Good Morning, Everyone!! I hope you are all doing well and feeling great. I gave up coffee after reading that it aggravates AFIB. I was diagnosed with mild AFIB so I tried to remove any triggers, and coffee was named a trigger. Now I read that coffee may not affect AFIB at all! I LOVE coffee!! In fact we started a coffee roasting business many years ago because of our love of the bean. It was torture to give it up. But now I have read several articles on sites like PubMed that there is no connection between coffee and AFIB. Aargh!! What say you?
Coffee- Yay or Nay?: Good Morning... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Coffee- Yay or Nay?
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Kingst
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BobDVolunteer
Only you know if it is worth the risk.
There's only one way to find out! Some people find they can get away with having just one cup a day. I'd be too afraid to risk it!
I know. I was all set to never have coffee again, but then those darn research articles showed up on the internet about how now they believe there is no connection between coffee and AFIB. But, like you, I am too afraid to risk it!
I drink decaf coffee, 1 cup a day
Me too.
I just posted below about CAFIX, an instant grain beverage from Poland. Its great with cream.
I have been too afraid to even drink decaf. I drink CAFIX, an instant grain beverage from Poland. Its got roasted barley, rye, chicory and sugar beets. 100% caffeine free and non-GMO. I buy it on Amazon and just love the taste of it.
I noticed straight away that caffeine (in tea, coffee, chocolate...) activated my AF symptoms so started with instantaneous decaf coffee and tea, but it still affected me. So now I drink decaf ground coffee even when I'm out, and it is fine, cannot have tea and only a very little of chocolate, some time. We are all different, so we have to adjust things accordingly to our responses to them. 😄
One mug of decaff here daily - no obvious ill effects over many years.
Same here, but it’s early days for me, only diagnosed 4 weeks ago!!
Hi Barney. Just diagnosed eh. Plenty of help on here for you. I was diagnosed 6 years ago. It was like my first day at school but with good teachers and good class mates( healthunlocked) I'm doing ok. Good luck with the journey and the coffee 🍵
Thanks, get 24hour monitor this week, then ultra sound scan 9th July, so hopefully know more about what’s going on!
You don’t live in Nerva do you??
We had a place in Nerja for a lot of gears and sold it thankfully before this lot broke out. Still spend half the year there ( well we did) its a lovely place.
I switched to decaf, which seems to be ok🤞
I think afib triggers are very individual. Caffeine does not seem to be a trigger for me - not that I have noticed. But then I seem to be a vagal afibber, in which case caffeine and other stimulants not likely to trigger. I know one woman who swears a strong cup of coffee will get her OUT of Afib and back to NSR. That's part of her rescue strategy. She presumably would be a vagal afibber too.
I keep an Afib diary. I note time, date, duration of episodes. But also what I was doing when it started, and when it stopped. And what I think the possible trigger(s) might have been. I go back and look at the diary to see if I can spot patterns and identify my most common triggers. Caffeine definitely not one of them for me.
(Also, I still have no afib since starting the ivermectin prophylaxis protocol 3 months ago! Last afib was feb 7-9. That's a record for me. however am considering halting the ivermectin for now. so we shall see if Afib resumes. I hope it doesn't. But if it does, that will be pretty conclusive that the anti-inflammatory effect of ivermectin was holding afib in check, in which case i'll go back on. sorry for the digression here. thought people would like update.)
Very interesting and thank you for the detail. I have come to the conclusion on my own that I have vagal AFIB. One year ago I came off the drug Wellbutrin, which should be listed as one of the greatest poisons of all time. I was on it for many years and tapered off slowly. Within 2 weeks I had AFIB, plus all sorts of other heart flutterings. When I researched the drug I found that this was one of its major withdrawal damages!! Of course my doctor not only didn't warn me, he didn't even know that this was the consequence of the drug. I have seen 2 cardiologists, neither of whom had ever heard of vagal AFIB. Also, the second most common side effect of withdrawal from Wellbutrin is vagal disruption. The third is sharp adrenal bursts that seem to attack in the morning. Now there are huge forums online of people who are going through exactly what I am experiencing. The bad news is all this can go on for years, maybe even permanently. I am really happy to read that you are good with coffee. There are valid studies that back up the idea that coffee doesn't trigger AFIB. I even read one that said it could prevent AFIB!
