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[TommoHFC]

I'm a new to AF only diagnosed 4 weeks ago. I'm 6 ft and 18 stone, is there a chance that it could go away if I was to lose weight.? Also is there any supplements you can take to help the condition ?

[Hidden]

Hello Tommo and welcome to the place you would rather not be.

Sorry to be blunt, it’s not impossible, but AF rarely goes away, but with the right help, it can be controlled.

Your intro was fairly brief so I may make some assumptions which might not be entirely accurate so please bear with me. Was your diagnosis made by your GP or was it the outcome from a hospital visit. Have you seen a specialist and do you know anything about AF. Are you aware of the stroke risk associated with AF and do you know about what can be done to substantially minimise that risk. Do you know there are 3 types of AF Paroxysmal (which comes and goes often without warning) and Persistent and Permanent which essentially stay with you 24/7.

Improving lifestyle can have a dramatic impact and some supplements can be useful such as magnesium and potassium rich foods are also helpful.

If you are not familiar with some of these issues surrounding AF, the first thing you should do is wade through the reams of information available within the AF Association webpages. AF is a very complex condition which can effect everyone differently and this is the best way to establish what is the best route forward for you. If you haven’t yet, ask your GP to refer you to see an Electrophysiologist (Cardiologist who specialises in arrhythmias) but this will take time unless you make a private appointment. Use the time to research the condition because knowledge really is power......hope this helps.

[CaroleF]

Without more information about you it is hard to say more that is helpful than FlapJack has already done. Do take on board all he has said particularly about educating yourself about the condition; you will find the Patients Resources on the Atrial Fibrillation Association (AFA) web site here heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...

I don't think that losing weight per se will necessarily make your AF "go away", but all the current thinking (and evidence) is that getting your BMI down below 25 will help to reduce the AF burden. In fact all the current advice about living a healthy lifestyle (a Mediterranean diet, not smoking, alcohol only within government guidelines - if at all, regular exercise etc) can only make things a bit easier for anyone with AF.

As for supplements many people say that magnesium compounds (particularly magnesium taurate which is easily absorbed) have been helpful to them.

Do do some research of your own using the AFA resources and then let us know how best we can help you. We are a friendly supportive bunch of 'fellow sufferers' and between us we have a wealth of experience of living with the condition - though we are not medically trained.

[Hidden]

G'day Tommo,

Two excellent answers from Flapjack and CaroleF. Totally agree.

Look, its like this .... AF going away ........ most likely not. Tamed, subdued, controlled .... yes highly likely. Depends on so many factors. AF is/can be, all things to all people. I once described it as a hydraheaded monster ... that's 'cos it can affect all of us differently in so many ways.

Several very significant things are involved ....... and luck is also involved .... my paroxysmal AF was identified and treatment started wiithin 9 hours of first onset This ( I truly believe) went a long way to preventing new dysfunctional electrical pathways of the heart getting firmly established. Second bit of luck was realising ( many, many ,many months after the onset) that food was a trigger. This enabled me to consult a Nutritionist who helped me assess what foods (and in some people, hot and cold drinks) were likely to tip me into AF.

But, here we go .......... many people cannot identify a trigger, AF just is..........there.

AF can have a root cause, mostly a person can have a predisposition to the damn thing, this predisposition can be accompanied by a genetic link (as I eventually discovered is true for me). Others however can be driven stir crazy looking for a cause/ finding a trigger and fail to do so.

Some people get this thing and they have enjoyed for a long time a healthy lifestyle, are athletes, sports persons etc. Some people opt for lifestyle changes to help deal with the monster, this can include weight loss, cutting back on offensive healthy activities, others may adopt more healthy pursuits ............ its horses for courses I'm afraid.

In my case I can identify a genetic link on the paternal side of my family ... as well as food being a trigger. I have followed a different nutrition plan now for 8 of the 9 years I've been entertaining this monster and apart from a short 5 hour burst of AF in Feb 2018 brought about sleeping on my left side I've been AF free since April 2015.

So, just in this little chat what has emerged ..........................

1) predisposition

2) food

3) genetics

4) posture

5) speed of diagnosis

................ and I'm just scratching around.

Back to your question........... yeah, well I'm 74 now (65 when diagnosed), I'm active but don't particularly go out of my way to practice a healthy lifestyle, I control my food, don't worry about booze unless I'm driving, and am 5'11" tall and weigh 15 stone. So weight loss and lifestyle are probably the more obvious things you can look at to help yourself.

Hope all this gives you some insights ............... may the force be with you.

John

[TommoHFC in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your advice. I now know where to come. I've only had 2 episodes the first one at 3 in the morning and went to my local a+e.

I was told by a cardiologist that I have AF, I came out of it 2 days later. The 2nd was 3 weeks later again at 3 in the morning both times was after going out to all you can eat restaurants ??? Thanks to you all again.

[Hidden in reply to TommoHFC]

Well Tommo ………… there is an established link between the brain, the heart and the digestive system …… its called the vagal nerve. You can have a look at AFA website resources on this or just Google, vagal nerve.

Its like an information superhighway between the brain, heart and digestive system and certain foods, timings of meals and quantities of foods can cause this nerve to function in a dysfunctional way and bring about AF.

3 am ………… no surprise there then

John

[Hidden in reply to TommoHFC]

Have you been checked out for sleep apnea? a well known partner of AF!!

[CDreamer]

Many of us find that having large meals at evening time = AF a few hours later. Keeping to small meals at least 3 hours before going to bed will help avoid AF at night. Same with drink - ensure your last drink 🍷 if you imbibe, is at least 3 hours before bed.

