I have been over indulging in coffee for past three years. Lately 3-4 cups a day. Going to the coffee shop is the highlight of my day. Unfortunately, I think I have triggered off my first episode of AF in years. Plus a heard a rather metallic sound in my head whilst trying to sleep. Now my coffee intake has really got me worried.
is it time to stop? Or could my AF been caused by something else, like stress?
General comments welcome.
Hi Frustrated12,
I avoided caffeine whilst I was having paroxysmal AF as it could trigger episodes for me but, when I went into persistent AF I figured I may as well have coffee sometimes, after all, what difference could it make if I’m already in AF? The answer to that one was a lot of difference!🙄I’m obviously sensitive to caffeine but like you, enjoy the coffee shop vibe. So now I go for my once a week fix but have the decaf version of whatever I fancy instead and stretch it out a bit😀
thank you ☹️
Hi F12.
The answer to this is a simple one I feel. Here it is..........
We are all different.
I'm drinking a strong coffee as I type and it makes no difference to my afib at all. I start my day with coffee - don't speak to me until I've had my morning 'fix' or I'll bite your head off lolz.
I don't feel we should not give up all our pleasures in life because of afib. If you have been going to the coffee shop for 3 years without a problem then there's a good chance your afib would have started anyway regardless of drinking coffee or not. Put it down to stress this time.
So here's my take and what I would do. I'm not a doctor so it's just my personal opinion (you need to speak to a medic to check this). If going to the coffee shop is something you enjoy I would carry on exactly as you are. One episode of afib in 3 years would not prevent me from doing so. Maybe just stick to two coffees rather than 3 or 4 and keep a note of when/if afib occurs. If it's shortly after drinking coffee you know there a trgger there so try one normal coffee and then stick to decaf.
Moderation is the keyword here.
Gotta run - kettles on and I want another coffee 
Paul
it doesn’t have to set af off straight away in order to be a trigger. The body doesn’t always work like that.
Hi Elli. Yes, you are correct. A trigger can cause afib 24 hours later let's say. Using the words 'shortly after' doesn't always apply.
Paul
I agree with Paul (including the correction around timing). If you have been going and drinking coffee all that time and had one episode, seems to me it isn’t the coffee. Finding triggers is difficult, I think, and they apparently vary a lot from person to person. And sometimes they change. In the mornings, I have a couple of cups of coffee, and a few more decaffineated, and have had no problems I could associate with that level of consumption. My triggers are more associated with stress, or digestion late at night.
Stress is far more likely your antagonist. Coffee on the whole is good for you - in moderation. I restrict to one cup of good quality coffee in the morning before noon and have not problems. I cannot drink dried coffee.
You forget just how AF interrupts your life when you have been free of it for a few years don’t you? Mine returned when I got COVID and now any infection triggers it. Nothing much I can do about that but I now realise just how much stress can also be a trigger so I am very careful with myself.
thank you.
Dried coffee may not be as strong but the chemicals used to freeze dry it are far worse than the caffeine. You can get naturally decaffeinated coffee, but it costs. Any coffee which is made through pressure is probably the safest - so my nutritionist said.
thank you
Hi, if you've been drinking strong coffee the past 3 years and only just had an Afib occurance then I suggest that it's unlikely to be the trigger. Like others here I'm hypersensitive to caffeine so have to avoid anything but decaffeinated. Sad because my EP said latest research is showing coffee (statistically speaking) is actually good for arrhythmias! I have found there is now some reasonable decaf coffee out there and maybe you could experiment by including a couple of decaffeinated and saving a single caffeinated for a daily treat. It's easy to blame ourselves for triggering afib, but chances are a bit of air pollution or minor infection set it off.
Thank you
You have AF so you will get AF. Limiting what might trigger it is wise but life is for living. Everything in moderation.
Thank you
Thank you
Just because it didn't trigger in past, doesn't mean it won't now.
I used to enjoy double shot lattes.
