I realise that I am opening a can of worms, (please excuse the English idiom), but has anyone ever been able to identify a trigger for their episodes of atrial fibrillation?
Triggers: I realise that I am opening a... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Triggers
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Jst455
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Hi,
Yes. Food and the ingredients of a range of foods.
Anything in particular?
For me too.... heavy carbohydrates...something like a doughnut.. fat as well.
For me it's artificial additives to food/drink and especially sweeteners.
That's interesting Jean, I wonder if, like me, you have IBS?
Stress.
Anti inflammatories, sugar/chocolate, MSG and excessive exercise
Distress
caffeine and alcohol
certain viruses for example i get HSV which is a cold sore and on 2 occasions when cold sore is swollen i have gone into AF it could be inflammatory effect on the heart. Exertion or exercise after alcohol or caffeine and dehydration/stress
A big one is dehydration. Got to keep drinking water and avoid alcohol.
tiredness, cold, stress of all kinds but commonly irritating people, too much food, too little food, dehydration, alcohol, caffeine, being alive, wrong genes, sitting watching television, being too active, Christmas. Sophistry .
Just to name a few
😆
🤣🤣
BobDVolunteer
Dont ever apologise for your heritage,. especially English. As my EP told me years ago, looking for triggers is the way to madness. The exceptions are of course dehydration and inflamation (virus, illness etc. )
AF has often been described as feeling like " a bag of worms" by the way. .
Coffee but not caffeine. Soy beans and derivatives, stress. I avoid all. Not had any of the first two, for 17 years.
The only study I have seen showed few people could reliably identify triggers. In my case, I can make ectopic beats start by, for example, leaning forward when sitting at certain tables, or stretching; twice while walking upstairs with my hands raised holding something.
However, most of the time this does not occur, so there must be periods when my heart is prone to topics and AF when its being stretched slightly through the physical action involved sets off the arrhythmia. This has been clinically shown to set off ectopic beats, and these are known to be a precursor to AF in some people. So it's a kind of "prone > prone" situation, if that makes sense.
I have always suspected that the foods or drinks many people put down as triggers might sometimes not be the trigger in and of themselves, but the trigger is the natural and physical effects the foods cause through the act of swallowing, when the oesophagus is pushed against the heart, or through peristalsis, when the stomach and intestines push up against the diaphragm and that presses against the heart (bloating or constipation, IBS, diverticulosis, etc. would be the same).
Steve
Yes…..stress, spicy foods , gastric upsets and alcohol
Overthinking can be a trigger in my opinion.
Best wishes
Yes, finding a way to ignore and let the feelings sink into the background often really helps me. This needs a focused activity, which may be just being on the computer, or a hobby, or just pottering around tidying the garage etc. Much more difficult at night to take your mind off it, but it can be done.
Yes. My episodes occurred after aerobic exercise on a rowing machine if I allowed my heart rate to rise above 150bpm. The arrhythmia occurred a few minutes after entering the cool down phase. Prescribed bisoprolol when first diagnosed, I now ensure that I monitor and physically control my heart rate during exercise rather than relying on medication to slow me down.
Thank you for all the interesting replies.
Over exercise and eating too fast and too much according to my notes
Lying on your left does it for me and many others.
I have a hiatus hernia and find if I eat too quickly after I’ve come in from playing golf especially if it’s windy and i get breathless - then it sometimes triggers an episode of AF. That seems to be a pattern for me but reading all the posts these AF episodes are different for everyone.
Stress.
chocolate, sweets, wine, heavy food at night, cold meds, many anti-inflammatories, Glucosamine, stress.
I am relatively new to the world of A-Fib. I was diagnosed with A-Fib last year in October of 2024. I have struggled to find the root cause.
I have been in and out of A-Fib 4 times since my original diagnosis. I was cardioverted twice with electrical cardioversion at the hospital and twice I used a loading of Amiodarone to convert the A-Fib at home.
The first electrical cardioversion lasted 5 days. I did not pay close attention as to what may have caused it. The remaining 3 cardioversions lasted 14-21 days each. I was paying a little more attention with each occurrence.
The only commonality I am sure of is that I was under physical stress (exertion followed by pain in the lower back) each of the last three times I went into A-Fib. I did not go into A-Fib during the exertion itself, but drifted into A-Fib overnight. Funny thing is that it is always Friday overnight to Saturday that I drift into A-Fib. I say drifted, because I slowly feel myself transitioning into A-Fib. Even my Apple Watch slowly goes from normal sinus rhythm to inconclusive to atrial fibrillation. Indeed, I have started paying close attention and now notice the subtle and not so subtle symptoms as my body falls into A-Fib.
