Many risk factors for AFIB and what trigger it like obesity, high blood pressure, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, heredity but very few if any articles on sex as a trigger for or cause of AFIB which surprises me a lot as sex is the ONLY trigger for AFIB or SVT attacks in my case.
A brief history. I was diagnosed with SVT in childhood. My SVT attacks usually triggered by exercise like running (playing soccer mainly) about once a year. In adulthood the SVT attacks almost disappeared for decades till 2008 when I had a major SVT attack which lasted hours and it happened during sexual activity. It had to be ended in emergency and with injection. Since then I have had a few minor SVT attacks all during sexual activity lasting a few second.
However, the harmless SVT attacks were recently evolved into something much more serious. A few months ago I experience an attack (again during sexual activity) which was very different with all previous attacks. I had fast but chaotic IRREGULAR heart beat. They took me to emergency and I refused cardio version so it lasted 56 hours till it came back to normal by itself. They put me on blood thinner and increase my dose for beta blocker (Metoprolol 50 mg twice daily). I have brought my BP under control and reduce stroke risks however, when I researched about AFIB no one has mentioned sex as a trigger for SVT or AFIB attack but sex is the ONLY trigger in my case responsible for both SVT and AFIB attacks otherwise I will never have an attack ever again if I avoid sex forever.
The ECG showed my heart is structurally fine and valves functioning well and atrium at the right size. And to my experience I am fine. No dizziness or chest pain or any other ill feeling.
My questions are:
Has anyone else suffered attacks during or after sex or sees sex as a major trigger for AFIB attacks?
If yes then what can I do about this other than having to deprive myself of the most joyful experience of life for the rest of my life?
Written by
Kevin_
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Not a trigger for me. When I was disgnosed 3 yr ago, I was afraid it would and avoided orgasms. Then one night I had an orgasm in my sleep and woke up laughing. No a fib but felt better about sex, lol. I havent found any particular triggers for my a fib
Kevin I’m in AF permanent now have been for the past two years. I’ve never had an Ablation or a Cardio Version as I have always been rather nervous about it. I read people have it done One Twice Three & four times.
Regard to Sex it has never been a problem for me but I could see how it could affect some people getting there heart rate up.
Is that why some People just stop breathing whilst having Sex ????????
It sounds like it could be you holding tension in your body, around your heart area during sex, that may be causing your AF. Could you perhaps think of holding that tension elsewhere, if it's possible.
Just a random thought I've had.
Body tension can either stop or start AF. So tensing the heart area after AF has started could well be your cure too.
It's not been a trigger as such, in fact having AF & high doses of meds/worry about kicking it off has been an obstacle at times, not just for my own performance but for the partner worried she'll "over excite me"
I have once "done the deed" when in AF, when my HR was about 120 and I didn't feel too bad, after a few minutes I had to stop and was clammy, crushing pain in my chest and struggling to catch my breath. This hasn't helped in leaning to get over AF as an obstacle as it's at the back of our minds when we're in the mood.
There's also a nookie ban when I've just had a cardioversion/ablation for a couple of weeks, so when I'm at my most unstable, that side of my persona is pretty "barren" anyway!
Having said that, I was able to be stable enough to make a baby in October 2016 between the PVI ablations sorting things out and the atrial flutter presenting!
That's brought a smile to my face this Sunday morning...Images of you in AF - Ablation - and in between finding window of opportunity for making baby...Well done you. 😉
Only once for me, when we were away in Salzburg for a special birthday for my wife.
Such a shame as AF does affect QOL so much.
I cannot offer advice on minimising this particular AF trigger.
Just one other point. I note that you refused a cardioverdion. I have had about 20 cardioversions and I can honestly say that it is not a big deal. You won’t remember a thing as you will be given an anaesthetic. For me it was always successful. The feeling of being back in NSR afterwards was always wonderful for me.
