Triggers for a fibs?

[peachtreepiggy]

What are the most common "triggers" for a fibs, if any? I am newly diagnosed and am trying to keep track of my episodes so I can see if there are any commonalities and possibly avoid them in the future, because I get really scared when they happen!

[BobD Volunteer]

Alcohol and of course ibuprofen or similar NSAIDS are common but as my EP told me, "searching for triggers is the way to madness. "

[David21 in reply to BobD]

Especially (for me) too much alcohol when combined with a virus

[CDreamer]

Stress above everything; sleep apnea; poor sleep; extreme exercise & for me even just overstretching myself;

Food and drink is very individual - I’m ok with caffeine & small amounts of alcohol - it’s trial & error.

Certain drugs make things worse for me - NASAIDS and steroids of course which can be problematic for controlling certain other conditions.

More behaviours for me eg: eating too large meals and going to bed within 3-4 hours of eating, getting up and rushing around after eating - I need to sit quietly for at least 30 mins. Any infection, especially respiratory or gastric.

[jeanjeannie50]

Having had AF for 19 years, three ablations (where they go up through your groin to burn or freeze the inside of the heart where the rogue pulses often come from) and numerous cardioversions (electric shock to put the heart back into it's correct rhythm) my advice to everyone diagnosed with AF is the following:

1. Be Aware you are most unlikely to die from Atrial Fibrillation (AF). I used to think that the way my heart bounced around I would surely be found dead next day. Still here though!

2. Changing your diet to a more plant based one, avoiding any foods containing artificial additives, not allowing yourself to become dehydrated, cutting back on sugar, alcohol and caffeine, also losing weight (if it's needed) will all have a beneficial effect on your AF. Artificial sweeteners were a sure trigger for my attacks. How I wish I'd known all of this before having any of my ablations. Would I have listened if anyone had told me? Probably not, because I believed ablations would cure me - three didn't! They have helped some people though and my AF now is not so severe.

3. This is a hard one, but looking at gadgets that show your pulse and AF will make you anxious and anxiety feeds AF. I was obsessed with what my heart was doing for about the first ten+ years of my AF journey and my attacks were so debilitating I'd end up in a hospital ward, it has taken me a long time to take my mind off this subject and get on with living. The less I think about it, the better I feel. Now I used to feel cross with people who suggested I stop looking at my pulse rate machines, I thought that their AF couldn't be as bad as mine and they didn't understand how poorly attacks made some of us feel. I would get cross with anyone who said they could still go on holiday and carry on life as normal. They made me feel evil, by not understanding how ill I felt! In our minds AF is only as bad as we have experienced, for some attacks are mild for others they're more severe.

4. Make sure you don't slouch, or unwittingly do shallow breathing while watching tv or if you're online. If you do your heart will protest. Also avoid tight clothing around your waist or chest.

5. Try supplementing with magnesium, any type except oxide (I use glycinate from YourSupplements and also take taurine, zinc, vitamin B complex, D3, K2 & C). I feel fine and there's little I can't do now, despite being in constant low rate AF. Or at least I think I am, I don't check these days.

6. If over 60 I would make sure that you’re taking an anticoagulant to prevent blood clots forming and causing a stroke. Note that they do not thin the blood in any way, just stop it from clotting so quickly. You should not notice any major difference in the way you bleed.

Hope this info will help you.

Jean

[peachtreepiggy in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Thank you, Jean. Your response was very helpful, especially the list of supplements. I have heard of magnesium helping a fibs and I currently have B complex sitting lonely in my cupboard. I read online where vitamin B does something with estrogen, which I can't have, since I had estrogen positive breast cancer. SO I will try the magnesium, at least.

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to peachtreepiggy]

Dr Sanjay Gupta of York Cardiology recommends vitamin C for AF too. Google him making sure you mention YouTube and York Cardiology, he has made loads of helpful videos.

[Rsqumedic]

I just had my second ablation a week ago. My first was 3 years ago. I was a Firefighter/Paramedic for 37 years and retired two years ago due to my a-fib. I am 58 now. I am blessed to have an excellent electrophysiologist. The first ablation worked fairly well. I didn't have any a-fib episodes for approximately 2 1/2 years and started having intermittent episodes a few months ago, so did the second ablation. Have had a few episodes post surgery that have self resolved which is normal. If you can get an ablation, I think that it is worth it. It's not a cure , but definitely helped.

As far as triggers go ? Man...they are all over the place. The most consistent possible ones are stress, fatigue, eating too late in the evening before bed ( wait three hours at least before going to bed. Digestion and reflux can affect the vagus nerve which can trigger an episode. )...too much sugar can be a trigger as well sometimes. Caffeine is hit or miss with me. Sometimes I get a rapid heartbeat ( tachycardia ) if I have more than one cup a day. I try to only have one cup or drink decaf. My electrophysiologist flat out told me that while there are some consistent triggers for SOME people, they really have no idea why it occurs. The bottom line is that it is not going to kill you. It can be a major pain in the butt at times, but for me, it's just a nuisance. It can take up to six months for the ablation to heal so going to TRY and chill while I heal....eat well, exercise consistently and reasonably, and try and remember to not let it consume you.

