I started getting palpitations in Jul/Aug 2017 and was diagnosed with af, however it was only occasional ie 2-3 times per year for the next couple of years. Gradually got worse and eventually was getting af attacks every couple of days and last year was put on 1.25 mg of Bisoprolol which I hated, extreme tiredness, shortness of breath and slight chest discomfort. Eventually GP agreed to try me on flecainide 50mg twice daily - this did absolutely nothing for my af, even taking an additional 100mg tablet when it was bad had no effect. I also believe the flecainide increased the frequency of my af. So I decided to go back on the bisoprolol as I was desperate for some relief from the af. My GP has now suggested I try Diltiazem which I am about to start. Have tried all the usual dietary advice about cutting out caffeine, chocolate, salt, processed meats etc and also take a magnesium supplement.
As I am sure most of us on here have done I have tried to work out what brought on my af in the first place. Having online access to my GP medical records I searched through my records for when I first saw the GP about palpitations - it was Aug 2017 so checking my medical records for the 6 months prior to that occurrence I found I had been started on atorvastatin (for slightly raised cholesterol) in June 2017. So I have done a google search for any connections between statins and af but there doesn't seem to be much evidence for this. I am probably being paranoid about this but my palpitations started within 6 weeks of starting atorvastatin.
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this ?
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tealdozer
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Thanks, Jean yes after 6 years I'm still wondering why ! Whether it be diet or lifestyle I've tried changing numerous things over the years. I know I should probably just accept it and move on, but it's not that easy.
Thanks for that link Jean. I have just had a read of it and it is interesting but he seems to be on a quite restrictive and very specific diet. It is good that it has worked for him and kudos to him for his efforts. I will give some thoughts to his comments about calcium, mushrooms and Vit D.
It's just something to keep your dream of a cure going. Pinch bits from here and there.
I take vitamin D3 at 4,000IU, K2-MK7 at 100ug, B3 Complex high potency, Zinc 15mg, Magnesium Glycinate 80mg and Taurine 500mg. Going to up my dose of Magnesium once I've finished the ones I have.
On statins - nothing would surprise me although because statins are anti inflammatory I would guess not. Only way to see is stop them & see if there is an improvement. Have you ever heard of the Nocebo affect? The opposite of Placebo - if you believe that a drug will have a negative affect - it does. There is good research around this phenomena.
In 2003, living in the northern Sydney suburbs my GP reckoned I was superman. I was 59 and my BP was normal ( for that moment in time ... 145/90 ish ). Can't remember HR. I thought I was superman too.
In 2005 I was back in Britain and my GP prescribed me Simvastatin ..... just as a precaution. no checks done on my Cholesterol.
In 2007 my GP prescribed me Ramipril ( in addition to Simvastatin ) for high BP. By this time general convention viewed a good BP as being around 120/80 ish. Mine was still around 140/80 ish.
In January 2010 I was mugged by paroxysmal AF .... so then my party bag of drugs became, Simvastatin, Ramipril, Bisoprolol and Warfarin. In 2013 ( I think ) my GP prescribed me Felodopine for BP in addition to all the other junk.
So, as far as I'm concerned there is no connection between Simvastatin and AF. It may well be though that there is or can be in some peeps a genetic predisposition to AF.
All that said, much depends on how quick an AF diagnosis was made and how quickly treatment was started. Mine was 9 hours !
Highly doubt any statin/afib connection. That said, I see no harm in doing a one or two month trial off of them to see if you afib situation improves, as long as your doctor gives the ok.
That aside, with the frequency of your episodes which apparently cannot be contained with rhythm drugs, have you considered having an ablation?
Thanks Jim, as I mentioned I am just about to start on diltaizim to see if that has any effect. If not then an ablation is probably going to be the next step ( I think I have been reluctant to go down the operation route for some time now).
Many, including myself, tolerate Diltiazem better than beta blockers like bisoprolol. But as you know, it's primarily a rate control drug and may not help keep you out of afib. Personally, I never took it daily, just to lower my rate while inafib.
Like yourself, I was very reluctant to go the ablation route. That changed, when my episode became weekly and the duration of each episode became longer. Ended up having Cryo three months ago.
At some point, the longer you're in afib, the lower your chances of a successful ablation in the future. Doesn't sound like you're there yet, but something to remember. If you can hold out -- I couldn't -- Pulse Field Ablation (PFA) is starting to become more available. It appears to be just as effective as RF and Cryo, but with a better safety profile.
I've just posted a question before I found your post Tealdozer. My husband developed AF a month after being prescribed max dose Atorvastatin, which was prescribed after a very small MINOCA. He has just had five weeks off the Atorvastatin because it had triggered extreme gut problems - has had hugely improved exercise tolerance and no AF, though he's still extremely cautious about alcohol and caffeine which were big triggers for him. I found one article from 2003 about someone who got AF two weeks after starting on Simvastatin but nothing else.
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