a drink for 6 weeks. EP said it was fine to drink in moderation.
My episodes come every 8 days and last for 2 days, nothing seems to trigger them they just happen.
Hi,
Have the occasional glass of wine over the weekend when I'm not working and no problems to report!
Wendi
Hi I done a test with different dinks over a few months and certain drinks would give me palpitations not af . But I found wine of any colour was a no no , and stellar beer or ciders definitely out . However Guinness with a spash of blackcurrant was fine 👍🏼👌🏼😁
Alcohol doesn't seem to be a trigger for me and I have a small glass of red wine with my evening meal most days. I never drink more than that and think it's not a good idea to exceed the recommended number of units of alcohol (21 a week for men I think with 2 or3 alcohol-free days) whether one has AF or not.
Changing the habits of a lifetime is tough, I know, and personal experience tells me that one has got to want to change not to be forced into it.
If you were told it was alcohol thst gave you AF then if I were you I would heed that advice.
It is a known trigger for some and then others have no problem.
We are all different.
I am 70. I had drunk alcohol since I was 15 (only bitter shandy in those days). Last year after I had had my fourth ablation and before I had my last 3 ablations I decided to try and avoid as many known triggers including alcohol to assist the doctors as much as I could. I felt that I owed it to them.
Think hard.
Is it worth it?
Pete
I agree totally with all Pete has said.
Alcohol is certainly a trigger for my AF. I'm far too scared to have any now.
Jean
Alcohol doesn't trigger my af.
Hello 777777
Alcohol and coffee, in my particular case, did not seem to have any adverse effect. Perhaps you can experiment, with a glass
J (-:
I am afraid that it a bit more complicated than alcohol being a trigger for AF, which it often is. There is also the long term effect that alcohol probably has on the heart environment and structure. Having had a successful ablation I am now careful about the amount of alcohol I consume. No more than government guidelines with a few days off each week. Seems crazy to risk AF again.
Peter
That is sound advice. Alcohol and caffeine do not seem to trigger my Afib, but I limit my intake to one glass three or four nights a week and take days off. It is difficult when on holiday though!!
We are all different.
No problems here ither, glass of wine with evening meal every night, you will find your triggers. Good luck.
I was 40 when I was diagnosed with AF ( well I was diagnosed with super ventricular tachycardia). Which then got diagnosed as AF eventually. The last couple of episodes that I have had have all been down to alcohol.
Unfortunately..... if it's a trigger it's a trigger. The only thing I've been advised to do is moderate the drink. If your heart can handle that. Mine was always triggered by excessive / binge drinking.
Currently I still do have alcohol but I actually limit myself on this. Everytime I drink now at the end of it I also take a multi vitamin which has magnesium and potassium. Reason being everytime I've had an attack and had to go to hospital after 15 minutes of AF and they've measured my bloods I've had very low levels of these vitamins/minerals. Which they believe starts my AF.
What I have learnt through this website is that we are all different and we all have different triggers. My triggers were something other than alcohol at the start but have now changed .... and my last AF attacks were down to binge drinking. It's all about control. Making sure I have enough electrolytes in my body has helped me a lot.
I wish U good luck
I'm currently in Munich for the Oktoberfest so wish me luck 😬
I've not found my trigger. Alcohol doesn't seem to bother me but this weekend will be quite demanding
You've done really well to limit your intake, if you were drinking every day - that's quite an achievement!
Alcohol is toxic to the body. Every few months we see a new 'scientific' study (funded by the people who want to make money out of us buying their alcohol) - promoting a 'health benefit' of a certain drink. But in balance, alcohol is really bad for us.
Part of me really misses cocktails. Then the other part of me feels fantastic that I'm no longer subjecting my poor body to the toxic effects those Woo Woos and Cosmopolitans :o)
In my 40s, I was slim and running every day - now in my 50s (after a bad ankle injury) I slid into sloth and overweight. So having bad AF has made me have a serious word with myself and I'm eating v healthily and slowly working towards getting fitter through walking.
