Sharing my experience

[MrSkins]

I've just replied to someone's post but thought I'd start my own aswell..

Been to A&E for my last 4 episodes, last one was Friday morning after a night shift, I don't know what the usual heart rate is but mine was 158bpm the 104bmp when they discharged me. I used to be in 2.5mg biosprol and 180mg Adizem, had a review and now been off biosprol for 1 month with lots of twinges and 2 episodes. I'm starting a 200mg Adizem dose today and some diazipam if needed,

I've been having these attacks for about 15 years, firstly put down to anxiety, as they got worse and investigated I got diagnosed with SVT. I'm trying to figure out triggers and honestly believe trapped wind has a lot to answer for.

It's now interfering with my work and I'm quite nervous about being away and close to a hospital, I'm hoping a solution will be available as it's starting to take over my life and worries the wife terribly

[Paulbounce]

'Normal' heart rate is considered to be up to 100 BPM. Personally I wouldn't want it that high - certainly not my resting heart rate. It's fine to be above that when exercising of course.

Bisoprolol and Adizem are beta blockers which should help to lower your heart rate. If you are starting to take Adizem today it may take a few days to get in to your system.

Maybe it's a good idea to keep a diary when you go in to afib ? Try and keep a record of what you have had to eat etc that day and see if you can spot a recurring trigger ? Rather than trapped wind that triggers your afib it could be a certain food that's doing it ? Keeping a diary could help you identify this.

Paul

[MrSkins in reply to Paulbounce]

Thanks for those pointers, I was on 180mg Adizem but today started a 200mg course, my normal heartbeat is between 70 and 80bmp until something kicks off, the diary is a good idea thanks, I'll start that immediately

[Paulbounce in reply to MrSkins]

No worries and good luck - hope the increased Adizem works for you

[Jalia in reply to Paulbounce]

With respect but Adizem is not a beta blocker . It is a calcium antagonist used to treat high blood pressure and/or angina. ( beta blockers usually end in -lol )

[MrSkins in reply to Jalia]

I had quite an alarming episode in August this year, A&E put me immediately on Bisoprolol 2.5 alongside Adizem 180, 1 month ago my GP had a letter from the cardio unit to withdraw the Bisoprolol immediately as the combination can be dangerous, to be honest I've not been very good since I've stopped them. I'm thinking of calling the cardio unit to clear things up, clearly I'm no expert

[Jalia in reply to MrSkins]

I think that in your position I would book an appt to discuss all this with your GP. He can then liaise with cardio logists as necessary

[Auriculaire in reply to MrSkins]

Did you stop the Bisoprolol immediately or wean off? Some people get withdrawal symptoms from stopping a beta blocker which make them feel unwell. I am weaning off my Nebivolol at the moment and thogh I am doing it very slowly I have had some mild dizziness and feeling just "off".

[Paulbounce in reply to Jalia]

Your quite right Jalia - Bisoprolol is the beta blocker not Adizem.

Paul

[Hidden]

Here's what triggers a lot of afibs. Give it a try and see if it helps.

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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 (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 (afternoon) 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 Thyroid - 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...

And Oh - if you find that your sugar threshold is lower than 50 grams a day - it's nearly impossible to eat less than that each day, which will keep you in permanent Afib. If this is the case, try going to a Nutrition Response Tester. I am doing this and she has improved my gland processing such that we have increased my sugar threshold from 48 grams a day to about 75, which is high enough to stay under - and keep afib from happening (unless I indulge in a sweet something – which I do too often). Hope this helps.

[MrSkins in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for that, what a very interesting read, I'm willing to try anything and have cut down on my sugar intake as soon as I read this. I personally don't know my threshold yet but interested to do a count of before and after, I personally have quite a high carb diet which turns to sugars so carefully watching those aswell.

I know for sure sometimes trapped wind has triggered my svts, not alway, strangely once a had a bad attack and after a hefty burp it immediately stopped,

[Hidden in reply to MrSkins]

Let me know what your sugar threshold is (if you find it). I might have more info for you, depending on what the threshold is.

- Rick Hyer.