I conducted a small experiment today. I have not drank coffee in over a month but decided to have one cup today. ONE cup. Within an hour my ectopics went from zero to about six per minute. Is this really possible after an estimated 80 mg of caffeine?
The ectopics have gone now but I was very surprised that my burden increased so dramatically after such a tiny amount of caffeine. It might be a coincidence, or it might not. Either way, I am staying away from coffee now.
Wise move. some people are very sensitive to it and some say it does not affect them. When alcohol was my trigger even a sniff would set me off.
For me it’s about the type of coffee and the quality, I restrict myself to 1/2 cups a day and have no problems as the evidence in trials seems to be that coffee is a healthy option if it’s organic and good quality snd freshly made but it’s very individual.
My biggest antagonist is stress.
Mine too CDreamer . I am overweight and really struggling to lose it ( age , parathyroid hormone disease , heart meds , love food !!!) and the catciologists all say my weight is my trigger , but when I did manage to lose weight and was at my slimmest I had the worst AF episode ever , that never went away .
I have been stressed , over my Dad’s awful dementia and abysmal health services in his area , and actually felt the ectopics creeping on , which did lead to another episode . I am still under family stress with my mother’s ill health and awful GP, hospital , DN’s etc and I need to manage the stress better as I’ve had my 3rd ablation 4 months ago and the last thing I need is to revert back into AF . I know what to do it’s just when situations are out of my control that’s when I feel most stressed / anxious . Sorry for hi jacking the post !
It may not have been the caffeine which caused the ectopics,but coffee itself. When I had paroxysmal AF coffee always brought on AF. Tea never did. I've not drank coffee, caffeinated or caffeine free, for the last 16 years.
May have been caused by anxiety and not by coffee.....
I doubt it John my episodes that were triggered usually have two cups then a run up stairs or something. I’d say the thought may have stimulated something which in turn made you more anxious. Having said that I now drink decaf and there’s some good ones especially in cafes and I can enjoy 2-3 a day with no issues of ectopics or AF
My understanding is that recent research points towards caffeine not being a trigger for AF. It certainly never brings on either AF or ectopics for me though I do generally only have one “proper” coffee a day.
A single test is not statistically relevant. Maybe try it a few more times. Even better, get someone else to make your coffees and ask them without letting you know, to sometimes use decaf and sometimes full caf and monitor your reactions.
I have a problem with caffeine - definitely one of my triggers. I just drink de-caffeinated coffee and tea these days. It’s not a problem now.
It seems to be so but the evidence is against it, unless you have a particular sensitivity to caffeine. Caffeine itself is an alkaloid and some people apparently metabolise these rather strangely, so you might be one of those. I gather codeine is similar.
Steve
Caffeine never used to be a trigger when I was first diagnosed, but I drink decaff. However, there have been a couple of occasions where the Costa Barista has given me normal coffee by mistake and within about 15mins my heart was pounding like the Duracell bunny's drum.Needless to say, I watch them like a hawk now.
Yes one of the men waiting for an ablation around the same time as me found he always had an AF episode on a Friday afternoon after he treated himself to a Capuccino from a well known UK coffee shop - other than that he ever drank coffee. I have been drinking decaff tea and coffee for many years due to bladder issues so my wife changed as well - now if she has a caffeinated coffee she feels sick and dizzy within half an hour - so wishes she had carried on with the caffeine as it ever affected her in any way before. So either change to decaff or stay away from caffeine altogether. We have found that Yorkshire decaff tea is good and Kenco instant decaff coffee is good for the coffee machine we use either starbucks decaff or Lavazza decaff. We drink a lot of tea - about 5 cups a day but only one or two cups of coffee.
I have only drunk decaffeinated tea and coffee for many years now. . I have tried all the different makes of decaff tea and coffee and found the nicest ones for me , are Nescafe Gold decaff and Yorkshire decaff tea.
hi
They thought I had panic attacks which they then thought was PAF but then diagnosed as SVT / PAF
I really do think caffeine and/ or coffee itself can be a trigger - it certainly is for me. My triggers are caffeine, alcohol, and stress.
I gave up alcohol 2 years ago and don’t miss it (I drink 0-0). I only drink caffeine free coffee and berry tea (also caffeine free). I do not drink any coca-cola or canned drinks
I radically changed my lifestyle and diet and pretty much cut out processed food and I also lost 2.5 stone. I practice yoga and meditation and yogic breathing - all are very effective.
I no longer do intense exercise but I do lots of walking and at a decent pace (9 to 9:30 per km) to raise my heart rate, but with the meds the most I can get it to is circa 90. However any exercise is good for our hearts.
Since going on combination of Multaq Dronedarone and bisoprolol 2.5 mg for the SVT / PACs I have not had any episodes. The only downside is my naturally low resting HR has reduced from circa 55 to circa 42 and at night 36/37. As a result they have just lowered the bisoprolol to 1.25mg.
I’m a huge believer in understanding your triggers, what works to calm you and also in wearables and tracking your health. My GP and cardiologist are always amazed when I can show them the long term trends of my HR, blood pressure, sleep quality and 6 monthly full bloods. I wear my Apple Watch 23 out of 24 hours every day.
Hope this is useful for some folks.
Hi John.
When you say "is this really after possible after an estimated 80mg of caffeine "
To put it in perspective I take 100mg capsule of Flecainide daily and a tiny 2.5mg of bisoprolol daily and this amount works in controlling AF. I can't believe such a tiny amount has an effect for a 24 hour period.
I've switched to buying decaffeinated coffee beans for my fancy espresso machine at home. I honestly can't taste any difference and still have the enjoyment of sitting and having a nice quiet cuppa and a couple of chocy bickies several times a day.
Cheers Blake
John I believe you. thank heavens coffee doesn’t do that to me. I only have one cup and I love flavored coffee. It’s my treat. My doctor has no problem with me drinking it. But that being said, are you aware you can get coffee half caf? It’s really not bad
I will tell you something that has hit me several times was eating ice cream believe it or not. Sometimes I just get brain freeze in my chest. whether it was coincidence or the fact that they had just changed my settings and I had a milkshake I was not even home from the doctor when I was getting my feelings. They only lasted about 20 minutes, but I have no doubt that’s what triggered it, and it triggered it fast.
the worst one I had was just a month or so ago we had gone out to lunch. It may have been the combination of 110° outside and the fact that I had a glass of icy sangria and ate everything on my plate because it was so good and we had not had breakfast but by the time I got to the car with my cousin oh boy, it hit me hard. It reminded me of the early days. The good thing was having the pacemaker. I knew I was feeling awful but at least no further damage with my heart failure. I don’t advise anyone to try it just because it doesn’t harm anything next time half the lunch goes home and when I have my icy sangria, it is sitting at home sipping a very small glass. I have had it before and since without any problems I think I’ve had sangria about three times since I first got a fib. if they made it without alcohol, I’d be fine with that also.
sometimes we don’t know something a trigger until it triggers. I definitely know over eating is bad for me. No matter how good the food is. Try the half If you love your coffee if it’s not that big a deal I think it’s smart. You get away from it. Also, my coffee is more like dessert to me trying to keep that stuff out of my mouth lol
If not the caffeine, then the irritation to the vagus nerve since coffee can cause acid reflux. Acid reflux and other digestive upset set off the vagus nerve and the vagus nerve connects the heart and digestive system. Coffee and acid reflex are know causes to trigger AF. The only way to know for sure is to try drinking decaffeinated coffee and see if it still causes you ectopics.
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