[jwsonoma]

Hello,

I've had afib for 10 years. It started as a stroke and I was give about 15 different tests and the hospital concluded I had a stroke of unknown origin.

It took a year after I had the stroke to be diagnosed with PAF. It progressed to a monthly event over the next year. I was put on Flecainide (75mg 2 xday), with Bisoprolol (1.25mg) and Wafarin.

The cardiologist strongly and I mean STRONGLY recommended I loose all belly fat (BMI 22), absolutely NO alcohol, no decongestants or any other medication that listed possible rapid heart rate as a side effect. I've had 2 short low HR aFib events in the last 8 years. I now eat plant based, exercise at least an hour a day and have maintained my weight. I drink NA beer.

AFib is like a pot hole. It only gets progressivley worse if unattended. You can patch it but if you don't treat the underlying causes it often comes back.

I feel a little draggy with the meds, I miss beer and wine, I occasionally have to diet to keep my weight down but it's easier with out the drinking. I am used to the plant based diet. My cardiologist says there is an excellant chance AFib will never be problem for me. I am going on 69 and can still go up to Lake Tahoe and ski moguls at 10,000ft elevation. So that's my story.

[Pommerania78 in reply to jwsonoma]

How much weight did you lose and how long did it take? Also, how long has it been since you had any Afib? Thanks.

[opal11uk]

Stress

[secondtry]

My conclusion after 11 years since AF was diagnosed and a number of years reading this Forum daily is:

'Your trigger' is not just one thing but an accumulation with an individual tipping point. The analogy I find the easiest to imagine is you are a glass, some people are half pints, some are a pint glass. Into your glass goes your genetic make-up and all your bad habits eg stress physical & mental, alcohol, wrong food, sleep apnoea and many more until it spills over ie AF is triggered.

So to play safe adopt a policy of improvement on all aspects and look forward to not just stopping AF but a healthier chronic free rest of your life. This has worked for me.

nb I am not saying the above is a cure as due to 2 or more episodes a week in 2012 I continue to take 200mgs Flecainide per day with no known side effects.

[KelliEAnniE]

hi I was diagnosed about three months ago my two triggers was definitely over exercising as first time was after a swim lesson and second time was after a gym session went to doctors as difficulty breathing and he rushed me to hospital I have controlled AF am in AF all the time but take bisoperol and apixoban have slowly got back into exercise mainly pilates and walking not swimming or gym work as get tempted to push myself after being terrified when diagnosed ai am now feeling bsi much more positive about things really helped getting lively messages from people who have had it for years hope this helps @

[bean_counter27]

We're all different. What triggers my AF might not be a trigger for you and vice versa. A common trigger is supposedly caffeine but I drink 3 or 4 cups a day and haven't had an episode for 3 months. My advice would be to note the possible triggers and see whether they are associated with your episodes. If you feel they are triggering episodes then consider avoiding them if you can.

Good luck

[Madscientist16]

For me it is artificial sweeteners and monosodium glutamate. I already avoid caffeine, but some are bothered by it.

[NewOne2023]

I've been having afib for the last 5 months. Almost all my episodes started either in bed or in resting, so basically I don't really know my triggers, although my first big one happend the morning after all night drinking, so no alcohol since. I had an ablation just 5 days ago so currently recovering home.

[Frootbat]

All replies so far contain good advice. Haven’t read all thoroughly but not sure if cold drinks and food have been mentioned. I have cut out alcohol and caffeine, although can’t be sure they’re triggers. However I have found that ice cold drinks and ice cream have triggered and so only have warm drinks. If I have ice cream I eat extremely slowly. Believe it’s a vagal reaction. My GP did confirm this.

[Ppiman]

The only large study on this was done in (if I recall) the Netherlands and it showed just what I expected: that for most sufferers, no triggers can be found. Of those that could identify something, eating and getting into bed were the two I recall being most common.

I suspect the most common "trigger" occurs when the heart is physically slightly irritated or even "stretched" and pulled. This can occur naturally, from eating, gulping liquid, stretching and squatting; these can cause the heart to have an ectopic beat, known to precipitate AF in prone individuals. It can also be a result of being overweight or even tall (as in my case) for in those people, the heart is naturally larger and the cells of the atrium are a little more "stretched". It's been shown hat stretched atrium is more prone to AF.

