Hi all, new here.. my cardiologist is adamant that weight loss with take away my need for ablation.. I have to lose 14 stone, I've 3 gone so another maggoty one and I'm in single digits 🤣🤣
Two other cardiologist s and an electrophysiologist has said the very same.
It runs in my family but they are adamant this is just coincidence.
I will get this weight off , my question I suppose, any success stories with weight loss.. like extreme weight loss and afib reversal
Thanks 🙏
I am so glad to read this as I hesitated to mention it before when you posted. If you look up LEGACY TRIALS, this was a series of trials in Australia where morbidly obese patients with AF were put on a six monthly weight loss program using a special 800 callory a day diet. Apparently many needed little other treatment for AF once this was completed. I did mention a BMI of 25 as an aiming point.
Life style changes are vital once any weight has been lost as diets alone do not work . Life style changes do.
It is also worth mentioning that few EPs would consider ablation treatment in such circumstances as success is unlikely .
All that said, it can not be denied that there are racing snakes with AF so obesity is not the only cause.
Thanks for your reply. Ep was lovely but blunt and I appreciated that. He said if I get to bmi of 27, he will the ablation but told me twice before I left, he trained in Boston, in one best afib hospitals in world and was positive I wouldn't even need ablation if weight was gone..
Crap to hear, you're too fat for treatment but positive to hear I could have afib free life in the future 🙏🙏
You may like to check out a few podcasts & books which I find inspirational which focus on all aspects of lifestyle - food, movement, sleep, relaxation, social connection, etc. These are all medical professionals so no “airy-fairy” stuff.
- The Doctors Kitchen - Dr Rupy Aujla - he was diagnosed with AF as a young medical student and was getting ready for an ablation but when he focused on lifestyle changes he didn’t need the ablation.
- Feel Better Live More - Dr Rangan Chatterjee
- The Food Medic - Dr Hazel Wallace.
I love listening to podcasts whist I’m out walking, or driving, or cooking. It’s a great way to learn new things.
All the best.
I will check those out thanks a mil
You’re welcome 😉.
Katz - are those books you mention or podcasts. How do you find the podcasts?
Ma ny thanks
Steve
They are podcasts but all of these also have books (which I have bought a d read). If you Google the names I mentioned you’ll find their websites which should have links to their podcasts. If you have an iPhone there’s a podcast app that you can use to listen to them. There are also apps on android phones.
If you reduce your weight to normal, you will benefit in so many ways, that it is definitely worth it. Wishing you luck on your journey!
Thanks so much 🙏🙏
My husband hasn't got AFib but he was very overweight 12 years ago and lost nearly 9 stone. The health benefits for him have been immense; no more aching joints, wheeziness, leg oedema and self-esteem. It is generally assumed that only woman worry so much about their weight - not so! He did put some back on and is now back on his healthy lifestyle with a vengeance.
My daughter also has a weight problem and after many years of seesawing has had great success using the free app 'myfitnesspal' which does all the calculations for you; weight/exercise/daily allowance and calorie counting.
Crucially for them both is whatever method they use (and they both eat healthily), this is now a way of life, not a diet.
So whatever works for you (and it obviously does, well done on your weight loss so far) you are on the way and are obviously determined. And if you still have AFib when you reach your goal, you have a very supportive EP.
Please keep us up-to-date with your progress. With every good wish.
Thank you for posting this--I'll be following this thread! I also have a lot of weight to lose, and an obsessive-compulsive disorder about food. Obesity runs in my family (genetic component). It's so very difficult to lose weight, and some of my medications seem to make things even more difficult. Still, I cannot lose hope. Truly, though, I don't believe a-fib is cured by weight loss. I think weight loss will have a positive effect, but something that is in the electrical system of the heart is not cured by losing weight. I don't know about any long-term follow up of people in the Legacy Trials & if their AF never returned (please *gently* correct me if I'm incorrect). I do know that 800 calories a day is difficult to sustain.
Try the Newcastle (hospital) Diet 1200 calories a day. The key seems to be sticking to a mediterranean type diet and keeping a very careful eye on the carbs that you eat?
Thanks Lanc2. Thanks for the suggestion to check out the Newcastle Diet. I'm very careful about carbs...was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes 14 years ago, and did some research, have limited carbs ever since, and am happy to say that I don't take any medication for diabetes. Carbs are evil for me.
Congratulations on your weight loss so far. WELL DONE! Keep going. As I am sure other people have said there are people with AF who are not overweight - I never have been and have been very active all my life and still got AF - but then I was nearly 74 when it was discovered. Losing weight will certainly help and if it doesn't stop your AF then it will make it more likely that any treatments given are more likely to be be successful. When I was waiting for my ablation I met some one just like you who had to lose weight before his ablation and luckily had his ablation just before lockdown ( I am still waiting for mine as lockdown and then an outbreak of C19 in the hospital has meant I will be unlikely to get my ablation until next year now). He is doing really well and continuing to lose weight and feels better than he has since he was a teenager so he tells me when I phone him.
Fantastic news there thank you
I am one of those ‘racing snakes’ Bob D speaks of but AF does run in my family and I am convinced there is a genetic element. However I have a leaky mitral valve, not bad enough to fix, so although I had an ablation which lasted two years it makes it less likely for an ablation to ‘hold’.
Well done on your weight loss so far and best wishes for more - or do I mean less?
We watched the Michael Mosely TV series following a group of people who followed his strict 800 calorie diet for a few weeks, easing up into a maintenance program thereafter. If you are able to see it it is very encouraging and the recipe book which I got is very good. I got it because my husband is pre diabetic and I am not as snaky as I was thanks to my medication. I don’t want to lose weight, just stay the same.
