I have been tracking what i do when I go into AF. It’s almost always after I’ve had red wine. Does this happen to anyone else?
Red wine & AF: I have been tracking... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Red wine & AF
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Goose33483
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Yes!! Sadly, wine - red or white did it for me every time and I stopped drinking alcohol six years ago when I started Flecainide. Even alcohol free wine gave me symptoms and I came to the conclusion that it was sulphides in the wine which were the culprit. Such a pity.
Thank you all for the feedback. I guess I have been trying to see what I can drink as I am having a difficult time giving it up. I guess it's time to smell the roses. I went yesterday for
a CT scan where they put a dye in my veins to see if there was a blockage. Really uncomfortable. I don't want to have to do that again!
Just watch out for artificial sweeteners in non-alcoholic drinks - aspartame in particular. With the moves to reduce sugar content in food, artificial stuff, which is even worse for AF is becoming more prevalent. You just can’t win.
in reply to Finvola
It's not the artificial sweeteners. It's this:
The more alcohol you drink, the more dehydrated you become. Here is some info on that, plus sugar intake:
---------------------------------
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:
Cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2840-7-28
BobDVolunteer
I'm with Finvola on this. Don't most AFers stop drinking.?
in reply to BobD
I have pretty much stopped drinking, not that I drank a lot pre AF either. White wine and cider are a definite no for me but once a month or so I will have a pint of ale or maybe a Gin and Tonic.
I'm probably fortunate that this does not trigger AF for me.
Dangerousdriver in reply to
In the same as you, I have one in a blue moon and thankfully it doesn’t seem to affect me.
Although for me alcohol was not a direct trigger as far as I was aware, 3 ½ years ago I decided to stop drinking alcohol.
My reasoning was that my EP was going the extra mile to try and improve my QOL by progressing my treatment when I know the previous very well respected EP had given up on me. I felt I had to do everything I could to contribute to all the hard work.
Pete
Same here Pete. It seemed daft to me to attend a cardiologist who felt I shouldn’t drink alcohol and continue to do so.
in reply to Finvola
And yet my cardiologist says a whiskey or two a night is good for me!
Daver112 in reply to
Me too guys. One cardiologist says its a toxin to the heart, the other says it's OK to have a couple of drinks a night (actually 3 probably on average at 205 lbs. 6'4"). I go into AF 3 sometimes 4 times a year usually when I'm overstressed, tired and have a few drinks. Some call it a Holiday Heart. I'm 76, work out 3 times a week and try not to ever overdo it. If my AF episodes increase I'll have to get serious about reducing my drinking but I certainly love it around 6 to 8PM each night and for the last 25 years. Hope this helps someone out there. Daver
Here's my routine: 1 bourbon on ice, 2 beers and 3 to possibly 4 oz. of white wine with my evening meal to breakup tastes from my gourmet wife's great cooking. Daver
in reply to Daver112
It's not the alcohol, per se. The more alcohol you drink, the more dehydrated you become. Here is some info on that, plus sugar intake:
---------------------------------
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:
Cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2840-7-28
in reply to Finvola
The more alcohol you drink, the more dehydrated you become. Here is some info on that, plus sugar intake:
---------------------------------
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:
Cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2840-7-28
Oh Goose. I loved my daily glass of red wine so much but have had to give it up - in fact have given up all alcohol. I could feel my heart reacting the moment the first sip of wine went down- red was always the problem. We are all different with what will trigger our AF but I think you will find a few who have had to say farewell to a glass of red.
Just need to choose your cardiologist carefully
Yes - & I have problems sleeping after half a glass of red wine. No problem with a good white wine or sparkling wine but tends to be occasional small glass - x1 week.
I think it's the sulphites (preservatives) that are added to wine that cause our problems. It's possible to buy sulphite free wine in some of the big supermarkets.
Jean
You are so kind. Thank you for helping me with a solution that I may not need.
Your the only one.
I bought mine in Sainsburys, trouble is (even unopened) they don't keep for very long.
I tried the "sulphite free " wines when I first discovered wine was a irritant, unfortunately there is no such thing in reality.
With food labelling it appears any wine under 10 parts per million is regarded as "no sulphite " but sulphites are a part of the wine process released during fermentation . They dont have to added as a preservative to be present.
