Looking for triggers for my afib. Managed 4 months without an episode, but this is really weird.....my afib seems to have a clock and the episodes come every 4 months almost to the date, anyone else experienced this?I have just been away to a lovely hotel in Norfolk and had two 3 course evening meals which were very rich in sauces. Last night I had hot soup, followed by main course of mildly spiced chicken, followed by an 'iced parfait desert' so cold it make me catch my breath and almost choke. Shortly after, wham, I went into afib, that was 9pm last night and it's now almost 24 hours and I'm still in afib, not too fast, but uncomfortable. Few fast beats, them misses a couple, then normal, you know the pattern.
My episodes normally last around 30 hours so looks like another restless night.
Has anyone got any thoughts what might have been the trigger as I have too many to choose from 🥺
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Thanks Jalia, I did take a risk. Also I had been out all day and it was very cold. When I got in I went straight into a hit bath as I was chilled to the bone, thought that didn't help either
Swallowing very cold food or drink can start an afib episode or stop one. Seems like a rocker switch, like bending double.
Hi,
From your description I would say it would be the 'ICE COLD stuff would have done it. However, not exclusively so ......... I wouldn't be surprised at the ingredients of the sauces. Mind you, for me I cannot eat any, ANY spiced food.
Apart from fellow AF'ers anecdotal experience the only way to know for sure is to make a food diary of this experience and in future eliminate these type of sauces and ICE COLD stuff ... then note what happens.
I have found over the last 10 years or so it isn't necessarily the food stuff per se, but what ingredients are involved. Another testis to go for a meal at a Chinese restaurant ..... you might say have chicken chow mein but if you had noodles with it and any sauces it could be the noodles or the sauce .... if ya get my drift. If in the cooking process MSG is involved, it could be that.
Some people have given up trying to identify triggers. In my view it can be difficult because a variety of issues can contribute eg if your threshold at the time is well down one 'trigger' may not cause an episode but combine that same trigger with other culprits and bang you are into AF.
I have caused AF in the past with just a cold drink on its own, also eating a restaurant meal late and going to bed just an hour afterwards.Also relaxing when on holiday after stressful time getting to my destination.
My only thought is that ectopic beats can be triggered by the stomach pressing high against the diaphragm, such as after eating, bending and stretching. These are a known trigger for AF in prone individuals. That sounds one possibility.
Norfolk (and its southern neighbour) and our favourite places for holidays. We'll be there in a few weeks! I saw when we were there recently that The Feathers in Holt was in new ownership. We almost went there for a meal but chose The Snug instead - also very good!
I think there are triggers for AF - but they are just that - a trigger as if you have a predisposition for AF -it will find any old excuse to kick off. What I found was that every time I thought I had identified a trigger - using a behavioural/symptom diary - the ‘trigger’ would change.
I would say though just about everything posted so far could be a trigger so avoid eating 3 course meal in the evening, very cold, sweetened drinks and desserts but most of all manage your stress and worry about it because that for sure is the biggest antagonist for AF.
You are about the 5th or 6th person talking about patterns to AF recently - could be but I bet the frequency will change eventually, one way or the other. I think that we humans have a need to find a reason for things and this can sometimes make us overthink,
I know my sleep has a particular monthly rhythm and usually get laughed at for saying this but having tracked my sleep for over 10 years now - my sleep pattern for 2-3 days just before a full moon goes way off and that makes me much more susceptible to lots of underlying issues is they flare. I’m not the only one however to notice this as I spoke about this to an ambulance crew when my husband called one as I was in a particular nasty episode and they agreed that around full moon they were always a lot busier.
Our circadian rhythms can have a much bigger influence than we think. The 24 hour and 28 day circadian rhythm are quite well known but there is some early research to believe that there are more a lot more and quite complex interactions which can influence our health and well being so never discount anything and look at what is it that you do/feel/think every 4 months?
That’s interesting about sleep patterns and a full moon! My sleep has gone to pot again recently and I happened to look out of the window last night and it looked pretty full! 😮
I agree with what you've said about the full moon CD and I never sleep well at that time. We used to have what were called lunatic asylums. Lune as we know is the French word for moon. It originally came from the Latin word luna, “moon".
CDreamer, I think I just get over anxious waiting for it to start! I am now planning my holidays around the 4 month pattern!!It's been over 24 hours and although I can't feel it as much I am still in damn afib 😡
Interesting what you say though about circadian - thank you.