Didn't know any of that about Wellbutrin. I would hope that after you have been off it long enough, that disruption it has caused will halt... so long as not too much afib happening in meantime, since that remodels heart muscle... but not irreversibly in early stages. So I continue to go with the belief that is is still correctable.
Thank you for the encouragement. I'm praying.
Brilliant reply xxx
in reply to PlanetaryKim
Very interesting- the stuff that seems to prevent your episodes/ taking flecainide regularly doesn’t seem to stop mine but it seems to stop episodes when taken as a PIP. I’d love to find something that stopped them occurring!
PlanetaryKim in reply to
That is definitely the eternal search for us!
Thanks for the response. I have decided I am not drinking coffee since I found CAFIX (grain beverage, no caffeine). Last thing I want to do is invite an attack!
I also gave up coffee about 20 years ago it definitely made myheart flutter, I do have decaf
I also love coffee, so after months of not being able to go a day without afib or tachy or both, I inadvertently found, after temporarily losing my taste for coffee as a result of having a chest cold, that my afib/tachy has all but ceased. One mild bout of tachy lasting a few minutes in almost a month. Anecdotal and lacking causality/coincidence science, but my experience. Happy to make the trade if that’s what it takes. Daily green tea apparently enough caffeine.
I don't drink coffee. Never have much, and probably not for about 50 years. But I always thought the part of coffee that could trigger AF was the caffeine. So IMO, decaf shouldn't be a problem, but that's just my unqualified opinion.
Before my ablation when I had AF 1 day in 3, I stopped coffee for about a year and drank rooibos tea (yuck) and lemon and ginger tea (quite nice). It made no difference at all so I just resumed coffee again with no detriment. Coffee is actually good for you, regular drinkers apparently have reduced risk of dementia, Parkinson's and diabetes as well as improved energy levels. I have never found anything that triggered my AF nor any supplement that helped reduce my AF (and I have tried just about everything).
I have had 7 bouts of Afib in the last two years. In all cases, I can trace them to some amount of caffeine in the past few hours or as long a day. Even decaf can cause an attack. I have a Watchman device so am not so worried about stroke from Afib but it is irritating and I try to stay away from caffeine.
I drink 3 cups of strong coffee a day and makes no difference to me.Like you I love coffee and don't want to give it up.Its up to yourself whether you want to try it again but it's a shame to give up something you love so much.🙃
Depends on what triggers your AF. In my case it was depressants on the vagus nerve - ie alcohol, large meals, sleep. Coffee had no effect. I have always felt a bit gittery after two cups so that is my maximum. I did give it up, for months, until I realised that the episodes weren’t linked. Now drink one or two cups a day, and did so for months pre ablation - no AF linked to it.
I gave up coffee and many other delights in life for 2 years. It made absolutely no difference to the frequency and duration of my arrhythmias which were and still are 3 x weekly up to 19 hours each, so I cautiously started to drink it again and now have 2 to 3 cups a day (one will be decaf) and it still makes no difference. I've not been able to find any specific triggers even having kept a diary. As others have said, we are all different. I think the only way you can find out is by experimenting. The title of a book from a former life comes to mind 'Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway' Good luck if you try and I hope you get some enjoyment back.
Too many cups/mugs of coffee can quite well give reactions. I have a teaching friend some years ago who admitted coffee addiction. He was getting palpitations, he was quite shocked that it was his coffee consumption.
I have one a day and I’m ok. I’m mainly a tea drinker, tea isn’t as bad for caffeine, but I don’t go mad 🤨
I think it’s very individual. Less Is more as they say. I like wine, another trigger, I did a Sommelier course for fun. Less is more, I’m careful how much I drink, I’d rather drink less and enjoy it, than have to stop altogether 🤷🏼♀️
Back in my working days we had a percolator in the office and a vending machine we were given an allocation of tokens for. Then I used to have eleven cups/mugs a day between work and home. When it was my day to make the coffee they all complained it was too strong 
At home we usually used a strong French blend.Now at 86 and in permanent AF I still drink coffee but not so much as my wife has gone off it so it is easier just to have tea with her. .
