Hi , anyone know if this can disappear as fast as it turned up please , just wondering and obviously hoping 😊
Just so you know I’m not taking this lightly, on blood thinners , losing weight eating well etc although not a lot of exercise as I feel drained 🤷🏻♀️ But trying 😊
Life style changes can definitely reduce AF burden and it has been reported that in some cases to the point that abalation was considered unnecessary .
G'day Hazel,Yes it can. How long for is the £64m question. Also be careful that if it appears to disappear that you aren't asymptomatic. That is you are still in AF but aren't experiencing the symptoms.
John
Thank you 😊
Looking at the replies it seems you're asking if the condition disappears rather than an individual episodes. Because those can indeed disappear fast if we're lucky. I used to wonder the same as you - seems to have come out of nowhere so why not leave the same way? But as you dig deeper and find out more about the condition, what many of us find is that aspects of lifestyle and lack of self care led to a situation in which AF could develop.
Can we reverse that? Occasionally people report that they can - it's usually with lone AF and lifestyle changes. I bet a lot of us here tried really hard with this - I know I did - but sometimes things have gone too far to actually reverse the condition forever. Absolutely worth doing the lifestyle changes though as any medication or other interventions more likely to keep things at bay if you do.
And on your good days you'll notice you'll feel better than before.
Everybody's experience is different obviously, this has been mine.
Hi there, Hazel. I should think we all have had a similar question. I doubt anyone could answer it meaningfully but partly it will depend on why you had your attack of AF.
Have you had any heart scans and did they show anything meaningful? AF is usually accompanied by other things such as age, weight, hypertension, heart issues, sleep apnoea, diabetes and not being in the best physical condition (or the opposite, excessive endurance exercising).
Steve
Hi Hazel, it sounds as though you are doing some of the right things to alleviate your AF. If you are committed to making lifestyle changes (and it sounds as though you are) then I can really recommend the book "The Afib Cure" by John D. Day and T. Jared Bunch. They are two highly experienced Electrophysiologists (EPs) in the States who give masses of sensible advice on how to deal with AF and improve your chances of minimizing the condition. I've read it twice and am trying to follow as much of the advice as possible and I believe it has helped me enormously. Hope it helps you if you decide to obtain it, Steve.
I once upon a time had over eight months with no sign of the dreaded AF happening, and got quite complacent. Sadly, this doesn't last, and often another session begets more sessions soon after.
Yes, it can disappear, with some people and lifestyle changes it can disappear for years, but it can always come back.
☹️
I don't think I can add much to the excellent balanced replies you have already had. It is 7 years since my diagnosis of Lone PAF and having gleaned a lot of information since then, I can summarise by saying the challenge is taking on a lot of information to put you in a position to make subjective decisions for YOU (the individual) on lifestyle, drugs, ablation and how to make it disappear completely. I would have loved to have gone down the Alternative Practitioner/lifestyle change route but in the face of many episodes in a month , I went for a combination of drugs and l/s changes.
Getting back to your question, I am pretty sure in many cases AF arises from years of poor choices and to get it to disappear one can expect it to take a similar amount of time. With the added complication that it has to be stopped asap to avoid risks of further complications.
Keep going!
Hi Hazel 😀 it depends what you mean by 'disappear' and how many episodes you have had. I would say AF can become dormant.
I had what I now now recognise as an episode many years ago after digging up a tree stump.
I went into the house to prepare lunch for my son who was popping over and had a really bad but short episode of AF lasting about 10 minutes the full works breathless/faint/sweaty/rapid heart rate. I put it down to over exertions and the heat .
I forgot about it for many years. I then had a couple more not as bad 'funny episodes' which I though nothing of until finally I started getting more frequent episodes.
My episode of fast AF are very symptomatic so I am aware of them... or thought I was until I was asked to record my blood pressure daily. I was shocked to find the BP monitor was picking up short episodes of not very fast AF . Checking my pulse confirmed that.
AF is unpredictable, I would never be sure once you have had it, it can go away forever.
I've had continuous AF for a few years. At first I became breathless on mild exertion, but over time that eased, and now I'm barely troubled by it. I did endurance exercise for decades, which may have brought about the AF. But that athletic background may be a factor in my low resting heart rate (less than 60) and yet being able to reach 160 bpm on a static bike.
It is difficult to answer your question. However, I went for years with episodes of "palpitations" every couple of months which lasted 1 or 2 hours and they stopped without any medical intervention. Eventually, they became more frequent and I had to seek medical help.
