I’ve had permanent AF for a year. On 1.5mg Bisoprolol , 10mg Amlodipine, 20mg Rivaroxiban. 20mgAtorvastatin l. My resting heart rate stays between 70 and 100 and 120 walking measured on Iwatch and BP machine.
I would like to help keep my heart rate low and wondered what is the best food and drink to help. The internet is so contradictory for example Google bananas and they are great to help heart rate but hang on next article don’t eat them they cause high heart rate. I am trying to loose weight but again don’t eat nuts they have loads of calories. It’s such a confusing subject. Drink red wine a glass a day great for heart but look again don’t touch alcohol it’s a no no. Drink cranberry juice but look again don’t touch it if on anticoagulants. Please help
best wishes for Christmas
Stuart
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Firstbusman
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That's quite a mix of meds you're on. Between them, they will help with preventing clots / BP and lowering your HR.
There are a lot of conflicting viewpoints on Doctor Giggle. Unless you look up quality articles expect a right mishmash of ideas. Also, we are all different so a glass of red wine might be good for one person but send another into afib.
Disclaimer time. I am not a medic so this is something to discuss with your doctor. I would ask about increasing your Bisoprolol. It can be very effective in lowering your HR and 1.5mg is a low dose. 70 - 100 resting is ok (personally I would like it a bit lower) and 120 walking is not too bad but could be a little less unless you have brisk walks. Have a word with your medic and see what they say.
Best wishes for Christmas to you as well. Not long to go now!
Hi! Looking for the causes and triggers for AF, we analyze our interactions with surrounding world. This interactions involve air we breathe, drinks, food, climate conditions, mood and physical activity (medications come later). Of all mentioned items, taking the food and drinks seems to be most obvious and easiest to control.
What is often underestimated or even forgotten, because it is not so obvious, is physical activity. When exercising in attempt to remain fit, in their job, or when doing things at home, people, especially elderly, are exposed to severe physical "body manipulations", often not being aware of it. Regular or frequent climbing the stairs, lifting and carrying around grandchildren etc. may not only be the trigger, but often the cause for developing arrhythmia. Climbing the stairs is a "killing operation" for many.
As for your HR - if you are in permanent AF, than the efficiency of your heart is by 30% reduced (official data). In the course to achieve large enough blood flowrate, your body has increased your HR to a necessary level. There is a complex control system for the heart which has some problems when we start having arrhythmia, but it does not mean that it has failed completely. Let it do its job...
if you are in permanent AF, than the efficiency of your heart is by 30% reduced (official data). In the course to achieve large enough blood flowrate, your body has increased your HR to a necessary level
Well put Nesko and easy to understand. It's like your body is turning up the HR dial by a couple of notches.
Well said! Check for anaemia both iron and B12 etc and optimise your health with things like beetroot and other highly important things like magnesium, copper etc x
Hi,
So you got a small dose Beta blocker, a blood pressure med, an anticoagulant and a statin. Pretty much the same as me, the difference is I take different meds, different doses but essentially the same. I would have thought the Bisoprolol is on the low side but thats my personal view and not with any medic/scientific foundation.
I eat a Banana a day. My HR stays around 64 to 67 bpm no sweat ... I watch my weight I'm 6 ft weighing in at 15 stone BP around 132/70 ish - OK and consistent with age (78). Still active and working part time driving College buses. Key diet things are no added sugar, no added salt, gluten free, wheat free and oats free.
I still booze on , red wine, , sometimes, G & T, beer ... basically whatever I feel like.
The rub is this ........ don't waste time on bloody Google, go consult a BANT approved professional Nutritionist.
Hello Carneuny We are more alike as I spend my working time, (although meant to be retired but ask to return to work) creating bus schedules for a few areas around the UK. I used to drive buses in London and before that I repaired them as a bus mechanic in London. Thanks for your reply. At present I have no symptoms but have seen my heart rate rise a little over the last few months. Still in January we are getting a Labrador puppy which I’m hoping will increase my exercise lol. Best wishes
Sincere apologies for my slow reply to your post. Have had to take advantage of a break in the weather and head up to west Surrey on family matters. Back home now and just catching up.
I am planning to write you a PM during the day to touch on a few of your points. Please bear with me.
Hello, be careful about reducing salt too much as lack of salt or a bit of dehydration can trigger your RAAs system into action and it’s hard to track back out of once it gets going affecting BP and confusing the system x
1.5mg Bisoprolol is about as low as you can go. You might have better results with 2.5mg. I doubt very much you could lower your HR with dietary tweaks. Every time you eat your HR will rise as your body starts to do the work of digesting and metabolising your food, so there’s no avoiding that one. Caffeine will raise your HR because it’s a stimulant, and alcohol will too. Heavy meals like a full Christmas dinner plus a few drinks will definitely raise your HR. Whether you can actually reduce your HR in any meaningful way just through adjusting your diet is probably a tall order. Exercise is probably the most effective way but you need to build up gradually, so think long term. Some form of mindfulness/meditation or relaxation routine done regularly might help, as will getting enough sleep if you can.
Dr Google is not the best place for dietary advice as there are as many fads, opinions and myths online and as you’ve found out, it can be very contradictory. There is no one “right” diet, no one-size-fits-all. We all have different genetics, metabolisms, gut microbiota etc, we all metabolise sugar and fats more effectively or less effectively. Some people thrive on lots of plant fibre, others find their digestive system can’t cope and they get a lot of gas. You need to think about your goals and work from there.
We all know the basics of healthy eating, so we shouldn’t kid ourselves that we don’t. We all know about 5-a-day, we all know that we could maybe do with a bit more fibre, we all know that ultra processed food isn’t a good idea to consume regularly. The basics are a good place to start. A normal HR is considered 60-100, so I don’t think you’re doing too badly to begin with. Personally I think exercise will do more for you, but we all need to work on all aspects of our health including eating as well as we can and keeping an eye on our stress levels etc.
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Drug side effects confusing 
confused with kardia reading.? 
P A Fib. Still confused.
Sorry - I’m a bit confused...
Confused - what exactly is AF?