I love my coffee and have 3 cups of the hard stuff every day. Not a blip in the last 3 years and 9 months since my last ablation. It seems a very individual thing. The same seems to apply to alcohol since I can also have a Gn’T if the fancy so takes me. Not that I am anything other than a very light drinker but my single drink certainly doesn’t trigger anything at all.
There are NO triggers - in my opinion. Others will disagree, but I've never found out what sets off my AF. I have a very strong coffee once daily mid morning, and have never gone into AF as a result of that. I also drink strong ale, wine and spirits, but only in very small measure and only very occasionally. I get AF when I'm anxious for a long time, get cold, or do not get regular carbs in my diet. However, any single one of those don't trigger it, maybe a combination? Sometimes a very cold drink downed very quickly, sets me off, but sometimes it doesn't. Who knows????
Fully agree here, it’s so very random and I think we all want to look for our own personal triggers. There appears to be a general scientific consensus that stimulant use can bring on Afib, but my experience like you is that any “stimulants” in moderation seem to have little immediate effect. Maybe we’re just lucky! Interesting that you mention the cold, I have a view that changes in blood pressure particularly play a part in bringing on episodes of Afib. Large meals, binge drinking, extreme exercise are all commonly cited as being trigger events.
Caffeine is definitely a trigger for me. Some articles say that another component of coffee (I cannot recall the name) is beneficial for the heart. I now drink decaf coffee. Either Taylor’s of Harrogate coffee bags or M&S Decaf whole beans. I bought a cheap coffee filter machine & coffee bean grinder for the M&S beans. I now
drink as much as I want without it triggering my AF. Decaf has come on massively since the early days when it tasted like dishwasher. My wife drinks a lot of full caff coffee & I made her one of my decafs and she loved it.
So in answer to your question; for me
Coffee Yay but only a decent decaf 🙂
I have one cup a day too
I had not heard about this relationship, but noticed that my afib returned at the time when my enjoyment of coffee had led to more frequent and stronger drinks. I switched to instant and the afib disappeared.
After going down the loop recorder, sotalol, pacemaker and PVI ablation for Paroxymal AFIB path, my perspective on avoiding coffee and other known or perceived triggers is, best get the ablation asap. As no matter what, when you get the AFIB beast it is only going to get worse and the real issue becomes the trigger, no matter how vigilant you are, that causes serious consequences.
If the gold standard is an ablation in managing the afib beast my experience confirms you should start with this end in mind.
After my out of the blue afib event, which I initially rationalized I could manage with life style changes, I lament I should have gone immediately down the ablation journey. Would have avoided three years of life hassle.
Now three months from my PVI played two hours of basketball with children and grandchildren today and only issues was a lack of overall muscle fitness.
Hello I love coffee too (hate tea) and always drank strong coffee by the bucket load until I went into AF 6 years ago. I gave up but now drink some decaf. After three ablations and trying all the drugs I’m in permanent AF and waiting for a Pace and Ablate. I’ve been told I’m as much in AFIB as I can be so wondering if coffee will make any difference now ?I really do think triggers vary but the day I was first taken I’ll with AF I was working round the clock on an election and drinking lots of very strong coffee. The only other trigger I found was alcohol but I can have just one occasionally.
This article says: “ Many foods and drinks, including coffee, tea, chocolate, and energy drinks contain caffeine. For years, doctors told people with cardiac problems to avoid the stimulant. Now scientists aren’t so sure.A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition uncovered that caffeine is only dangerous for people with AFib at very high doses and in extraordinary circumstances. The researchers concluded that most people with AFib could handle normal amounts of caffeine, like what’s found in cups of coffee, without worrying about potential AFib-related problems.
The bottom line is that recommendations for caffeine intake with AFib vary. Your doctor has a better understanding of your situation, your sensitivities, and the risks you face if you consume caffeine. Talk with them about how much caffeine you can have.”
I went decaf tea and coffee (mostly ) for 3 years plus Then i went back to normal tea post ablation, but kept on with decaf ground coffee. I had the occasional full coffee in restaurants/ other people's houses when decaf was not available. Last 15 months I just drink what I like with no issues. I never found any triggers for my AFIB any way .
