Just over a year since being diagnosed with PAF, I’m still learning how to reduce AF episodes, so I thought I would post what has worked for me. Hopefully this will help some others just starting their AF journey. I would also love to hear what works for you as well or comments on my points below.
I’m 59, 65kg and fit, take 100mg Flec twice a day and 1.25 mg Biso (EP persribed).
+ Reduce / eliminate hi glycemic load foods such as sugar, white bread, potatoes, white rice, white pasta.
+ Reduce / eliminate alcohol and caffeine ( alcohol free beers are good these days, and the odd glass of wine or 2 is ok)
+ Eat as much fibre as possible, veg , beans, pulses nuts, and fruit with skins on.
+ Include “live” foods in your diet everyday such as cultured yogurt, Kafir is great, Kimchi or sour kraut, and Kombucha. This I believe has really helped.
+ Only eat to 80% full.
Now what are your tips?
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MTBCyclist
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I’m 78, 5’10” tall and weigh in at 95 kg and I’m moderately unfit. Don't exercise, don't care particularly living in the totally rubbish climate of Cornwall. ( I've lived most of my life in Australia).
Some 9 months after my AF diagnosis in Jan 2010 I began to associate the onset of an AF event with food I’d eaten. Wasn’t Coeliac Disease or IBS. Consulted a Nutritionist and followed her diet recommendations and over the years my AF events have reduced.
I take Bisoprolol and Warfarin for AF, and am on statins and blood pressure meds too – but I was on them 3 years before AF hit anyway. That was back in the day when BP readings of 145/85 were considered not bad.
The diet you have posted
1 + Reduce / eliminate hi glycemic load foods such as sugar, white bread, potatoes, white rice, white pasta.
2 + Reduce / eliminate alcohol and caffeine ( alcohol free beers are good these days, and the odd glass of wine or 2 is ok)
3 + Eat as much fibre as possible, veg , beans, pulses nuts, and fruit with skins on.
4 + Include “live” foods in your diet everyday such as cultured yogurt, Kafir is great, Kimchi or sour kraut, and Kombucha. This I believe has really helped.
5 + Only eat to 80% full.
In the beginning with No1 I eliminated all except potatoes. Today I have returned to sugar occasionally and white bread to. Re No2 …….. forget that !! I made no concessions to any of that at all. No 3 …. forget that lot too except maybe runner beans and broad beans in season. No 4 … would see me in almost permanent occupancy of the bathroom. Rubbish. No 5 - I eat to my personal comfort level and that depends very much on the meal timing. (time of day).
I am also mostly nowadays gluten free, wheat free and oats free. Generally my diet is much more wide ranging than what you posted embracing a vastly different range of foodstuffs. I could add, if it comes off the land it is crap, if it comes from the polluted ocean/high seas its Ok. Dairy produce et al is not good for me, although some stuffs are OK. Yoghurt would make me ill.
My objective was and is and remains to calm the vagal nerve, not to upset it, inflame it or create a dysfunctional environment for it.
I would add follow the adage 'Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and supper like a pauper'. This is based on digestion being less effective later in the day and consequently if your AF is prone to vagally mediation trouble can build up triggering an episode.
Like you, I do best without sugar or most processed food. I would add that when I lie down and my heart slows down, the slowness, I think, makes me vulnerable to ecopics and afib. Stress, lack of sleep and exercising too much can also make it more likely.
I just noticed I'm more likely to get afib later if I exercise harder than ususal. Like a higher heart rate? Once I brought myself out of afib by exercising slower than usual on the elliptical trainer. That only took about 10 minutes.
Whats, what do you mean by "brought myself out of afib?" I am new to this very informative group. I have formed the opinion that several of you "bring yourself out of afi ." I don't know when I have an afib episode. My apple watch tells me when it detects afib. I have no idea how long they last. Should I do something when my watch tells me I am in afib? The episodes don't interfere with my daily life.
