afib and stomach issues

[Janith]

Hi … it seems that each time l have an afib attack, my stomach is involved … growling, burping, mostly gassy … any suggestions on how to control this so that it doesn’t invariably turn into full blown afib?

[BenHall1]

Hiya,

My AF kicked off in January 2010 and it took me a while to realise that food I'd eaten was the trigger. I researched the issues and discovered the Vagal (or Vagus ) Nerve. My symptoms were bloating, burping, deep intestinal gurgling and the gassiness - wind. Bloating was the far and away the worst and of the 4 issues, the bloating would trip me into an AF event.

The Vagal Nerve, in the central nervous system acts like an information superhighway between the brain, heart and the gut. It seemed that much of my food was aggravating the Vagal Nerve - inflammation - and that would be it !

I got checked out by my GP - mainly for Coealiac Disease and IBS - but all were clear. I then consulted a Nutritionist ( Dietician ) who worked out a diet/ food plan. The first things that she addressed were Wheat, Gluten and Oats, not just in solid food form but in alcohol too. She then taught me to keep a food diary of other foods that upset my gut and I addressed all these issues in the years that followed and have virtually eliminated AF from my life. Might get a flare up event maybe every 4 or 5 years but nothing like it was in the very beginning.

Many of the foods that I gave up years ago I have been able to return to .......... however many I still do not touch. So, my feeling, based on my own journey, is to go consult a Nutritionist and start your journey from there, but, meanwhile you could sit back and think about your diet. Which meal is worst, what you ate ( or drank ) which type of food. In the beginning for me, if I ate according to the health mantra of 5 or 7 portions of Fruit and Veg a day is good for you I'd have permanent occupancy of the bathroom. These days I only eat a Banana and hardly any green veg. Maybe a Grapefruit at times.

Good luck on your journey.

John

[Janith in reply to BenHall1]

John … what fabulous information! I so thank you. What would be a typical dinner for you?

[Janith in reply to Janith]

I plan on seeing a nutritionist incidentally.

[BenHall1 in reply to Janith]

Hiya Janith,

Basically, a typical dinner for me could be anything BUT usually it will be ....... light, bland, natural (minimum processed foods ) and come from the farm or the ocean, and be eaten around 6 pm. It will always have in it a range of meats ( which includes fish ) potatoes and very minimal greens. That said, I will always have a Fish n' Chips from our local chippy once a week or once a fortnight. I might also indulge in KFC - but - infrequently. The range of meats can be cooked in any manner my OH feels like.

I hate greens .... always have since I was a child. However, there is another side to that - I am taking Warfarin and green veggies don't always work with it. So these days there is no great motivation to eat greens.

In summer we tend to eat salads but then my problem with greens ( lettuce ) creeps back into play. Love Watercress though. Yummmmmmm !!

Dining out is much less of a problem ...... we have our favourite diners and know pretty much what the menu selection will be presented by each place. Mostly, I'll always gravitate to any seafood in preference to red meat.

Well done for taking the step to a Nutritionist .... and I hope you have as much success as I have had. Hope also that what I've described above is what you were after.

John

[Janith in reply to BenHall1]

Perfect … thank you dear one!

[secondtry in reply to BenHall1]

Sounds like v good advice to me.

[OzJames in reply to BenHall1]

Hey John

i've noted your comments today and in the past, good advice but i'm finding it hard to give up my porridge! i'm very mindful of not eating too quickly and drinking anything more than a sip or 2 during the meal as i've found this adds to the bloating feel. This and a few other changes seem to have stopped my AF issues after eating. I'm organising to see a nutritionist in a couple of weeks anyway. Are you on any meds at the moment or have had an ablation or is it the settling of your Vagus that has kept you away from AF for so long?.

I seem to be well controlled at the moment and live a normal active life thanks to the changes i've made and taking low dose meds 12mg Metoprolol and 25mg Flecanide twice daily.

cheers James

[BenHall1 in reply to OzJames]

Hi James,

Yes, I'm on meds. Right at the start of my AF journey my then Cardiac Consultant discussed with me the ways forward. I rejected ablation, have never had one and thats the way I am planning to go forward with. Basically, I opted the medications for life route AND OF COURSE a well controlled diet/food plan.

