Has our forum seen this animated anatomy of the heart and the Vagal nerve connection?
I was not able to embed the video...Sorry.
Please search YouTube for "Why does eating food or drinking alcohol trigger Atrial Fibrillation AF?"
Good health to us all.
Thank you for the video. It was very interesting and gave a good explanation as to the connection between the stomach and the heart affecting the vagus nerve.
Food didn't trigger my AF but I wonder whether this is why obesity is a factor in AFib.
Actually, I found it quite good as a lesson in anatomy, what goes where!
Fascinating, thanks for sharing the video
Thanks for this. Education is the best remedy in many spheres, and especially in understanding how to try to manage our AF.
Is this the link: m.youtube.com/watch?v=XtW7_...
Thank you all for the links. it just didn't work for me.Whilst I'm here, has anyone brought on an AFib episode after eating an onion or other high FODMAP foods, in addition to coffee, alcohol, chocolate - such as legumes, red fruit etc. ?
Good luck to us in managing optimistic and active.
That was truly fascinating. A cardiologist I saw when I was young and was having strange chest clicking sounds and ectopic beats from my chest area, showed me on my X-ray how my heart was physically pressing against my diaphragm which, itself, had been pushed upwards naturally by air in my stomach and intestines. I also had IBS and "slow transit" (like constipation) which further pushed my stomach upwards. He said that it was this physical effect (rather than vagal irritation) that was sparking off my ectopic beats. Roll forward 40 years and I'm now 68 and those ectopic beats trigger ocasional afib.
I asked my current cardiologist what he thought of his colleague's old explanation. He wasn't sure but he did say that it seemed more likely than the idea of vagal "irritation" since that was a rare thing and something that, he explained, would lead to bradycardia rather than to the ectopic beats and tachycardia that often precede afib.
I'd love to ask this doctor what he thinks about this. I'll see if there's a comment thread on his Youtube video.
Thanks again for finding and posting this.
Steve
Hi Saul. I can't find much online about this but there are a few medical reports and it makes complete sense. The idea of vagal irritation is clearly very popular but, as I say, my own cardiologist was not convinced.
While you're here, look at what my trusty Kardia 6L produced for me last night. Thank goodness for bisoprolol is what I say. I decided to pay the extra monthly fee to get the advanced Kardia analysis.
Steve
Hi Steve. Thanks for that. Yes, definitely AF, as your Kardia diagnosed.How long did it go on for and did you up your normal prescription to get back to NSR?
Please remind me if you're on a PIP or daily regimen.
Did you have an ablation before ?
Saul
I don't take anything regularly apart from rivaroxaban, but I do have some 2.5mg bisoprolol tablets which my GP told me to take on an as-needed basis. Up until recently this was only for the mild tachycardia I have been getting since last November. This has now developed into AF, sadly.
I did see my EP cardiologist back in May and had a 14-day Zio monitor but, at that time, all it caught was some tachycardia, bradycardia, ectopic beats and "brief afib like activity"). He said at the time that a PIP beta-blocker wouldn't be worthwhile as it would take over half an hour to begin working by which time the brief afib was over.
Unfortunately, the afib has worsened since then, this past couple of months. Last night's episode lasted a couple of hours. The maximum pulse (coming in short runs as the graph shows, was about 120 bpm). I was grateful it wasn't higher. I felt comfortable enough during it, really.
Steve
Hi Steve. I was on 25mg Flecainide, but it was not that effective. Two days so I stopped it and will try the PIP approach: 50mg Flecainide and 1.25mg Bisoprolol. I don't tolerate the Bisoprolol well because I am low pulse/low BP.
How frequent are your episodes?
I now get three or so episodes per month, lasting 3-4 hours.
My HR is also around the 120 BPM when I'm in AF and 56 and under at rest.
Saul
I wondered how a compression fracture of the T8 vertebrae would affect AF - such a fracture reduces the room for the stomach and other organs. I suffered such a fracture due to osteoporosis and could have had a procedure caused by the fracture with a cement like substance that compensates for the lost space in the spine. I refused this rightly or wrongly, as the spine is such an unpredictable piece of our anatomy. Now I cannot each less easily digestible foods or large meals without my HR increasing rapidly - once it get to 100BPM I take 1,25 mg Bisoprolol but I have avoided AF mostly. Has anyone else had a similar experience please?
Large meals are known to be a trigger for some AFib sufferers. Have you looked at intolerance to certain foods: e.g. high FODMAP in my case?
monashfodmap.com/ibs-centra...
The App is free to download.
Thank you for this, I will explore it further, my daughter in Law, all though she does not practise, has a degree in dietetics, so she could assist. I did discover some months ago I was intolerant to fruit. I live in a country where a large variety is available all year round, and I always had a selection with oats for breakfast. Suddenly I found myself developing cramps and flatulence,so I stopped eating it. just had oats or another cereal and plain yoghurt and the discomfort stopped. I have no problem with vegetables, so I assumed I had developed intolerance to fructose !
Fructose is not too bad on a low FODMAP diet.This is a list of low and high FODMAP foods.
If you have an irritable bowel you want to stay low FODMAP.
Thank you, The only dairy I eat is yoghurt and cheese, better cut back on those addictions!
...only if you suffer from an irritable bowel...
Super helpful. Thanks for posting 😊
Interesting video Saulger 🙂 thank you.We are told obesity contributes to AF, it is logical that if there is excess fat and less 'room' in the body more pressure is regularly applied to the vagus nerve particularly after eating.
Thank, Very interesting
What an interesting video - thank you. I think another influence that has not been mentioned is both posture and core strength. Looking at the animation, I'm sure that improving both could reduce the interaction/interference between the nerves of the gut and the heart.
This is a really interesting video that I think everyone should check out. Many thanks for posting it.
vagus nerve
Vagus nerve
Vagus nerve