I am sure you will get more sensitive to it over time. I was the same. I only realised something was wrong when I could not keep up with my cycling group sometimes when pushing hard. Eventually got diagnosed by doing a stress test while wired up. I did not realise I was in AF.
I think it was bought on by extreme excercise and normal saying routine I was in NSR.
Now I am more aware Of the sensations, I do a ecg on my Apple Watch which will confirm if it’s AF.
Normally an odd feeling in your throat and a hollow , fluttering feeling in your chest signifies I am not in NSR, others may be different.
For me the best way to try and get out of AF episodes is to sit on the floor , legs out in front, lean forward and hold your breath while your trying to blow for 5 seconds.This puts pressure on the vagus nerve and slows your heart rate. Worth a try?
I almost always get afib at night, and its just gone in the morning. Sometimes I take an extra half tab of beta blocker and something to help me sleep. Once when I started on the trainer I was in afib, and did the training routine slowly, then about 10 minutes in, I noticed I was breathing easier and there was no irregular thumping in my chest. I confirmed normal sinus rhythm on Kardia afterwards. The only thing I actively did was breathe deeply and do some muscle relaxation things, such as I could while on an elliptical trainer. About 2 years ago, I gave up sugar and eat a lot of fresh food and lost a lot of weight mainly for a kidney problem and rarely get it any more.
Watch the terrific YouTube videos of Dr Sanjay Gupta and Dr Berg to reduce stress and anxiety about AF, cholesterol - everything associated with the heart, high blood pressure etc. Excellent value.
Personally I think that focusing overly about the perfect diet is more stressful. Just sensible eating, such as more fresh food,less processed,and maintaining a healthy weight, is more doable. There is no perfect way to eat.Thats just my experience, best to keep mind ,body chilled
Agreed. Personally I think most processed food is crap and unappetising. I used to hate passing by fast food outlets when I lived in the UK as to me they stank of rancid fat. Cooking from scratch is not difficult - it just requires time and a little effort. But there is far too much anguishing over what I consider "fads" in diet these days. In the 80s we were all urged to go low fat and saturated fat free. Well look how that turned out. Nowadays it's plant based - basically a less off putting term than vegan or vegetarian . Well unless you are prepared to put a lot more time and effort into preparing and cooking food you will be undernourished. Any quick perusal of vitamins and mineral content of food will show that animal based products weight for weight contain far more nutrients . Certain nutrients cannot be obtained on these diets without supplementation and if you live off plant based ready meals you will probably be worse off than living off normal ready meals. I live in a country where food is still taken seriously despite the steady incursion of anglo saxon bad eating habits . Grandmother's cooking is still considered desirable and restaurants do not cater well especially in rural areas for vegetarians / vegans .
Auriculaire .... I can't remember my Grandmothers cooking BUT I can remember her drinking and smoking The old dear stopped smoking at 95, she continued drinking until about 10 days before her death .... at 102. I used to go and visit her in the town where she lived in outback New South Wales where an old French guy had a small boutique winery. He had timber vats of Sherry and I used to call in on the old dear, grab one of her empty 5L glass flagons and fill it up with her favourite Cream Sherry. I'm sure it was the Sherry that kept her going.
My paternal grandmother's cooking was limited but good . My maternal grandmother's bloody awful! That meant my mother grew up with little to no interest in food or cooking and was a poor cook when we were kids though she did improve a bit. I still make her Lancashire hot pot but like most of my "British" recipes I frenchify it with the addition of garlic and red wine. But really I was talking about "cuisine de grand- mère " which is still revered here and often has a regional flavour. Meat stews and offal dishes feature heavily. Last week my husband came back from the supermarket with sheep's testicles. He had asked for kidneys and the guy on the butchery counter had told him these were " rognons blanc". They were more very pale pink than white but obviously not kidneys. I was pretty sure they were testicles and looked it up online. I shall try them having found a recipe " de grand- mère " that looks easy and quick.