My last double shot latte was five years ago, about 60 seconds before I went into afib. Now, when off my afib drugs, I drink "supermarket strength" or instant coffee, maybe 1-2 cups a day maximum. When on diltiazem the effect of caffeine seems magnified, so just decaf.
If you want that much coffee a day, try mixing regular coffee with decaf, so you will get less caffeine per day.
Jim
I am currently in trial and error with coffee. Until a few months ago, I only had the occasional decaf coffee, which we all know does contain some caffeine. This was fine. I then discovered that I have a dairy intolerance, so couldn’t use normal skimmed milk, which is all I will use in tea.
So I switched to rice milk, which is awful in tea, but very nice in decaf coffee .
Next I started getting much more frequent episodes of AF, so I assumed it was the small amount of caffeine that I was having in decaf coffee. I only had 3/4 cups a day.
I then purchased a truly decaf coffee, expensive and not as nice. I had 4 cups over 4 days and hey ho back in AF.
Now I have stopped that, so far 8 days AF free, so looking hopeful. It seems that I have now become intolerant to coffee.
I have a lot of intolerances, all of which will trigger AF if I have them. Gluten, dairy, soya, aspartame, to name a few. Now it looks like I can add coffee to that list.
So, it is possible to have something for years with no problem, then become intolerant to it. In my case I seem to get a build up.
Perhaps the build up which produces an intolerance is something which comes with age? For example, I suddenly had late onset asthma, and then ended up with AF - or my body changed and decided enough was enough? Children have early asthma and then lose it, so presumably the reverse can be true and this can apply to any intolerances leading to AF etc.?
I’ve a pacemaker fitted and never know when I’m in afib if at all. I drink a fair amount of coffee two/three cups a day. I also like red wine, spirits and a beer. I don’t over indulge in alicohol as I use to and keep everything fairly moderate but I do find everything effects my energy levels and mood swings and am much better without any of them. I wish I knew the answers to this one.
When I was admitted with fast AF on New Year’s Day I asked the ward tea lady if she had decaf coffee . I have two cups of that a day, plus decaf tea . She said the cardiologists would only allow decaf coffee on the wards. There’s a message in there
Now that's completely different to the cardiac wards in our hospital. They look at you like you have 2 heads when you ask for decaff so I always take my own in now.I have raised the issue with the nurses but no one seems interested.
Over last 30 years I’ve gone into AF about 7 times each time it was preceded by too much coffee and wine followed by exercise. I’ve found some good Decaf and the local cafe and also for home and I must say it’s quite good. Normal espresso has about 60mg of caffeine whiles decaf about 10-15mg depending on brand
I know what my excellent EP would say - “hard to tell” as in the early journey there maybe obvious triggers but as our AF journey continues they proliferate. We are all different and our AF will vary. Mine was started by a virus, then after three years occasionally recurred if my heart rhythm was disturbed by alcohol (even one glass) deep sleep, heavy meal. In other words vagal triggers. Coffee made no difference however much I took and nor did stress (I had a lot at the time!). The electrolytes and hormones which control the electrical impulses are affected by many things. I hope you can enjoy the coffee shop, experiment with peppermint tea!
Thank you. I will try it.
It's not likely to be the coffee! It will more likely be a combination of things and, if the coffee played any part in that at all, it might well have been its volume rather than its constituents. Sitting position, stomach fullness, intestinal bloating and much more can lead to pressure on the diaphragm pushing it against the heart. This can set off ectopic beats and they can, in prone individuals, trigger AF.
Steve
Caffeine can and certainly does for me, effect the heart rate. It can also cause the release of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline and increase blood pressure. It can and most certainly does for most people effect and disrupt good quality sleep which we all know is a killer for those of us with af.
Not worth the risk just for a cup of coffee in my opinion. As Bob said life is for living and I can’t live how I want to when my heart is super sensitive or I’m in af. Caffeine or any other drug including alcohol are at the very bottom of my list of important things in life but each to their own.