I remember at the very first AF Association Patients Day this subject came up amongst a lot of different potential triggers. The discussion was about unsual activities causing stress and leading to AF so for example (very sexists this ) washing a car for ladies or doing the vacuuming for men may be unusual and therefor more stressful. On the sex front the presenting doctor commented that this should be fine with your spouse/regular partner but maybe best avoid new or casual relationships as these tended to be more physically demanding. Oyster may well have a point (See above) .
I think it’s got something to do with the fact that us guys do all the work whilst the ladies just lie there and think of England (or Australia or the States).
😳 Time for FlapJack to go and hide in his bunker!! 😳
However, to be more serious, almost all AF experts say that it should not prevent sufferers from enjoying a “normal” sexlife but, as in most things, listen to your body and avoid any over exertion.
I am a woman but am multi orgasmic so yes I went into fast AF after sex a few times. Unfortunately I always ended up in hospital needing a cardioversion some times chemical sometimes electrical. I was in hospital for emergencies 8 times in 6 months but that include heart failure once and then dehydration and electrolyte imbalance as medication for heart failure made me very ill. Hubby started viewing me as a time bomb ready to explode so I am afraid sex went out of the window. I then had a pacemaker [hisbundle ] inserted and 6 weeks later AVnode ablation [3 december] and hurrah 😀 we are now celebrating having sex again.
I am glad a few reported similar experience with sex and AFIB. Yes I do have sex with much younger adults and I get very excited and yes unknowingly I do hold my breath and maybe the combination of both give me AF attacks. I was planning to go back t sex but now that I read above that somebody has actually died from sex triggered AF attack (Cardiac arrest) I am not so sure anymore. Yes I am not taking any risks in life as why I declined cardioversion because they told me clot may be released and give stroke. I also would never opt for ablation or maze surgery if my AF gets worse and for both there is a 1% change of serious complications like death and stroke and 5% chance if other complications. I am not a risk taker.
I think death during sexual intercourse is nearly always due to myocardial infarction (heart attack). If your coronary arteries are clear, you may provoke fast AF, but you almost certainly won’t have a heart attack.
Are you using viagra or similar? I believe this has been implicated in heart rhythm problems during sex, including atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia.
Yes I think you are right. Unfortunately there is no simple test for coronary heart disease except somewhat risky angiography however, I don't think I have that because my cholesterol level is way below normal and my LDL level is even less than the optimum low level however that alone may not mean much but I don't have any of related symptoms either. No I don't take any viagra or anything similar so it is not it but sex makes me (and most people) very exited and excitement has been implicated as a trigger for Afib. I can't help it though.
Kevin, I appreciate that this is a serious matter for you, as it is for many, but it is important not to get things out of context. Nobody knows the circumstances which caused Baraba’s friend to sadly lose his life and as featured in Dr Sanjay Gupta’s recent video about Cardiomyopathy explains how extreme heart conditions obviously can cause serious problems, but thousands of people with AF can lead relatively normal lives because these conditions often do not apply to them. Also, within that premise lies sensible exercise which, of course, can include sex. Rather than just arbitrarily deny yourself one of life’s greatest pleasures, why not first consult a specialist who is familiar with the overall condition of both you and your heart and then make a judgment based on fact rather than on the opinions of us poor mortals. At the end of the day, you must make the decision and I wish you lots of luck in making the right one.....
Forgive me for saying this, but in my view (and I’m not medically trained) but I think you should revisit the question of risk, certainly regarding Cardioversion. Have you any idea of how many thousands of these are performed daily around the world and the situation regarding ablations is very similar. Non of us here have what you might call a death wish, but thousands of people have cardioversions and ablation and to my knowledge, hardly anyone has posted any regrets for having either procedure........
Thank you very much for your post and advice. I think that you are right. Since ECG showed my heart is structurally as the technician put it in perfect condition then the chances of sudden cardiac death is infinitesimal in my view. However, on your second point it is the statistics in the United States which says there is a 1% risk of either death or stroke for each ablation procedure not and maybe the reasons we don't have anyone posted about it (and I hope it never happens to anyone here or anywhere in the world) is that the dead usually don't post.