So essentially, having AF is really c**p, but it is possible to use it as a trigger for evaluating those areas of our life that could do with more balance :o)
Independent research shows a positive effect from moderate alcohol consumption. For instance this research was just published a month ago:
"Alcohol's CV and Cancer Risk-Balancing Act: More Evidence"
medscape.com/viewarticle/88...
This shows that light to moderate drinkers have 20% overall less mortality, 15% less cancer, 25% less heart disease and 28% fewer strokes than non-drinkers.
So it's actually a lot better for you to drink moderately than not drink at all.
I think there is merit in this but the person who asked the question was having 5 - 6 cans a day. I personally don't think that's moderate. Having said that, I suspect that doctors often jump on alcohol as the problem. They asked me all sorts of questions about my lifestyle but decided to say that alcohol was the problem but ignored the enormous amount of stress I was under (which caused the drinking). I think unless you are the sort of person who can be moderate in all things (not me!!) it's probably best to take a strict approach. Best wishes.
I cannot drink any kind of alcohol as it triggers my AF every time. I get very ill when in AF so I gave up drinking when I was diagnosed 5 years ago. My heart health and quality of life are more important to me.
Hi. The point is that 4-5 cans a night registers as problem drinking. Given you did this for many years it most definitely done your heart in. As it did with mine. I also stopped drinking when diagnosed 20 years ago. I was glad in a way. It gave me a reason to pack it in. Too many hangovers. I was told by the doc that if I had another drink it would be drinking poison. I took that as a signal.
Not too memtion the negative impact on the anticoagulants.
One has too make a choice, I feel.
Be well
Phil
yes I still enjoy a few brandes on a Friday and Saturday only a few each night with no ill effects ,but if I have to many beers my AF kicks in after I go to bed ....moderation I think is ok with most but no all. If one alcohol drink takes you into AF then you may have to change your habits
Occasional glass of red when I go out for dinner
i can drink 3-4 pints of carling and be fine all it does is thin my blood a bit more then it should be but hey you only live once if you want a beer have one it wont kill you
I will have a drink tonight! I love carling, Thank's.
Keith.
It might kill you but for some people it's worth it!
I cannot drink tolerate any alcohol at all, if I go into afib it is persistant and requires cardioversion to be back in NSR. I avoid all triggers known to be reported. I have had 10 cardioversions from probably working too long hours and not enough sleep. Basically, the heart is not normal so It reacts to stress by going into Afib. Sad part is when you are in NSR you are delusioned that you are normal and it is so easy to overdo yourself.
I drink alcohol (Sailor Jerry's rum) a couple times a week with no sign that it triggers my af. I'm convinced that my weekly episodes need no trigger -- they just seem to happen. I also tried the no alcohol routine for a few weeks and it made absolutely no difference in the frequency of my episodes. LIVE YOUR LIFE as you want to live it.
Alcohol is not a trigger for me nor is caffeine. I have no idea if I have a trigger. I have persistant afib. First (and only) ablation in February. Now believe my mitral valve is the cause and beginning a structural heart study in October to evaluate my best option. It has been suggested that they replace the valve followed by a convergent ablation.
Playing the wait game. Again.
I will say that too much alcohol causes dehydration which is bad for afib. I would question alcohol as the culprit.
We always seem to be playing the wait game! sick of seeing doctors and hospitals and waiting for appointments.
777777 It is a pain to continue waiting. In the midst of my issues, in June my hubby was in the ER in afib. He has paroxsamal afib. He had 2 stents put in during that hospital stay as well and will need a 3rd.
Unfortunately he has never taken very good care of himself and is now paying the price. He put off a hip replacement which is now unbearable but he has to wait a year bc he is on brillinta and eliquis, a requirement after stents for one year.
I always say, it could be worse!
Hope it turns out good for the both you.
When I started having more problems with cardiac arrhythmia I gave up alcohol.
Just having a vodka and tonic, I'm lucky it's not a trigger for me, in moderation only though
That is a lot of beer and the calories alone are equivalent to a Big Mac or a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza! Beer is also a diuretic--it makes you pee--so you might try switching to water after the first one. Maybe you're just thirsty. Dehydration can trigger Afib. Low levels of minerals in the blood (electrolytes), especially potassium, can trigger an abnormal heart rhythm, and when you're dehydrated, electrolytes are depleted.