I also gave up coffee...well..caffeine, but discovered Maxwell house (I know..EW!) makes IMHO a delicious 100% recyclable Keurig pod...quite full bodied and rich. I only ever drank 2 cusps of regular before AFIB, but now I have coffee all the time lol. 😀
I drink coffee,but onlly Nescafe original, know its not the greatest but it does me ok .Have had AF for about 25 yrs,although now permanent, but coffee never started an episode or made it worse,but of course thats just me,others may have different reactions, so not saying you should drink coffee or not,thats your choice.
I already drank decaff filter coffee for a few years before the AF was diagnosed and then switched to decaff tea as well. Now, if Costa give me a normal coffee by mistake, I'm like a jack hammer within 30 mins. I'm ok with normal tea though when I've had to have that.
Like you, I switched to decaf for a couple of months, then after a fair bit of reading & discovering there was “little to no evidential link” between caffeine and Afib I went back to my usual breakfast double espresso as before. Three years on and my one or two per day has not triggered any palpitations. I take comfort from the evidential positive health gains from a little coffee!
My EP told me that coffee could be good! I didn't get the full sentence because I've never been able to cope with coffee so don't drink it. But my EP obviously did and he has paroxysmal Afib, the same as I have.
Not for me. It was coffee, not caffeine, which was the problem. Every time I drank coffee, including decaffeinated coffee, my AF episodes increased. So I stopped drinking coffee 14 years ago. I drink tea or water instead.After 21 years of paroxysmal AF, I was found to be in persistent AF, largely asymptomatic. I consider it to be permanent AF, but there's no way I'd try any more coffee.
Im a decaffer as heart goes nuts with normal stuff, weirdly I’ve went off coffee since having covid back in March , so Yorkshire tea all way for me now 😀
Try decaff first maybe - decaff still has some caffeine in it and as you know so does tea and chocolate. I had been drinking decaff tea and coffee for years before my Afib reared it's ugly head so still do - at most I have two decaff coffees a day at the weekend. Drinking the occasional caffeinated coffee seems to have no effect on me so presume it is not a trigger for me but I do know people who go into Afib within hours of drinking a good capuccino, and some who go into Afib after drinking wine but not beer.
Thank you for your response. Its amazing that everyone here reacts differently to caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. I am wondering if everything has the potential of being a trigger- just depends on the individual.
Yes everyone is different.
Have you found coffee to be a trigger.?? As a a-fibber myself I don’t personally have a problem with coffee although I don’t drink gallons of it. But a friend of mine who also has afib finds coffee to be a trigger so steers well clear of it. My little granddaughter gave me 6 little red jelly haribo sweets whilst playing shops, and 30 minutes later my heart rate had increased by 20 +bpm and felt really strong but regular. ! as I’m not usually a sweet eater I waited a week and bought a small bag and ate just 6 again. Same thing happened again big increase in heart rate but regular. So I steer well clear of these now. Even though the sweets didn’t put me in afib they did affect my heart rate.
Thank you for your response. I stopped coffee so long ago I can't remember if it affected my heart rate, but now I'm too afraid to experiment. I have noticed that if I don't eat something for 7 or 8 hours my heartbeat becomes irregular- the "clanging in the chest" kind of thing. Within about 20 minutes of eating, everything calms down. So I'm thinking maybe its a blood sugar thing. I wonder what Haribo puts in their candy that it would do that to you. Very strange. Well, now I will never touch a Haribo!!..lol
Hi kingst Iv too have noticed that if I go a good while without anything to eat I start with a lot ectopics and missed beats.! This always happens when I’m at work when I skip my lunch to try and get on top of things. So recently Iv thought what doesn’t get done doesn’t get done and they should get another employee in.! I haven’t skipped any lunches and have felt a lot better since.
I know. It really interesting that this happens. Oddly enough, I have also found that drinking the original Gatorade (which I hate) in the orange flavor quickly resolves irregular heartbeats. I believe that Gatorade balances electrolytes and has added potassium. If I sip it for about 15 minutes my heart stabilizes. Weird!