Cannot argue with your logic. However, I haven’t a clue about the statistics, but I wonder what the % risk is for picking up a STD. Life is full of risks otherwise you haven’t got a life!
I found an article that stated that if you take ginger about a half hour before sex that it can help avoid the problem. I was having the same problem and it helped. Might not be for everyone.
Thank you very much for this tip dpm500. I think there may be some truth to it. I carried out the advice since new year and it appears that my heart is a lot more stable. I added one gram of ginger pills every morning plus 100mg of coq10 plus 2-3 pills of Hawthorn berry and 500 mg of Taurine pills and a week later I feel my heart is much better. Yesterday I had a sexual encounter without any Afib attack. Even though I added multiple things I think that it was ginger which did the most. Those who posted about sex elated Afib in this thread should also try this recommendation and see and share the result.
Yes it is very serious indeed. I have seen a cardiologist and told him about this sex related trigger (that nothing else triggers attack on me except sexual activity) and his advice was to continue living normal life including sex and if it happens again then we will threat you (which I think he meant ablation or rhythm control drugs which I want none). Yes I agree that sex is greatest pleasures of life but this pleasure becomes a total nightmare every time that I have SVT or AFIB attack and it has happened quite a few times so far.
I think that now after this recent AFIB attack my heart is very unstable. My guess is that the 56 hours attack caused scarring of my heart so that sometimes even when I am sitting or lying down then I feel arrhythmia for a second or two like pounding heart or murmur but not fst irregular heart beat but I am pretty sure if at this moment I engage in sex there will be another AFIB attack and each attack makes more scarring on the heart and one step closer to persistent or permanent AFIB which I wish to avoid at any cost and yes there is a big price to pay for everything and that is depriving myself of the greatest pleasure of life so that I can keep my AFIB in paroxysmal form.
Btw, thank you very much all ladies and gentlemen for your valuable responses and your time.
It might not be ablation of rhythm control drugs, it might (seems more sensible to me but of course only speaking from experience) be betablockers or calcium channel blockers which slow your heart (among other things). You certainly wouldn't get 'overexcited' on one of those I believe....
I think that ginger is a blood thinner and I am taking Eliquis so I am not sure how the combination work but I can try and it. There is are ginger in the form of capsules I can try and half hour after taking it I can start some exercise and see if my heart acts better and if it did then start having sex again.
Thanks for the info. Yes I am on both beta blocker (Metoprolol) and Calcium Channel blocker (Amplodipin) even so in two occasions when I tried sex my heart just about going into Afib and I stopped in the middle (as hard as it was).
I will try dpm500's kind advice *thank you so much dpm500) and will try ginger and see what happens however, the scare of Afib attack is likely enough to get Afib attack during my trial sex. We will see. Risky ablation however is out of question for me unless it gets really bad however, by controlling risk factors like my BP and blood sugar and stress I am hoping it doesn't get there.
SVT is Supraventricular Tachycardia which is fast and REGULAR heart beat again from the top of the heart. It is not as serious as Afib in terms of risks for stroke.
And while we're on the subject of sex... I have been wondering for a while if having an orgasm while in AF, would be sufficient to revert the heart back to NSR?! Has this worked for anyone??
(Well, it has to be a better and more pleasant experience than the Australian man who grabbed an electric fence to convert hmself back to NSR!) :o)
I have read somewhere that someone (a young man) claimed that while he was in Afib episode having sex and orgasm brought his heart back to normal. That said my personal experience is the opposite. Orgasm while my heart is in normal beat makes my heart beating fast and irregular sometimes for just a few seconds while in one occasion my fast irregular beat lasted 56 hours as I mentioned in my original post.
As much as I would love to try an orgasm to get back into NSR, I don't think I could manage it on my own (It's not exactly 'sexy' to be beating away at 150+) and the OH would say no!
