Hi - I am 48 and in good health. I have been on Xarelto (Rivaroxaban) for about 6 years. I have been in persistent A-fib since November 2021. Since 2016 have had 5 cardioversions and 2 ablations - my afib is most likely caused by stenosis of my aorta and mitral valves (just stressing the point that my afib has not been triggered by unhealthy lifestyle!).
So the question is - over the last 18 months I have noticed I have become increasingly sensitive to gluten. It seems to work in thresholds - so if I have one sandwich I don't notice it. But if I have bread at lunch and then a pizza or pasta in the evening I will sleep badly and wake up feeling horrendously bloated.
This is something easy to manage and not life or death (I am not Italian) - but I am very surprised at how rapidly my reaction to gluten has changed and wonder if its linked to the medicine.
But there are few other things about my physiology that have changed as rapidly in the last 2 years!
Written by
Jonathan_C
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Perhaps it maybe useful to read about the Vagal Nerve. This for me can be a trigger for an AF event after certain types of food and/or food ingredients. Many writers on this forum can link food/ ingredients/ vagal nerve and AF.
After a long time I eventually consulted a Nutritionist ( Dietician).
Purely observational as there is nothing scientific here, but maybe it is an age thing.
My (much younger) wife who this month started getting her pension has recently found that eating a whole sandwich at lunchtime (two slices of brown with a filling) causes her considerable bloating. Problem seems to build over time and reduces for a short while if bread is avoided. She is also vegetarian and has been for 30 +years.
Gluten sensitivity is mostly to do with gut micro biome - which does decline with age. Try eating different types of bread - rye for instance has the lowest amount of gluten. Wholemeal with seeds help but most of all avoid all processed, white sliced, supermarket breads which often contain fillers and don’t always use good quality wheat.
If you must eat white bread - stick to good quality sourdough. It actually has a taste.
Have a test for coeliac disease. My daughter aged 50ish found her general health was deteriorating and was treated for menopause but happened to mention to doctor that she had had a genetic blood test by an ancestry firm which showed a marker for coeliac disease. So after thorough testing it turns out she does have it, her vit D levels were ‘catastrophically low’ affecting her bone density. Yet she only had mild bloating.
It can be genetic or develop with age (40 - 60) or as a reaction to stress and does huge damage to the body so safest not to assume ‘sensitivity’ but have a blood test if you can.
A test for coeliac disease, can be done by your GP. Your reaction to pasta can be a hint as durum wheat used in pasta has a high gluten content and of course bread flour is much higher than cake flour - not suggesting you eat more cake 😂
Gluten found in a lot of mass produced bread contributes to gastric issues which in turn can via the Vagus Nerve contribute to AF. This subject is a classic case where action to reduce AF (ie reduce gluten) can benefit the body much more than in one way. I have cut gluten around 80% particularly reducing bread; the bread I do eat regularly is artisan produced gluten free, which I buy on-line.
Thanks to everyone for their replies. Since I have been in persistent A-fib I have had to watch what I eat closely just to avoid gaining weight. I think this is due to a combination of how my body is changing right now and how a-fib affects the kind of exercise I can do.
To me the easiest way not to gain weight without starving is to reduce or cut out anything with gluten in it - and when I do that I feel (what seems to be) disproportionately better than when I don't pay attention.
This vagal nerve - a-fib and diet link makes sense.
I also think there are thresholds involved - e.g. two slices of bread will go unnoticed, but a third slice will bring problems.
It's just a thought but are you sure this is gluten induced rather than some other cause such as altered gut motility causing increased fermentation and gas production? I gather true gluten allergy is far rarer than people believe to be the case.
I have slow motility caused by a” redundant colon” so need to take prunes and prune juice each day. I really believe that the motility of the gut causes more troubles than doctors realise.
As we get older our digestive systems change. There is a very strong link between the gut and the heart. Try going totally gluten free for a few months and see what effect that would have on your Afib.Good luck..
The blood test I had for this was negative, which doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have cealiacs. My gp said they wouldn’t send me for the invasive test, and because I felt better by not eating it, just avoid it! So am I cealiacs or not? 🤷♀️ I must admit, I can tolerate good quality sourdough bread to a certain degree.
There are a lot of good answers here but I do want to add that our wheat has been altered is such a way it is almost undigestible. I suffered with Migraines for years with no help from doctors. I kept hearing about a book called Wheat Belly. So Sneaky me got the audio book so that my husband could also hear what the dr. Had to say about wheat. It was an eye opener. We discovered wheat is in almost everything. Like you noticed, some is okay more is not. After we were done listening to the advise in the book we decided to give it a try. We cut out all grains, wheat, oats, rye, and barley. The side effect was we lost a lot of weight and most if not all inflammation went away. I noticed that I didn’t have a migraine and I haven’t had one since we went grain free. However, I never linked the grains to AFIb. So I would say oh a little wheat won’t hurt but I have been having increased episodes of Afib. BTW, wheat has a similar chemical composition to MSG, which always gave me a migraine. One doesn’t have to have celiac to have a sensitivity to wheat and in fact all grains. I have added back a little rice and a little oats but only once in a while. I do recommend Dr. Davis second book called Wheat Belly total health. he lays it all nicely.
It’s amazing what foods do contain gluten - soy sauce anybody? My poor daughter is finding out the hard way, so many foods beside pasta and pizzas are out. Cornmeal is gluten free of course as long as not processed with wheat.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Here we go again!
Paroxysmal Atrial Fib not converting. 
Cardioversion - preparation and aftercare - advice please!
Getting Off Blood Thinners after ablation
seeking info.