Thank you.
I have PAF and have tried to monitor attacks and identify possible triggers for nearly 16 years now. Having been cautious about coffee I am now much more relaxed. Like paulbounce, my first coffee of the day awaits me when I finish this post. My second will be at a coffee shop with a group of close friends - what I call 'last of the summer coffee'. It's a regular social event. Having just read an article about the long term health benefits of a good social network, I think it's worth the risk.
But, we're all different...
Thank you.
I posted a very long video sometimes ago.One of the results included effects of coffee & alcohol.Coffee ok ,Alcohol a no no.
Thank you.
As Bob says, everything in moderation...
Caffeine is a stimulant. Drink decaf.
I drank decaff at home a couple of years before the AF started and normal coffee when out. Since the AF, a normal coffee can start palpitations within half an hour so having been given non decaff in error a couple of times, I now watch the baristas like a hawk.
I always ask waiters when they bring coffee to the table , is that definitely decaf ? Sometimes they are certain, sometimes they check and occasionally they have been wrong so I will carry on double checking
instant coffee sets my AF immediately . Real/ filter coffee is fine.
I'm very fond of good, fresh, strong coffee and I drink it every day....but only one mug full or occasionally two, and before 1 pm at the latest (because of the effect on sleep quality). You do mention 'stress' though, and I'm wondering if that translates to some anxiety? For me personally anxiety/stress are the most obvious precursors to AF events and strong coffee and anxiety can be a less than ideal mix. It might be an idea for you to cut back by a cup or two a day and also maybe identify what makes you feel stressed and find some ways to combat it. If you like your trips to a coffee shop no need to go cold turkey and completely cut out something that you enjoy.
Thank yiu.
I went off coffee for about a year cause it seemed to be triggering afib episodes. Starting November2022 I started on metoprolol and flecainide and as of March 5, 2023 have had no episodes……have Paroxysmal afib and was having daily episodes before this little cocktail so this is a big change for me. A couple of weeks ago introduced small amount of coffee building up to 1/2 cup a morning and still no episodes. Furthermore, my resting heart rate which was dropping down to mid/high 40s is now up a bit to high 40s/ low 50s which is just enough to give me a little more energy. So for me it has actually helped! Agree with comments it is different for everyone and encourage people to consider experimenting (carefully if needed). I drink strong, pour over coffee with warm milk. Buy fresh roasted coffee beans and grind myself and would prefer no coffee to lousy coffee……sorry to others’ preferences but I would probably shoot myself before drinking instant (Joke, joke, please don’t get concerned 😆). So now I am also introducing small amounts of caffeine in afternoon which is another sleepy, very low heart rate time of day for me. The research on caffeine and afib is equivocal and I think it’s probably because of these individual differences.
when I was first diagnosed 10 years ago, my consultant told me to take an extra beta blocker if I wanted caffeine or alcohol. I decided that if I needed to medicate myself to drink something, then I probably shouldn’t be drinking it. So no caffeine ie alcohol by choice. I was given caffeinated coffee once by mistake and I had to go to bed, feeling terrible. Only later did I discover what had happened. I react quickly and badly to them both.
EP told me coffee a stimulant and alcohol a suppressant and my triggers are suppressants/ depressants so alcohol a complete no. Good coffee makes me a bit “wired” but no AF
Thank you.
my hubbys EP told him no alcohol, no caffeine (even decaf coffee/tea) and no chocolate (caffeine in that too!) as they’re triggers for him! He’s had 3 cardioversions, 2 ablations. He’s steered clear of the above no no’s and been AF free for 18 months now.
My friend who is a nurse says we’re all going to die, how we live while we’re here is all that matters. If a trip to the coffee shop is your pleasure in life go with it - one coffee a day won’t kill you and, if necessary, they do some fab decafs these days.
Thank you. Love it!
Coffee verses alcohol 
Coffee and AF 
Research : Coffee and the heart
Tea, coffee, alcohol and Afib.