What effects me is high tannin ( which is always high sulphite ) so all oaked reds are avoided.
I steer clear of any wine with the label stating sulphites -by law they only have to declare this in excess of 10 p.p.m ( parts per million )
Generally most non cellared wines are safe , but still watch the alcohol content as that is a precursor to AFIB as well.
in reply to sleeksheep
This is probably what's going on with drinking (remember alcohol makes you dehydrated):
---------------------------------------
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:
Cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2840-7-28
in reply to jeanjeannie50
It's not the sulphites. It's the dehydration that alcohol gives you. Here is some info on that:
-------------------------------------
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:
Cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2840-7-28
sleeksheep in reply to
It's not the sulphites. It's the dehydration that alcohol gives you
_________________________________________________
I would disagree that its not sulphites.
With only 2.5% alcohol in a 330ml glass its definitely not enough for dehydration to be the only cause of the problem . The assumption that there is only one cause is a bit of a long shot IMO.
As in your case I too have been taking notice of what can start an AFIB attack , and it is not low alcohol beverages in my case.
As we are all different in our responses to what can aggravate the electrical impulses I would not say that something is the same for everyone.
in reply to sleeksheep
I agree with you - many things can trigger A-fib. But I am pretty sure the root cause of the heart beating abnormally is the same in all of us. Medications, chemicals, etc. can all cause our glands and organs to mis-fire. For me, sugar (and dehydration) are causing some gland(s) or organ(s) in my body to mis-fire.
By the way, I am seeing a Nutritionist and she, so far, has raised my sugar tolerance from 45 grams a day to 70, which means that I can now eat up to 70 grams of sugar (in fruits, veggies, etc.) a day without an Afib episode. If she can get my tolerance level to around 100 grams a day I should be able to keep Afib at bay, because keeping my sugars under 100 a day is a lot easier to do than keeping them under 45 grams (which, really, is pretty much impossible for me to do so was in perpetual Afib when I started to see her 6 months ago). She spends a lot of time and gives me supplements for my Pancreas so I suspect the Pancreas is involved in the Afib problem.
I'm pretty sure that Afib is caused by a gland - like the Pancreas - or an organ that, in our old age, is not working well any more and excess sugar or dehydration is causing it to send mixed signals to the heart - for example telling the heart to beat fast and slow at the same time - which causes it to skip beats, etc. I can't prove that, but I have a very strong suspicion that that is the root cause of our Afib problems. If we can get my sugar tolerance above 100 and I can stay Afib free, that will be pretty good proof that the heart is fine, but something else is telling it to beat hard and soft at the same time (since the heart muscles do not use sugar to contract).
If you or anyone else would like to know if we are successful in raising sugar tolerance to 100, send me your email and I'll let you all know it works, plus I will post it on this forum (plus will tell all my doctors about it but I'm sure they will not be interested). Hopefully at that point we can find some Researcher to do some research on the root cause of Afib and cure it. My email is rickhyer@outlook.com Thanks - have a nice Fall Season.
- Rick Hyer.
You aren’t alone with AF and Wine. Wine gets me. I need to avoid it. I am a tequila on the rocks with a lime. No issues.
I do not drink often but I am fine after 1 glass of organic red occasionally
in reply to Talika
The more alcohol you drink, the more you get dehydrated. Here is the info on that, plus sugar intake:
-----------------------------------
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:
Cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2840-7-28
I have two or three cocktails before dinner nearly every night. Occasionally, when eating out I'll have an IPA. Never creates a problem. However, a salty meal in a restaurant is very likely to give me a 12 hour A-fib event starting around 3 or 4 a.m.
Decades ago an alcoholic wife surreptitiously drank up my collection of fine wines and took away my love for red wines.
I'm somewhat tempted to try a red wine "for the team" but I feel it likely that I would have the same results everyone else has had. I do use vermouth in my cocktails which of course is a wine.
in reply to HiloHairy
This is probably why you get afib events after eating out:
----------------------------------
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:
Cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2840-7-28
Hi
I stopped red and white wine
(Never drank spirits) just in case but do have a small bottle of Belgian beer (4 per cent) each evening. I used to eat a bit of dark chocolate each day which I now think was a trigger so I have radically cut down on sugary food which has made a difference in my episodes.
