Can anybody shed any light on why my afib starts at same time evwey day at around 5pm in the afternoon ...it's not eating related as I don't eat till half 6 most evenings . I take verapmil 40 mg 4 times a day
Afib episode same time wvey day - Atrial Fibrillati...
Afib episode same time wvey day
I think body clock comes into it and you nervous system may be getting ready to switchthen Also once something starts it has a pattern!
So not an awful lot I can so to change it then 🙄
try to avoid any other triggers-alcohol de hydration, extra weight high BP etc
Tried them all :Am only.8 stone
BP is good
I don't drink alcohol
Eat a very healthy diet
Drink water all through the day
Trying to find a trigger but can't find one ...it's so frustrating
Thank you for trying.to help rosy.
check potassium levels that's a trigger for me
How much water do you drink?
I used to drink a lot of water, which caused an imbalance in my electrolytes which seemed to trigger my AF. I have reduced my intake and check the colour of my urine if it’s clear like water it’s too diluted. My AF used to occur between 1-2 am
My AF has reduced significantly
I complained of the same thing. I too eat healthy, exercise, drink water etc. I heard it is an internal clock. Now I am thinking that I may be drinking too much water during the day that is placing me in position where it reduces my electrolytes. If it happens again in the future, I will try taking magnesium and a piece of banana to see if that stops it.
Sometimes we can unwittingly find ourselves doing shallow breathing and the heart protests. Are you sat relaxing when it kicks off?
Sometimes relaxing. ..sometimes driving ...sometimes cooking ...sometimes pottering in garden ...so no 🙄
Do you drink de-caff tea /coffee? Caffeine is a trigger, it's also in some fizzy drinks.
Think what chemicals you may be consuming, or putting on your body like deodorant, body lotion, make up. I feel there's a simple cure for you, we just have to find it. Chemicals in newly bought clothing, bedding, plastic framed windows.
Artificial sweeteners were my trigger.
I agree with john6 that the brain can work against us sometimes. I had bouts of ectopics after my second vaccine - same time of late afternoon every day. I wasn't aware of any physical reason for the timing so I assumed I was triggering them by being aware that it was late afternoon. Distraction may possibly help.
Never one to say no to shopping ! Lol But yes thank you for that idea
Maybe John has a point there. I understand the brain can controlThe heart so maybe each day you may be waiting for it to happen at that time and it does. I used to
Get the same thing in the afternoon. Since my meds have been increased it doesn’t happen. Maybe have a word with your cardio as it’s a daily occurance. Horrible for you.
If only there were answers as to why? 😍
Now I would say that only women can multi task but I will resist the temptation lol
My wife knows not to ask me to accompany her to the shops or walks between 09.00 and 12.00 as it's my personal time with my palps and ectopics.
They will suddenly stop for a few weeks and return again in the evenings on a regular time.
Its has nothing to do with foods or drinks. It just does that to irritate me.
Your anticipatory stress & anxiety levels are kicking in each day just before 5 I feel. Adrenaline & cortisol is a main trigger for afib. Your waiting for it to happen and it dutifully arrives every day. Got to be your thought patterns, so I agree with the others, distraction is the key, and easy said than done I know but try to find a way to stop worrying. Good luck x
A couple of long shots here…
Do you suffer with acid reflux (possibly undiagnosed)? Maybe with an empty stomach and high acid levels around 5pm could it be irritating your vagal nerve? Treatment with the appropriate PPI could help?
Also, food with sweeteners in, multi vitamins or meal replacement / protein shakes / bars have irritated my condition in the past.
I was taking omeprozole for months for gastritis . I stopped in march as felt they interfered with the absorption of the verapmil ...and also the gastritis had cleared up . ..I still to this day think that the gastritis triggered the afib events which started at end of January .
Interesting what you said regarding stomach issues though and irritation of the vagal nerve
I went through a 12 + month spell of sinus rhythm all way through my sleep, but 5 minutes after waking up I would start with the ectopics which would eventually progress into a afib episode.!!! I told my EP about this and he looked puzzled and said that’s very strange and he didn’t recall hearing anyone else tell him this. It lasted 12 +months and was getting me down. I also wore a wrist monitor at night. but Soon as I woke I would sit up in bed get my cardialive ECG monitor and record my ectopics getting closer and longer and then finally into AFIB. I printed them all off in day order and took them with me for my next appointment with the cardiologist. He started looking through the 3 foot high pile of ECGs and couldn’t explain why this was happening nearly every morning at the same time for so long.? It finally stopped happening and it’s never happened since. It’s saved me loads of paper too.
Low blood sugar? When is the meal before? Try eating a banana about 4-15pm.
I was wondering about low blood sugar too. There have certainly been cases recorded of low bs triggering AF in people with diabetes . And you don't have to be diabetic to have low blood sugar.
Low blood sugar makes me feel awful. Sometimes I get it immediately after dinner . I feel nauseous , weak and sweat profusely . It wears off in about 15 -20 mins once my food starts getting through.
I used to get extreme low blood sugar reaction pre-menstrually before the menopause, as you describe - dizzy, sweaty and shaky till I had eaten something starchy. Cutting out all refined foods and having enough protein really helped.
I eat a banana at 10 am and then a bowl of muesli at 11am ...and don't eat again till around half 5 when I have a couple of rice cakes ans then Wat dinner around half 6 ..usually salmon or chixken with lots of veg ..and live yog and fruit for pudding
Are you taking a magnesium supplement? Are you sure you are getting enough protein in your diet? Where are the healthy fats ? You are only eating one real meal a day. It is maybe not a coincidence that your attacks are coming just before that meal when your body will be short of nutrients. You could try adding some nuts to the rice cakes and some more fruit to give potassium. Your diet seems very restricted.
