If my next ablation for persistent AFlutter fails, I expect to return to my Tesco Guatemala strength 4. If it works I will stay with my Caffè Nero decaff 12 second macchiato with an extra shot - surprisingly good.
I hope to hear whether members with persistent/permanent AF either continue to, or have reverted to, normal coffee and enjoy the odd single malt. Or does it make your PermAF more symptomatic?
Behaving normally in that regard, would be one of the upsides of failure, amongst many others I suspect.
Thank you.
22 Replies
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HI Badger,
If you haven't already done so Google 'Coffee and the Heart - Stimulant or Stressor'. The Jury appears to be out on this one.
Personally I wouldn't go near the stuff with a barge pole but then again that is me and we are all different,
Carol.
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Hi Carol
Thanks for that. But aren't you paroxysmal?
Does coffee bring on your AF?
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Haha Columbo I knew that was coming.As soon as I clicked send realized you would pick up that I was PAF
I wouldn't drink or eat anything knowingly that may compromise my recovery following Ablation..I respect my EP and value his skill and like others so very grateful to have been offered the Ablation . Also I know from experience that Alcohol and caffeine were my triggers - though that doesn't mean they are everybody's.
Carol.
I don't find that coffee makes any difference to my AF and flutter. In 26 years I have had periods of decaffeinated and normal...neither in huge quantities....and it hasn't made any difference. I now drink mainly Nestled Azera Americano instant and that does not cause any problems.
I rarely drink alcohol mainly because it now sends me to sleep.....but did have Scotch and orange ( I know...) over Christmas purely for medicinal purposes. Stayed in NSR.
No.....this was my first introduction to whisky. Had heavy cold and was in pub having office Christmas drinks and this was re commended! ( my first job..18). It has to be orange squash! It really does help a cold ....
Back in 1954 when I was 19 and went to live in London I used to go into a pub in Tottenham Court for my lunch on a Saturday. I was talking to the Scottish barman one day and someone came in and asked for a Whisky and Orange. He looked at me and raised his eyes to heaven muttering under his breath. I don't remember hearing of anyone else having that until the Beatles came on the scene and it was reported that at least one of them asked for it.
As they say you can tell a man who boozes by the company he chooses....................................
Most doctors will recommend to avoid any stimulant beverages and alcohol when you suffer from arrhythmia. Even decaff coffee and tea contain some residual amount of caffeine. I don’t know if you have ever totally abstained from caffeine and alcohol for a reasonable lenght of time, to be able to establish a comparison and determine if indeed the arthythmia gets better or if it remains the same. If there is no difference, improving your quality of life will be important. In medicine nothing is 100 %. In a recent large study of AF sufferers, they found no evidence that drinking tea was detrimental. afib.newlifeoutlook.com/afi...
I have permanent AF and do not drink coffee or alcohol. I did in the early days try coffee a couple of times but my heart rate went mad so have not bothered with alcohol. Although I am not as symptomatic as someone with PAF even in permanent AF you can feel your heart is not behaving and feel unwell. If these are a trigger for anyone with AF, even if you have had a successful ablation why would you want to irritate your heart with stimulants.
We are all different and have different triggers. My wonderful EP (Dr Michael Griffith) at QEH Birmingham told me after my second ablation: “You will most likely be back sometime because this isn’t a cure for AF. How long it takes to come back just depends on your lifestyle.” I asked him to explain and he said “It’s up to you. But I’d stay off the coffee, don’t get drunk, don’t sign up for a marathon and avoid stress if you can.” Then he smiled.
I haven’t had a cup of coffee since then and remain in sinus rhythm. No contest for me - but we are all different. Avoiding stress is trickier though!!!
I'm in the US and my EP said to drink no more than one cup of caffeine per day, and to remember that chocolate has caffeine, and one glass of wine every other day. I don't think either in small amounts affects me, I have persistent AF.
My husband has persistent AF, he drinks 2 cups of coffee a day, sometime s Costa, & has no symptoms at all. He's on Xaltro & Ramapril, teetotaler though, always has been. Fit and well at 70 years of age
Back in my working days ( I retired in 1994) I used to have at least twelve cups of coffee a day. Four strong ones from the office percolator and some from the vending machine and more at home. I stopped smoking 20 a day in 1993 and had previously stopped salt and sugar in the mid 1980's.
All this abstinence, no wonder I'm such a miserable wreck now. Life gets tasteless don't it Now my wife has Flu that she caught in hospital after an overnight stay. The doctor says that I'll hardly be able to avoid it and has given me a course of Tamiflu along with hers that I'm reluctant to start.
Oh Seaside how this post resonated with me. In the words of Adam Ant "what do you do? You don't drink don't smoke.....". I stopped smoking a year ago. Piled on just under 2 stone in that time and have just joined Slimming World in the hopes that I can eat the right stuff. So now it's no cheese alcohol red meat..... The list is endless but no recurring AF "episodes" just a bit of breathlessness so maybe it is worth being miserable!
I have a relative who has been persistently in AF for a number a years now (a couple of ablations worked for a while in the years prior to that). He’s taking an a/c plus beta blocker and digoxin.
He drinks as much real coffee as he likes (quite a lot) and as much wine as he likes (an awful lot) and says it doesn’t affect how his AF feels to him. He has always been unsymptomatic though (apart from the way the meds make him feel - old before his time). He definitely gets to enjoy the pleasures of fresh coffee and red wine!
The Brandy seems not to affect me much whether i drink one drink or three...but the caffine in say coffee or coke can bring on very heavy and a fast heart rate (100+) by way of example i recently mistook diet coke for caffine free coke and drank three glasses over a 2 hr period. Boy did i know it that night. I won't make that mistake again. So, even thou i am in persistant AF over indulgence is not without its problems. I have experienced PAF for a good number of years and most recently persistant AF since April 2016 and to be honest for me persistant AF is much easier to live with. Obviously, not having any AF would be my prefared choice but if i have to have AF the persistant variety for me is easier to live with. Cheers Roy
I'm in permanent AF and limit myself to 2 coffees a day without any problems. I don't drink much alcohol but a glass of wine occasionally doesn't seem to affect me. But I have to avoid stress - that's my trigger.
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