My little beer helps my QOL and has never provoked an episode. However this works for me I am in no way recommending having a drink. Each person is different.
Take care x
Fine with red wine. Whisky a definite no no. Funny isn't it what triggers AF in some doesn't in others.
Red wine also affected me badly. I have now gone tea total and AF episodes have reduced dramatically. I’d sooner be dry than experience the AF attacks I went through again. Consultant strongly advised no more than 2 units per week, but I’m not even going to take them!
Strange at first as drinking was a big part of our social life and I was not sure how it’d turn out. It’s turned out fine! I still enjoy myself with soft drinks or water, even if I have to do a lot of unpaid taxi work!!!
Long before I was diagnosed I was put off wine by the immediate reaction of uncomfortable heartbeats. On holiday in Italy I bought some wine for the family which had little or no sulphides, from a little winery near our house and it didn’t have that effect.
I very seldom drink alcohol at all now, because, apart from the uncomfortable effect, I’m limited to 1300 mls fluid a day, so I don’t like to waste any of my allowance. Having said that, I probably drank a lifetime worth before my diagnosis and fully expected that this had caused my AF, HF and DCM before being told that it was genetic.
Hi,
I am totally in agreement as I too found that it was red wine that started off my AF.Have been off alcohol since that first episode.
Never touch wine of any kind now have a couple of beers now and again but it doesnt seem to taste the same as it did before...
When I was on holiday I discovered that an occasional gin and tonic and an occasional prosecco was fine for me (touch wood) and I have had the occasional one since on special occasions. I haven't tried red wine or my favourite whisky and ginger ale as don't want to start anything off. Good luck and it's not so bad being alcohol free (until you see everyone else getting "happy" on their alcohol !!!) Best wishes
According to my cardiologist, acohol in general is a trigger and specifically red wine due to the tannins.
Red wine is OK for me once or twice a week and never more than two glasses. Don't touch the bubbly stuff or white wine.
No but I never found any triggers. However it's irrelevant what is does to me, if you find red wine is a trigger stop drinking it! Is it just wine or is all alcohol a trigger? If not then it's something else in the wine. Do wines still contain sulphites? Used to kill bugs I think. It could be this- are there sulphite free wines you could try? Research project there but only if you are sure it's not the alcohol.
Wine, beer and any alcohol pretty much trigger my AF. I didn't drink much before AF, but don't drink at all now.
Alcohol makes you dehydrated. See the following cut-and-paste about that and sugar:
-------------------------------
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:
Cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2840-7-28
The more alcohol you drink, the more dehydrated you become. Here is some info on that, plus sugar intake:
---------------------------------
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:
Cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2840-7-28
Try your best to keep a artificial anything free diet whether in solid or liquid form. No artificial sweeteners at all. The lest chemicals the better all around. I’m doing Just good food, nothing processed At all. I’m trying to stay with healthy proteins and vegetables & good carbs...like sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans etc. Water, Herbal teas, no caffeine, no alcohol.
When I was suffering I found that drinking new world wines often brought on an episode but french and Italian wines were fine. I think the new world wines have a higher level of sulphites .
I too found that alcohol and particular red wine is a trigger for me along with tennis, caffeine, stress and dehydration but I can get away it’s the odd glass of gin and tonic! Grateful that at least I can have that on occasion
I never have a problem with white wine or the odd glass of red, but beer seems to set me off. I have recently been away with my sister and niece and most nights drank up to four glasses of white wine with no Afib at all. What tends to set mine off is over tiredness, exercise, and strangely caffeine-free CocaCola, oh and stress, work-stress! But sometimes it just arrives out of the blue with no noticeable trigger at all.
Funnily enough a couple of glasses, small, of red I’m fine, but cardio said don’t drink white......I guess af treats us all differently......
Hi. I also have AF and the EP consultant I am under has advised me to avoid red wine at all costs.
I drink red wine most nights without a problem. However the smell of white wine sends my heart crazy. A few beers seem ok but i wouldnt like to overdo it. Gin, vodka and whisky ok but not brandy. I suppose the long and short of it if you want a drink you will just have to use a process of elimination. Two little things I've noticed since my ablation... 1, the only time i feel a flutter is when i am dehydrated. 2, i no longer get shocks when i touch metal!
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