Yes I'm going to look at me diet again and start eating in the afternoon ....I have gastritis so I can't eat large meals ....but will think on what you've said Thank you ☺
Ann I had gastritis and had to give up the Cs. Cheese, chianti or red wine., cream, citrus fruit. Took a year of this to cure it.
It may be like some here have mentioned. You are getting anxious waiting for it to happen and then it does. I have anxiety and a little can really wreak havoc. You don't even realize you're getting anxious but your body does and the heart does. I think the suggestions here are good. Try to not think about it. Find something to deter your mind from it. Try deep breathing exercises to relax. Hope you will find a resolution. Just listening to all the great people here helps so much. Many have been living with this for a long time so they know what works for them and what might help someone else. Hang in there.I'm in Florida. The hurricane season has started. And it makes me very anxious. 😵
Just read your post about your eating. I agree with Auriculaire. Maybe eat more?
Thank you for your msg ...it's difficult with the eating as i suffer with gastritis so a lot of foods are off the menu .Wow ...beautiful florida. ..Yes ..you must be very anxious with the onset of hurricane season ...
Oh I'm sorry. I didn't know about your gastritis. And someone here did mention and you replied back about that being a trigger. Darn. Can you eat small meals through the day? Always something isn't it. But you will conquer it with all the good advice here. Oh yes the start of every June is the beginning of hurricane season and lasts til the end of November. Sometimes it lasts longer. Depends on what Mother Nature decides and she's been pretty mean with all the bad weather in the USA lately. Fires, floods, tornadoes. You name it. We've got it. 😝
Do take care and be safe. Wish you well on your journey to being more well.
Thank you for your kind words ...people on this forum offer amazing support and knowledge ...and from all parts of the world which is wow to me you must.live on anxiety and.forever watching rhe weather reports where you are ...for fear of mother nature destroying your home ....In the. Part of the uk i am just outside London our weather is pretty averahe. ..no.exstremes. ..if we get a bit of snow our country grinds to halt !
Can I move there!lol. Oh there are parts of the USA in the south where it stays warm all year. But occasionally it can get cold enough to snow and you have to know how to drive in the snow. For example Texas had really cold weather last winter which of course is not the norm. And there was lots of snow. And lots of car accidents. Areas like that don't have equipment and such to deal with snow and ice. But then some people have no common sense these days to stay home when they don't know how to drive in snow. But in all fairness, even in the parts of the country that do have cold and snow and ice every winter, there are always the ones without common sense and there are still accidents. 😒I'm trying to not get too anxious about the hurricanes. I pray a lot. 😔
Take care.
Could it be you are getting exhausted by 5.p.m Sleep is important with A.F.
My EP told me that when your body starts to slow down in the evening the signals are weaker and it's easier for the "alternate/extra" signals to sneak in.
Did he give you any tips to try and stop it from.happening ?
No, your body has to calm down in the evening. In my case I try to keep a good schedule, circadian rhythm is a important for all this. I workout, but of course talk to your doc about that. Meditation is a must imo. Minerals can get flushed if you over drink water as some have mentioned on here, however, if you're on a beta blocker, you have to be careful adding minerals, they can interfere, but that doesn't seem to be your problem.I would expect a diet that doesn't make you tired (overdoing carbs) would help, imo protein is most important, followed by staying under the threshold where carbs spike your glucose too much, then adding the rest in fats to meet your calorie needs. I know you can do an OGTT test to find out more about your carb tolerance, but I'm not sure how it works, guess my doc should be able to help with that. I'm in the process of refining my diet and going to doc for this is the next step. I guess ablation could be a solution, but I don't know the long term effects of it or if there are studies on it and my doc thinks I'm too young for it at 47.
I was told the younger you have an ablation the better the chances of a good result . Nd im 53 so im eeally hoowdul .I'm now on the nhs waiting list for the procedure bur the waiting list time is 6 to 8 months so desperately seeking solutions to regain some QOL in the meantime .I eat very healthy ...so diet is not a issue ...I can't work out like I used as I have afib evwey day .. but I'm trying to stay as active as I can as being as fit as I can is good for me mentally as well as physically
I do practice meditation every day ...always have done for 30 years now
53 is young! I figured that younger would be better, we should be able to recuperate better. I'll have to ask EP about repercussions of ablation. This is relatively new to me and if I can keep it at bay without operation and maybe even drop the meds at some point, then I wont do it. However, if it turns out to be permanent, I'm strongly inclined for ablation, if long-term consequences are not too bad.
53 isn't feeling very young at the moment !Yes ...if I can get my afib under control I would put ablation on a bsck burner as any procedures carried out on the heart scares the life out of me .. but having tried various cocktails of meds nothing seems to control my heart rhythm ...only the rate 🙄
You got this, just keep working on it with your doc and don't fear the procedure. My understanding is that on first try it's +70% effective and if second needed it's +90% effective. If I could get rid of this I'd do it twice without much thought.
I thought I read on this forum that the certain aFIB beta blockers caused it. That is if you take one in the morning and one at night (even half twice a day) by about late arvo early evening this can happen. It was my experience on Sotalol so after reading that I switched to one a day Bisoprolol (mornings) and thankfully that 4-6pm symptom disappeared. Worth asking your EP if you are taking meds for arrhythmia if it’s the beta blockers
Think about something you may feel is unrelated but that you do or have each day. Mine turned out to be fluoride, ( toothpaste, mouthwash etc. ) And ethanol, ( cough syrups and lozenges ). Then would start AF after 2 hours. Keep a diary of routine things.