Odd reaction to drinking a small amount of alcohol.

Over the past few weeks my heart has been fairly settled- occasional ectopics but no PAF since late January. I have reduced my alcohol consumption to only a few drinks per week (perhaps 5-6 units). During the week I drank a pint of beer on Wednesday and half a pint on Friday with no problems whatsoever.

Today, I decided to have a half pint of German Beer (5% alcohol) after lunch. Within about 20-30 minutes after drinking it I started to get quite noticeable ectopics and felt an indigestion-type pain (was it actually indigestion?) around the heart. When I stood up I felt quite light-headed for a few minutes. In other words, the beer seems to have produced a reaction. At one point my heart seemed to beat very slowly- something I have mentioned here before. After working around for about twenty minutes everything seems to have returned to normal (confirmed by Kardia). I am wondering why alcohol seems to produce this sort of reaction on some occasions but not on others. The last consultant I saw said that he thought a small amount of alcohol “probabaly wouldn’t do any harm”. Anybody have any insights into what was going on?

[BobD Volunteer]

My own experience which is what I give advice on is that any trigger and particularly alcohol can be tricky and inconsistent. Sometimes it is fine but other times can produce a violent reaction and for this reason despite my love of fine wine I find it far safer to avoid taking the risk, What pleasure I had was tainted by the worry that this time would hit me badly as it often did.

We are all different and it is really up to you if you want to take risks not a doctor giving catch all answers.

By the way till I reluctantly accepted my own advice I could usually tell with the first touch on my lips if this was going to be a bad idea but of course by then too late. I have some Rum sitting looking at me right now and with a bad attack of manflu a rum and hot milk at bedtime would be most welcome but still not worth the risk.

[Hidden in reply to BobD]

Yes, to drink or not to drink that is the question.

[Janith in reply to Hidden]

Same here ... exactly ... so I have decided to suffer ... no spices no alcohol ... what am I to do?

[Hidden in reply to Janith]

I think it's better to drink alcohol with a meal; perhaps this slows down the rate of absorption? Also drinking wine seems to be better than beer or spirits; 'The Afib Cure' even prescribes a glass of wine as part of the recommended diet. A white which is low in sugar and doesn't have high alcohol content might be best. Studies show that a period of about 4 hours after drinking alcohol is the most risky time for AF.

[Hidden]

Could it be something in the German beer other than the alcohol causing the problem?

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I have drunk this particular beer before without any problem and was feeling very well this morning. It is possible that the temperature had something to do with it as it was quite cold.

[KMRobbo in reply to Hidden]

German beer generally adhere to the German beer purity law 1516 , only water, hops barley and yeast allowed in the production, although some beers do have wheat as well. If it was other additives you would expect the problem in other countries beers rather than German.

[Hidden]

Or a vagal reaction to a gassy drink provoking indigestion?

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

That is possible, in fact it is quite plausible. I probably won’t drink anything for a while, but will keep a detailed diary.

[Hidden]

I love a drink but since having this I have stopped drinking don't miss it rarther have no bad feeling but only been 6months

[Bertiedette]

Drinking and eating was my social life I miss miss all of my socialising so much.....But health comes first .Being with cheerful people really keeps me going.I know that one sip can trigger my PAF.

[checkmypulse]

I had similar experiences, sometimes even a shandy could 'kick off AF' other times a 5% real ale would have no effect. When I determined that Alcohol was a trigger I stopped drinking. Since Ablations, and so far AF free, I tried the occasional beer and found it affected me far more than it used to and on occasions started bouts of ectopics. Don't touch it now and don't miss it.

[HiloHairy in reply to checkmypulse]

Like the people who no longer come here after an ablation has worked I imagine that A-fib sufferers who aren't affected by alcohol don't answer threads like this so I thought I should.

I eat a healthy low sodium diet and exercise vigorously at a gym five mornings a week. I tend to get A-fib events every month or six weeks usually after I've eaten in a restaurant and they usually last about 12 hours.

I drink two units of alcohol most nights of the week and occasionally drink three units. The alcohol doesn't appear to affect my A-fib one way or the other.

[Richos in reply to HiloHairy]

I have permanent A fib and heart failure and I’m not aware of the A-fib i.e. no symptoms. With the heart failure I’m a little more tired than I used to be and can get breathless if I go upstairs too quickly. I probably drink more alcohol than you do. I have cut down now but when I was under the cardiologist I remember telling him I drank 30 units a week and he didn’t seem phased by that. Should I start to get any warning signs then I’ll make changes. Other than that I’ll carry on and enjoy life. None of us with our condition know when our time will be up anyway! I go to the gym too, walk a lot and eat a healthy diet so maybe all that is somewhat of a balance!

[Janith in reply to HiloHairy]

How much is a unit of alcohol? Never heard that before?

[HiloHairy in reply to Janith]

A unit is an ounce and a half of 80 proof hard liquor, 12 oz of a normal beer or a small glass of wine.

[Janith in reply to HiloHairy]

Ahhhh … thank you! I give you permission to have one unit of red vino slowly sipped with alternate sips of water! Cheers!

[HiloHairy in reply to Janith]

When you put it that way it doesn't sound like much fun 😞

[Ianc2]

Try Gluten free beers, there are quite a few available, I quite like Peroni (sp?), or alcohol free beer.

[Sean_C]

I still drink a few pints and a few glasses here f bubbly a week. I am generally fine as long as I don’t go over this. I have recently found Erdinger alcohol free (actually not FREE, the small print says ‘less than 0.5%’) which I really enjoy the taste of (finally!) and an happy drinking that on social occasions.

The pubs don’t sell it though so then I’d typically have a pint of Amstel. Again, if I stop after two im generally ok, and as I’m such a lightweight these days anyway, two is enough.

[djbgatekeeper]

Alcohol was the main trigger for me, I've not touched it for about 20 years sadly but it has certainly paid off health wise. I know it's hard to stop drinking but it is a stimulant and for most people with heart problems drinking is a bad idea in my humble opinion.

[Janith in reply to djbgatekeeper]

I am in total agreement. Alcohol really misbehaves in my system and l think that it doesn’t agree with my state of mind as well.