Afib at night

[Cassag]

My afib always starts at night in the early hours. I wake up ,heart races and becomes afib. Has been suggested i may have brady/ tachycardia caused by low pulse when sleeping . Anyone else has this .

[NLGA]

always get it watching tv or in bed when my body is resting I walk 8 miles twice a week never get it then

[rosyG]

Sounds like me and may well be vagal AF If you can exercise a little more and make sure your potassium levels are in range it does help Look up potassium rich foods. This has helped me reduce episodes a lot!

[Cassag in reply to rosyG]

Thank you. Persistent a fib for last three months and sleepless nights . Along with this beta blocker causing low BP so have not been able to walk far. Having cardioversion this week so hoping I can get back to sinus rhythm and more normal life. Long waiting lists for sleep studies.

[rosyG in reply to Cassag]

Another point if it is vagal AF (do ok up al symptoms you canvasses) beta blockers are not used as can make it worse.There are alternatives,

[Threecats]

As well as RosyG’s suggestion above, which is a possibility, have you been screened for sleep apnoea.? What you describe is what used to happen to me and, in my case, sleep apnoea was the trigger for my nighttime AF episodes.

[mav7]

Not uncommon Cassag. Have read many experience the same, including myself Not necessarily racing, but rate higher,

If you have not, discuss with your doctor. May recommend a 24 hour medical monitor to get accurate reading and prescribe proper medication.

[CDreamer]

I had a lot of nocturnal AF which stopped after I was diagnosed and treated for Sleep Apnea - a major cause of AF.

Brady/Cardy would also do it. You need Sleep Apnea and Heart monitor tests to find out what is happening.

[Cassag in reply to CDreamer]

Problem at the moment is afib, drugs and racing heart make it hard to actually sleep .

[CDreamer in reply to Cassag]

So have you been tested for Sleep Apnea? Have you had a 24 monitor?

I found distraction helped as far a just sleeping whilst heart was manic by listening to audio books, it was white noise for the pulsatile titinus. I’m afraid it’s all part of the condition.

[Phyllishamlett]

I often get my AFib at night and I put it down to vagal response and overeating. Since the sensation keeps me awake, I take Ativan to sleep and when I wake up I'm in nsr. Am now cutting out evening snacking to see if there is a change. Will let you know.

[jhnm]

I used to get the same of a night so i changed my BP meds to late evening 11 ish but not the heart rate med and it stoped in my case i think it was BP going to high at night

[Rubymurray25]

I had the same symptoms and posted on this forum and someone suggested I might have sleep apnea so I went to my doctors and when failing the oral test was sent for a seep study and was found to have severe sleep apnea with 58 episodes an hour. Now sleep like a baby with my CPAP machine.

[LouBrig]

I have Afrib and which occurs at about 2am to 4am. I wake with an uncomfortable ache in the middle of my chest and HR of about 180bpm. My Apple Watch suggests my HR dropped really low at the point it commenced.

[Carolx]

Me 😏

Three times last night! Palpitations woke me at 3.40am, then 4.15am and 6.30am.

I have early DCM. I have had palpitations all my life. I think mine are vagal related.

I can hiccup or cough and that can start my palpitations off.

I too get more episodes at night. I’m on Ramipril and Diltiazem. Not helping sadly.

I have a loop recorder fitted. Hopefully this can answer some of my questions.

I’ve tried Bisoprolol and Nebivolol and OMG 😳 have never felt so ill. Palpitations much worse and made me feel so anxious.

It’s exhausting isn’t it.

I hope you get it sorted. 54 years of palpitations for me and they still can’t stop them 😏

Just gotta keep positive and carry on as best as you can.

Have a restful day if you can ☺️

[Tennisbud in reply to Carolx]

Have you tried any Magnesium Taurate to ease the palpitations? I had vagal af, had two ablations that didn’t work and had a mini maze on 3/1/2022. No af since the procedure. Started have pvcs, palps, etc, started taking the mag and I have almost none now. Also I’m off all heart meds, and no blood thinner since they clamped my laa!

[Carolx in reply to Tennisbud]

Good evening

No I haven’t tried that, but I have heard of it. Is it ok to take it with Ramipril and Diltiazem? I’ll have a little look online at this.

Thank you for the suggestion. I’ll try anything.

[secondtry]

You may just have mild sleep apnoea that your health service will not treat. I addressed this myself with Breathright Nasal strips and slower (6 per minute) breathing exercises when walking. Over the last 2 years I have added a lip strip at night as well. I believe this is the reason why I no longer wake up in the night with raised HR.

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[VinnyR]

Me too.

