I was diagnosed with AF about a month ago. At the time I had fast AF with symptoms and a heart rate around 200 bpm.
I have been put on beta blockers and blood thinners.
The drugs seem to have controlled by heart rate but I still don't feel well. I get breathless very easily and this also seems to cause stomach problems (but the doctors don't seem to think that is related). I also find it very difficult to sleep at night (I get palpitations all the time but ) which is making work, and life generally, hard.
I'm not sure what caused the AF. I suspect it was either a chest infection that I had or binge drinking (I would call it social drinking) over Xmas (I don't generally drink but when I see my friends I do and I probably drink too much at those times - probably once every three months).
I have an echo booked for the end of the month and I am then hoping to have a cardioversion (they did say booked it but I don't think they have as yet).
I was just wondering if anyone had any coping mechanisims for dealing with this in the interim?
Neil
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neil73
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Most people seem to agree that drinking and Afib. do not go together and many feel they have to give it up entirely and completely.I was never a drinker but now only drink the very occasional small glass of wine.
Once you have had all your tests and checks you will be in a better postion to know how to go forward.
Eating less food but including good protionsof fruit,salads and veg. regularly also help a lot as does moderate exercise.
Some of this may sound boring but it does come down to choices in order to do the best you can for your health.
People are very helpful on this site and many have a lot of experience .
We are all individuals and what works for me may not work for you. However that said there are things we can do. Take notice of what triggers it, keep a diary of what you've done, eaten etc. Over time you may see a pattern. One doc said to me "If you like it cut it down and if you don't like it do it more" (I feel he may have been talking about diet and exercise, perhaps types of foods as well but hey who knows!) another one was "moderation in all things".
Try not to worry, this beast can feed on your anxiety and beat you with it. It becomes a vicious circle, the more anxiety the worse it gets. Places like here are great you are not alone, others know what it feels like. However do not forget to talk to those around you, isolation from others can intensify your anxiety as well as theirs. It can be harder on your nearest and dearest if you try to carry it all bravely. After all they are affected as well as you and support from them can help.
In the dark lonely times I try to be busy, reading a good book, play a video game, tell tall stories to the kids anything but think and fret! It can be hard, and often is, but you are not alone and that helps a lot, even chatting online can help. (Even if you just feel angry at this preachy sod it gets your mind off it for a little bit!)
I will now get off my soapbox before I break it! Last shout if you feel really worried tell someone and ask for advice as you have done. Never suffer in silence if its important enough to worry about its worth talking about!
Hi neil and welcome to the place you would rather not be! For starters, probably the best thing you could do is click on the pinned post "Useful links for Newbies and Oldies" to the right of this page. The first link will take you to the AF Association webpage and from there you can access some really helpful information. We have all been where you are now so know how you feel, but finding out as much as you can about the condition and how it's affecting you will be very helpful.
One of the problems with having AF is that the side effects of some medications are very similar to the symptoms some get from their AF but very often, the body adapts to the medication and things start to improve. if that doesn't happen, there are alternatives and they are covered in the webpages.
The advice offered so far will be helpful and it is good to hear that you have tests and procedures well in hand as this indicates that your Doctor is being very supportive at this early stage. One thing to bear in mind is that AF, provided it is controlled, as yours is, is not life threatening and even if the cardioversion only works for a short while, it will indicate that other procedures may be suitable for helping to control symptoms.
One very important thing to remember that you must not forget to take your anticoagulant (we don't say blood thinners!) as prescribed, but it is particularly important not to miss any for the 4 week period prior to your cardioversion as they are likely to postpone it if you do.....please contact us if you have any questions
It is common for AF to upset your digestion (docs don't know everything) and some people find their palpitations are worse after meals, so try not to eat what my daughter calls 'big food', 'brown food' the same, but small regular meals of Mediterranean type food are good.
When I was first diagnosed with AF I was very stressed and was just recovering from a nasty virus - I was booked for a cardioversion but suddenly realised my heart had gone back into rhythm, which I didn't notice straight away as I had got used to the palpitations! Best wishes 💜
If you have been put on Bisoprolol it doesn't agree with everybody. It left me very lethargic, hardly able to walk 20 steps without having to stop. Breathless, cold tingly feet and hands, weight gain. What anticoagulation are you on. I take Riveroxiban which I believe can cause stomach issues in some people. I seem to be okay on it. If I were you I would be back at the Cardiologist or EP and ask for meds to be changed. I was on Flecainide and Atenolol for a while which changed my quality of life greatly. Good luck.
Yes I did, about five years ago I had been taking Flecainide for the best part of 20 years with the dose gradually increasing. I had successful cryoablation and came off all medication. The Neuropathy has gradually improved but still not 100% better.
Hi
Lifestyle is key with AF so look at your weight, diet, exercise, stress levels, blood pressure etc tackling all those will go a long way to keeping it under control and unfortunately you cant let your guard down with it !
Various people have written about foods that can be triggers - there are plenty of sites on the internet with lists you may find helpful.
When I was in persistent AF, I noticed more palpitations when I ate some things - cheese particularly made my heart thump. I've given up dairy now.
Since my cardioversion I've noticed a few irregular heartbeats only if I've eaten bacon or prosciutto - possibly the nitrates and salt? Both processed meats and too much salt are among the foods various sources recommend avoiding. Alcohol and caffeine can both be triggers too.
I'm hoping that eating well will keep attacks at bay. Lots of fruit and veg and eating fish are helpful.
Hope you get your cardioversion soon - that will hopefully make a huge difference to your energy.
Hi Neil, I had 2 prolonged episodes of fast AF last July/August, within a week of each other, which left me very breathless. After my cardioversion, my cardiologist arranged for me to have a cardiac MRI, which showed up fluid around the lungs. He said this was caused by the fast AF and would gradually be reabsorbed, and the breathlessness would go. This did happen over the course of several weeks. I don't know if its common to have breathlessness after fast AF episodes from this cause.
Alcohol creates dehydration, and dehydration is an Afib trigger. Here is another that might be giving you grief:
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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:
You have been given a lot of good advice about coping, so let me concentrate on meds. I do agree with absolutepatsy to have your meds reviewed. You do say you are on a beta blocker but you do not say which one. In some cases, beta blockers are contraindicated for AF. You might want to read about vagus nerve.
You refer to "doctors, " but have you seen someone beyond a GP? The timeline is difficult because if you are persistent and there is still a delay to book a cardioversion means you are left for the Af to get worse. Insist on an appointment with an EP. You cannot have seen one because you were diagnosed just a month ago.
I can relate to you because I had a similar experience early in my journey. I was prescribed by my GP Metoprolol , a beta blocker, that created side effects like yours, caused heart palpitations that I didn't have before , and made me suicidal.
So, I would suggest you learn the difference between rate control drugs and rhythm control drugs, plus the difference between chemical cardioversion and electrical cardioversion. Be aware that GP's are not licensed to prescribe rhythm control drugs and can make you just live with AF rather than try to get you back to sinus (that's what happened to me) . Also learn the different stages/types of AF. If you are talking about booking a cardioversion, then you must be in "persistent" AF. If you are in persistent AF, the rogue signals are establishing beyond the pulmonary veins which is not good because your atria become remodeled which then require more than one ablation.
Everything is a chain reaction so get on top of it, or you may be left to deteriorate which is what happened to me resulting in my having to have three ablations before I could become almost nine months AF free. Good luck. Let us know how you do.
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