AF disappears for a month

[JoshGains]

I recently took a month off work to travel to Azerbaijan, Dubai, India and Kenya. During the time away my AF stopped completely and for two weeks after my return. Anyone have any theories as to why? I took Malarone while I was away. Could it have been a factor?

[CDreamer]

Could stress be a factor? If you were enjoying yourself and more relaxed then that could be a factor but AF can be so random. Could be food/drink which you haven’t had whilst travelling - unless you track yourself daily very carefully it would be really difficult to know.

[secondtry]

Possibly the excitement of new places kept the adrenaline up and the heart beat strong not allowing 'those little drummers' (aka AF) to get started.

Avoiding AF can be such a fine line to tread e.g. stress can cause it and stress can stop it and the opposite, complete relaxation or lack of stress can cause it and prevent it. It appears all dependant on the individual and also where you are on the AF journey.

[karim123]

Could be you was having good time no stress no work .Or just going away make bet of change hop will stop for good all the best

[BobD Volunteer]

AF likes holidays too! Don't knock it.

[Hidden]

I don’t know anything about Malarone, but I do know that holidays do it for me too. I guess it has to be about stress and anxiety which are known to have an impact on AF. The strange thing is that you would think that us old retired wrinklies who are supposed to be on holiday 24/7, wouldn’t suffer from stress and anxiety......if only that were true!

[KMRobbo]

Work stress is the possible answer, or lack of it.

I have no known triggers except possibly the same. Hard to tell as I have had a lot of stressful jobs during my life and the one I had when I got AF was one of the least stressful. But I am older and had been working 36 years and have a long commute/ etc so since my ablations I only work 4 day weeks (usually- will cover emergencies) . Work Mon Tue Thurs Fri. Destress & lie in Wednesday's.

[JoshGains in reply to KMRobbo]

Thanks for that. So difficult to pinpoint the reason. Very frustrating.

[JoshGains]

Thanks for replies and thoughts. Anxious at work a lot but travelling alone was stressful at times though in a different way. I think it must be other people! I’m scheduled to have an ablation early next year and am desperately trying to find ways to avoid it, so trying to find out why AF occurs from a neuro-chemical point of view really interests me. A single, seemingly innocuous, thought can trigger it. Exercise used to get rid of it but not anymore.

[KMRobbo]

That's a similarity too, for 20 months and approx 12 A Fib attacks I used to go running and 7 to 10 minutes of running I was back in NSR .Then unfortunately the magic trick stopped working and I spent 8 days in Afib between 130 and 185 resting (220 when trying to run it off) .

Was eventually cardioverted in the local CCU by flecainide infusion. Then daily flecainide & diltiazem as rate control which I did NOT get on with. So I had an ablation no known afib since Jan 29th 2018. Have not been on drugs either since May 15 2018.

Do still get ectopics, some times long runs over 12 hours, mostly these are rare and I just ignore them (mostly but did get irritated last week with a long run not having had one for many months).

[JoshGains in reply to KMRobbo]

Thanks. I didn’t get on with Fleccainide or Bisoprol, so have been recommended for the ablation. Sounds like it works, though is more dealing with the symptom than curing the cause. I’m not sure why more research isn’t done into the neurological causes- I guess because it’s very complex. I put a lot of it down to being an anxious person and always been a worrier and concerned about what people think of me. Anyway, nice to find others with similar experiences. FYI RachelAdmin I’m 48 year old male living in UK.

[LaceyLady]

Can I ask who your travel insurers are please? We had to cancel our tip to South America because my insurers would re-insure me, I was waiting to get a CT Angiogram, that’s all fine.

[JoshGains in reply to LaceyLady]

My insurers are Aviva. They knew about the AF but don’t think I told them about the ablation advice so I may not have been insured. I’ll ask before I go abroad again.

[LaceyLady in reply to JoshGains]

Did you have Aviva before or after the AF?

[Hidden in reply to LaceyLady]

We are with Aviva and they know all about my AF.