My husband had one episode of AF this reverted spontaneously on the way to his first anticoagulant appt! He was offered no follow up. 15 years later with no lifestyle changes ( though I try with mainly healthy diet!) he told me he thought he was having another episode.(2012) This never resolved. Since then has permanent AF on warfarin but two other heart conditions preceded this. No specific symptoms apart from low exercise tolerance these days
Hi Hazel, sorry this has ended up being really long! But your question is exactly what I've been pondering over and working on of late... I would say you absolutely can get rid of Afib attacks or at least reduce them dramatically, if, like me, you have no underlying conditions, score zero on the CHADS risk of stroke scale, have normal BP, cholesterol, bloods, thyroid, etc AND if you know how you developed the condition in the first place. It sounds like you might be classed as having 'lone Atrial Fibrillation' as well. During an episode, I personally only feel the crazy heart dancing but nothing else. Then I am exhausted afterwards.
I asked a question on this website and was so helped by the responses because I was very concerned and anxious. I felt extremely grateful. I suddenly had six days in a row of episodes (lasting up to three and a half hours) after only ever having them rarely (maybe every three months at the most and always the day after drinking a lot of alcohol). Every time I have had an attack it has been after a heavy drinking night. I was on holiday when this last six-day stream of events happened but I realised I was immersed in a sea of 'triggers'! I was stressed because of travel problems, dehydrated, hot, obligation to exert by carrying heavy luggage, taking public transport for the first time from place to place, eating heavier meals than normal, eating food I don't normally eat like very rich and sugary items, and eating later than normal and...drinking more then normal!
Crucially, and something I said in my original post was that this time the initial alcohol trigger seemed to set off reactions from lesser triggers like eating heavy meals late at night etc. But for me, when I got home, I went back to my normal routine and researched a lot, taking advice from this brilliant website and reading up. I read The Afib Cure which Snookersteve kindly recommends in this thread, but I actually found it too large a dose of 'doom and gloom'! They paint terrifying pictures like you can suddenly die if you have lots of fizzy drinks and then a big plate of pasta (not that combination but another similar!). They even quote a statistic (surely questionable?) that a quarter of people who receive a new diagnosis of Afib will be dead within a year!! I'm sure that must be folk with very serious underlying conditions but they don't say that!! I found the much shorter but positive book, 'Beat Afib' by Lisa M White to be of greater benefit to me personally. Perhaps that is down to the fact that I have lone Afib.
Anyway, I am turning 60 next year and have put back in place, nay ramped up, my daily regimen. I am ensuring I don't suddenly exert myself physically, walking much more (trying for 10k steps a day but often falling short as it takes a very long walk to reach that amount!), taking three classes of yoga and pilates, meditate daily, I don't eat meat, eat as few processed foods as possible, eat tons of vegetables, little sugar, small meals, very little refined flour, plenty nuts (excellent research I read saying that a handful of nuts alone can reduce chance of Afib by 18%), lots of herb teas and water, decaf coffee (Lavazzo for cafetière is good!) and decaf tea, daily magnesium, Hawthorn Berry, D3, and Co Enzyme Q10, and crucially no alcohol. Some friends and family have said how awful to have to 'sacrifice' so many enjoyable things. Well I have been doing this for two weeks with zero attacks and feel wonderful! I do not intend to follow this exact system forever as I know I could probably reintroduce a cup of coffee and reduce or stop the supplements for instance, but for now , to get myself back and for my heart to 'forget' about beating wildly, I'll stick to it (they do say 'Afib begets Afib' hence, I suppose, my six days in a row nightmare...). I do realise that my regimen may seem very 'middle class' and not doable for some and perhaps even a bit hippieish! But I was doing a lot of these things like meditation and stretch classes for a very long time.
So very good luck to you Hazel - I think you stand every chance of at least curbing the attacks considerably and seeing that some poor folk have constant Afib, even reducing the frequency of attacks will be life-changing. It does seem to me that if you are lucky enough to not have other conditions, the 'cure' or the reduction in attacks is down to what you DO with your body and what you DON'T DO. My Afib has been caused by decades of drinking and smoking (though I gave up smoking a while back). I know I am in a minority believing there is a possibility of experiencing the 'disappearance' of lone Afib and indeed a cardiologist I know said that treatment is always necessary, but I think it is worth a try to crack it on your own. If mine comes back, I will ask for a beta-blocker as a 'pill-in-the-pocket' to treat attacks as and when. And if they got worse, I would probably be put on an anti-arrhythmic and a beta-blocker to take daily. And if that isn't successful, medical procedures. But, I have everything crossed that I can tackle my persobnal strand of Afib without medical intervention and maybe you can too Hazel. Plus, as someone said, if you make lifestyle changes, the meds have a better chance of working.
