Association of Arrhythmia in Patients with Cervical Spondylosis: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

[EngMac]

I finally found a study livingwithatrialfibrillatio... spinal issues and AF.

mdpi.com/2077-0383/7/9/236

This website gives a layperson's brief summary:

clarkchiropractic.net/irreg...

And you may find this site interesting:

livingwithatrialfibrillatio...

A bit of the discussion in the study:

The present study reveals that CS is associated with a 3.10-fold increase of arrhythmia risk compared to patients without cervical spondylosis, especially atrial fibrillation, ventricular and supraventricular tachycardia. ANS stimulation could explain the related mechanism of this finding. Clinical evidence had shown that CS can cause sympathetic nerve irritation and associated sympathetic symptoms [27], and instability at the C4–C5 intervertebral space is the most-common type causing sympathetic symptoms [28]. Recognized sympathetic symptoms of CS are vertigo, dizziness, tinnitus, headache, and palpitation [29]. Previous electrophysiological studies have demonstrated that sympathetic activation has a proarrhythmic effect in enhancing automaticity, triggering re-entry, and reducing the threshold of refractoriness [29,30,31]. Such studies have shown that an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system and stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system can trigger atrial fibrillation [32], ventricular tachycardia [33], and ventricular fibrillation [34]. Such findings are thus similar to those of our study: CS is associated with a higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and ventricular tachycardia. We supposed that a possible mechanism would be that cervical region trauma influences spinal sympathetic neurons because sympathetic control of heart originates from T1-5, thus the parasympathetic tone is unopposed. The increased vagal tone would be associated with atrial fibrillation. A reason for the insignificant risk of developing ventricular fibrillation shown in our study is possibly related to low event rate which only one event occurred in the study cohort and comparison cohort individually.

[DueNorth]

Thanks for this. I'm convinced there is a strong connection here.

Please continue to keep us up to date on developments in this area, as I for one find them very helpful and encouraging.

[millie-becca-187]

My AF developed 2 months after I had a c5/6 cervical disc replacement and now 2 ablations down I have AF under control. 🤞

I am now dealing with and having lots of tests for stomach/bowel related issues.

I am certain there's a connection and it's all nerve related. But none of the Drs seem to put a link to this, and I haven't hinted if this could be a possibility.

Last week I had a medial nerve block in my neck to try and stop the persistent pain, hoping this will help.