Heart Rhythm Conditions – Welcome to the group

I feel your pain, I suffer from anxiety with palpitations , recently started on Zoloft which is helping out a lot, good luck,

Hello, I’m responding to this discussion & appreciating the information. Have PM 3 years, mid sixties and active. I am experiencing recent significant increase in palpitations, feeling like I’m anxious but am not, feeling like I’m on the top floor dropping to the first with no stops. I am wearing 30 day event monitor to sort this out. I would like to hear more about what I can control without medication. Sounds like stress, caffeine, alcohol all increase symptoms. Could you add more about this, such as diet besides chocolate, already gave that up😩. Does the one cup of coffee have to go? Wine with dinner too? My goal is to avoid blood thinners or other health impacting medication. TY

Hello, I’m responding to this discussion & appreciating the information. Have PM 3 years, mid sixties and active. I am experiencing recent significant increase in palpitations, feeling like I’m anxious but am not, feeling like I’m on the top floor dropping to the first with no stops. I am wearing 30 day event monitor to sort this out. I would like to hear more about what I can control without medication. Sounds like stress, caffeine, alcohol all increase symptoms. Could you add more about this, such as diet besides chocolate, already gave that up😩. Does the one cup of coffee have to go? Wine with dinner too? My goal is to avoid blood thinners or other health impacting medication. TY

You are me one year ago. I gave up all alcohol except for one glass of wine with dinner about once a month. I found that dehydration, too much salt, soda, high altitude, and stimulating social situations such as a dinner with a lot of people can cause Afib in me. I almost always get it in the evening when I’m tired. Had Afib once every 2 weeks or so throughout the year. Didn’t last long, maybe 5-30 minutes each time, but was very concerning to me. After a year of trying to reduce and manage this, last week I gave in and have started Losartan (for blood pressure) and Eliquis (blood thinner). When the doctor said “we can replace blood but we can’t replace brain cells”, when my friend told me not to end up like her father who lived 10 awful years after and stroke, and when I learned of another friend who was thin and very physically fit who takes the same med, I decided to give it a go. I actually am feeling some relief now that I’ve started. Will reassess in a few months and take it from there. Lose weight, exercise, eat healthy, reduce stress, hydrate.

Hello! I am a 69 year old woman. If I lost 40 pounds I would be in better health and my BP would come down. New Year's resolution!
I do want to share something with your group. That is how I CURED my atrial fibrillation.
I was 46 years old and suddenly developed a cardiac arrhythmia that was so severe that I didn't have 3 steady beats in a row. Consequently, I would feel faint and need to constantly gasp for air. I was seen by a cardiologist who said he had never seen such a severe case of atrial fibrillation and he put me on a beta blocker. Only the highest does of Sotacor (sotalol) 80 mg 4x per day, kept my heart beating steadily but I felt weak and tired all the time; like I was 90 years old! The cardiologist said that this was too high a dose and that it could actually stop my heart and to reduce the dose on my own. But I could not without my heart going haywire. I stayed on that high dose of beta blocker for almost 2 years and I felt very discouraged to feel like an invalid.
I went to a library (no internet then) and did some reading and because vigourous exercise was recommended I decided to join a gym. I went every morning for an hour, 35 minutes of which was very fast walking and gentle running on a treadmill. I very gradually and carefully (very important) managed to reduce the beta blocker dose bit by bit without my heart skipping beats and by the end of a month, I was completely off the beta blocker and my heart was as steady as a rock. I went to the gym every day but Sundays for 4 months and then tapered off to some degree.
I went to see my cardiologist and he was astounded at my 'cure' which is what I called it. But he said, "You cannot just cure AFib. It will come back. I will be seeing you soon." Well, fast forward 23 years to today and no AFib all this time. But...I followed his advice and NEVER drank alcohol, I avoided smokers, never took any stimulants as in decongestant cold medications. When I have needed freezing at the dentist's, I am given a special non stimulating medication. I am careful about supplements. I never have caffeine which is in chocolate, tea, coffee and coke. Even too many carbs can make my heart beat very fast which I perceive as an AFib warning sign. I have cheated on rare occasions over the years and will feel my heart thump a bit which scares me. I have my own treadmill which I go on 3 - 4 days per week. So, I am highly motivated to keep AFib at bay. I certainly do not want to be back on beta blockers. LIFESTYLE is my healthy choice.

