I was diagnosed with AF about 2nonths ago.
About two weeks ago I was advised by a friend who used to have AF that if I stopped taking caffeinated drinks it would help me stopping the AF I was experiencing.
Well since stopping caffeinated drinks I have been taking ECG’s (albeit on an Apple Watch) is says that my heart is in Sinus rhythm and no signs of AF.
I was wondering how long I need to leave it before mentioning it to my doctor?
Why would you need to anyway? This hasn't cured your AF , just possibly reduced your AF burden so any drugs you are supposed to take should remain. Lucky you.
There’s lots to learn about AF and the first thing to learn is it’s different for everyone, we can swap notes and experience but I suggest you read up as much as you can as knowledge is the key to deciding your treatment in the long run.
Link to Patient Resources heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...
Read up and come back here to ask anything, I would start with the AF fact file.
Best wishes
Reducing caffeine intake does seem to be a healthier option for your heart.Some people find caffeine is a trigger for them , others , like myself are not caffeine sensitive at all and so caffeine makes no difference to symptoms in general. It can be very individual.
You don't need to tell your GP about it particularly but you could mention it if you want to at a general monitoring appointment. Doctors generally know about this common self care option and expect people to reduce caffeine with cardiac problems just in case it helps.
As Bob says , it won't have cured your AF it can still happen which is why your medical treatment plan is important to stick to but can improve your heart rate and blood pressure in general .
It really depends on the specifics which you have not mentioned. For example, if your doctor still thinks you are in atrial fibrillation, of course you want to notify them that you are not. This may or may not alter their treatment plan.
As to the coffee, triggers can be very individual, but for a number of us caffeine is a trigger. Hopefully staying away from coffee and other caffeinated drinks is all you need.
Jim
when I was first diagnosed my go told me to cut caffeinated drinks. I still get afib but if I accidentally have caffeinated coffee it can be a trigger.
It can only help and de-caffeinated tea/coffee are excellent, so you don’t have to go without.
I avoid all stimulants because they are known to affect your heart rhythm: zero coffee, tea, tobacco, sugar, alcohol. Now, I have no meds and no symptoms.
Very interesting, does this mean that you are cured? If not what does a cure look like? I was reading the latest (I think) research and now they seemed to have increased the different types of af. One is event related events. So if like you the event trigger is recognised and avoided and af does not occur, does this mean you are cured? Or do you still have the propensity for af? The same as if your cancer is in remission, how long does that have to go on before someone proclaims you are cured?
I changed a lot in my diet. I have always had allergies and adrenaline is released when our histamine levels get raised. The adrenaline reduces histamine but affects our heart - beta blockers stop the adrenaline reaching the heart. Stimulants also increase histamine as does exercise, hot weather, sex, stress etc. our bodies get inflamed by poor diet and are trying to repair. We put strain on our bodies by eating and drinking things that cause our gut to be damaged and then toxins can reach our blood stream and cause havoc and confusing messages. Undigested proteins, oxalates etc. it’s complex but I am cured of tachycardia/pots. My hr is lower than it has ever been. Almost everything I ate before was processed but I won’t be going back to that. Pharmaceuticals compound the issue by putting our body systems out of whack and we find ourselves with new conditions needing further pharmaceuticals. I gave up salicylates, oxalates(slowly), gluten, sugar, stimulants and eat a caveman type diet plus oats.
I'm on a similar diet to you, and enjoy the food, and being slender, greatly, and afib has gone from every few days, to very rare. Extreme events still provoke it though. Like an extreme reaction to a drug, paxlovid, that caused a major, very itchy (somewhat relieved by anti-histamines) rash all over my body, and my face swelled, and I had to take prednisone for 10 days. The prednisone, in particular, triggered afib fairly often, though each episode did end when I managed to get to sleep, with the help of antihistamines. I'm fine now, still on the diet, no more afib at least until the next extreme event. Yum, blueberries.
I tend to only drink decaff tea abd coffee now, not sure how much difference it makes but feel it's a precaution. I can go a year or even 2 but then have an AF episode so it's not a cure.
From all the studies, and there seem to be rather a few online, it seems that only a very few people suffer a genuine oversensitivity to caffeine and need to stop taking foods with it in. The BHF has advice on this somewhere, if I recall, and recommends it is safe to continue. I certainly drink coffee and find no effects from it.
Steve
I'm actually diagnosed as having Caffeine Desensitivity. Seems that with Dysautonomia you can end up being oversensitive to everything that should be fine and don't react to the norm.😆😆😆
Oh dear - that sounds fun! 
Life with arrhythmias is hard going at times.
Syteve
Without wishing to upset you,AF is quite strange beast which is likely to return at will. We can mitigate against the likelihood of it by being sensible with our lifestyle etc but it does as it wants really.However, you could argue that AF might do us a favour by making us look at our lifestyle! X
I have only drunk decaffeinated tea and coffee for many years now and I don’t drink alcohol either. Didn’t stop me getting AFib occasionally. Since having an ablation a year ago, I will still drink decaffeinated drinks. I’ve tried all brands and tend to stick to my favourites. I don’t think they taste any different to caffeinated ones. I have read research that says decaffeinated drinks are better for you.
Some caffeine remains. It’s sugar too and refined carbs especially wheat that can trigger us by messing with our blood sugar.
Hi I haven’t drunk tea / coffee for the past 10years , I still get episodes of af but not as often .. I just drink water and the odd can of pop …. I do think it has helped me a bit . Good luck regards G
Caffeine drinks and alcohol have been prohibited for me for many years, (all by my own experiece) . Even after PM and AV node ablation those do affect me, invariable. I must reduce the chocolate consumption as well. If I take a poor quality decaffeinated coffee does affect me. Of course, we are all different. take care
I abandoned caffeine as part of a general sorting out after my diagnosis. It wasn’t a trigger but I’d like to think lack of it helped my sleep and reduced episodes. I do drink it from time to time with no ill effects so you could experimentally add it back in and see if it makes any difference.
I gave up Coffee, Tea and Chocolate for almost ten years. Then I read where Caffeine really has no effect on Afib. I experimented. Have been drinking two cups of coffee every morning and Tea in the afternoon, with absolutely no afib! I also have a little chocolate now and then, but I do not overdo it.
Hello
Thank you for your message, I pleased many of the members have already offered their advice based upon their own experiences.
It is known that stimulants (such as caffeine) can be an AF trigger for many individuals, and that by minimising or eliminating them can have a positive effect on episodes.
If you would further support regarding managing your AF, you may wish to download the 'AF and You' booklet from our AF Association resources: api.heartrhythmalliance.org...
Alternatively, our Patient Services Team are happy to help if you prefer a chat?
01789 867 502
info@afa-international.org
Kind regards
TracyAdmin
My EP and I talked about ‘fixing’ my Afib with a sixth ablation. His response was that the only true ‘fix’ or ‘definitive’ treatment was to ‘pace & ablate’ and that should be left as our last option. Meanwhile, we just needed to stave off the inevitable that we are all headed toward due to aging and entropy (death) and live as full a quality of life as possible. Doing so requires a list of lifestyle changes all of which help … but “there really is no fix” (his words).
Cutting out caffeine and alcohol altogether helps as does yoga, TaiChi, deep diaphragm breathing techniques, low impact exercise, and healthy diet and keeping anxiety low (I drink a cannabis tea for that). But there is no cure or fix … just a commutation until the next event. My first ablation lasted five years; then, multiple cardioversions and various medications gave me another three. Five more ablations over the next six years were needed as the sure and steady decline occurred. I’ve done it all and will still keep on with the healthy habits but I don’t expect it to last.
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