I am sick of this horrible condition, always thinking what I can and can't do or can and can't have. When I get over confident it just kicks off
Ditto for sleep and full moon! My afib attacks increased a lot in frequency at the beginning of 2020 from none in 2019 to 7 . Same for 2021 and last year increased again to 9. But in the last 22 weeks I have had only one episode so I am wondering what has changed as I was sure I was on a downward spiral. On the whole I feel quite well at the moment which is unusal for me as I usually feel bad at this time of year.
My AF attacks, before any ablations, used to come every 4-6 weeks. Once I had one I knew I'd be fine for at least 4 weeks after. After three ablations and numerous cardioversions I am now in persistent AF but at a low rate, usually between 60-90bpm. It comes to my mind to think that I wish I could have gone 4 months with no attacks. Strange isn't it how PAF is always so different for each one of us.
Artificial sweeteners and additives in food were a sure trigger for me as my AF progressed.
Jean, thank you, I get so frightened by this even though I was diagnosed 2 years ago. I take sotalol 40mg 3 times a day along with apixaban twice daily. I am under an EP and due to see him again this month. I am terrified he is going to want to increase my sotalol, the drug itself scares me to death as I have read it can cause long QT intervals? and sudden cardiac death. My EP says I am still on a relatively low dose and to take an extra one if I get an episode but I can't bring myself to do that. I have put myself on the waiting list for an ablation as it's a long wait but that scares me too, so not sure if I will go through with it.
I also have PMR and on low dose (3mg) daily steroids which I don't think helps my mental state, couple that with a 95 year old mum who I lived with until recently and a brother who has just had a stroke and you can see how stressed and worried I am most of the time 🥺
Bless you. At times life appears to throw everything it has at us. Does your brother have someone to look after him? Treasure your mum, I know it's not always easy, but you will miss her greatly when she's gone and wish you had done more for her. I wish that I'd done more for my parents, but sadly it's too late now.
My brother is staying with mum, he's the baby and this stroke had knocked him for 6. He is ok apart from losing left periferal vision but anxiety has taken him over and losing his licence has been devastating for him. My mum was my best friend and we travelled the world together but she has become very difficult in the last 12 months (tests have revealed mild cognitive impairment but no dementia). She calls me names and has really pushed me away so much I had to move out (we partly own the family home).
I tend to find that my entire life is focussed on my mum and brother (all the family I have) and as a result I am not looking after myself. It's so difficult as I have looked after my mum for years and done all I can do for her ❤️
Just reading the description of your meal almost sent me into Afib. I would place myself at serious risk of an episode if I ate your meal for a number of reasons. The quantity of food. Eating a heavy, three course, meal is just not possible for me because it seems to put too much pressure on my body which is risky. The timing of the meal. Eating a large meal in the evening would spell disaster. I don't eat anything after 6.30 pm so I can go to bed feeling light. I have a hiatus hernia and lying down after a meal would cause all sorts of problems. I'm not particularly sensitive to hot and cold foods but spicy combined with all the other factors would be risky for me as well. Unfortunately for me trying to dodge Afib makes an active social life a challenge.
Dunestar, I know there are others much worse than me but I agree a social life is very difficult. I find this the hardest part as I am such a social animal. I have up the wine so feel even less like socialising 🥺I really thought I could get away with it for a couple of days in a nice hotel, but I was mistaken. I am now too scared to book that holiday to Cyprus as I feel sure something will kick it off, either mid flight, food, heat, sun, all the things I enjoy 🙄
If you are not used to eating a lot in the evening the 3 course meal could definitely be the problem. Holiday eating is difficult. If we eat out when at home we always have lunch . 3 of my afib attacks last year were on holiday starting late evening or in the night after eating a bit more than I usually would at dinner. What you need to do is stop being so anxious about the afib as this makes the symptoms worse. I have found that a magnesium supplement taken 3 times a day has helped a lot with anxiety. Last year was the first time my afib had kicked off on holiday and it was not the disaster I had always thought it would be. It's true that sitting on the back of a motobike does not require much energy expenditure . It is also near impossible to take the pulse and I was not really sure of when I went back into sinus !
Prior to developing more regular 'strange episodes' which I later found were P-AF I had a couple of scary weeks where I frequently couldn't eat without a feeling of blood draining from my face and wanting to faint . I also remember having short burst of rapid pulse at the same time just lasting seconds. It was horrible and scary . The first swallow would precipitate this event as did each subsequent mouth full of food. I found I could eat soft food, porridge and soup etc without the fainting. I wonder now was this a precursor to my progressing episodes of P-AF.