Hello! I am a 69 year old woman. If I lost 40 pounds I would be in better health and my BP would come down. New Year's resolution!
I do want to share something with your group. That is how I CURED my atrial fibrillation.
I was 46 years old and suddenly developed a cardiac arrhythmia that was so severe that I didn't have 3 steady beats in a row. Consequently, I would feel faint and need to constantly gasp for air. I was seen by a cardiologist who said he had never seen such a severe case of atrial fibrillation and he put me on a beta blocker. Only the highest does of Sotacor (sotalol) 80 mg 4x per day, kept my heart beating steadily but I felt weak and tired all the time; like I was 90 years old! The cardiologist said that this was too high a dose and that it could actually stop my heart and to reduce the dose on my own. But I could not without my heart going haywire. I stayed on that high dose of beta blocker for almost 2 years and I felt very discouraged to feel like an invalid.
I went to a library (no internet then) and did some reading and because vigourous exercise was recommended I decided to join a gym. I went every morning for an hour, 35 minutes of which was very fast walking and gentle running on a treadmill. I very gradually and carefully (very important) managed to reduce the beta blocker dose bit by bit without my heart skipping beats and by the end of a month, I was completely off the beta blocker and my heart was as steady as a rock. I went to the gym every day but Sundays for 4 months and then tapered off to some degree.
I went to see my cardiologist and he was astounded at my 'cure' which is what I called it. But he said, "You cannot just cure AFib. It will come back. I will be seeing you soon." Well, fast forward 23 years to today and no AFib all this time. But...I followed his advice and NEVER drank alcohol, I avoided smokers, never took any stimulants as in decongestant cold medications. When I have needed freezing at the dentist's, I am given a special non stimulating medication. I am careful about supplements. I never have caffeine which is in chocolate, tea, coffee and coke. Even too many carbs can make my heart beat very fast which I perceive as an AFib warning sign. I have cheated on rare occasions over the years and will feel my heart thump a bit which scares me. I have my own treadmill which I go on 3 - 4 days per week. So, I am highly motivated to keep AFib at bay. I certainly do not want to be back on beta blockers. LIFESTYLE is my healthy choice.

Hello, I’m responding to this discussion & appreciating the information. Have PM 3 years, mid sixties and active. I am experiencing recent significant increase in palpitations, feeling like I’m anxious but am not, feeling like I’m on the top floor dropping to the first with no stops. I am wearing 30 day event monitor to sort this out. I would like to hear more about what I can control without medication. Sounds like stress, caffeine, alcohol all increase symptoms. Could you add more about this, such as diet besides chocolate, already gave that up😩. Does the one cup of coffee have to go? Wine with dinner too? My goal is to avoid blood thinners or other health impacting medication. TY

I wanted to avoid Eliquis (blood thinner), but there is such a risk of stroke with afib it isn't worth the gamble, in my opinion. When I was hospitalized in advanced heart failure at the Mayo Clinic, when they looked at my heart internally with that little camera machine, I had two blood clots lodged in the heart which were stuck. It was the grace of God they weren't released causing a stoke etc. Its' a mystery, just wasn't my time to leave, not done yet. I'm one of those who will do just about everything to avoid meds. But at 71, I've had to surrender and be grateful that there are so many amazing meds for us. I kept the choc and gave up the wine and coffee. Your tastes change and you can explore the more subtle taste of herb teas. And it's okay to sniff coffee. Salt is a biggie, cut way back. Make your own food.