Hi I've been drinking decaff for a good few years I go into afib every 10 to 14 days so if it's a trigger why do i not go into afib every day maybe it takes the build up over the course I don't really know but I've read a recent study that said heart failure was higher amongst decaff drinkers than caffeine drinkers so have made my mind up to try to kick both altogether and shall try Cafix my mother had afib also and never drank coffee at all also I woke this morning with afib still going strong from yesterday and had a caffeinated coffee with my breakfast half hour later my afib settled...????? It's all confusing
Ps I've also read somewhere also that its not the caffeine but the coffee itself that can be a trigger
Just see what works for your body, we are all different, I can’t drink coffee or alcohol any longer. I have found that really good water decaf beans are okay in a small shot... at midday, in the morning its too much of a heart starter 😂 quite literally! For alcohol I can have an apple cider but my favorite rum and coke is a thing of the past unlessI want to spend the night in ER, its just not worth the hassle for me to disrupt my life for a drink...
I find caffeine in any form unhelpful. I drink decaff coffee, but I probably drink far too much tea so the caffeine adds up. Chocolate I have to be very careful with.
This is something that's different for everyone. I know I have one definite trigger and that is red wine. One day I'm going to experiment with a drink of something else to see if other forms of alcohol affect me. Coffee doesn't seem to affect me but I only have one cup of coffee a day now because of my AFib when I used to maybe have a cup and a half. Red wine for me though which I love is a definite No-No now sadly
Coffee is so hard to give up! I gave it up after being in the hospital from heart issues from my thyroid going overactive for 1st time after 25 years of underactive. Pvcs non stop & eventually a fib. After my cardioversion, not a drop. That lasted a year. Then I went back into a fib & it became permanent again (I have to get cardioverted now). May not be best idea but but I am enjoying 1 cup a day until that cardioversion. But after, no more....personal preference. But, I was told that 1 cup and drinking water & staying hydrated would not hurt. I just don't chance it. Be well!!
Kingst in reply to
Thank you for your response. My gosh, you've been through the ringer! Oddly, I have found that if my heartbeat becomes irregular and I eat a banana with a glass of milk, within about 15 minutes things calm down. Maybe its the potassium, magnesium and calcium helping me out. And may you be well, too!!
in reply to Kingst
That's good it works for you & thank you~
If you like it, try it. Don't go for espresso! but try a little something. I drink decaf ground and instant and tea. But I also eat 70% dark chocolate by the bucket and get no effects from it. I drink ordinary tea sometimes. I've not tried ordinary coffee. My main problem is my persistent Afib comes with a high heart rate so if I were to trigger something it would just be faster as the Afib is there all the time in the background.
Thank you for your response. I'm with you about chocolate. Its amazing that chocolate is defined as an AFIB trigger, yet chocolate is known to be highly beneficial to your heart!
I have 2 cups of coffee a day. I enjoy them. I do have bouts of Afib but I have a pacemaker and have had the av node ablated so I still have a regular beat going on in the ventricles no matter if I’m in Afib or not.
I don’t think caffeine is a trigger for me. I went decaf for 3 months when 1st diagnosed. Then into AF for 2 weeks solid. Got so fed up I had a double Espresso after a large meal, and back in NSR 1/2 an hour later! I now have 2 or 3 shots a day with no obvious symptoms.
Lucky, lucky you!! My coffee beverage of choice was a latte breve (espresso and half and half cream). Now, I foam milk with my espresso machine and put it in my caf-free CAFIX. Oh, well..lol
P.S. I think my trigger is red wine (sadly!) I’m OK if I stick to one (large) glass.
I love coffee too and cannot give it up tho I Should cos of the potassium content . However I have changed my brand to the new Nescafé intense decaf which is very nice in my opinion . I was drinking regular coffee not decaf but the decaf works ok for me . I have two large mugs a day which satisfies my crave 😇☕️☕️cheers . I don’t do junk food or convenience foods I don’t drink either so I dammed if I’m giving up coffee xxx
Kingst in reply to
lol.. thanks for your response. I know the one thing I refuse to give up is chocolate.
I drink one espresso a day from my Nespresso coffee maker. No difference in Afib, although my Afib rarely causes a problem. Due to my athletic fitness and resting heart rate of 45, the only time I experience a higher the normal heart rate for my age(66) is doing intense exercise. My max by standards of 156(220-66) is surpassed to a max of 180 during intense sprints. Never any faintness or pounding in my chest. I actually sleep better if I have a small amount of chocolate at night. Raising my resting hr to 50-55 helps. Doctor says I may need a pacemaker within 10 years.