Finding a specific food that is a trigger is something a few people with AF seem to manage to do, but the scientific evidence for this is lacking unless the food causes some kind of more general allergic or other response (such as bloating, for example with gluten intolerance, or in people with auto-immune conditions). Also, hormonal changes can affect water balance in the body, which, too, might affect organs including the heart.

Coffee has been given the all clear, scientifically, except in a few who are hypersensitive to caffeine; and alcoholic drinks (in strict moderation) seem to be okay from personal experience and that of some relatives and friends with AF. Online, alcoholic drinks come in for blame on a few AF websites, with some making it into a latter day evil, but it's something for you to decide and perhaps discuss with your GP or specialist.

Steve

[ozziebob]

I would suggest you find out your Vitamin D serum blood level, as a deficiency for me was concurrent with the initiation of my pAF. And supplementation with D3 + K2 (one capsule) has reduced the frequency of my AF events. (See my Bio re the details)

But you do need first to know your base blood level of Vitamin D in order to assess the effectiveness of any ongoing supplementation you might undertake, if such supplementation is required. I aim for a level of 125-->250 nmol/L, as is recommended in countries like France.

It seems increased inflammation (stress), from whatever source, is a likely to provoke the beast for those of us diagnosed with AF, and Vitamin D3 helps to reduce this inflammation, plus also reduce morbidity in a very wide range of medical conditions.

Online searches will quickly reveal research on Vitamin D3 that is related to arrhymias.

Good luck.

[dunestar]

I believe strongly that there are triggers for Afib. Cause and effect is an underlying principle in nature. Things do not just happen spontaneously. But we may not always be able to identify what the cause is and I do think triggers are personal. Here are mine - alcohol, especially fortified wines like port, dehydration, big meals and going to bed on a full stomach, moving around after a big meal. Any squeezing of the heart. Emotional stress - I couldn't watch the England v Italy Euros final when it went to penalties! I hope you will be able to identify what sets you off.

[AustinElliot]

I am sure that my AF started after repeatedly working in the Texas heat and allowing myself to get dehydrated. After that, I have had 3 of 9 episodes after eating a big meal with a ton of Parmesan (Tyramine) and I have stopped drinking Powerades for hydration as they contain an insane amount of salt. Not sure if any of that is accurate, its just what I have observed. I was having AF once a month, but my last one was 3.5 months ago.

I did lose a lot of weight, cut out caffeine entirely, taking magnesium twice a day, Diltiazem, and watching my salt intake, but really only just not adding salt. I still drink Diet Soda, Milk and Water

Hope that helps and you can find some of your triggers.

[TopBiscuit]

This is a very individual matter, and only you can probably answer this question for yourself over time. In my 2 1/2 years of suffering from paroxymsal AF I can say with confidence that there's a number of things that have triggered my AF more than once, but nothing that triggers it every time.

More than once triggers: gulping cold water, alcohol, eating anything (AF starts after first mouthful), long walks (2+ hrs), stress, dehydration, not eating enough. I could go on. The only thing I have definitely given up is alcohol, having seen good evidence from several clinicians (via studies, not just observation) that whether or not it triggers AF at the time of drinking, any consumption of alcohol increases re-occurrence of AFib over time. I try and stay hydrated, eat regularly and avoid getting over stressed.

I hate to say it but nothing has stopped my AF from progressing. I wish you the best with your AFib journey.

[Tomred]

Hi Peach , for me triggers ive identified, bad sleep leaving me heavy legged , stooping over to do things, rushing about from one thing to another, this is a hard one as my motor is always running and takes some getting used to , to slow down , alcohol kicks me off, climbing kicks me off, uphill walking too plus i can be kicked off by just sitting , triggers are very hard to pinpoint and we are all different as well.

[Peacefulneedshelp]

I would suggest reading Super Gut by Dr. Willam Davis and listening to his podcasts, called Defiant Health. He is also a cardiologist, but he wrote the Wheat Belly books, but Super Gut takes it further. I am experimenting with his suggestions now. I started a batch of yogurt this morning to add many Microbiomes to my diet. Making sure we don't have SIBO which he claims causing all kinds of heart arrhythmias. I am just suggesting research, for a better understanding. It all has helped me a great deal. I have been free of issues for awhile now and on no medications. As the medications do me in. I look for real answers not something to just cover over symptoms. All the best in your research.

[Yoursonice]

Hello Peachtreepiggy,

My triggers are alcohol, caffeine and if I eat too much sugar.

I hope this helps you.

[joyelane]

I'm never certain, but my most recent one I think could have come from a super salty meal.....and I'm always bad about staying hydrated.

[Jimmy1944]

Hi. Too much of anything is about as good as you will find out. Food too late at night, alcohol, hard excersise, tiredness, worring about your AF. Breath breath breath, hydrate, calm yourself down, a Camomile tea before bedtime helps me too. Good Luck. Jimmy