Good luck 💜
The best thing I've found is reducing portion size. And not cutting anything out TOTALLY because that makes you crave it more. Just have a lot less of the bad stuff and a lot more of the good stuff.
I've even enjoyed some meat free alternatives or reduced fat stuff when experimenting with flavours.
I agree Jedi. Use smaller plates. Try to eat as close to nature as possible (fresh, unprocessed), get outside into nature when you can (Covid lockdowns won’t help if you’re in the UK), move regularly. Sleep well. Meditate and reduce stress. Remember, as one of the guests on Dr Chatterjee’s podcast said, “It’s not our indulgences that get us. It’s our habits.” He was a brain surgeon.
Hi Misty
I was diagnosed with persistent AF in December 19. I had a car diversion in March 20 that put me back in NSR. I was 17 stone 2 pounds in January. I have lost a pound a week since then and now 14 stone 2 pounds having lost 3 stone. My target is 13 stone and a BMI OF 27. I aim to achieve that by February.
Four weeks after cardiversion I went back in AF, but reverted back to NSR a few days later. This has happened twice since. My EP is adamant that the only reason my heart reverted to NSR on its own was because of weight loss and healthier diet an lifestyle. I stopped drinking alcohol when I was diagnosed with AF and my diet now includes more fruit and vegetable and less meat. Linda McCartney veg I burgers are highly recommended. I no longer take blood pressure tablets as my blood pressure is now 120 over 80.
I walked past a friend in the street yesterday, he did not recognise me at first because of my new look.
You can do it!
Positive vibes to you over the ether.
Best wishes
Steve
Oh Steve thanks so much for your reply. This is exactly what the ep said will happen, my heart will change shape somethwt with weight loss, resulting in easier to revert to nsr on its own. Well done to you, you've inspired me a lot.
Well done on the weight already lost and good luck going forward. 🍀
Thank you polski
Thank you Mistymoo75 for starting this interesting thread and well done you. Keep it up. Like many have already said, although AFib is not cured by weighloss and lifestyle changes it will be easier to treat and manage and benefits you in so many other ways. It’s very hard work to get your weight down and to maintain it, but I personally I try to think that it’s not a choice any more, but necessity.
I was diagnosed in June this year and have lost around 12kg. I was definitely overweight, but not hugely so ( I hate that term morbidly overweight).My weight loss has almost come as a byproduct of acid reflux and IBS resurgence. I have managed to control both by diet and life style for long periods in the past and then relapsing back to bad old habits, but I doubt I will again as my AFib is Vasovagal and acid reflux and bloated stomach are my triggers. Every cloud ....
Would be interesting to hear from anyone following diet recommendations for both acid reflux and FODMAP ( elimination diet for IBS concentrating on sugars in fruit, veg and grains) as they are a bit counterproductive and mutually limiting. For instance tomatoes are low in FODMAP but high on acid reflux list, same with peppermint.
I am a very cheap date now as I don’t drink alcohol, caffeine or fizzy drinks. I can’t eat anything with garlic, onion, tomatoes,chocolate, wheat, certain fruits, high fat food, fried food, sugary food, spiced food, artificial colouring, sweetners etc etc. I also have to eat little and often and not too late in the evening. I suppose I most cases it’s a little what you fancy does you good. I have learned that whatever I really fancy and eat over other options, is just the stuff that will get me. I used to say “ I feel like a doughnut or two, when I was stressed out at work, so this trait has always been lurking there.
I was sitting here today, feeling a bit sorry for myself with all my diet restrictions and the lockdown, but this thread got me thinking that - it is what it is, things could be much worse and ultimately we have to take responsibility over our own lives. I have had it pretty good until I hit my sixties and all sorts of health concerns started popping up.
So having lost some weight, I do feel better (but hungrier 🤣), my AFib has been behaving, I can go for walk and enjoy it (still a bit breathless due to Bisoprolol) and if it wasn’t was Covid, I could decide what to wear when going out based on what looks good rather than what fits and/or covers me. I could go to see my GP without being told I was overweight even if my complaint is was a broken finger. Where are they all, by the way? it’s still phone only consultations. It made me smile when the news headline stated that GP services will be limited once the Covid vaccination starts.
I def agree with my case anyways, it's a necessity now not a want .. I will get there as many of you have 💪💪
Also suffer from acid reflux and it always gives me palpitations also
Yea, I was well overweight but admittedly not so much as you, but heavy enough to damage my heart. When I was told of this I went on a crash diet losing 6 stone in four months, which corrected my blood pressure, made my heart work better and didn't half make me feel fantastic. I do still put on some weight but as soon as I see my Blood Pressure rise, I diet pretty pronto. Hope you win as I did. Good Luck.
I lost over 11 1/2 stone some years ago (I have been diagnosed with binge eating disorder, compulsive eating and complex PTSD), and the year after I had achieved this weight loss and BMI of 25, I spent more time in hospital with fast AF than I had done in the 4 years since diagnosis of AF. I still get fast AF episodes but they usually revert to NSR after about 12-14 hours so I just sit it out at home.
I've lost 4 stone with WW and when my AF kicked off again in June, it wasnt as bad as when it originally started. I managed to come off meds this time last year and stayed in NSR for 8 months, which cardiologist says was helped by the weight loss and the fact I was now able to exercise. If you are carrying more weight, it can impede if you need a cardioversion, as I discovered. I ended up with 3 shocks and 2 sets of burns where they had to move the pads due to Trans Thoracic Impedance. They explained it's to do with the body's ability to conduct the current so if you're a bit chunkier in the chest area, you may experience that. Good luck with everything.😊
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