Our liver has to detoxify the alcohol because basically it's a poison to our bodies, and if you are on a blood thinner, that gets processed by the liver, too. WebMD suggests drinking ties up your liver function and you may be left with a higher dose of blood thinner than you should have, because your liver is busy with the alcohol.
I like a glass of wine or a margarita, but I limit myself to one, and not every night. If I drink more I have a hangover. If you do drink, drinking water afterwards is supposed to help prevent hangover.
Alcohol doesn't trigger my AF because my AF is permanent. Therefore, I enjoy my 2 glasses of red wine with each evening meal and the occasional pint or 2 of beer; the stronger and darker, the more enjoyable. I just will not allow my AF to rule my life. I regard it much as I do the EU; complete disdain. As I always say.....be the boss.
I would also add that the only times I notice my AF is when I am sitting quietly doing nothing !
So, if ever I considered there was a trigger which exacerbated my AF, that trigger would be idleness and nothing else. And I include (along with alcohol) tea, coffee, exercise, food of any kind, sex, sleep, other medications, road rage, public speaking, rows, arguments, emotional episodes and a host of other situations which we all have to confront in our daily routines.
If you consider something, someone or some event is the cause of your trigger stop and question whether it might just be the randomness of the rogue electrical pulse. Looking for a trigger may send you on a path to other complications.
My best wishes to anyone suffering unduly from AF, as I did in the early days but it does get easier to manage with time and once it becomes permanent you don't have to worry about it suddenly kicking in and giving you a nasty jolt. Now into my 12th year with AF and working on how to greet St Peter. It's had very little impact on my quality of life and I am thankful that I have not suffered as many of my family and friends have with other chronic illnesses. They would have rather had my condition than theirs, I know for sure.
Evening. Sorry I'm a bit slow putting my bit in, but here goes. I'm 63yrs old and have been drinking since I was 14 in the army for 6, and then nearly 9 in the fire service. In those years I drank very heavy. Since about 10 years ago I have slowed down, with the help of the price of booze. Then came the heart trouble. I was having palpitations, irregular heartbeat and then AF . I only have a drink a couple of times a month, normally at the beginning of the month when I do my monthly shop. However, it's almost a certainty that I'll have a bout of AF so really over time my body has adapted to not drinking too much. It's difficult at first but gets easier. Good luck. Dave
All the comments prove how different we all are! Beer was definitely one of my AF triggers. No AF events since 2nd ablation 14 months but I have kept away from alcohol as a pint can make me feel 'fluttery ' (that's the only way I can describe it). Whether it is due to anything trying to start, AF wise, or the fact I am not used to beer now I don't know, but not willing to risk it further. Following comments on here I have recently ventured to try a small glass of Guinness occasionally and so far I can report no issues with this. I used to enjoy a couple of real ales but sadly probably no more. But the good news is you can enjoy and survive without and hopefully lead a heathier lifestyle,
I was a nitly drinker in moderation but can't have a single drop now. As someone said, it's not just the trigger effect, it's more long term. My body has calmed down since goign tee total although it took a long time.
I do not know if alcohol was or is a trigger. I have recently had an ablation (6 weeks ago), and I notice palpatations when I go to bed if I have 2 glasses of wine at dinner. I have decided that a Corona Lite, or 2, is a good substitute for the wine, and I suffer no side effects to at bed in the form of palpatations. The Corona Lite is only 4% alcohol, and I believe that makes a difference.
I also agree that dehydration is a major cause of both AFIB and palpatations; so I really push water when having a drink.
It gets really exhausting to try and balance all of the " triggers" that the doctors tell you to avoid!!!
I found after having Catheter Ablation for AF if I had a couple or three pints it would set it off again. But now six months later I can cope with a couple of pints it puts my heart rate up a little but do not go into AF. I think moderation is the answer. If you have a smart phone you can get an app called Heart Rate Free which is very easy to use and very accurate it gives your heart rhythm and beats per min. So you can just check things for yourself to give up peace of mind.
That app would not work for me. My blood pressure goes up from just thinking about measuring it!
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