I just eat chicken as I'm not really a fan of red meat,and I eat fish,be it fresh frozen even tinned sardines in tomato sauce.Stews,casseroles, soups,all bunged in slow cooker,I like lentils so I substitute for meat,due to cost.Salads,I add tuna ,fruit,anything . Anything that I don't have to agonise thinking about.As they say "life is too short to stuff a mushroom" hahaha. Vitamins I've tried them all,decided,that if your eating as good as you can,apart from vitamin D in winter,or maybe something your lacking,it's wasted money.All down to individual experiences, but isn't everything in life ?
I have so far been very lucky (touch wood) that I have been able so far to avoid all AF and heart related medications. This was mainly due to a Vitamin D deficiency discovered at the same time that my AF was officially diagnosed by a GP in April 2022 (but my monthly AF events started before that in Sept 2021). The delay then in getting referred to an Arrhythmia Clinic, then an Anticoagulation Clinic, and then my GP being advised of the usual prescriptions of Apixaban and Bisoprolol as PIPs, and Apixaban as my DOAC, meant I could attend solely to my Vitamin D deficiency from mid April 2022. I did this with a loading dose for 30 days and a subsequent daily maintenance dose.
The outcome so far?
I have now been 6 months AF free since I raised my Vitamin D serum levels to something I consider appropriate (see my Bio for more exact details). And because I haven't had any AF events since I obtained the PIPs prescribed for me, I haven't been faced (yet) with the usual questions around dosage during AF. Further, because I have chosen not to start Apixaban for other reasons (again, see my Bio), the only self medication I have ever taken for my AF, and effective so far, is Vitamin D. I realise my situation is not common.
Subsequently I have learned that Vitamin D deficiency is a well researched cause of arrhythmias.
No wonder I shout the benefits of Vitamin D supplementation on the Forum whenever I think it appropriate.
Good luck on your unique AF journey.
As a newcomer I would like to refer you to the infamous Steven Carr who ploughed his own unique path in dealing with his AF, Vitamin D and all ...
Beey interesting Bob! I too am a big fan of Vit D. I have my bloods done once or twice a year and when I had them done last year my Vit D came back as 203 and I got told to back off the supplements for a while, which I duly did (I was down the beach a lot in the sun anyway). The benefit of private testing is that I found out I was at risk of overdosing!!
So, imagine my horror when I had them done again two weeks ago and it had dropped to a meagre 66! And the AF has been going nuts! Coincidence?!? 🤔
Then I realised I’d mis-read the bottle and was only taking 3-4 drops a day, when in fact I should have been taking 3-4 x 1ml “droppers” full! Not drops - droppers!! Silly me!
I’ve started whacking it back up again and hope to see a change in the next 2-3 weeks time.
Thanks for your Vitamin D update. I'm always interested in such details. It does seem both too low and too high serum levels of Vitamin D can cause problems with arrhythmias.
Interestingly, the recent Australian research into Vitamin D and mortality rates, using UK Biobank data, show benefits tapering off above about 75 nmol/L. Here it is ...
As I probably mentioned to you before, you might need to join Medscape to read the article, but it's free, and I've had no follow-on issues after joining.
Just to reciprocate, my level 2 months ago was 112 nmol/L, and I'm happy to stay at about that level, if possible.
However, as the supplement I buy changes regularly according to availability and price, the absorbtion rate will also vary. So I'm aware I will need to be retested every 6 months or so to ensure I keep within my desired range.
Hmmmm, getting the dose and levels balanced correctly is a bit of a challenge. I took my eye off the ball for a few months and it was disastrous.
112 is a nice level, I’d be happy with that. Our NHS is happy if you’re over 50, which to my mind is far too low!
A nugget of info for you - did you know that O blood types have difficulty creating their own Vit D and can have related issues? That’s an interesting rabbit hole to go down.
I took vit d supplements a while ago but then the ectopics starting driving me crazy … it took a month to get back to normal. So now I rely on sunshine 🌞
Consequently, I would be interested to know what serum Vit D level you reached when you were supplementing and experiencing the symptoms you described? And what was your serum Vit D level before you started supplementing?
