Golf and Afib

[7164]

I dug the garden yesterday and no Afib😊

Today I played 16 holes of golf and Afib

I don’t understand. Is it the action of the golf swing?

[Hidden]

Had AF for 20 years and golf never affected it, can't see why it should.

[CDreamer]

I have many friends who play golf with AF. Staying really well hydrated helps and one friend manages to get round by adding electrolytes to her water bottle. Another doesn’t and has more than one blue light ride!

If you can find any rhyme or reason to AF - ie: a consistent pattern - please let us know because every time I thought I had it taped, it popped up in a different way.

Many people, including myself, start AF in their sleep whilst others find that exercise brings them back to NSR. Mine was often food and drink related but now - no rhyme or reason at all.

[BobD Volunteer]

You have AF therefor you will get AF events. There is no logic so don't waste your life looking for reasons. Play another round!

It was most likely the accumulation of everything you did plus I bet you were dehydrated.

[Redders]

I think it might be 7164 as I used to get af when I played badminton. Hope you ok now.

[jeanjeannie50]

You may well be on to something there, asking if it's arm movement, because my last AF bout (still going on 4 weeks later) came on while swimming and really pushing myself.

[WhitstableWanderer]

Please don't find out the golf is a trigger... I'm in permanent AF and play as often as I can get away with it. I justify the 'me time' as being good for my health, fresh air, exercise, diverting. Thankfully my lovely wife agrees and isn't so worried about the decorating, gardening and diy that should really be my priority... Hope you feel better quickly, maybe don't stress so much over those missed putts..

[Starboard13]

Enjoy your sport and dont worry about it being a potential trigger. Im a regular skydiver and have done at least 600 jumps since being diagnosed with PAF some 10 years ago. I gave up distance running and alcohol as they were definite triggers but Im not giving up this sport as well. Life is for living and we cant let this horrible affliction rule our every step. Best of luck and have fun.

[Eastwick]

Hi

Golf for me has triggered a number of a fib blue light events! On most occasions it was hot and I may have been a little dehydrated, also our course is pretty hilly. I have not given up golf!!!

Ps I am female.

[GrannyE in reply to Eastwick]

Good. As bob says play another round as long as you can and then take a buggy when you can no longer walk round

[Joberton]

Sanjay Guptar posted an interesting you tube video about how AF tends to be a day after an event trigger, it was a study based on stress though but would most likely be the same with strenuous exercise. If you don't already, subscribe to his videos, he knows his stuff!

[Jumper]

I have to agree with Bob. There may be some basic triggers but don’t try to rationalise it and seek solutions .There are not any. Some triggers I have are over tiredness, eating heavy meals, more than 1 pint of beer. Other thoughts in the past have been change of weather, eating cheese, lying on my left hand side, getting into cold bed, bending over, standing up, mowing my lawn, sitting still. The list goes on and on It can drive one mad. Enjoy your golf but beware of a hole in one! It might trigger more than AF ha ha.

[djmnet]

I think it's probably the motion of the swing. When I was first diagnosed, I found that mopping or sweeping would seem to set it off. HOWEVER, forget about possible triggers and live your life as you have, or you will go mad trying to link an episode to a particular food or activity. I've had on set of afib while sitting perfectly still in a recliner with no identifiable trigger whatsoever. It just happens!

[Hidden]

It's the food you ate. Here is the info:

-------------------------------------------

After 9 years of trying different foods and logging EVERYTHING I ate, I found sugar (and to a lesser degree, salt – i.e. dehydration) was triggering my Afib. 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 (easier said than done of course). 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 1 or 2 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 just to test it out. In addition, I have noticed that moderate exercise (7-mile bike ride or 5-mile hike in the park) often puts my Afib heart back in to normal rhythm a couple hours later. Don’t know why – perhaps you burn off the excess sugars in your blood/muscles or sweat out excess salt??

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. (I’m not a doctor – it may be the sugar in your muscles/organs and not in your blood, don’t know). In any case you have to keep hydrated, and not eat too much salt. 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. You can have a healthy heart and still have Afib – something inside us is triggering it when we eat too much sugar or get (even a little) dehydrated. Find out the core reason for this and you will be a millionaire and make the cover of Time Magazine! Good luck! - Rick Hyer

PS – there is a new study out backing up the above observations. You can see it at

cardiab.biomedcentral.com/a...

[momist]

Everyone looks for triggers . . .

I've never found one.

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to momist]

I'll never give up looking and I don't care what anyone else thinks! I need to have hope of being normal again.

[Coeurdelion in reply to jeanjeannie50]

I'm with you JJ. Keep searching, trying and experimenting. Its vagul nerve stimulation next.

[jeanjeannie50]

I'm trying to remember who it is that's trying it out?

[GrannyE]

I find that I can no longer walk our hilly course but can play 18 holes using a buggy. Had my second hole in one last year. Try to play 2ce a week and do chipping in the garden. With me my AFib comes back when I do too much exercise and I have to rest (but then I had chronic fatigues 35 years ago). My heart hates it when I over exert. I have to pace myself. I always drink plenty but maybe I should put electrolytes in the water? I do use Himalayan pink salt most of the time but sometimes sea salt but never table salt and am wary about having more salt. I take filtered water, an apple, nuts and a banana round the course with me. Any advice would be welcome because I want to continue to play as long as I can. It is being with friends in in the fresh air in lovely surroundings and if the golf goes well it is a wonderful bonus.

[7164 in reply to GrannyE]

Sorry no advice at this time but thank you

[GrannyE]

I know exactly what you mean but usually there are a few good shots in a round or a few well played holes. I love the feeling when a good shot does come off or a long putt or cip goes in

[Lbeat796]

Its definitely vagal nerve stimulation with me. Sometimes if i touch certain part of my neck it can start an episode but if i hold my breath in throat as soon as it starts, holding breath as long as possible, i can usually stop them