swallowing induced afib

[ornella]

Hello, anyone having afib while eating, when the bolum goes down to esophagus it irritates right atrium and starts afib, it is happening to me every other day now when I finish my meal and it is light meal fish and vegetables mostly. If anyone has such experience what does he do to avoid it? Thank you all.

[CDreamer]

I am not sure what you mean by - ‘the bolum goes down to the esophagus?

But eating and digestion is associated with AF and can be a trigger via the vagus nerve. It one of my triggers. Other than doing what you are doing - eating smaller, lighter meals - avoid eating carbohydrates in the morning or the evening but especially for breakfast.

Resting both before and after for a good 20-30 mins around meal times. Don’t eat and attempt to work. Dont watch or listen to the news at meal times - improve improve vagal tone - lots of ways to do that

[ornella in reply to CDreamer]

thank you , sorry meant bolus, but it is tragic, I tried to eat an egg tonight and my heart started to pound and I felt so uncomfortable because my stomach is a mess perhaps from a quarter of sotalol I took , I can't stand any medication because my body does not accept them. I am considering am ablation but all the times I had an episode was cold induced, (eating ice cream), stopped o.k for 4 months and now that every time I am eating the main meal it starts, Now I am scared to eat.

[CDreamer in reply to ornella]

May I suggest you try find a specialist autonomic dysfunction cardiologist? It does sound as though itherenis a possibility that it could be autonomic reaction - reaction to cold - but I am not a medic, just had a few issues myself. There are few in the UK - it may be worth talking to your GP and asking for a referral.

You may find the STARS site useful and

uclh.nhs.uk/OurServices/Ser...

It may also be useful consulting a nutrionist as if there is not enough acid in the stomach to properly digest protein then I found it will trigger vagus and subsequently the AF. Carbs make things worse because they can make the stomach more alkaline.

What about liquidised food in tiny amounts? I mean sips. If you are afraid to eat you could easily get into a dangerous downward spiral and not get the essential nutrients which in turn could make the AF worse.

Without knowing your previous medical history it is really difficult to comment as this forum is for sharing knowledge and experience rather than giving specific medical advice.

I rather suspect there is also a strong element of anxiety which will also affect you and increase the symptoms.

Best wishes CD,

[ornella in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks, you are very helpful, I am totally healthy only this afib is torturing me lately.I lost 12 kilos in 9 months and was afib free for 4 months until now that it came back. I don't drink coffee and alcohol and I am following a low carbs diet, I have some intestine problems which I think are caused by small intestine microbial overgrowth (SIBO) and took some natural antimicrobials to kill them and was doing fine until now. My doc told me that whatever i do it will come back, very helpful indeed. So I am thinking of an ablation although he told me that it is successful only 50% the first time. Well, I don't like this disease, it seems to be out of my control and yes you are right I am anxious, who wouldn't be if every time he must eat his heart starts racing. Best wishes to you too.

[CDreamer in reply to ornella]

May I suggest you read my post of yesterday? Notes of a talk I gave to an AF support group Exeter around Anxiety & AF?

Anxiety will worsen your symptoms of both the eating issues and AF.

If you have vagal AF ablation it can often be managed with lifestyle changes. May I also suggest you do a search on this forum for Dr Gupta video on Vagus and the stomach. I’ll see if I can find a link for you.

The ONLY person who can give you any information regarding ablation is your EP, GPS really are not expert enough, the success rate is SO variable dependant upon the patient & their physiology, the expertise and practise of the EP and their team and the recovery period - which can be a bit longer than people are led to believe.

If you haven’t already seen an EP - ask for a referral - do your homework first and find out who you want see. Ensure the person you want performs ablation every day - not just once a month - the success rate improves the more the EP performs.

Ablation is NOT a cure, I have had 2 and still have AF but not as much or as symptomatic.

Treat the underlying condition and the AF may be better controlled.

Personally, what I would do is look for a doctor who works with Functional Medicine. One of the GPs in our practice has recently finished her training and we are going to work together in the New Year.

AF may feel scary but believe me, there are far worse conditions than AF.

I have a condition called Myasthenia gravis as well as AF and when both kick in my breathing gets compromised so I have to have non invasive ventilation.

I have found the conventional medicine does not have all the answers, but neither does complimentary - Functional Medicine merges the 2 - using scientific testing such as blood tests & tracking & GI tests to get to the bottom of the problem,

Did you have a GI test before taking the supplement and which supplement did you take?

Guessing without knowing and taking supplements can sometimes make things worse - again speaking from experience.

This forum is for AF but please don’t hesitate to PM is you want to chat more about this.

Best wishes CD.

[cuore in reply to ornella]

Did you get the 50% success information from your GP or your EP? Unless you are persistent, that's a low number.

[Buffafly in reply to ornella]

I have had that problem and I don't believe it is caused by anxiety, I think it is caused by a digestive system problem. As AF also causes digestive problems you have a spiral going! At one time my heart would pound every time I ate something in the evening and sometimes my bowels would work as well soon after I ate. I have been diagnosed with IBS but lately I discovered I have diverticular disease which I am sure caused some of my problems.

Having an ablation and coming off meds has helped my digestion so I would go for it, but don't give up the search to find a physical reason for the eating problems. In the meantime eat small meals through the day if you can. By the way, I don't eat fish any more because I have a bad reaction to it.

[ornella in reply to Buffafly]

Thanks Buffafly, it is difficult for me to eat when it acts like this though. Not bad I will become a model for the elderly, ha,ha. Make some pocket money as since in AF I have become very elegant and stylish. Best.

[Janith in reply to ornella]

Me too ...

[ornella]

Hello Janith and how do you manage to eat because today I ate only three bites and if it is going to be like that I will become Angelina Jolie. Best.

[ornella]

Thank you I don't take antacids and I take a very good probiotic each morning but this is something very unusual and today it happened at night when I was sleeping, rate went up to 126 beats and I got up and drank some water and coughed a bit and then after 10 minutes my rythm was sinus again, seems like my ANS is a mess and sends wrong signals all the way, I need some accupuncture maybe or some Bowtech technique sessions.