AF triggers

[Patricia1]

If or when paroxysmal AF becomes persistent or permanent do AF triggers till have any impact?

[BobD Volunteer]

Once it is there all the time triggers are irrelevant. You only need a trigger it go from NSR to AF. Many people in permanent are quite unaware they have AF until the stroke hits which is why pulse checking is so important to find these people. Someone like Beancounter who is perm never knew till it was found on a routine check up.

[Francis23 in reply to BobD]

I check my pulse once a day,is this sufficient?

My first AF attack was 18 months ago and I have not had one since although my cardiologis has discharged me he thinks that I should stay on 1.5 mgs bisoprolol per day,which I do.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Francis23]

Well done. So many people become obsessed by checking. Go by how you feel!

[Beancounter Volunteer]

Very true Bob, but I still have the occasional episode, so there are sort of triggers, I've only had two but they were both brought on by being very stressed and tired. I then had the sort of episode a PAF sufferer might get with HR up to around 150 and feeling really awful.

Be well

Ian

[Hidden]

My AF became persistent but that doesn’t mean it was even and constant. It varied from day to day and a trigger such as alcohol would not set the AF off because it was already there. But it would make it a whole lot worse.

Same with stress etc.

[cassie46]

I am in permament AF and triggers do affect me. I can feel it when my heart rate is too high, I do not get massive palpataions but it is uncomfortable and can feel very unwell. I get a lot of the other symtoms that go with AF but they do not seem to be as bad as someone with PAF. I have not had caffine now for over 20 years, at that time I was drinking too much coffee and getting palpataions and was rather hyper so I gave that up well before I had AF. alchohol I have not touched since diagnosed in 2014 - I donn't want to find out if it is a trigger, but a few days before I was diagnosed with AF it was New Year I did have half a glass of red wine and I felt terrible. Chocolate is one of my triggers, I can sometimes have a couple of choccies and I am okay, other times it sets my heart racing. Stress also plays a large part in feeling unwell. Xmas is a coming soon so I may well have a few choccies and hope for the best, I do love a good box of luxury chocolates.

Cassie

[Emsysy]

As a permanent AF’ er I rarely notice the condition. I love red wine and chocolate and will continue to enjoy. They don’t affect me at all apart from inducing elation.

I do have bad spells when my legs feel week, I feel breathless and energy levels plummet. These generally last just an hour or 2. Strangely, these spells happen mostly when I am being fairly idle !

Ce’st la vie

[Bagrat in reply to Emsysy]

I have very rare episodes of paroxysmal AF but I get episodes of low energy and feeling "off it" they take an houror so to go and yes, usually when brain not actively engaged!!

[RoyM]

I have been in persistant AF since May last year. Before then I was PAF and i can honesty say for me it is far easier living with persistant AF than it ever was with PAF. Although, I am now pretty much symptom free In Persistant AF if I drink too much caffine or too much alcohol it will make me feel unwell and lethargic and raise my HR from my normal 70 ish Hr, so I simply avoid over doing the alcohol and caffine thing and luckily I am pretty much able to do everything I did before I had AF. Cheers Roy

[Amcech]

My EP told me that I could have the equivilant of one cup of coffee every day and one glass of red wine every other day. I am in persistant AF.