About a year ago I decided to have a Lifestyle Renaissance which included a Healthy Plant Based Diet, Mountain Biking (Which I have become pretty good at, beating people half my age) I've also completely quit Smoking, Alcohol & Caffeine. The result is that I haven't had a AF Episode in the past year.
My EP & Myself are so pleased with my progress that we jointly decided for me to come off the Ablation waiting list & carry on the meds, which are 50 mg Flecanide twice a day & 1.25 mg Bisoperol once a day.
I can honestly say I've never felt Better in my life, I'm 53 & loving life again.
Written by
Finlay007
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Well done and vindication indeeed for the life style advise we give. Sadly there ars still vegetarian racing snakes who develop AF so it is a not a cure all.. Keep it up.
Hello Finlay well done, I went down the same route of lifestyle changes (minus the mountain bike) and think I may had managed to delay the progression of P-AF for a couple of years by doing so.
Sadly for some of us the 'feeling great' doesn't last and P-AF slowly but surely progresses.
I wish you years of feeling great, but I would think seriously before coming off the ablation list and discuss it with your EP first. Being in peak condition may be the optimum time for having a successful ablation.
Well done Finlay that's what I like to hear, someone being helped by a healthy diet and exercise. How lovely not to have had an AF episode for a year, long may that continue. Please report back on this forum every so often and let us know how you are. How often were you getting AF before the healthy diet?
Hi Finlay, I don’t think there’s a hard and fast rule for everyone. Whatever you find works for you is probably the order of the day. I started a keep fit regime including brisk walking and cardio fitness which reduced my number of PAF episodes at first but then they come back out of the blue and I went up from 50mg bi-day flecainide to 100mg bi-day. I’m episode-free at the moment but as with all medications, you often solve a problem in one area and create a new one in another. Fortunately this doesn’t happen for everyone. I wish you well in your lifestyle changes and hope you achieve sustained success.
Music 🎶 to my ears 👂 Finlay! I am trying everything too! Not plant based though but drastic change to diet. No caffeine. Limited alcohol (couple of shandy’s each week finding ok). Run, swim, walk. Lost a stone. My episodes are every 2-3 weeks but just gone 6 🤞 hurrrar!!
Findlay, that’s great news and good reference for encouragement. I seem to be keeping the balloon afloat better through recently dropping daily coffees overboard. Seems to have significantly cut down on daily afib/tachy. (I switched to green tea, which still has caffeine, so go figure). Hoping I can keep the occasional beer or wine in the basket. Don’t want to lose all my ballast! Also doing HIIT and some bike riding to stay fit. Still taking propafenone 200x3.Best wishes for continued success!
What a hopeful and inspiring post! Interesting that you are keeping on the meds but I guess it would be pretty scary to stop, just in case. Do you and your EP think that it's a combination of lifestyle changes and the meds that has eliminated the Afib? Well done and enjoy the freedom!
Excellent. As most of us haven't a clue which Lifestyle change is key, I adopted from diagnosis a similar approach to yours changing almost everything, just I am not totally plant based and I also avoid competitive exercise. I have only had 2 very short episodes in 7 yrs, the last one in 2018 and feel as well as I can remember. Enjoy today!
That’s great to hear. A healthy lifestyle includes lots of exercise ime. The health and mental benefits of competitive sports are incredibly beneficial so keep up the racing I reckon.
Good stuff. What an encouraging tale. I bet you are the poster boy for your cardiologists! At Papworth in Monday they were telling me that sport does not cause AF (except perhaps at the extreme Tour De France level and that is usually ventricular problems)but being sedentary does and how they wished more people were sporty like me (though not lately due to blinking Afib!)
Great news Finlay ,you are very positive and that’s a winner in itself .Everyone is different ,everyone’s AF seems to be different,I am a lot older than you 74 this year ,developed my Af after a very severe chest infection and cough in my early sixties,unfortunately had to give up my favourite sport which was horse riding, my own horse, not because of the AF but the Apixaban, just in case of head trauma.Had an Ablation in 2016 with Mr Hussein ,Harefield, fingers crossed all ok since then.Still have the occasional coffee De-caff ,a lovely organic one ,still have my tea ,sometimes decaf.Have always cooked from scratch ,not a ready meal person ,eat well but to much!!.
Walk and swim and love my garden, great workout .take 1.25 Bisoprolol and Apixaban ,have done for several years now guess I will take them forever. If only we knew what caused this condition but no one can say for sure ,don’t think my parents had it ,but grandparents who knows! .good to have this forum ,we can share our feelings .Take care and stay positive.
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Constant AF and not good ablation candidate
Should I just accept this?
Flecainide again!!
Stopping Flecainide 
