I always wonder if my first episode was trigger by stress. I woke up at 2am with afib, but before that day, I've been under extreme stress for almost two months.
So if my first afib was triggered by stress, then if I have stress now, will it trigger afib for sure?
In my experience it is totally unpredictable. An attack AFTER stress is common. You tend to cope during the stress because you have to, but be aware that you can have an episode and know nothing about it. AF can occur whilst you are asleep. If you've had an episode then you may or may not have others.
Hi li 
you say....
''I always wonder if my first episode was trigger by stress''
I think it is anyone's guess as to when you or many of us had your first episode of AF as opposed to your first 'recognisable' episode of AF. I now think I have had AF for much longer that I originally thought I just wasn't fully aware of it.
I am pretty sure stress exacerbates AF, the hormones released by stress aren't really going to improve things if your heart is struggling so if you have been having episodes of AF, additional stress could be the final straw. Episodes of AF are stressful to the mind and body and it becomes a vicious circle, that is why it is important to learn to use self calming measures during episodes if you can .
I have looked at events that preceded some of by bad 'episodes' of AF and which could have been a trigger , they range from over exertion /eating/sleeping/and stress and the last bad one started during a heated argument on the telephone after hours of being put 'on hold' with my internet provider.
I was diagnosed with atrial flutter on Feb. 2, 2016 after a session of severe stress coupled with dehydration. I feel stress played a major role, in my case, as I progressed from atrial flutter to atrial fibrillation. After several stress triggered episodes, other triggers came into play. But, stress was the factor that started the ball rolling. After my first stress- triggered episode, I definitely had a second stressed-triggered episode, and then another and another.
I was new to arrhythmia on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 when my GP suspected arrhythmia who then sent me for an ECG that showed atrial flutter. The full stress day occurred on Sunday, January 31 when I was not knowledgeable. In subsequent stress episodes, especially when I would get super mad, I could feel a rush to my head and my chest pounding -- palpitations. I would say that the reaction was simultaneous. As soon as I got severely stressed, I would get an episode right away.
I was rather asymptomatic when I first got the atrial flutter; I probably dismissed any palpitations as just stress . However, when my GP prescribed metoprolol , and I took it when in sinus rhythm when I was going to sleep, my heart thumped so loudly that I thought it was going to go out of my chest. I reduced my dosage, taking it for two months whereby I told my GP I wasn't taking it any more. Later I learned that beta blockers are contraindicated for vegal arrhythmia and can make it worse. I feel that is what happened to me.
Is it an AFib episode
