Diet and AF

[redpasta]

I had been suffering from AF in various forms, latterly persistent, for about 15 years. I had Mitral and Aortic Valve replacement surgery 10 years ago and two weeks ago I had Catheter Ablation. I have been in Sinus and feeling good since my Ablation, until last night.

I woke at about 3am in AF. It lasted for about 3 hours and now I'm back in Sinus.

I had been out for dinner the previous evening and stupidly eaten a pasta dish with Aubergines, Tomatoes and a tomato sauce. It was delicious.

Which brings me to my point. I have long suspected a link between eating Tomato and a bout of AF being triggered through the night. I have therefor avoided eating tomato for some considerable time. (I love tomatoes in all forms, even tomato sauce on chips)

I am currently investigating potassium as a possible link, particularly as a also suffer from Kidney Disease.

Does anyone have any experience of this or similar food connections, or even better a theory or two on any work arounds.

[Hidden]

G'day redpasta,

Noting your comments on kidney disease about which I have no knowledge, I would suggest to you that the culprit is more likely to be the vagal nerve. It is a significant nerve which acts like an information superhighway between the brain, heart and the digestive system. Try and see a diagram on how this nerve wanders through the body. It affects other organs to but especially heart and digestive system. Do recommend you read up on it. If it helps click on my user name and read some of my past posts on this topic. Many of us on here have this link between food and AF.

John

[redpasta in reply to Hidden]

Thanks carneuny I will have a look.

[CDreamer]

I think you are on the right track Aubergine, tomatoes & potatoes - many plants in the Nightshade group are certainly contraindicated for people with kidney dysfunction so I would think having tomato sauce on aubergine could well have been a factor.

There are certain compounds in all nightshade plants which can be of benefit but can also cause intolerances which could directly trigger vagal response. There have been a few threads over the years about this but as it doesn’t affect me I can’t remember the details. I only remember what my Dad couldn’t eat with kidney disease. Hopefully someone with more knowledge & experience may chip in.

Bummer isn’t it when you love those foods - it’s never the foods we hate we can’t eat!

[BRHow]

I eat a ton of tomatoes and that has never been a trigger. I can honestly say that I can never predict when AF is going to rear it’s nasty head. One time, For a whole year, I watched and paid attention to everything I put in my mouth. I took a detailed log. I’m being serious when I say I paid attention to everything. I have never found any correlation to what I ate, as to what put me in AF. Of course that’s with the exception to alcohol. Even then there were times when I drank way to much booze, and I never had an issue. But alcohol is definitely a trigger for me. There is no direct link to any specific foods putting me into AF, but that’s just me.

To be honest, I wish I could have found a food trigger. One time I ate chicken and mushroom fettuccine and I had a bad bout 45 min after. Made me never want to eat it again. A few weeks later I had the same dish just to see (plus I was craving it) and… nothing. I’ve proceeded to eat it 10 times since, and nothing.

It’s a weird thing we suffer from. I wish there was a clear cut answer to it.

Be well!

[secondtry]

I think it less what you eat but when, how much is eaten and how do you eat.

ie I eat early, light and minimal gluten in the evening and following gastro issues in the early AF and pre-AF days I try to eat much slower and chew well.

[needlestone]

It’s wheat/gluten for me every time. I can only have gluten free pasta. Also, look at what you drank that night. Did it contain artificial sweetener or alcohol? I no longer have episodes unless I have any of these ingredients. I’m on no meds either. I was fortunate to find these are my common triggers. I don’t have trouble with nightshades.

[blulla1]

Tomatoes never bothered me. You can read this for info regarding diet and AF. carrafibdietinfo.com/

[redpasta in reply to blulla1]

Hello blulla1. Thank you for the link.That is a scary article. Mr Carr seems to be advocating taking 5 times the manufacturers recommended dosage of Vitamin D supplement per day for five days then nothing for two days. I struggle to see the logic in creating a roller coaster of intake.

I do think his initial reasoning for the need for some Vitamin D supplement sounds reasonable.

I think I will try Vitamin D supplement at the recommended dosage.

The Vagus nerve crops up again.

[CDreamer in reply to redpasta]

There is quite a lot you can do for improving vagal tone - if you think that is a trigger but you do need to establish exactly what upsets you, if indeed it is food, & the only way I know of doing that for yourself is by keeping a very accurate food/symptom diary OR having a stool analysis. The Zoe app is just about to launch in the UK so maybe worth looking at?

Tracking your HRV (heart rate variability) doesn’t work when you are actually in AF though - but can give clues - it’s about the the heart/brain connection. See HeartMath site as they have done extensive research on this. heartmath.com/science/

I take VitD with K2 but split the dose Morning/evening & take a break for 2 days in every 7-10 days. It may help but there are so many things that could help. You really need to be your own investigator, do all you can of what is known to help and even then you may never know what your cause is, if indeed there is ever a cause as so many factors.

[redpasta in reply to CDreamer]

Thank you CDreamer, there is a lot of info to take in, but very interesting. I'm on Warfarin so Vitamin K for me is a no-no.

[CDreamer in reply to redpasta]

You need VitK to absorb VitD but correct me if I’ve got this wrong but isn’t it K3 not K2 that acts against Wafarin? When you get into this it gets complex and you should always run any supplement regime past a qualified professional - your GP, Pharmacist or qualified nutritionist. Always err on the side of caution.

I take Apixaban so I don’t need to worry about VitK at all.

[blulla1 in reply to redpasta]

I think the most important takeaway from his info is keeping calcium intake to a minimum, because of the role of calcium in the electrical activity of the heart. Just from a quick search yields --

"Calcium particles enter the heart muscle cells during each heartbeat and contribute to the electrical signal that coordinates the heart's function. Calcium particles also bind to machinery within the cell that helps the cell to squeeze together (“contract”), which makes the heart pump blood."

In any case, if you aren't comfortable trying out his suggestions, you shouldn't do it.

[socon]

Yes, I have noticed tomato sauce causing my heart to pound. I don't know if it's Afib or not, but have contacted my cardiologist to find out. I use to take Beta Blockers and once I got off, it's been horrible. It seems like all kinds of foods, tea, chocolate, etc are triggers. I keep a diary but once I feel like 'That's It" then I realize, no, it's just appears that way. Finding a correlation is tough. IF I think I've narrowed it down, then it proves me wrong.

I think the problem is my sympathetic nervous system and Vagal nerve. In 2015, I had a stressful event and I ended up in the ER where they gave me Beta Blockers. My heart would not stop beating like I was a race horse. I had never experienced it in my life until that day.

So, I got off of the Beta Blockers and will probably have to start taking them again. I've done extensive reading on the nervous system and the vagal nerve. I've tried all the maneuvers to stop the palpitations but nothing works but taking a Beta Blocker for me.

For me, it's not quality of life, trying to go without medication unfortunately. To travel or go out and not have the assurance that you'll get out of control palpitations is a fear in of itself which will contribute to the palpitations. A vicious circle.