And subsequently I'm curious to know your latest/current serum Vitamin D level just relying on British sunshine? All these questions are important to understand your Vitamin D experience more fully.
It seems both too low and too high serum Vitamin D levels can cause various arrhythmias, so monitoring your level as you supplement is vital.
Hi Ozziebob, it was nothing scientific, I had read Vit D was a help so took a supplement. I thought it was just my AF getting worse, then read to much VitD can be an issue so stopped and my AF reduced.
When I asked my EP about monitoring bio markers he checked my old test results and dismissed having another test.
I’m interested what level works for you and how do you test easily?
Now I'm very confused. My Reply was to Crumble2 and yet MTBCyclist replied to that? 🤔 Why is that?
My London based GP and CCG won't retest Vitamin D within 6 months, but that's better than nothing. And my GP, because of the proven role of Vitamin D in my arrhythmia, agreed to include Vitamin D in yearly blood tests.
It's a disgrace to me that the monitoring of Vitamin D levels is not more easily available to all patients as a preventative medical practice. Can it be that big Pharma isn't offering incentives to GPs re Vit D monitoring and prescribing as happens with other much more expensive exclusive medications.
You can see my Vitamin D levels mentioned in my Bio.
very interesting on the Vit D. I listened to a podcast by Dr. Guidry who also said higher lever of Vit D is not going to cause toxicity which some Dr. think will happen. My husband got his level to around 50 and his dr told him to stop taking supplements it was too high. Ugh! I talked to a holistic dr and she said that Vit D should rightly be called a hormone because it is not really a Vit it is used by a lot of our body processes. Therefore I have to assume that some of us may use it up faster than others and why some can be very low in it. Our winter in the Midwest horribly lacks in sunshine so we have to supplement.
I eat exactly as you outlined in your post. In addition, I have low blood sugar and a hiatal hernia, and a leaking heart valve, which all contributes to AF. When I take time to cook and eat real food, I do fine. So eating out is always a carp shoot as to whether the food will trigger AF. MSG allergy is also a trigger which I learned wheat gluten is a close chemical cousin to MSG, thus gluten being a trigger. Coffee seems fine if I only have a cup or two and alcohol doesn’t seem to trigger me because some of my worst episodes have been when not drinking. Leaving me confused for sure. However, I have found coconut water with all the electrolytes balances has brought me out of an episode. Stress is a huge trigger, so deep breathing helps. I also am a horrible sleeper which also is not helpful but if I can’t sleep I at least relax and listen to something soothing. Doing our best is the challenge.
Thanks for your comments, interesting about MSG & gluten. I had not considered that. Not big on takeaways, almost everything is cooked from scratch using wholefoods so the MSG is not an issue but gluten could be.
Yes absolutely and his second book Wheat Belly total health is even better and that is where I learned that MSG and wheat have very similar chemical backgrounds, one is left handed and the other is right handed and the body doesn’t know the difference. When I read that a light bulb went on and I then began my journey. After a few weeks, inflammation in my body started to lessen and I realized I no longer had migraines. I have to assume that the wheat gluten also was causing the vagus nerve to go haywire. I have less and less problems staying away. Every once in awhile wheat sneaks in and for the next about 3 days I feel the inflammation which manifests as aches and pains,
That is so true! I am working on the theory that it is actually our livers that need detoxing and causing our heart problems. That maybe a good study for someone to do. I may search pubmed to see if any have been done.
I’m finding lots of imbalance issues cause irregular heart beat. It’s just getting the GP to even consider it! I’m currently fighting him over raised (and still increasing!) ferritin levels, which are a known cause of irregular heartbeat, but it’s just going straight over his head.
I’m finding my functional medicine doctor MUCH more sensible, proactive and effective. He treats me holistically.
What this site has most impressed on me is the variety of ways that AF manifests itself in patients. There appear to be a variety of types and an even larger list of triggers and so things to avoid / minimise.