[JoshGains in reply to LaceyLady]

After. I told them I had it and that I am on medication. It says on my policy I’m on medication but as I’m no longer taking it, I’m not sure I’m covered. Next time I go away outside EU I’ll update them.

[solarjdo69]

How about reduced electro magnetic exposure? Less WIFI, ....?

[JoshGains in reply to solarjdo69]

Interesting comment. I got WiFi installed at my place Xmas 2016. I guess I could switch it off for two weeks and see what happens. Will let you know. Cheers

[Hidden]

I'm guessing it was your change of diet. Here is what I found 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 (this is why all doctors agree that afib gets worse as you get older). 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??

I'm pretty sure that Afib is caused by a gland(s) - like the Pancreas - or an organ that, in our old age, is not working well anymore and excess sugar or dehydration is causing them 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 (and neither can my doctors), but I have a very strong suspicion that that is the root cause of our Afib problems. I am working on this with a Nutritionist and hope to get some definitive proof in a few months.

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:

https//cardiab.biomedcentral.com/a...

[JoshGains in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for that thorough reply. Your comments on sugar are very interesting and I think there’s something in it. It’s very frustrating that many doctors and researchers just don’t seem that interested in identifying the causes. I do eat a lot of fruit, a fair bit of chocolate, drink a lot of cranberry (or rather used to) and the odd can of coke, and like honey with yogurt as a pudding. I’m not obese, and cycle and run and play golf(a possible cause of AF too- “a good walk spoiled”) but I probably overeat generally. I’ve been switching off my home WiFi recently too. Been getting my AF a lot more frequently since I returned from holiday. Did I eat less sugar on holiday? Not sure. Probably. I went for a run earlier this evening but broke into a walk half way round as the AF was annoying me. It’s gone now. I’m scheduled for an ablation early next year and am trying to find the holy grail which sees me control it naturally.

[kmps]

That's interesting. I have afib everyday...starts and stops on own. I have it at night and sometimes wakes me up if the heart rate stays high for more than a few minutes. Afib is caused when the atria of the heart"quivers." Can't believe food can stop the quivering as this is a mechanical issue within the upper heart. An oblation will

scar the area of the heart that the signal gets messed up. I am a 79 year old women. I am debating if I should have another oblation. I had one 3 years ago for tachycardia and it worked. Seriously don't think I will put myself through the process and live with the fatigue I feel after a long run of up and down....50 HR to 130HR up and down almost constantly..sometimes hits 200 Ugh! Other times steady heart rate for hours then a huge jump. I have a loop recorder and the results show me

every month that I have in excess of 600 events in a 24 hour period...some I feel - some I don't. Just my 2cents worth on the topic. K

[Hidden in reply to kmps]

I would think there would be something to slow your heart down. I take verapamil to slow mine down. As far as the doctors - I have graphed my results on paper, showed it to them, and they still ignore it - say it comes and goes at will. Can't make any of them believe me - really frustrating. I have one heart doctor that says the heart does it's own afib - nothing outside the heart affects it - the heart is doing it all on it's own. (since the heart does not use sugar to contract, he has no answer for why sugar makes it afib). I have volunteered to stay in his office when my heart is beating normally, have him check me, then eat a Ben & Jerry's ice cream (might as well enjoy the sugar). I told him I GUARANTEE that in 1-2 hours I will be afibbing, be he won't try it. Actually I have made that offer to several doctors and they all don't want to hear it, much less see it. So . . . I am just spreading the word on this forum. If enough of us find the sugar secret, the word will get out.

Take care.

- Rick Hyer.

[Lulu2red]

Stress emotional or physical can bring on AF for me. Exercise carefully. Being active is great but overdoing puts the body under stress. I sat next to a slim fit competitive cyclist in Cardiology who peddled his way to a heart attack! If you hate your job or the people you work with, find something else. When I left a stressful job it felt like the World had been lifted off my shoulders, working with some people can feel like a life sentence. Don't put a salary before your health is my advise. Do something you love and look forward to going to work, you may find your AF disappears magically!