My existing medication has hardly varied over the 15 years. I did try replacing Warfarin with Edoxaban but had too many intolerable side effects. I then returned to my Warfarin. I self test my INR at home with my own device and work in partnership with my surgery. No sweat. So, I'm on Sotalol 40 mg twice a day morning and night, Warfarin, 4 or 5 mg daily taken at night, and Simvastatin 40 mg taken at night. I also take Bioquinone Q10 100mg taken in morning. Also take Felodopine 5 mg daily in morning. I have managed to cut out Ramipril 10mg a day which gave me constant coughing ( a normal side effect of the drug ).

I am medically approved to take Flec but haven't needed to resort to it yet.

I have always worked on the mantra "calm the vagal nerve, calm the heart". If you go online and put in the search box Vagal Nerve Schematic diagram, what you end up seeing will blow you away. I hold the view of all nerves this one is our life force. Its the Brain, Heart, Gut supernova !

Like you I'm reasonably active at the moment although am just starting to come to terms with COPD. Give me AF anyday 😱😀😂 All the best and I hope your successes continue.

cheers,

John

[OzJames in reply to BenHall1]

Thank you John i echo your plan. I had a quick look at a Vagal diagram.. wow, one can understand how significant the Vagal nerve can be in all this… I’m on CoQ10 , vitd3 and Mg Taurate and Glycinate as my bloods 12 months ago indicated I was low in all. I also found a trigger that surprised me when I get an outbreak of HSV on my lip I went in AF on 3 separate occasions.. must be something to do with inflammation. Googling HSV and AF will show some correlation with incidence of AF.

I am thinking like you try meds first. I’ll wait a see if ablations achieve higher first up success. An EP told me at moment it’s around 60% first 12 mths. A new system has been developed by an Aussie company called Imracor who have designed a live MRI guided catheter. Trials are underway so maybe a couple of years away. I’m told the clarity upon which they see the targets will result in a much higher fist time success rate.

I hope the COPD is not causing you too much of an issue

Cheers James

[BenHall1 in reply to OzJames]

James,

From my reading of various literature over the years ------ and you reminded me with your reference to inflammation --- I understood that if food aggravates the vagal nerve what is in fact set up is an inflammation of the vagal nerve. Just sayin' . There is just so much that medical research needs to touch on and closely examine in years to come.

Being a former resident of Sydney's N.W. suburbs I am always interested in medical stuff coming out of Australia - so your reference to Imracor will give me a further interest to follow. Thanks for that.

COPD is a right B d, trust me. I am reading, researching as much as I can but I've never realised how much we need our lungs to be in top rate condition. May the force be with you.🇦🇺

[OzJames in reply to BenHall1]

You too mate all the best….and I’ll try and find the news article I saw on TV last month about new treatment for fibrosis in the lungs….

[Brightness14 in reply to BenHall1]

I have similar and it's the Vagal nerve but slightly different to yours, maybe.

I am 78 years old and only started with this 1.5 years ago when my Thyroid medication was changed. I had never been allergic to anything in my life, at all until then. Never any stomach issues, ever. Then because I was messing about with the medication my heart rate started to increase. My BP is still perfect.

As soon as I step out of bed in the morning it starts off and I make readings every day. Then most days as soon as I have breakfast it starts with my bowel and needing to go to the loo.

I eat cerials but anything I eat at breakfast has the same issues.

I can eat anything during the rest of the day but my heart rate is still too high at around 100.

I am trying to do more exercise now to reduce the rate.

I have now purchased a machine which promises to reduce vagal problems and reset the vagal nerve. Watch this space.

Thanks for the posting it's confirmed my diagnoses.

[Janith in reply to Brightness14]

Your heart rate may be 100, but are you in afib?

[Brightness14 in reply to Janith]

I haven't a clue. I have never had anything like this before I have normal blood pressure. What exactly is afib?

I am not taking anything for it medication wise.

[Snowgirl65 in reply to BenHall1]

What a very good response -- I'll be keeping your words in mind.

[menewafib in reply to BenHall1]

I am taking Eliquist 2x per day and Metropolol 2x daily. I had my 5th aifib episode last night. I did not even wake up. 3:40am to 6:40 am. Range 41 to 172 highest. I saw the alert on my fitbit watch. Last one was Jan 5th.

I have been very blessed and no other heart issues or problems with the aifib.

I had been rushing around the night before trying to pack up for a 6 hour drive to Calif from arizona.

A little too much information coming up Sorry. I was making a last bathroom stop before leaving. All of a sudden had gurgling in my stomach.

