Triggers

[Electricblue1]

Hi all , thanks to everyone who answered me re flu vaccine. I’m interested to know what triggers people have , I had some cake two days on the trot and have been in AFIB now for 24 hours also high heart rate. I’m sure it was that the only other thing I had was decaf green tea. I’m week 7 post ablation. Any advice or other peoples triggers I would love to hear about. Thank you.

[BobD Volunteer]

Ha yes looking for triggers. The way to madness as my EP told me. I don't think there was a single food or drink that I didn't blame at some time in my early days. You have AF therefor you will have AF but good luck looking.

Obviously one should avoid ibuprofen, caffeine, alcohol and excess sugar and of course MSG but probably the mosty common thing is aspartame (artificial sweetner) which is the devil's spawn and should have been banned years ago. Stay well hydrated.

[Electricblue1 in reply to BobD]

Thank you, i guess it’s all trial and error.

[jeanjeannie50]

Very soon after eating a slice of cake, the jungle drums used to start up in my chest. I must admit it hasn't done that lately though. Artificial sweeteners are also a sure trigger.

Jean

[Electricblue1 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Thank you, I should probably leave the cake alone 😊.

[Griffin9]

I kept a food diary for months and found nothing, or everything, depending how you looked at it. The only trigger I could see was time. I had AF roughly every four weeks.

[Electricblue1 in reply to Griffin9]

Hi, thank you, I wonder what was happening around the four week mark , did you link it to anything? .

[Griffin9 in reply to Electricblue1]

No, it was just a time based thing.

[CDreamer]

As AF can be linked to gastric issues and some people are sensitive to some foods and drinks and certainly many are sensitive to sugar and gluten. Cake, biscuits, bread will be the worst combination with both gluten and sugar.

I can have coffee of the ‘right’ sort without AF but these days it does raise my HR. I am careful about what I eat and try to stay with 80% plant based in my diet.

The biggest triggers for me were eating too quickly, any activity after a meal, Sleep Apnea and sleep deprivation, stress and exceeding my exercise limits.

In the end though, whilst you may have triggers it is as BobD says, chasing them can be the way to madness and I well remember him saying to me, which I ignored of course only to find out that he was correct when you obsess about it. I stick to the 80-20 rule - the odd bit of what you fancy does you good but it should be a rare treat. I was very strict with myself for over 2 years - no dairy, no gluten, no sugar, reduced meat, increased raw plant based foods, sleep and exercise and I did feel a LOT better in myself - AF still returned - but I was much better placed to deal with it.

[Electricblue1 in reply to CDreamer]

Hi, do you know why gluten? , I try and stick to sourdough bread, not sure if that’s good .Lack of sleep definitely sets me off and stress, I’ve had to try really hard to ignore the stress as I have problems with someone in the household.

I would love to go plant based but I never know what to cook.

I have not got back to exercise yet but I intend to.

Thank you.

[BlueINR]

I would suggest going to the ER, or at the very least, calling your cardiologist. Afib with a high heart rate should be treated.

[Electricblue1 in reply to BlueINR]

Hi thank you, it’s very confusing because my cardiologist told me to just ride the episodes out , I can’t take any extra pills as told me not to whilst I’m recovering from ablation.I’ve been told by paramedics to call ambulance so I don’t know what to do for the best.

[BlueINR in reply to Electricblue1]

I would get an opinion from another cardiologist, preferably an electrophysiologist. As I said, afib is not a lethal arrhythmia, but it can turn into one. Everytime I've been in afib, paramedics have taken me to hospital and hospital admits me. I'm sure they wouldn't have done that if this was something that I could just wait and ride it out. People don't get put in hospital beds, and ins doesn't improve a hospital stay to ride out afib.

I'm uncomfortable with what your doc is telling you, and think you should seek a second opinion. Unless your doc knows exactly what's going on with you, it sounds awful for doc to tell you "ride it out." I think "riding it out" is terrible advice. He sounds like he's burnt out.

I don't think there is a pill to prevent afib. Ablation is probably the best treatment, though you can still have some episodes in the 3-4 months post-ablation.

[Electricblue1 in reply to BlueINR]

Hi , I’m week 8 post ablation and I’ve had about 12 occasions where I’ve had either high heart rate or AFIB , last one lasted 30 hours.My cardiologist said whilst I’m healing it’s best not to take extra pills , I’m due to have a call on 10th January so I’ve got plenty of questions for him plus I really want to get off all the meds as side effects are affecting me too much.

[needlestone]

Wheat/gluten, aspartame and sucralose are mine. Almost immediate effect with kicking off trouble with heart. I must be diligent to avoid these triggers. I had an ablation in 2016 and still had trouble until a naturopathic doctor told me to go gluten free and it worked. I figured out the artificial sweeteners on my own. To this day if I get anything with wheat in it I get a reaction. Cake would be full of wheat and commercially prepared drinks often have artificial sweeteners if they say no or zero sugar.

[Electricblue1 in reply to needlestone]

Hi , I wonder why wheat? Does that include all bread I wonder.I bought a simple salad from m and s and with in 10 minutes I was in AFIB episode.

I’m ok with one piece of cake but it became a bit of a habit with the coffee ( decaf) .

Thanks for the advice.

[needlestone in reply to Electricblue1]

Fortunately there are plenty of gluten/wheat free breads. I don’t miss out. Most are made with rice flour. Check the salad dressings ingredient list. It may contain wheat or was there any croutons on it? My reaction is almost immediate too. If I accidentally get something that contains wheat before leaving the restaurant I’m in trouble. Otherwise my heart stays in rhythm without any meds. Our wheat is now Frankinwheat genetically modified. I don’t fully understand the food mechanism cause but it is very real for me at least.

[tunybgur]

Hi,

My experience of triggers:

Phenylephrine hydrochloride, this is one of the active ingredients of most common cold and flu remedies, very effective decongestant but unfortunately a well known AF trigger, avoid.

Liquorice, avoid.

All mentioned above by previous respondents, esp. caffeine.

Excessive exercise, exercise is essential and good for you, but overdoing it will trigger AF in many people.

Stress....that's the biggy for me, difficult to avoid all the time, the worry and depression slowly drip drips adrenaline into the system and causes poor sleep etc etc.

My solution is to start doing something to take my mind off it, gardening, shopping, cooking....anything to keep you mentally occupied.

Good luck

[Electricblue1 in reply to tunybgur]

Thank you, I was warned off any over the counter cold meds for that reason.I have decaf coffee now but not sure if that’s any better.

Stress is hard but I’m learning slowly to just avoid the people that cause me stress but anxiety is a hard one , I’ve had anxiety all my life and sometimes it’s so hard to control it.

I read lots of self help books but I guess it’s just control of thoughts that can control it,

[BlueINR]

It never occurrred to me to connect afib episodes with food eaten. Since my understanding of afib is that the signals in the heart are triggering the wrong nodes, I don't see how food could play a part in it. I think it is a functional disorder in the heart. Don't see how food could do anything to that.

[JOY2THEWORLD49 in reply to BlueINR]

i agee. lots of reading material on it being linked to thyroid hormones.

try calcium channel blocker diltiazem it worked within hours. it prevents calcium from getting into the muscles of the heart.

when i think i had calcium grouping in my breast, i had papillary cancer of thyroid (undiagnosed) at the time of stroke and had A.F found.

Read all about A.F.

Take Care