So I've recently started a course of low dose anti depressants to try to bring my anxiety levels down regarding my heart.......I've pretty much struggled since diagnosis with the doom and gloom of it all, I had a good couple years after ablation where I got fit lost weight and didn't notice my heart at all, however last few months I've been getting runs of missed/extra beats and the fear of the AF......worrying is it vt has shown up again, had run other day which turned out to be atrial tachycardia which was short lived,
Now I'm an idiot for googling things which makes my anxiety even worse, but came across this report which says people who take anti depressants are more likely to suffer AF.....so how do I stop my anxiety of AF if the tablets they give me can cause AF😩😩😩
OMG! I know the feeling and circular thinking of this one by "heart." The thing is you're not helpless and thinking you are leads to depression. Most of us have AF and all of us age at different rates, which, as you k ow, IS depressing. What can be done about it is the real question and I force myself everyday to do one little something different. New perspective everyday. You can't allow yourself to sink into that chasm. For awhile there, ten years ago, I was think AF leads to death and my cardiologist said that AF rarely causes death. Who to believe, me or the doc? Questions and speculation are endless. You have to get a grip sometime or else your short and finite life will vanish into bits and pieces. That's the requirement we never think of- that it's a privilege to be here, not a right. Take care, juggsy. Be kind to yourself regardless of the condition or diagnosis.
Ive been on antidepressant Zoloft( sertraline) for over 2 yr. Ive have PAF for almost 5 yr. my a fib is less and less frequent. Currently, I havent had any a fib for over 19 mo. I believe the antidepressant has helped me alot, especially in reducing anxiety. If you stress over all the fine print, you will never relax. Even the heart meds can cause heart issues. So focus on your mental state as your heart is listening to everything your mind tells it💜. You can do this, good diet, learning relaxation techniques, good sleep, surround yourself with positive people.
WOW, i thought i was reading about myself, i to suffer with AF and extreme Anxiety and has gotten a lot worse since i was diagnosed with AF last year, my anxiety got so bad that i didn't want to leave the house just in case my hart had to work that little bit harder, it was so bad that i didn't want to go up stairs in my own house as i knew that would alter my heart rate, GP gave me citlopram and i was on them for 5 days and made me 10 times worse so i put them in the bin, than i just tried do it the natural way in eating right, breathing exercises and natural oils and herbal teas.
If I understand it correctly, SSRIs like Escitalopram and Citalopram will make anxiety worse for approximately 2 weeks, as it starts becoming effective. Then it will settle down. My GP prescribed Citalopram, and same as you, it made my anxiety much worse, so I stopped it. I went to see a pyschiartist, supposedly for CBT. We discussed antidepressants, and she suggested Escitalopram, starting at 1/2 the minimum dose, and it has done wonders for me. I don't have the feeling of doom looming over me, and I can cope with my AF. The first few weeks were difficult, but I knew this was usual for SSRIs. I persevered, and the difficult phase gradually passed, I noticed that life was much better for me in general.
So don't give up, just because the first few weeks will be difficult. I also tried all the natural herbs and supplements for anxiety. They were quite ineffective.
Also, I wanted to add, just because more people who have AF are on antidepressants, that does not establish a cause and effect. Perhaps it's the AF causing the anxiety, which is why more people that have AF are on antidepressants?
I started to have issues with anxiety and panic attacks though I did not recognise either at first as they gave physical symptoms, nausea, feeling strange after my husbands heart attack. This went on intermittently for 5 years and was escalating so going out for a meal was an ordeal with bloating etc.
One night I woke with fast AF. Was diagnosed in A and E and the relief was enormous. I know that's weird but to have a physical explanation and physical diagnosis was great. Not long after a friend suggested therapy and had 3 sessions with a Human Givens counsellor and have improved beyond measure. That was 6 or 7 years ago.
You can be in control and if meds can help ( though I didn't go down that route) believe in your practitioner.
Consider moving from Big Pharma as first choice to Self Help & Alternative Practitioners. The simplest of things can help and are ignored because we are want the latest magic bullet. I found a regular country walk, meditation/mindfullness and a few yoga exercises every day helped a lot as did a trip to an experienced Naturopath, who recommended Magnesium & Co Q10 supplements. No side effects.
Magnesium is calming and would be a better bet than anti depressants which can induce suicidal thoughts in some people and can be very difficult to stop.
Hi Juggsy, I wonder if you have tried hypnotherapy for your anxiety ? Having seen the results of this at close quarters with a family member I would strongly recommend giving this a try.
Give this 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, Thyroid (sends signals to the heart to increase speed or strength of beat), Adrenal Gland (sends signals to increase heart rate), Sympathetic Nerve (increases heart rate) or Vagus Nerve (decreases heart rate), Hypothalamus Gland or others - 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:
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