Nutrition - keep red meat to once a week, avoid all fried foods, carbohydrates such as white bread, cereals, cakes and biscuits but increase intake of proteins and fats known to help such as avacados, nuts, olive oil and small amounts of butter rather than spreads.

Well worth having a look for guidelines -

bant.org.uk/

bant.org.uk/wp-content/uplo...

Hope that helps.

[ThinLizzy1]

Tommo - I am 5’11” and weigh around 12 stone and exercise most days. When my AF comes on I have a lot less breath and know about it even if I walk up one flight of stairs.

I know its easy for me to say but dropping weight will help you deal with the symptoms.

Incidently alcohol would be an automatic trigger for me so I have gone from being a lifelong drinker maybe four days a week to stopping completely for the last nine months, the AF visits twice a week in any case, I have dropped a stone with the drop in drinking.

I have recently been presciribed Flecanaide and this has cut down the attacks from around 24 hours to around five hours. I would get on it assp if you attacks become regular.

[TommoHFC]

OK thanks for your advice.....

I only drink once a week so it's not a lot to give up. I would probably struggle when I go abroad with friends though.....

[jedimasterlincoln]

It wouldn't go away but I have been told it would certainly help with general health as well as contribute to feeling less crap when the AF does hit.

It's a bit of a sensitive subject for me, because there are a lot of people out there who will say "You're overweight you need to do something about it" whilst either being overweight themselves or not actually appreciating how hard it is.

I come from a family of overweight people. My dad is shorter than me and twice my size. My brother is 2 years older and has also struggled in the same vein.

I was always skinny until my mid 20s. No matter what I ate, I never put on weight and I was always ravenously hungry. I got married when I was 26 and although some weight crept on and I had a pretty pedestrian desk job I still walked 2 miles to work/back and rambled in the peak district as well as coaching youth football twice a week. I even played a bit of cricket til the knee gave up.

In 2013 my marriage broke down, I moved house to start over and I had a shift job which converted into 12 hours shifts. Eating healthily went out the window, I was on my own a lot at home so never felt like cooking elaborate varied meals just for myself, and was usually too knackered after work/before work to have anything that needed a lot of effort. The weight crept on.

Later in 2013 PAF started, and hit me like a train. My age (31) and my lifestyle were flummoxing me. Granted I'd had a fair few cans of energy drinks getting used to the shifts (only 3/4 a week) but I'd never smoked never drank coffee never had cholesterol problems, I didn't even like drinking alcohol on my own - unless I was at the weekly pub quiz where I'd only have 2 pints.

The weight continued to creep on when in AF, different drugs, repeated fast AF episodes they struggled to get on top of. 2 ablations the following year which took a month or more to get over and start being active again.

I managed to lose weight and fit in clothes I'd saved from "pre AF" years. But it kept coming back. I'd start to get more active and more energy and it'd hit again. No matter how far I got away from AF it'd drag me back knock me out and make me start again.

In 2017 in the September at pre op for ablation number 4I was 110kg. My BMI was 33ish. I decided (in conjunction with my partner who had struggled with post baby tummy all summer) we would stop buying snacks, stop loading our plates at mealtimes and be more active. We'd both been substituting sleep with sugar thanks to the newborn.

I have to say this is the only thing that worked. As I continued to dip in and out of semi regular bouts of AF as 2017 turned into 2018 and work became less prevalent I still managed to lose 5kg in about 6 months. I still got chastised by a rather portly cardio doctor in CCU about my weight, and he didn't seem to care I'd lost weight over Christmas.

By the start of the summer I was down to nearly 100kg - in 9 months I'd lost 10kg. Which doesn't sound a lot but it was gradual and punctuated by the aforementioned ablations, cardioversions and inactivity with work. Currently I'm hovering between 103 and 105 KG having never been as light as I was in June.

Summer holidays came, school runs ceased (2 miles a day) and my job switched to none-clinical after July and August off work. I've still managed to keep on or below 105kg and its still a struggle. My Peak District walking friend developed leg weakness and back problems so we were limited to car park hopping not park up and walk adventures once a month. I also had a torn meniscus which didn't help my mobility. It went from 17 mile rambles every few months, to 3-7 miles once a month, to 2 miles pottering once every 6 months. Not helped by the fact when I wasn't working, Other Half was, and we only got 2 days off together to get all the shopping chores errands etc done. I didn't want to spend one of these being selfish and going on a jolly adventure.

However, we now eat healthier than we did with most sauces and combinations being home made, low salt and low added extras, my OH is an amazing cook and has got me to try new things and the same things cooked different ways. I've even made my own flatbreads from scratch and I've not baked for nearly a decade!

It is, and probably always will be a vicious circle for me. If my AF was stable, I'd be more active which would mean my weight would come down and make my AF more stable which would mean I could be more active which would mean I'd lose weight and it'd make my AF more stable which would then mean I'd be more active and it would contribute to making my AF more stable which would mean..... you get the point.

[TommoHFC in reply to jedimasterlincoln]

Jedimasterlincolne

Thanks for your input. I've been fighting the weight problem since the age of 34 when I stopped playing rugby league,and still fighting it at 58...

I think it's all about portion size with me I tend to eat till I feel full ???

[jedimasterlincoln in reply to TommoHFC]

Yeah, I was the same. I've substituted increased portion size with "have a pint of fluid and if you're still hungry in an hour have some cereal"

It's better than biscuits and a brew or going back for 2nds.