I suffer from sleep apnea and wonder if there is a link.

Good luck,

[Woodentopbox]

My wife has AF and has a low normal pulse and had been prescribed sotalol (a beta blocker that is designed to slow the heart). She has now been told by her cardiologist to stop taking sotalol as if the normal pulse is low i.e hers is around 48 - 49 it will not be effective however usually when in AF the pulse becomes fast and erratic so it is then I guess that a beta blocker would be advantageous.

[Peacefulneedshelp in reply to Woodentopbox]

I had that issue when younger. Due to a wrongly diagnosed prolapsed mitro valve. They put me on a beta blocker to take the pressure off the valve however my BP was extremely low anyway. After 12 years of that I had a horrible attack of Afib while running in the agility ring with my dog. I had no idea what was happening. I always thought the BP meds were to control the skipped heart beats I previously had. Why doctors don’t explains thing to have an educated patient I will never understand. Had the tests all over again, no prolapsed valve and no leaking valve. Fast forward to 2022 and now have a leaking valve again. It’s so confusing isn’t it? Back on beta blocker and now my BP was higher, so far no irregular heartbeats at all. It’s a little over 2 weeks. I also finished reading the book, The Afib cure, and am determined to follow his advice on food and drink and bio markers. BTW the second cardiologist had told me I had mitro valve syndrome. I was never sure what that was and thought he made it up to cover his butt. Turns out its a real thing, and perhaps it is now what is called Vagal Afib, I really don’t know. Thanks for listening.

[Barlick43]

you could be describing me. I have noted that if I have evening wine it is always worse…. I have read that alcohol makes it worse. I changed to a GT at 5pm and eating before 6. It has improved but does occur occasionally

[2learn]

Have you been checked for sleep apnoea, may contribute

[RAS54]

I also have AF in middle of night. This seems strange but this summer April to September only one occurrence, last summer none. Then October and November three and four instances. Last year October November 18 instances. I am usually outdoors a lot during summer months. I am going to try taking an extra Vit D tablet and see if that makes any difference. Anyone else experienced this. Taking Flecainide 50mg twice a day and Apixaban 5mg twice a day. No beta blocker as resting pulse rate is about 50bpm.

[Jmc43]

Your situation sounds very much like mine. I have had Afib for three years, had an ablation 2 years ago, and it was well controlled. About three months ago, I began having palpitations in the middle of the night, which sometimes led to Afib, which I then had to stop using slow breathing exercises. Even without the Afib, the palpitations made sleeping difficult. I am on a beta blocker which I have to take to control BP (and Flecainide) and my heart rate when in bed was around 40.

So my cardiologist had me try a 30 day heart monitor. After a couple of days, in addition to the palpitations/afib, it was picking up an occasional pause of 5-8 seconds. Not good. So he recommended a Pacemaker…which I had implanted within three days of finding the pauses. That was three weeks ago. Now my base rate is 60 bpm, and the night time problem is gone. What a relief. Plus it is a rate responsive pacemaker, so it picks up on my activity quite fast, and helps adjust H/R accordingly. Nice.

[rubyr61]

yes i have and they said the same

[FitnessGotFibbed]

Afib for me always is at night. Triggered by low heart rate. Betablockers promoted more afib. Flecainide every night at 6pm has held it off very well. Benzos help with sleep during episodes.

[Anxiousarabella]

Which side do you sleep on? I slept on my Left side for ages and got AF most nights. Someone suggested sleep on right side and I did and now I rarely get at night anymore. I feel a lot better for getting a good nights sleep.

[Karendeena]

Hi Cassag, exactly the pattern mine follows but no one has given me this diagnosis. I often wake in the early hours with fast pulse and I am terrified it will turn into an afib episode which it does sometimes. I am very symptomatic so an episode for me can go on for up to 48 hours. I would like advice on this too

[kitttycat]

This happens to me almost every night. I take magnesium at night and i thought it was getting better and it would only start around 5 or 6 am - now it seems to happen at times, almost as soon as I lie down. I cannot lie on my side because it starts this, only on my back. (which causes back issues when you cant move) I take blood thinners. I cannot take beta blockers because they lower blood pressure.- when my heart starts beating it will usually stay around 100 - sometimes over. but my blood pressure can go down. (these episodes have lasted a long time. The cardiologist thinks this is okay. I dont get any sleep over this).

[Cassag]

I have recently been trying a guided meditation before I go to sleep and again when I wake up during the night or in the morning. I am finding it does help with anxiety and takes my mind off my pounding heart. I think I am a bit calmer these days having finally accepted the diagnosis.