It stopped after 2 weeks as quickly at it came, I have had occasional short episodes of this event since just lasting for a moment. I have explained these events to doctors and just got odd looks. The occasional odd pulse rate did prompt the Dr to think about AF though and a referral to an arrhythmia clinic.
I found eating large meals can start off an episode of P-AF. I understand blood supply to the gut from the heart is increased following a meal as part of the digestive process so it seems logical that change of blood flow could affect sensitive AFers . I avoid eating large meals now.
In response really to jeanjeannie50's reply about the Moon above, I felt I needed to add my thoughts.
I have always been interested in the moon's obvious effect on my physical and emotional energies.
This is impossible to ignore when you are born with your Moon in Cancer in the 8th House (with no apologies to astrology sceptics, but I do hope there are Forum Members who understand what this planetary position might indicate for my personality and resources).
I have tracked my 12 (so far) AF events to where they occurred within the 29.5 day moon cycle. My experience, generally and with AF in particular, led me to feel I was more vulnerable to an AF event near the New Moon, when my physical and emotional (and electrical?) resources are at their lowest, and most vulnerable to environmental influences. (Dreaming is more active around a New Moon).
For a while my thoughts around AF being more likely closer to a New Moon were confirmed, but then I have had a few (rogue?) events closer to a Full Moon, which has confused me and raised the average I was calculating.
However, over all of my 12 events, the average distance from a New Moon is currently 5.5 days, and this seems significant to me.
So I can conclude that AF events for me are still closer to a New Moon than a Full Moon, regardless of the well-known effects of a Full Moon on the population more widely, and perhaps contrary to what others have suggested re their AF on the Forum.
I do especially welcome any feedback from other Forum Members who have done similar self-research on the Moon phases in relation to the occurrence of their AF events.
Sounds like your real trigger is time. Every four months. Then something tips you over the edge, but does it really matter what it is, because something is going to do it. I had exactly the same regularity in episodes, and wasted a lot of effort tracking everything I was eating or doing in huge spreadsheets. Eventually concluded it didnt really matter, the episodes were coming every X months no matter what. Maybe a big meal might push you into it a little earlier, but it was going to happen regardless.
if Sotalol isnt working, you might want to ask your doctor about Flecainide. Sotalol works to reduce your heart rate, but wont put you back in sinus rhythm generally, whereas Flecainide acts on the heart rhythm and is effective at preventing and/or ending an episode of afib. I started on Sotalol, quite liked the rate reduction during afib episodes, but didnt have any fewer or shorter episodes, so switched to flecainide and barely have any episodes now.
Halfheart, I was out on Flecainide when I was first diagnosed but I had the most awful episodes whilst I was taking it (pro-arrythmias) it didn't seem to suit me at all. I paid to see a top EP and he said Flecainide wouldn't have been his first choice for me. It will be interesting to see what recommends when I see him on the 20th March. Do you get any breakthrough episodes?
If I take the Flecainide every day, 2x100mg, I get absolutely no afib ever. If I take 2x50mg I get occasional ectopic beats, but still no afib. I was taking it initially as a PIP, and it was effective every time within less than hour. When my episodes became more frequent (once per week) I switched to daily Flecainide. I quite liked Sotalol, since the afib episodes became much less symptomatic at the lower heart rate, but I still had the same amount of afib time. I have no side effects from Flecainide apart from the slightly weird one of finding it difficult to look over my shoulder while driving, it makes me slightly dizzy.
I have done well with dodging Afib episodes by eating less and not eating after around 7:30 pm. For me, it is not spicy food the I worry about. I avoid anything that is bad for my celiac disease (esp. gluten) or causes excess stomach gas. I also eschew alcohol, limit caffeine and have no carbonated drinks. Try smaller meals with light snacks in between and try to avoid constipation and the build up of gas. I was having Afib every 2 weeks or less, but am now a week away from 4 months without it. It is worth the sacrifice!
has your AF been confirmed by Kardia or Apple Watch? I had similar and it ended up being Ectopics confirmed by Doctor, they took a few days to settle after a similar dinner out rich food 2 zero wines and desert
I haven't had any episodes for a long while, but have had experiences with A-fib with such things as ice cream, sherbet, etc. Both times were evening snacks. Sometimes a cheesy type snack like corn curls will bother me. If I eat these things now, I eat every s l o w l y, and eat only small amounts.
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