It's a shame me feeling like I'm about to pass out and going clammy isn't her "thing"
My experience is that orgasms can both throw off and restore NSR. I haven't seen much on this topic online but not all male orgasms are the same. I suspect the trigger you describe is related to the strength of orgasm and temporal point within the sinus rhythm. I have used my Apple watch to confirm irregular heartbeat before and NSR after a good orgasm achieved by masturbation.
Also what I am curious to know is that if sex causes further scarring of the heart. They say that any kind of stress (physical, emotional) causes scarring of the heart and Afib later in heart as well as high blood pressure. Well sex causes stress on heart as the heart has to pump harder and raises the BP so I wonder. Having sex once a week will not likely cause that much burden on heart t cause scarring but having sex many times like ten times a week may indeed lead to Afib in long term. Any comments?
Hi. I think I might have afib, my dad has it and I get the odd weird fluttery strong heart beat that can last for seconds or minutes but almost always when I have just had an orgasm, even when sex not strenuous at all and it's so strong it hurts my chest. It can last for many minutes. I'm 49. Is this dangerous?
I would say talk to your GP. You need to get a diagnosis.
If your sex sessions last an hour or more, then it's not the sex but the loss of water in your system (dehydration) that's causing your AFIB. Might be that anyway, especially if you have sex at the end of the day (evening) since that is the time most people have their AFIB episodes (either from lack of water or too much sugar consumed during the day - see below). Hope this helps.
After 9 years of trying different foods and logging EVERYTHING I ate, I found sugar was the culprit. Doctors don't want to hear this - there is no money in telling patients to eat less sugar. Each person has a different sugar threshold - and it changes as you get older, so you need to count every gram of sugar you eat every day (including natural sugars in fruits, etc.). My tolerance level was 190 grams of sugar per day 8 years ago, 85 grams a year and a half ago, and 60 grams today, so AFIB episodes are more frequent and last longer. If you keep your intake of sugar below your threshold level your AFIB will not happen again. It's not the food - it's the sugar (or salt - see below) IN the food that's causing your problems. Try it and you will see - should only take you 3 or 4 months of trial-and-error to find your threshold level. And for the record - ALL sugars are treated the same (honey, refined, agave, natural sugars in fruits, etc.). I successfully triggered AFIB by eating a bunch of plums and peaches one day.
Also, in addition to sugar, if you are dehydrated - this will trigger AFIB as well. It seems (but I have no proof of this) that a little uptick of salt in your blood is being treated the same as an uptick of sugar - both cause AFIB episodes. The root problem is that our bodies are not processing sugar/salt properly and no doctor knows why, but the AFIB seems to be a symptom of this and not the primary problem, but medicine is not advanced enough to know the core reason that causes AFIB at this time. Good luck! - Rick Hyer (RickHyer@outlook.com, 636-528-4840).
100% yes. on my 4th episode my wife said "I'm not an idiot...it only starts immediately after we finish sex" no joke 4 for 4. do i bring this up with my cardiologist?
Undergone Cathether Ablation last November and it’s been 6 months afib free. I’m not a 100% and when I say that, it means I have Sensation that an afib is about to start but it doesn’t. I still feel my heart kicks every now and then. I’ll tell you it’s highly annoying.
Sex can definitely trigger afib and I’m surprised they missed putting this matter on the list. I also stop masturbating coz this can also trigger palpitation. Sometimes I can’t help and I love doing it so, then, suffer the consequences. Last time I whacked off, I thought my heart paused. I had to cough up just to get my self to normal. It’s scary. I’m done with all the medication and waiting for The heart monitor To arrive. Apparently, I have to wear this for a month. Camomile tea helps with digestion equals less trigger palpitation. Any advice you guys have out there is always needed and appreciated.
Hi. That is because the so called experts in the field don't know sex is a trigger for Afib attack. They are not patients themselves. They are textbook experts and textbooks reflects what patients report and most people don't wish to talk about sex or their sex life in public even with their doctors. The actual act of sex is a good exercise however, excitement raises the blood pressure and hence a lot of pressure on heart (especially at the moment of orgasm) and trigger the heart's electric system into chaos.