Hi,
I came across your post and had the need to respond. You and I are part of a minority in taking supplements because most are not recommended by Doctors due to Pharma reps pushing meds , little experience in Supplements, and not many trials on Supplements.
I developed Afib after a strenuous exercise on an Elliptical machine. I don't eat meat, eat mostly healthy foods not processed, fruits and vegetables, don't smoke, etc. I suffered 24/7 with Afib for 2 months, had a CV procedure, and back in Afib 2 weeks later, The meds of Beta Blockers were killing me even more with no QOL (Quality of Life). I decided to do my own research so I went the Supplement path.
I spent the next 7 weeks in Afib until I woke up a few days later with a normal NSR. I didn't know how long it would last since I noticed on these posts that most people stated their Afib returned even after CV and Ablation procedures.
I also didn't suddenly exert myself physically, trying for 10k steps a day, eat as few processed foods as possible, eat tons of vegetables, small meals, very little refined flour, plenty nuts, lots of herb teas and water, decaf coffee and decaf tea, daily magnesium Taurate and Glycinate, Hawthorn Berry,, Vitamin D3 and C, and Co Enzyme Q10, and Wild Alaskan Fish Oil . It takes 8 weeks to show benefits. After that time I was Afib free! I have been doing this for 4 months now with zero attacks and feel wonderful! I intend to follow this exact system for at least a year to make sure my heart stays in rhythm. I believe these supplements have helped me but lowered the amount I was taking from 3 times a day to 2 times per day. I intend to stay on them for 6 months and try to take them once a day.
Thank you for posting your success with Supplements. We need more people to try the natural alternative way to get a larger trial outcome. My EP knew about my success and told me to keep doing what I am doing. I feel blessed for each day I am in NSR!
Brilliantly well done, Dee! So brave and sensible and committed. I wish you the absolute best of luck with your regimen - though it isn’t really luck..! I will be following your progress with keen interest and, I hope, mirroring it.
Thank you for your good wishes. The same to you too. Also, will look into the "Beat Afib" book you recommended. Good Luck to you!
Ah that sounds amazing that you’ve had such success with that so far. Can I ask - did you give up the meds cold Turkey? And then start the natural remedies? Or did you slowly come off the meds? Thanks
Hi,
Hope you are doing better. I saw your post and felt the need to respond.
I am happy to say I have been Afib free for over 2 years now. I credit NSR to my supplements. I did go cold turkey and started supplements while still in Afib.
I lessened the amounts of Eliquis over a few weeks to none but Sotalol from 120 mgs twice a day to 40 mgs. since 120 mgs. did not help my Afib. Hawthorn Berry acts like a blood thinner so not advised to take with Eliquis. The Magnesium Taurate helps with heart rhythm. The others, like CoQ19. Wild Alaskan Fish Oil, Magnesium Glycinate etc. all keep me in NSR. I guess it depends on what an individual's problem is.
I had high BP for 20 years so I always remained on BP meds. I stayed on 40 mgs of Sotalol only because it helped keep my BP normal. 40 mgs of Sotalol does not really have any effect on heart rhythm. I have not had one episode since.
I hope this helps. I followed "Natural Alternatives to Afib" but I can't recall the name of the author.
Good luck and stay well!
Dee
I have been told by my doctors that apart from singular events caused by various medical or environmental factors—AF is a progressive condition. Those cells in your heart that make up the tissues that carry electrical charges contain very special characteristics. Over time, due to life’s wear and tear (stress, alcohol, exertion, drugs, etc), some cells in your cardiopulmonary system (especially in the left atrium) start to develop the charge carrying capacity that would normally only be present in those special heart tissues. No cause is clinically proven for this cell conversion but most of us with AF are proof of the condition. This is why PVI is so commonly utilized as the “cure”. The procedure blocks those errant signals from the affected tissues in and around your pulmonary veins where they enter/exit the left atrium. I lived with PAF for over 5 years and tried to make it “go away” by various means, until it progressed to the point that my QOL bottomed out. I’m 6 months post PVI ablation. My advice to myself if I could go back, would be to have the ablation sooner (it was recommended early on by my doctors). All the best to you Hazel.
What is qol
it’s back…..
Citalopram & AF ?
How can AF get worse ?
AF and Stress
AF and drugs