Originally I had A Flutter, caused I suspect by an underlying genetic predisposition but brought on by a combination of age and increased excercise over several years prior (I trained for Ironman distance triathlons for 3 years).
After my first Ablation, AFlutter episodes were subsequently triggered by either heavy drinking sessions or intense exercise sessions the night / day before. No excess alcohol or long exercise sessions = no episodes.
Following a 2nd Ablation, there have been no further AFlutter episodes but I have developed AF. Currently, these are triggered solely during exercise. My EP / cardiologist believes it is Pulmonary vein generated and a further targeted ablation would resolve. This is currently on hold depending how I can manage the episodes / QOL. However, I am currently managing to avoid episodes by keeping my HR during exercise (this is generally running as swimming and cycling don’t usually push my HR) normally to below 135 bpm but with a self imposed max of 140bpm. Note I’m currently on 2 x 50mg Flecainide daily which I believe from research, knocks back HR on exercise by approx 12%.
Other than the above targeted action, I try to live a “healthy” but not extreme lifestyle:
exercise (run / cycle / swimming / weights or resistance training) 6 days / week. Always watching my HR to avoid > 135 bpm
Eat reasonable amount of fruit and veg but aim to increase.
Daily Breakfast is oats, banana, grapes, blackberries, blueberries with milk and yogurt, washed down with a mug of proper coffee (only coffee of the day)
Main meals are meat once a week, chicken 5, fish once.
Eat loads of cheese and bread, white rice, pasta and potatoes.
One or two glases of red wine 5 nights a week.
I do worry about refined sugar (my vice) and am thinking of making / eating sauerkraut.
The big question for me is if by finding / changing / eliminating other triggers, would i be able to exercise safety above 140 and ween myself off flecainide.
For reference, I’m 57, 6ft and 12 stone (76kg) and reasonably fit, though annoyingly I still have med. managed high BP.
As an after note, whereas flecainide I believe restricts my max heart rate and so has some impact on my exercise and pace, Beta Blockers (bisop etc.) absolutely destroyed my ability to exercise at any reasonable pace and made if miserable. With the agreement of my EP, I came off Bisoprolol although it is recommended if taking flecainide.
I’m not aware of any difference as it’s the flecainide that has the main impact on the AF episodes and I believe the Bisop is to mitigate against possible harmful side effects of the Flec. For clarity, I only took Bisop with Flec when I had A Flutter. I now have AF but have only ever taken Flec with agreement of EP due to previous experience.
What you've suggested here just about wraps up my lifestyle the past 5 years - all those things. Until last September I was really fit and healthy and had never heard of Afib. Then something triggered it and I was quickly in persistent (mild) and now about to have my first CV. So prevention is uppermost in my mind. My EP thinks I'm in with a good chance due to good underlying health for age 70.I'm interested in what you said about Vagus Nerve care. Please can you recommend a book or website?
I'd also add there's research to show acupuncture can help keep heart in NSR following CV and ablation so have started on that road. My EP reckons if that helps relax the body then go for it. I also find Qigong practice keeps the heart rate down as long as I don't push it.
Staying happy - getting outdoors, being in nature, practicing gratitude, seeing friends, and being proactive in my treatment I think is helping too.
Sorry no book or website, can’t remember where I saw the trick on the vagus nerve and it may not work for you but worth a try.
I am in NRS just have odd rhythm and AF now and again. I wold have daily episodes, but so far since all the above at the moment episodes are very few and far between.
Good luck in your journey.
The way I look at it it’s forced me into a even healthier life style which has to be good.
Fruit intake reduced to a handful of berries or quarter apple with breakfast for past 2 - 3 years (apart from when our strawberries are in season - the French Garriguette variety, taste too beautiful!). I avoid added sugar and even worse substitutes too and that way taste buds adjust and enjoy sweetness of vegetables and grains.
Thank you Dippy. Love the sound of that - will check it out. I've started using healing sounds with a heart qigong practice I do online with Jeff Chang.
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