As what to do in my view, I increase my intake of beta blocker from usual 50 mg to 100 on the days I plan to engage in sexual activity (this may not be for everyone). Daily exercise may help too like 20 minutes brisk walking,
I have not been diagnosed with a fib but I suspect it. I am planning on getting to a cardiologist ASAP. I generally only feel it during sex or orgasm. I have also experienced it when I lay down at night. But the majority of times during sex and I can’t find any information on that either
Please update us after you see your cardiologist. Will you mention to him or her about the sex and afib?. I continue to have heart palpitation during and for hours after any sexual activity and yet sex is not officially declared a trigger for afib attack and I see it as a big void.
Last year I started having a new condition called CAS (coronary artery spasm() though not officially diagnosed but I had all the symptoms except chest pain so I did some research and switched my Calcium channel blocker from amlodipine to Diltiazem and Diltiazem is very effective for CAS but I think it also worked on my afib. Also I started taking Hawthorn extracts and that also helped ,y heart palpitation.
Kevin thank you for your very informative posts on sex and afib. After having. sex 2 days in a row for the first time with my much younger wife, I converted to afib, passed out the next day when exercising (walking fast). I got hospitalized the next day, I passed out again at the hospital and went into sustained vtach at HR 270. I went into cardiac arrest. I was very lucky to be at the hospital and was put on the defibrilator right away. 2 days later, they inserted a pacemaker/defibrilator.I take sotalol for a beta blocker and baby aspirin for blood thinner. I am 57 years old.
I got into your forum because I had another afib episode yestorday. I got out of it after a hot bath and a good night. Sex for me seems to be a factor only if done too frequently and I think other factors may have contributed like being too physically active for my age, working long hours and stressed about our child school.
Finally I have found an AFib site that talks about having strong orgasms resulting in AFib. I have a female Cardiologist. I had complained to her that when having an orgasm my heart would beat strongly. She seemed to be fine talking about it then changed one of my meds to prevent this from happening. Next and quite a while later, after experiencing a very strong orgasm, my heart was practically jumping out of my chest, the beats were strong but very very irregular, I felt not well and just the fact my heart took ages to settle down, it became quite a concern. Well after this episode I started having breathing problems when I walked, was constantly tired and exhausted so I contacted my Cardiologist and when I had an EKG done, I couldn’t have a stress test as the Afib was so bad and my heart was racing, the stress test could have put me in cardiac arrest. I tried to explain what was the trigger that seemingly caused this change in my heart rhythm but she abruptly told me that no, it wouldn’t be caused from an orgasm but another issue with one of my heart valves. Well since then I have had a Cardioversion and I am back in sinus rhythm. But I will and plan on bringing this concern up with the electrophysicist when I meet with him soon. Some Drs and specialists are not comfortable in speaking about sex related concerns with your heart but you can’t leave these questions in the dark when you need to find out what you can or cannot do anymore. Good luck to all. Yes orgasms and sex can cause A Fib.
Strangely for me orgasm has corrected afib attacks for me. Everyone is different right?
One comment for everyone here- a trigger for me seems to be a full stomach and either exercise right after or a full stomach and laying down.
I’ve been diagnosed with acid reflux and I SWear the foods I eat that trigger acid reflux as well as too much activity after eating or laying down after eating have always been my triggers. Anyone less notice else this?
Hello Roscoe. two months late but, yes, certain foods or a very full stomach do bring on AFib for me also. I stay, as far as possible, with low FODMAP foods that can trigger AFib episodes.
only trigger for me is sex or rather orgasm. 2 ablations and pretty successful. Take beta blocker and blood thinner and life is great except for the sex thing …….
As you near climax, do not hold your breath or get overheated. Expel air fairly vigorously and frequently as you progress toward and through the climax in order to drain off pressure in your chest. Then sit up, breathe in and out freely and steadily for a few minutes to help the heart calm. If the act takes extended time, take breaks.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
AF and sexual activity
Can low blood sugar trigger afib?
Is it possible that resting is a trigger for aFib?
Can ED drugs trigger AFib?
