Afib and diarrhea?

[nymima01]

Hello All. Inwritebhere for my 92 yr old mother who has afib for over 25 yrs. We recently lost my sister to cirrhosis and of course we are terribly saddened by her death. My mother seems to come in and out of grief and it seems this is affecting her afib. She suffered all day on Sunday and Monday she was wiped out. Today, Tuesday, she had explosive diarrhea and her stomach is still rumbling. I am going to call her cardiologist, and let him know. She also has heart failure and cardiomyopathy. To what extent - I don’t know. Because he seems to just be managing her symptoms now. He doesn’t tell us much about her stage or her EF %.

I going to call him this morning to tell him about this. What questions should I have for him? I feel her diarrhea (which is pretty often) has something to do with her heart. What would you all ask? I am in the dark about this.

[BobD Volunteer]

Not something I have come across to be honest BUT the digestive system and heart are both connected to the vagus nerve so what affects one can ditto the other. My non medical opinion would be that the stress has caused the digestive problems which have in turn caused the increase in AF

[Hidden]

Could it be medication related?

[nymima01 in reply to Hidden]

She is on metoprolol, Lasix, Eliquis, levothyroxin, magnesium, and Lipitor. She’s been on these drugs for over 5 yrs. This digestive problem comes and goes. It is enough to keep her from going out most days. She won’t have an endoscopy or a colonoscopy done and they don’t push it. Just seems that right after the all day afib she had on Sunday, she has this explosive diarrhea today. I got her some Imodium for days like this.

[Finvola]

Your poor mother - she has her grief to cope with and it is bound to cause stress and affect her AF. Make sure she has rehydration drinks which are appropriate for her as she will be severely dehydrated after diarrhea, which will in turn affect the AF.

When I had episodes of PAF, they were always accompanied by gut trouble and diarrhea. The worse the AF, the worse the diarrhea and it was more distressing than the AF - especially the thought of being caught in a public place.

As bouts of AF cause massive urination, it seemed to me that the AF was also causing the diarrhea. The stressed heart putting out enzymes to purge the body of unwanted contents, such as salt is the reason for so much peeing in AF.

[Buffafly]

Magnesium causes diarrhoea, maybe her dose is too high? I get diarrhoea associated with AF, works both ways, cause and result 😥. My father had HF and it affected his digestion, it does I'm afraid. Perhaps the British Heart Foundation might help with advice re diet? Probably small low fat low fibre meals. Be very careful with Immodium, though as you are her carer I can understand the use!

[CDreamer]

Firstly, I am so sorry for your loss.

Of course I am no expert as not medically trained but I suspect that the symptoms of both AF and the Diarrhea are both triggered by the body’ stress response which is a reaction to the grief - a somatic affect.

Unfortunately, generally speaking, as we age we are much less resilient and therefor we find that we cope as well as a younger. You are obviously a lovely, caring daughter and I suspect that is what she needs in addition to management from a cardiologist who will only ever be able to treat the symptoms - as it is for all us affibers is empathy, love and care. You can make a huge difference by giving loving care and reassurance and you both sharing memories and grieving with her,

[Cat04]

My last bout of AF started with both vomiting and diarrhoea and these were some of the first things that my gp asked whether I had had.

[Jacqlihe]

So very sorry for you, a very sad experience

My own very worst bouts started with two ghastly stomach bugs contracted in hospital after my last ablation and another short stay

I strongly believe the vagus nerve is very very important in all this, coupled with our body s electrolyte balance which is also key vomiting and diarhea certainly sparks mine off and so does stress

we are all different of course but It sounds as though your poor mother has had most of these, hope she feels better very soon

[Buffafly]

How did you get on today? I hope your mother is feeling better physically and the cardiologist had something useful to say?