The other commonality I have noticed is mental stress. During two of the times I went into A-Fib, I was also dealing with mental stress at the same time I experienced the physical stress, which led up to the A-Fib episodes.
Although I don't understand the physiological properties of why my heart goes into A-Fib, the common thing for me is that my body was put under stress each time.
Fundamentally, I think my body is just aging and can't cope with the stresses that it used to.
Very good question! Caffeine, alcohol, dehydration (my worst trigger), lack of sleep, too much exercising, stress, quick change from a warm car to very cold outdoors, Niacin (a B vitamin) pseudoephedrine, albuterol, covid vaccine. There are probably more but that's the ones I try to avoid.
too much chocolate! Alcohol. Stress. Overwhelming people. Caffeine.
Donuts and cookies, anxiety, potato chips (your crisps), dehydration, anxiety, an overly-full stomach, anxiety, and unfortunately -- alcohol (sniff!)
artificial sweeteners (aspartame and sucralose) and wheat. My naturopath doctor said she doesn’t think it is the wheat per se but the glyphosate used on it. Who knows. Either way, I avoid anything with wheat in the ingredient list and stay within normal heart. If I drink too much alcohol, which I no longer do, I would occasionally have some temporary episodes.
WALKING UP HILLS, STOOPING OVER, LACK OF RESTFUL SLEEP,ALCOHOL, MOVING BETWEEN TO MANY TASKS OR CHORES WITOUT A BREAK, LIFTING AND CARRYING WEIGHT, THERE ARE MANY MORE BUT I HAVE NOT IDENTIFIED THEM 100 PER CENT YET.
WAKENING UP WITH AN ALARM CLOCK, JUMPING UP TO GO TO THE LOO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, RUSHING ABOUT.
And people that write in capital letters does it for me.🤔🤕😆
😂😂😂
I was, in a way, relieved to hear one of your triggers Tomred. Rushing around and doing one chore after another has flipped me into AF. Have never heard anyone else say this. Strange one that is! My main trigger is most definitely stress and upset of any kind.
Same re rushing around but the key factor is being stressed - If I could rush mindfully..
Yes, know what you mean Singwell. I tense up a lot. If only ……….
caffeine,,,,,,a small sized decaf is fine,,,,a 1/4 glass of bottled iced tea ok too,,,but more is iffy,,,,so I play it safe,,,alcohol is a NO way,,,,spicy food No,,,,I will do almost anything to avoid setting off the afib so I watch what goes in my mouth!
Food seems to be the common theme here!
I run for excercise
During my runs Afib - lasting a minute or so. Walking relieved it, then comes back with more running. Sometimes felt like I would black out. Sometimes doesn’t come back, but had an ablation for SVT, a fib/flutter 3 weeks ago and no more rhythm problems! Still healing of course, but keeping my fingers crossed that I can get off eliquis
Started running again after 2 weeks- it feels much harder now, but I will get back to my baseline
Caffeine, MSG and artificial sweeteners.
Does stevia fall into that group or is it aspartame / sucralose, etc?
Sympathetic arousal without a doubt is my primary trigger. If I'm on alert for an extended period of time I cN guarantee AF will visit once I start to relax. Secondary trigger - digestive overload that can lead to gut dumping like symptoms, setting off ectopics, tachycardia or sometimes AF. Unfortunately the digestive issue is due to surgery performed almost 50 years ago and so is a done deal.
Late to the party here but...Couple of weeks ago I felt myself go into AF and checked with the Kardia. I'd been sitting innocently on the sofa. 'What's brought that on' asked the hubby. 'How the F should I know' I snapped - 'it's totally random and pleases itself'. And literally a couple of minutes later 'oh look, it's bu##erred off. As you were.' Pretty much sums it up.
Though TBF I've been navigating the sudden death of my brother these last three months so unpredictability is par for the course.
Unpredictability, yes, very familiar as a trigger for me. I can't even get to sleep for worry even if I know I have that unexpected leak under control till the morning. And my most recent and worst-ever AF event was induced by the stress of unexpected attempts at coercion during a flying visit by a much younger distant relative. Who needs that!
But as for suddenly losing your brother, that has certainly raised my "sympathetic arousal" to your situation. I know that experience only too well. Losing loved ones is something we all dread. Go well my friend.
So sorry for your great loss. Grief will be feeding your AF. with all your emotions at this sad time. Grief is one of the most difficult things we have to endure and so debilitating physically and mentally.
I send my love and prayers. 🥰
Chris.
Thank you. A unique experience but we must all endure it.
I tend to believe that there are no triggers only coincidences, but if people are able to avoid afib by avoiding certain foods, who am I to to argue.
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