AFIB AFTER EATING

[Fibby55]

I was diagnosed with Afib 2 yrs ago. I was given metoprolol, Pradaxa and told to lose weight.I get Afib episodes 7-8 times per month lasting 4 sec to the longest very recently was 8 minutes. In the past 2 months I have been getting palpitaions after eating, which triggers the Afib. Anybody else has this problem? Thanks. JN

[Jalia]

Hi Fibby55, my first thoughts are that I would love to have AFib that only lasted 8 minutes .....or 8 hours come to that . Notwithstanding, they are obviously troubling you.

Presumably you have taken your medics advice to attempt weight loss ? I discovered many years ago that small meals only are the way to go if you want to avoid AFib triggers. So the answer may well be much smaller meals eaten slowly and never eat late at night. Hope this helps.

[Fibby55 in reply to Jalia]

This morning for breakfast I had oatmeal, 1/2 cup of canteloupe and an english muffin, within half hour palpitations started been 3 days now. I just left a message for my cardiologist see what he has to say.

[JOY2THEWORLD49 in reply to Fibby55]

Hi

Did you have full milk with oats? I take water as you in fact making oat milk by using water. My oats are organic imported full grain.

May be you are allergic to gluten. I now eat sour dough breads, no muffins full of sugar and gluten.

I stop at the oats, water and slice 1/2 banana/blueberries/apple cooked/raisins.

cheers JOY

[Fibby55 in reply to JOY2THEWORLD49]

I use water in my oatmeal, I also put some unsweetened almond milk.

[Jalia in reply to Fibby55]

Hi Fibby, I suspect you may be having too many carbs first thing. Some people can cope with this and others can't. I can either have cereal or toast. If I have both I'm asking for trouble.

[BobD Volunteer]

You AF burden is so low as to be admirable. Keep up the weight loss and aim for that 26 BMI wuld be my advice.

[meadfoot]

Yes I have afib when eating. Its been going in for years. Not every meal but seems to come in chunks of time say for two to three weeks at a time then eases for a while. I have gastric issues ie acid reflux and slow gastric motility which doesnt help.

I am slim and eat an excellent healthy diet so its not that in my case. Loosing weight can only help your overall health so its a wise move. Dont eat late in the evening, try small meals and chew well. Your af burden seems low, so maybe small changes can keep it at bay. Good luck,

[Fibby55 in reply to meadfoot]

I've been eating very little these past few days because I'm scared to get the palpitations, I've lost 3 lbs. I know I eat too fast, will definitely slow down to eat thanks.

[healingharpist in reply to Fibby55]

Hi Fibby, Try taking smaller bites, then chewing each bite 30 times (it's challenging!), and you'll immediately notice food tastes better, you'll lose weight, and your meal takes longer, even though you may only eat half of it! Yrs ago, while on a macrobiotic diet to help ulcerative colitis, I was taught to chew each bite 60 times!! Jaws were sore, and meals took forever... but it changed my habits forever. Also, 2 things that seem to help my palpitations: 1. Slow breathing in, then exhaling with pursed lips, for several minutes---or sing, if you like to; and 2. Changing position, ie., leaning slightly forward, as at a computer, has stopped mine; also walking or moving around can also break the chain of palpitations. Sometimes, sitting very quietly, maybe w/ a hot water bottle or heating pad (on low) on my chest, also stops them. We are each so different in what works for us... I really wish you the best of success with some of the great tips people here will have. Try them all! Cheers, Diane

[Fibby55 in reply to healingharpist]

Thanks Diane for the information. I'll give these tips a try. I do eat fast and I don't chew my food very long.

[Rainfern]

I have frequently heard on this forum how people have identified specific triggers such as artificial sweeteners. Also avoid fish oil supplements which have now been linked to AF. My HR is up these past few days just with a moderate rise in sugar intake over the Christmas period. It sounds like you’ve been doing really well though.

[John3333333]

Some might disagree, but I'm not sure if you can have a 4 second episode of AF. I think a cardiologist would call it a salvo or a run of atrial ectopics.

[Fibby55 in reply to John3333333]

Could be a little longer 5-7 sec, put its definitely Afib, I know all to well what it feels like. I also have a Kardia monitor to record my EKG and when my Afib is longer that's what's recorded as Atrial fibrillation.

[Fibby55 in reply to Fibby55]

Thanks for your last post. I feel alittle less anxious, but I would like to know why I get these supraventricular ectopics at times after eating. Made an appointment with my Cardiologists.

[Afibtastic]

Maybe you have a sugar problem. That meal is full of carbs. Probably just the oatmeal would be enough. If you feel you need a muffin wait a few hours. Too much sugar or carbs can set me off

[Jewelsjem]

Carbs on an empty stomach trigger my afib.

[secondtry]

Yes eating is a focus area. How much you eat, what you eat and when you eat... and maybe how fast you eat.