Hi, I was diagnosed with paf two years ago. I was hospitalised for 24 hours but amazingly self reverted to sinus mode on my way to catlab for cardio version. I have never stopped drinking coffee. 2 cups daily, like you I love it too much. As others here say triggers are different for everyone, and maybe you should find out for yourself, a bit risky but at least you know for sure
The thing is I was diagnosed with mild AFIB, just one episode on a Holter monitor (rating: 0.08, whatever that means). But it was enough to scare me into an avoidance of caffeine. As I had mentioned in another response, I found a grain beverage called CAFIX from Poland, and I really like it. So for now the chicken side of me prevails...lol
For me the AFIB always comes a long time after the event so alcohol in the evening gives me AFIB at 6:00am and full power coffee in the morning gives me AFIB mid afternoon. I am trying very hard to implement lifestyle changes in order to avoid a second Ablation by losing weight, increasing exercise and drinking no alcohol or caffeine. So far I have noticed a difference in AF events and also I am sleeping much much better. I discovered that caffeine has a six hour half life so morning coffee is still lingering when you go to bed! If tiredness is an AF trigger then sleeping well must be a good thing
Thank you for your response. Oh, yes, tiredness is a trigger for AFIB in my case. I have terrible insomnia and I find on the mornings after a sleepless night my heartbeats are irregular. Once I have sleep I am so much better.
I know everyone is different, but I love my coffee too and have 1 to 2 cups a day of espresso based coffee. To the best of my knowledge it has no effect on my PAF and I can't attribute any episode to coffee consumption.
I drink about 4 or 5 cups of decaf a day. No difference at all. Occasionally have a proper coffee and has no effects. Even had a super strong Vietnamese coffee in Hanoi on holiday and while it gave me an amazing caffeine buzz, it didn't affect my afib at all. I also drink both decaf and normal tea and Coke Zero and no effect. I was so paranoid after my diagnosis I gave up everything but that was miserable so as they say, moderation is key. The decaf coffee on the market nowadays is excellent.
I drink coffee first thing in the morning and another at 11 and maybe another at 3pm. So it's 2 or 3 a day. Makes no difference to my AF. But if I have bread everyday, it's a different story
Kingst I drink it with no problem although I limit the caffeinated stuff to a couple a day
Coffee hasn't been a problem with my afib ...
Certainly helps with bradycardia. If you give it up and you dont improve ,there is your answer. .Moderation in all things i say.
I never really got back into it after giving up when breast feeding so it was easy to stop having it when I got the PAF diagnosis - as with the small amount of alcohol I used to have- but it hasn’t stopped the episodes that start in the middle of the night! Goodness knows what triggers them but as we know, we are all different!
Kingst in reply to
Thanks for your response. I know, this middle-of-the-night thing is really tiresome! I find it happens to me closer to morning, and I have an adrenalin rush at the same time so I think they are connected.
in reply to Kingst
Guess mine are usually early morning too! Ok this time thankfully!
Coffee definitely affects my Afib, even tea does, have to drink decaf tea or Redbush. Can't drink alcohol either. All I can think of is that maybe there are different kinds of Afib that are affected differently.
Dear KingstFor most of my life, I have always loved caffeinated coffee and still do, but I have developed an alergic sort of reaction to caffeine as it makes me very short tempered and angry. Currently, I drink decaffeinated coffee and seem to be able to tolerate it. I do not have afib, but I do know that caffeinated coffee makes my heart race and it has previously caused depression due to , possibly the ups and downs of adrenaline hormones being produced, the fight or flight feeling. Besides all the above, caffeine lowers the absorption of iron from food. On that note, I only drink decaffeinated coffee and no longer have an addiction to caffeine and its side effects. I wish you all the best.
Dear Blain, thank you for the response. I have read that caffeine can trigger adrenaline rushes in some people, which is a miserable feeling. Yes, aggression is a common side effect of caffeine if you have a low tolerance. There is an expression in my neck of the woods and it is "I had so much coffee today I could pick the wings off of flies!". Horrible, I know. Apparently now scientists know that we have as many neurotransmitters in our stomach as we have in our brain, so that might explain strong emotional reactions to caffeine. Anyway, I'm glad you have found a solution. All the best to you, too!
