What’s the best medications for Vagal afib?

[AUTigerFan]

I have Vagal AF. It has not been diagnosed by my cardiologist, he just says I have a fib, but I should eat slower. But it only happens mostly after I eat a big meal. I told him that I have never had afib until I was put on sotalol for high blood pressure. He seems to think that sotalol is the best medication for me to prevent afib. I read today that sotalol is not what one should be taking if Vagal afib is an issue. I am currently taking sotalol HCL 80 mg, lisinopril 40 mg and amlodipine 2.5 mg

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Hidden]

Hi,

I was diagnosed with AF in Jan 2010, and was put on Bisoprolol for HR control, which it did and has done ever since. I am also on a range of other meds for other cardiac related things, like BP and cholesterol and an anticoagulant. No side effects from any medication.

However some months after being diagnosed with AF I related the onset of an AF event with food I'd eaten. I also identified with a number of symptoms which were digestive system related not cardiac per se. These were burping, diahorrea, intestinal gurgling and massive, massive bloating with some pain. The latter was the worst and would be the one that would trip me into AF.

My GP had bloods done to look at IBS and Coeliac Disease but these came back clear.

I then consulted a Nutritionist who carried out some basic gut tests, prescribed me a course of Probiotics and recommended going Gluten Free .... all of which was the start of a long food related journey to whipping my AF into oblivion.

If you click on my user name it should take you to some past posts I have contributed on this topic including some on diet. Short version is .......... gluten free, wheat free, oats free and anything with EVEN traces of this stuff in - all cut out. Hard cheese Ok, soft cheese not. Peas and runner beans, onions, yoghurt, and any and all hot spicy food etc., not OK. If I ate according to the health mantra of " eat 5 or 7 fruit and veg a day" I'd have permanent occupancy of the bathroom !

I have pretty much got on top of the diet issues and since April 2015 I have only had one AF event which arose from sleeping on my left side during one night of February 2018. Nothing since. However when I've messed up and eaten something I shouldn't have it has accelerated my HR and on occasions been quite disabling and touching up to 140 plus bpm. But no AF. And sure, at random my handheld ECG device does show I lurch into sessions of irregular heart beats but again no AF.

I should recommend you take reference to what is available online ( particularly formal medical/science based studies) on the Vagal Nerve. However, since you say you have Vagal AF I assume you have already done this. How was this diagnosed ?

Have you tried eating small portions and if your main meal is in the evening, not eating after say 6 to 7 pm. ( eat earlier if possible).

Must say as an observation that I am increasingly aware that beta blockers ( i.e. Sotalol and Bisoprolol, and maybe other .....ol's) are increasingly being prescribed for blood pressure when in fact my understanding was that they are for heart RATE control. Odd !

My BP meds are Ramipril and Felodopine. So your lisinopril 40 mg and amlodipine 2.5 mg sounds like they are in the same drug family as my Ramipril and Felodopine ! But I'm no expert.

Are you able to get a second opinion on the use of Sotalol, maybe a pharmacy consultation.

hope this helps, Good luck.

John

[CDreamer]

Lifestyle Changes is the best medication. Your doctor is correct - stick to small meals and always eat at least 3 hours before retiring for the night.

Research ways to help heal your vagal response - lots of things help including breathing techniques.

Sotolol is not recommended for Lone AF in the UK - NICE guidelines.

[sotolol]

Hello. I take Sotalol for rate and rhythm control.

[secondtry]

I have vagally mediated Lone PAF. The lifestyle changes I made were light 6pm evening meal, reduce stress in all parts of life including avoiding evening TV thrillers substituted in the evening with an hour of Mindfullness/meditation, yoga style exercises & prayer - last night had one of my rare all night sleeps without a break...for oldie males that's total bliss!