[Fibby55 in reply to secondtry]

Hi secondtry, this morning I ate a small breakfast, took my time and chewed my food throughly and only got a few ectopic beats, nothing like yesterday. Will continue doing this.

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi

After the stroke I was given Metoprolol is years prior I took it for 1 year and it made me breathless especially the new Dr doubled dosage.

The Metoprolol 3 pills of 24.7mg I could reduce but it made me breathless from the start on exertion. Plus no energy, fatigued, sweating did nothing to reduce H/R avg day 186. But risky was pauses on 47avg Night.

I was changed to Bisoprolol and the Cardiologist said "better for AFers" but again not reducing much, 156 avge per day.

Disgusted with being. left with uncontrolled H/R Day & AF.

I could not have an operation scheduled for 4th March last year but I was lucky that our Locum - who had had AF asked me to see a private specialist. Who thankfully put me on CCB Diltiazem 180mg (a Calcium Channel Blocker).A half dose but it dropped my H/R to 51 within 2 hours.

With help from NZ Heart Foundation a nurse who had worked under the new Cardiologist guided me. A reduction to 120mg. Reduce Bisoprolol to 2.25mg and separate BB from CCB. So CCB AM and BBB PM.

Yes, took Pradaxa throughout.

A mess up or an imported DR decided to put up my triage team to 150mg x twice. I changed that 2 years 3 months later back to 110mg x twice. I was diagnosed with Papillary Cancer 4 days in but needed a biopsy. Research says lower dose for older. Now they say anti-co.agulant should not be given to any patient with cancer.

I chose PRADAXA as there was an anti med to it in the case of bleeding from accidents.

We don't know your hopefully controlled AF H/Rate and BP.

With AF research points to smaller meals x nore times day.

cheri JOY. 74. (NZ)

[Sixtyslidogirl]

I had that problem for a while, less so now, though I would always try to avoid a meal late at night. In my case it was too much all at once and too many easily absorbed carbs, spiking my blood sugar. It didn’t trigger AF but uncomfortably fast HR. Adding fat to carbs slow the absorption, Oatbran is better than oatmeal in this respect. I cook it up with chia seeds then add more seeds, berries and almond butter. See if that makes any difference. I don’t really know why I don’t get it so much now except that I have adjusted my lifestyle, and my levels of inflammation have gone right down (tested by HS CRP from Thriva). So that took longer than one bowl of porridge. I have had four bouts of AF this year, aiming to get to January without any more. Normally weight, exercise most days.

[Ppiman]

Yes. It's caused, I gather, not by a specific food or such but by movement of the heart itself. This is brought about by a number of natural processes.

One is movement of the food pipe (i.e. the oesophagus) during swallowing or gulping as, in some people, this naturally lies pressed against the atrium at the top of the heart. Another way is that on eating or drinking the stomach moves or expands by peristalsis, which can cause it, again naturally, to press against the diaphragm muscle, which then pushes the heart. A third is, in gassiness, constipation or IBS, the large bowel can be expanded and push against the diaphragm; and finally, on crouching, bending or stretching, the same pressure on the heart muscle can be brought about.

All of these natural effects can cause an ectopic beat to occur as the heart is very sensitive to being pulled or stretched. This ectopic, if it's a PAC type, can then, in prone individuals, set off AF.

Steve

[gbn_ in reply to Ppiman]

Hi Steve. The information you just provided on this is very true.

[Ppiman in reply to gbn_]

I was intrigued when I first read how the heart can react to being pulled or stretched by going into a kind of “twitchy spasm”, even by the natural processes of the body. It’s helped explain why my palpitations can get worse when I’m bloated, kneeling and so on. It always seemed to me that a physical cause might be much more likely than some allergy or food sensitivity.

Steve

[gbn_ in reply to Ppiman]

Hi Steve. Speaking of bloating, I might post another question on the site. The furosemide was working for me but now I find that my weight is creeping back up a bit. I'm supposed to weigh myself daily, and it seems like I'm gaining some weight back again.

[Ppiman in reply to gbn_]

I don't take a water tablet but I think plenty on the forum do, so I'm sure you'll get some help from others.

Happy new year to you when it comes!

Steve

[Fibby55 in reply to Ppiman]

Thank you Steve, very informative makes sense.

[MiniMeGreen]

That is a clear sign of strong vagal involvement of your A-fib. See also richardbogle.com/blog/vagal...

[loghousegal]

I have a large hiatal hernia and am convinced that it is a factor causing my Afib. The EP doesn't seem concerned about it. The advice given here is good. I tend to eat too fast and sometimes, too much. I never eat late since late eating brings on reflux. Like you I will eat slower and smaller meals and hopefully lose a few pounds. My persistent afib is pretty much being controlled by Tikosyn.