Newly onset Afib

I posted just the other day about typical triggers for AF. It's a long list, but dehydration and electrolyte imbalance would be typical for aged people, or for active people out in the sun. Alcohol is usually tolerated, but each AF patient has to learn if it's a no-no for them. I have seen it be due to calcium in some, too much in their diet. Caffeine in others, so no colas or tea/coffee/dark chocolate or sports drinks. Poor sleep. They have undiagnosed sleep apnea (my hand is up).

AF goes through four stages, and you are in the earliest where it's easiest to manage or to ablate. I have had two ablations (first one failed, but the second worked and I'm 38 months free of AF). In the right cases, the right electrophysiologist (EP), they work. Sometimes they last a lifetime, sometimes an ablation lasts only a year. They can be repeated, but if they fail in a few months or years it means the heart is actively attempting to build new rogue circuits for the signals to take over the heart's rhythm.

@kevincurtin
I see @gloaming has already posted an answer to your question. Great advice and quite frankly don't have any better response to you than @gloaming gave you.

I also had first afib on a holiday with high stress, coming off of covid and drinking one glass of wine (which never got finished)! I was told the covid took out my thryroid which started the chain reaction. That was over 16 months ago. Cardioversion did not work but an iv of amiadorone did and I left the er within 4 hours on eliquis and metoprolol. I quit drinking right, sucks, still miss a glass every now and then but not worth the er trip. Some say that the irritation of the esophagus triggers vagal afib but have no idea if that is true. I do get gerd and alcohol does trigger that, so another reason to stop. Have not seen a cardioligist in a year. The last one told me no need to see him more than once a year and stay on the eliquis, dropped metoprolol. I meet a new one (insurance change) next month and will ask about eliquis. There is also a test called the Has Bled that includes alcohol on the criteria as alcohol is also a blood thinner, something my first Dr. never asked me about or considered.

found a site with both chadvasq and has bled, thought I would share: https://chadsvasc.org/

I had an ablation for arvnt 14 months ago. I was so thankful to be free of the tachycardia that plagued me all my life. But last night my heart woke me up. Something new. Had to go to ER and they said I was in afib. This has never happened and to be honest I am so depressed now. I was just getting my life back, finished a year long therapy of medications for cardiac tamponade and post cardiac injury syndrome that was the result of my first and only ablation. Now they have me on 5 mg of eliquis and 25 mg of metoprolol and I’ve been sick for the last few hours. I know ablation is recommended for afib but with what happened during the first ablation I’m nervous to go that route again. I was low in potassium and usually have bananas daily but skipped two days as I was out.

I was just so hopeful and now back to square one but with something worse. And advice is appreciated. Exercise instructor of 45+ years, no alcohol, no other issues, no other meds. Just feeling quite down about this. Could it be a one and done or the start of another bad journeys?