Was diagnosed last week with Atrial Fibrillation. Needless to say very worried and upset. Have been reading about what I can do myself - especially weight loss. I have been reading a study and wondered if anyone with medical knowledge could clarify exactly what ‘arrhythmia- free survival’ means in this paragraph below…Does it mean no more arrhythmia? Thanks!
‘Particularly, those in the ≥10% weight loss group had a six times higher chance of arrhythmia-free survival in comparison to the other two groups.’
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Joeyy06
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First welcome - To answer your question - In a word - yes.
Studies tend to use statistics so the language is (or should be) precise and mathmatical.
Unfortunately that paragraph on it’s own is meaningless as we don’t know what x6 of what is - if 6x0=0, This is where you need to be very knowledgeable to be able to decipher many of these studies.
The take away, as I understand it, is that being overweight will increase likelihood of increasing what is called the ‘arrythmia burden’ and that losing 10% or more of your body weight or maintaining a BMI of around 26/27 may (not will) help.
In my experience Lifestyle Medicine is a hell of a lot more complicated than that but weight loss, if required, is a good place to start. Doesn’t help though if you are already healthy weight and could be harmful if underweight.
In my priority List of things to consider:-
Stress management - known to be the biggest antagonist for AF
Nutrition (and weight management) - you can be a good weight and undernourished
Quality Sleep - if you wake frequently during the night, have nocturnal AF and don’t awake refreshed get tested for sleep apnea
Moderate Exercise - too much is a bad as too little for AF
These are the 4 Pillars of Health but I add in how to breath properly to maintain good gas exchange.
Newly diagnosed induces a chaotic, panicky thinking state which knocks you for six so one thing at a time. Just process, read, ask questions and try understand. I have had Af for about 20 years now, it’s a chronic condition, it may be a side effect of other conditions and often keeps poor company eg: Thyroid dysfunction, diabetes, high blood pressure which need to be treated and when controlled, will help AF episodes.
A huge amount to consider.
Go to the AFA website and learn as much as you can and know that AF affects everyone very, very differently and each person responds very differently to treatments - including Lifestyle. You can do everything according to the book and still have AF and you can have someone of similar age who smokes, drinks, eats poorly and never exercises who will never suffer. There are no absolutes.
A very good summation by CDreamer above. I think that the task is to optimise your health and this is likely to reduce your AF burden. Many have read the book Curing Afib by Dr John Day. It can be technical and his approach would not be for everyone. Do continue to use this platform, you will learn a lot.Good luck.
There is so much to learn when newly diagnosed, it takes a while to get your head around the fact that AF is pretty low on the priority scale for cardiology unless you have severe symptoms.
Knowledge is key to understand the condition and your version of it as it’s different for us all.
Here is a link to all the patient resources for you to save to favourites or bookmark in your browser.
Just commenting on the meaning of the words, it sounds like it means not having arrhythmia anymore. Maybe you figured that much out, and looking for something more profound. Anyway, it's all I've got.
CDreamer's summary is excellent and I think we can all relate to the chaotic panicky feeling if being newly diagnosed. Hang out here and do your own research step by step and you will develop management strategies and get the occasional laugh too.
Particularly, those in the ≥10% weight loss group had a six times higher chance of arrhythmia-free survival in comparison to the other two groups.’
Arrhythmia-free survival simply means not having any afib. So in this context, it means that if clinically obese individuals lose more than 10% of their weight, they will have a six times greater chance of being free of atrial fibrillation then those that do not lose that weight.
This refers to a recent study(s) showing that losing weight can be the single most important lifestyle change anyone can make to reduce or eliminate their Afib burden.
So important that many electrophysiologists (ep's) will not even attempt an ablation if someone's weight is above a certain threshold, because they understand that their chances of success are significantly diminished.
It's great you found the group. Full of real life stories and experiences and info!
From my own experience (I first had arrhythmias in my late teens and I'm over 60 but don't tell anyone... definitely surviving fine!) yes, there's a very sensitive 'limit' to my healthy weight and if I cross it my Afib will reappear. Partly that's related to what I do to put on weight (biscuits and not broccoli! - bad diet) but also I think metabolism and extra weight around my neck perhaps causing slight sleep issues.
Loads of good advice above from CD!
I often compare having Afib, when explaining it to someone, as being a bit like someone who has asthma. They don't have asthma all the time - only if it's triggered / provoked. They just need to be careful and monitor their situation. Etc.
My own advice would be just to accept that you'll need to look after your health and find what your limits are (for example, exercise - I'm fit, but only with more rhythmic low impact exercise) and keep a simple diary so you can spot any trends. I try to keep meds to as low a dose as possible (Bisoprolol 1.25 for rate, Flecainide 2x50mg for rhythm) and take them at a time that works best.
Consider the major triggers first, like too much alcohol, stress, lack of nutrients, electrolytes (look into magnesium), etc.
Hi Joey welcome to the forum. I believe lifestyle plays a crucial role in a majority of medical conditions, but it’s not the whole picture and there is a certain amount of sods law involved! So no beating yourself up! I was well within a healthy weight and eating a healthy diet when I was diagnosed a couple of years back. And I went right into persistent Afib!
I remember the horrid sense of panic when first diagnosed. And the condition itself brought about feelings of doom at times. Putting energy into exploring the condition on reputable sites and the book mentioned above by Paul I found very reassuring.
I’m now Afib free following an ablation procedure, but I accept the fact it could return any time. The choice ahead is to a great extent up to us and knowledge is power. Make sure you get to see a good arrhythmia specialist - Electrophysiologist - to find the best way ahead. I treated myself to a private consultation.
And keep on posting here - this forum is the best!
You are worrying far more than you should and yet also quite reasonably as we all go through just the same more or less depending on our temperament.
The quotation you’ve found was the doctors way of saying that those in the trial who lost more than 10% of their body weight went the longest without AF.
There are several health aspects that can be treated that will help the heart and reduce AF: high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnoea, weight and exercise.
The anxiety that accompanies AF and any heart condition is natural and can be (from personal experience…) hard to control.
You’ll be given an ultrasound heart scan called an echocardiogram. This checks everything is sound and any reason why the AF is happening. Usually, I guess, it’s simply ageing or genetics.
Remember that top of the heart is nothing like as important to health as the bottom. The doctors will focus on keeping that part (the two ventricles) healthy and beating below 100bpm.
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