I drink one decaff a day made in my Tassimo machine. With a frothed milk alternative. I taught for 40 years+ drinking what my husband calls ‘teachers’ tea’ made in the cup and instant coffee. Never finished any of them in my entire career! And once health and safety meant we had to use plastic lidded containers my enjoyment diminished. Until I worked out I could carry it to my room safely and pour it into a regular cup by which time it was pretty cool anyway. Towards the last few years with Afib looming regularly I switched to decaff. I’ve since had the odd caffeinated tea and no ill effects. I don’t drink them for the buzz. Just enjoy the taste. I think it’s just so individual. Do what works for you and stick to it. It’s a mystery. Lol. 😊
Thank you for your response. Yes, Indeed it is a mystery! After reading all the posts I am convinced that almost anything may trigger AFIB, depending on the individual's unique chemistry. For me, I have found the greatest trigger is lack of sleep. I have chronic insomnia, so I've noticed on the rare night I sleep more than 5 hours, my heart seems to do much better.
I too gave up coffee and there is no doubt it can trigger AF. I do have one at breakfast that is my treat but non after.
I'm permanently in AF and heard coffee was bad for AF sufferers so tried cutting it out and drank other things a few years ago.
For me, it made not a jot of difference, so I went back to my having old fixes.
I would say on average I have about 5 cups of "teaspoon piled high" instant coffee a day. That's when I can't be bothered to take a hit of "Columbian" filtered.
Again, I noticed no difference on returning to my addiction. Although I must stress, everyone is different.
Thanks for your response. Yes, it seems that intake of coffee is a 50/50 situation: 50% on this forum tolerate it just fine, and 50% can't go near it. Coffee has so many health benefits that would seem to offset the stimulant factor, but a possible attack of AFIB is just not worth the risk for me at this point.
There's no question you should try going cold turkey to see if it makes a difference. That's what I did. However, if you feel no benefits (other than the regaining of your dignity because you no longer have to skulk about in the less frequented aisles of your local supermarket dealer) then jump back on the wagon and inhale the heady brew of strong "Columbian"
Im in NSR now with amiodarone and love coffee - but only drink decaf now. I was surprised it tastes/smells exactly the same - yay! However be aware its not caffeine free <=10%.
I love english breakfast tea too but have stopped completely - now only have fresh slice of lemon in hot water…used to it and now do not miss tea; better hydration too.
My doctor said that AFib is sensitive to changes in heart rate, so something that changes your natural rhythm could cause an AFib episode. But this doesn't mean you have to cut caffeine completely. Drinking too much caffeine could trigger AFib, but a cup of coffee is likely fine for most people. Besides, I allow myself to drink only one cup of coffee a day, and not long ago, I ordered a new coffee maker from here coffeeinformer.com/coffee-m..., and with it, my coffee is much tastier.
Switched to decaf in both coffee & tea. I have between 1-2 cups of coffee per day & 1 cup of tea after a possible link to my last episode of AFib after having a cup of caffeinated coffee!Also, don’t drink Coca Cola.
Thanks for the input. I found an incredible replacement for Coca Cola- it's from the UK and it's made from fermented ginger. Tastes just like Coke!!
Hi Kingst
Thanks for the tip about a replacement for Coca Cola - what is it?
It is Fentiman's Curiosity Cola. It is made with fermented ginger with just a very teensy amount of caffeine. I love it but my husband hates it. To me it is like a very "adult" cola, not too sweet.
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Italian for my coffee machine and cafeteria on DISCOUNT Coffee website that is lovely ( will try...
to filter coffee or not too filter coffee with intermittent AF
by the diagnosis. I love filter coffee and have recently gone onto decaf coffee. Just wondering what
Is it the caffeine in the coffee or something else?
find I can count on going into afib within 24-48 hours of having a coffee. So as an alternative I...
Coffee and AF 
yay! Ablation in sight! 
Coffee and Chocolate, maybe not on the banned list?
Is coffee that bad? 
