Both disappointed and elated yesterday as after 5 years AF free I had an AF episode. I was pleased with myself that I didn't panic as much as I had done in the early days and I worked down my list of 'how to stop AF' naturally before taking another 50g of Flecainide. I should say I have Lone PAF heavily influenced by my Vagus Nerve.
So I tried listening to a slow heart beat on my iPad first (this had worked previously) but no good this time, next on the list was an ice cold shower, felt great after it but that didn't stop it, third was half a pint of cold coconut water straight from the fridge (I had previously triggered AF drinking a cold ginger beer) and hurray for the Vagus Nerve that stopped it straight away.
Incidentally, I think the principal trigger was too much apple juice from our orchard - so back to being sensible and avoiding too much sugar.
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secondtry
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That's an interesting remedy. Bother, I've just drank the last of my coconut water! I usually pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to take the chill off, but will certainly give that a try should AF raise it's ugly head. I wonder if cold water would have done the trick too, I know it does for some?
Must be going around I had attack after 3 years did all the tricks no good went to bed with hot drink went to sleep must have resolved in the night but feel like crap
Your ice cold shower reminded me that my Doctor recommended this back in 1994 which I tried but has never worked for me. In the past I’ve sat outside when it’s been chilly and a cold shiver has corrected my AF.
Hi, I’m new here, 38 and have had svt (all that’s been diagnosed with description from me) , about 10 years. Now more frequent , just had a 7 day tape and yet to receive results.
Just wondering on the sugar connection...I’m into health and like to follow the medical medium who talks about the vagus nerve, but wondering about to much fruit? I’ve always noticed in the past that if I have a heavy or carb rich meal I get a fast ( not svt ), but strong banging heart for some time after. Best wishes to everyone
I think a lot of us experience similar and certainly too much sugar would do it - whole fruit will have fibre which will lessen the and mitigate the affect so it would be hard to eat as much sugar as in say an iced bun - but it would also depend upon how sensitive you are and sometimes we can be more sensitive than others.
The BANT recommendation is no more than a small handful of fruit a day - preferably berries - or local to you fruits. I must say I eat a lot less than I used to.
Well done secondtry. I know they tried the V-nerve thing with me when I was in hospital with a vicious episode of AF in my twenties. They made me swallow ice cubes! A very strange feeling indeed - sort of 'brain-freeze' but all the way down into my stomach, but no effect on the AF at all and in the end it was cardioversion that corrected it.
I've tried all of those "vagus" tricks, and none of them work for me. I like my drinks ice cold anyway, and it makes no difference. No foods I've had, least that I know if, have improved anything. Only make it worse, such as caffeine or alcohol or fatty foods/larger portions. But hey, if it works for some, great.
This is really interesting to read, I can count on one hand the number of afib episodes I've had in the past year and I've always been convinced my PAF is connected to the vagus nerve but haven't met a heart medic yet who will agree with me....maybe I should try a gastro? Anyway that aside, I'm going to follow the tip re the coconut water (I use coconut milk all the time, might that have the same effect?) Re Flecainide, I haven't been prescribed a daily dose, I take 3 x 100mg when I feel it necessary (always btw, in the middle of the night!) and I have to say, it stops in about 10 minutes but I'd rather use natural means of fixing things. Thanks for your post....
Well, all of you who gone over 2 years you doing well, NHS only give 2 years AF work way back. I lasted 4 years before it start again,. 2 tricks I have told one stuck on ice under tongue, the another massage your neck a long vagus nerves on each side, I have try both sometimes work others not, my dad have AF from age 42 years he used vagus massage. ( just post script) in five years 3 ablation 1 cardiovision. 200 mg flecainide for 5 years, now have 3 wire pacemaker that my trip, I also have Hypermobily /EDS and slight Marfan. Look under WPW syndrome it's about extra firings in right top heart chamber by sinus rhythm
I know a Lady who had Ablation 19 years ago and still in NSR, and two other people both been A F free for over 7 years after Ablations, So there is alot of people what are cured for good
The medics are unlikely to have any comment, expect raised eyebrows and a wry smile - that's what I got from my cardiologist a while back when I said I thought my issue was principally the head (stress) and the gastro side (eating drinking the wrong things).
For a cold drink to work I think you need a sensitive Vagus Nerve, in layman's terms I expect it simply gives a shock to the VN in the gastro region, which travels up fast via the heart to the brain on the way it 'resets' the heart.
I have found that a cold drink is the trigger for my previous AF episodes (100% of the time actually). I have never thought that ingesting another cold drink could stop an episode. I take 2 x 50 mg Flecanide + 1 x 1.25 mg Bisoprolol daily. Maybe I should try this if I get another episode.
My AFIB is also tied very closely to the vagus nerve and I’ve had several episodes triggered by drinking something cold. In fact in my very last episode I came back from a run and drank some cold juice and went into AFIB.
While I have a lot of the vagal triggers to go into AFIB, none of them will get me out of AFIB once I’ve gone in. I’ve tried the cold water, listenting to your heartbeat, bearing down, cold showers, etc. If I wait long enough, I will eventually return to NSR however what also will do it for me and works 100% of the time for me is to go on a short run. Usually within 5 min I’m back in NSR. I’ve been known to go running down the sidewalk outside at 2:30AM on occasion.
Thanks iowa, I was thinking about doing that. I will add it to the list for the next episode if the cold drink doesn't work again.
I think you are on to something about the sugar. Here is what I found:
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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?? I also found that strenuous exercise does no good – perhaps you make yourself dehydrated??
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 study backing up this data you can view at:
Very interesting. As a sufferer of PVC's for 45 years I have done the rounds of cardiologists and not one of them seems to have a clue what is going on. All they can do is try to address the effects with drugs, rather than eliminate the cause. Ablation works for some but not all.
I have long been aware that what goes into my stomach, or what doesn't, has a direct relationship to my symptoms. I have had up to 23 000 ectopic beats in a single day. But the cardiologists tell me that stimulation of the vagus nerve will only slow my heart rate. I know that when my stomach is empty my symptoms get much worse, and that when I have a decent meal they ease off.
But I have found recently that simulating a full stomach by drinking lots of water does have a dramatic effect on reducing the number of ectopics I get.
In the last few months the frequency and severity of my symptoms had been increasing severely. Then, a few weeks ago, I started drinking lots of water. The magic number seems to be 18 mouthfuls, several times a day. Lo and behold I am starting to feel a lot better.
Oh, and on occasion my old remedy of a dose of gaviscon helps a lot.
Found out by accident while abroad back in 2006/07 on holiday when my heart went back into permanent Aflutter ( new through previous experience no drugs work only cardioversion)so l thought a few pints can't do any harm now and may help me get to sleep as HR was 130 at rest. HR went back to normal after less than 2pints so had a few more to be on the safe side! Suffer from proxy Afib which normally lasts up to 8 hours but can get round this by going for a walk which brings it down to less than an hour .
Interesting Maril, stopping alcohol was one of my lifestyle changes (having put me into AF) but it seems what puts you in can bring you out. No problem adding a couple of pints to my 'possible list'!
It would helpful if somebody had the knowledge and time of researching a comprehensive list of non pharmaceutical methods . I realize we are not all the same, but each of us would have a chance of finding the right one
Totally agree, the issue of a standard list of the most common successful actions 'at home' would save the NHS or other Health Authority a lot of money. I have added your 'alternate nostril breathing to my own list.
Same happened to me lying down listening to a slow heartbeat on the iPad. Yes, I guess one has to compile a list and if one doesn't work for you, try the next.
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