After already having a #2 earlier that am.

I found that I had diarrhea. It was a bright sunflower yellow. About an hour later back on the toilet again. No pain, fever. I tried to Google yellow diarrhea but did not find a link to aifib. Has anyone else experienced this before?

Postpone my drive until tomorrow. Just resting and taking it slow. So far so good.

I find it very interested to be reminded that foods can be an issue with aifib. I really watch the salt. Try to eat clean foods. I guess I better start researching food more. The food journal someone mentioned sounded like a great idea.

I really enjoy learning from everyone. On this site. My son, daughter in law and grand son live in England. I looked for a support group for Arizons or the US. But did not find one.

Janice

[Hartingdon]

That's interesting. Whenever I have had an AF episode, I automatically undo/relieve my waist band/belt. Also assumed some years ago that I was gluten intolerant and stopped wheat in my diet. I have gradually reintroduced gluten, but have suffered bloating and some breathlessness recently. Time to go back to a gluten free diet I think.

[secondtry in reply to Hartingdon]

Yes, waistband tightness seems to be relevant as the Vagus Nerve is pressured. I was also similar in the early days, I eliminated 90% gluten and then got complacent and maybe the reason why AF has returned. Time to go back to a stricter regime. Also currently eliminating inter meal snacks and reducing sugar/chocs.

[Buffafly in reply to Hartingdon]

Going GF is a lot more complicated than cutting out wheat (my daughter is coeliac). But whole grains can and do cause a lot of trouble!

[Hartingdon in reply to Buffafly]

I'm not celiac, but am intolerant. Began having porridge again recently, obviously.... not gluten free oats. I know Gluten free oats are available but think I'll forget cereals.

[BenHall1 in reply to Hartingdon]

Just a suggestion coming up ........... don't always think gluten and solid foods, also embrace an ingredients label and consider wheat, barley and gluten as in beer ( if you are a beer drinker, no matter how small. Remember it not only is the ingredient itself but traces of the stuff. A trace of it can do it.

[Hartingdon in reply to BenHall1]

Yes, aware of the points you make Ben; I have given up even the very occasional 🍺

[secondtry]

In my case I am pretty sure gastro issues (burping common) responsible for say 20% of my AF and brain the rest all courtesy of the Vagus Nerve. Working on solutions but nothing to report here yet. I am meeting a Nutrionist this week.

[Buffafly in reply to secondtry]

It would be interesting to know the result if you would like to share…..

[Janith]

Thank you all … wonderful comments. Keep them coming! Jan

[KiwiBlake]

Some really good advice posted. The only thing I would add is trying to keep calm. In my situation, if I get stressed, my system goes from "Rest and Digest" to "Fight or Flight " mode. My digestive system slows or shuts down when stressed and the food just sits in my stomach, making me bloated, which puts pressure on my heart. When in a challenging situation, I need to keep my thoughts rational, and try to remain calm. I've read a bit about "mindfullness" which I have found to be really helpful.

Cheers Blake

[Janith in reply to KiwiBlake]

Hi … l totally agree. Thank you!

[Ppiman]

As I understand it, the phrenic nerve is nearby and that innervates the diaphragm. When AF causes tachycardia, the blood flow is slightly reduced to the area, and this can cause a range of issues. Mine is not often affected but has been in the past, especially with a persistent fast rate.

Steve

[sdweller]

Yes your vagus nerve is involved with heart rhythm… so upset stomach can lead to Afib. It’s time to get your diet under control, start eating healthy, smaller meals. If you have heart burn and/or GERD… time to get that under control. Stop with greasy acidic meals… fried foods, no more red wine… limit alcohol of eliminate it…. you know what’s healthy! This doesn’t mean life stops, you can have an occasional burger and/ or a glass of red wine, but lifestyle is hugely important with Afib! And this wil also pay dividends in other areas of your life too BTW!

[Janith in reply to sdweller]

Love your reply. Thank you. Yes, l know what’s healthy. Life doesn’t stop, but it isn’t as much fun, that’s for sure. However, l take living a disciplined lifestyle any day over these nuisance afib surprise attacks. Best, Jan

[sdweller in reply to Janith]

No doubt not as much fun lol… one thing I’ve come to appreciate is that moderation helps me really enjoy these things more, that occasional glass of red wine tastes so much better when I have one for example. Life is funny like that, so often a silver lining emerges when we least expect it 😊