Greetings from Italy!
I am new to this forum, so I would like to tell my experience of Afib. I am 74, male, decent overall health except hypertension kept down with drugs, a modest oesophageal reflux and paroxysmal Afib.
I have had problems of missed heart beats for the last 20 or 30 years, sometimes with a missed beat every 2 or 3, and this up to 24 hours. Twice I went to ER, they told me it was nothing.
Then I had what looking back seems a true Afib episode during a heavy meal two years ago.
It went back to NSR by itself in 6 hours. At that time I did not know what Afib was, and took no notice of it.
Episodes got more frequent, every couple of weeks. I happened to read a bit about Afib, but still I was unsure whether with me it was simply a question of ectopic beats.
Finally a year and half ago I had an episode that I clearly recognized as Afib and went to ER, where I was cardioverted with Amiodarone.
While in the ER I had a look at my blood analysis, and saw a very low potassium level, but neither did I know if it was important, nor did the doctors tell me about it.
My cardiologist put me on Flecainide 2 x 50 mg daily and 2 x 5 mg Eliquis, but this did not prevent a second Afib episode and a second cardioversion after 6 months. Again, my potassium was very low, about 2.8, with my cardiologist telling me that now I should consider an ablation.
Finally I started to document myself on Afib forums and thought that mine was of the vagal type, since ectopic beats or Afib had always started around meal time or during a stomach acidity episode.
Also I thought that electrolyte levels were an important triggering condition. Based on this assumptions, I tried the following:
·never to apply excessive pressure to my stomach or chest, avoiding sleeping on the left side, or crouching or sitting down with excessive hip flexion for too long, and wearing braces for my trousers rather than a belt
·using a portable urinal during the night rather than getting up, for avoiding uncontrolled changes of posture while half asleep
·not to eat or drink too much at one time, avoiding the feeling of a filled stomach or the urge of burping. I do not have any alcool, coffee or chocolate.
I stop eating at 7:30 pm.
·taking care of the slightest stomach acidity carrying with me antacid tablets
·at meals I take Magnesium and Potassium, checking my blood levels every few months
·I take other supplements that I inferred as useful from the literature: Taurine , Arginine, Carnitine, coenzime Q10. I mix them up in a small mortar and sprinkle my food with it (the taste disappears)
·I carry with me Diazepam tablets in case I feel too anxious.
This discipline is quite bothersome, but I have not had Afib for a year ( and very rare ectopic beats). Plus I have cut my high blood pressure medication in half, and plan to ask my cardiologist to go for "pill in the pocket" for Flecainide (I do not know if it is reasonable for Eliquis).
Of course this schedule seems to work for me and not necessarily for anybody else, but I would be pleased to know if other people are experimenting with their paroxysmal Afib with diet and food supplements.
Mirtilla
Wine and afib 
Permanent AFib
Are there times when an AFib episode is just going to happen?
Advice needed. New to AFIB. 
