Afib Triggers: Mine is my neck or body position, yours?

Well I hope my case helps someone here.

We had a head on accident in 2005. Broken ribs on left, neck trauma. For two years left thyroid would swell. No doctor knew answer. Wanted to give me 6 prescriptions and pain pills

Working in health field I knew I would need to do it myself....naturally no meds.

Long story, I did it with diet, oils, massage, acupuncture, chiropractor alignment.

Felt good. No more thyroid issues. No pain.

AFib began after about 5 years. Heart tests show normal heart. Slight MVP.

Bend over palpitations, begin to eat, palpitations.
Sleeping on left side, palpitations. Use left arm for abrupt movements, palpitations.

Only take 12.5 metoprolol when irregular heartbeat begins which was maybe once a month or maybe every three months.

Now it is happening almost every other day 😩.
My chiropractor keeps my neck and mid back aligned because that can affect the heart.

I take magnesium taurate for heart with D.

Eat extremely healthy, gluten free, no sugar, pasta, bread.

So what is causing my Afib episodes?

Old scar tissue/adhesions in my neck and chest!

If u have ever had trauma to your upper body, your vagus nerve most likely is damaged.

Controlling the scar tissue tugging on the baguyis almost impossible.

Today I use a massager to hopefully break up the
Tissue. Having surgery to cut these adhesions is not the answer.

Afib?
Check your thyroid labs
Take the right magnesium and D.
Take CoQ10
Take omega 3
Eat right
Exercise
No sugar
Get chiropractic care!
Is a med u r taking causing it?
Have u injured your vagus nerve?

Blessings!

Wow. thank you for sharing your story extremely encouraging. I too have been on metoprolol 12.5 for two years after stent was put in. Doctor said heart was fine. but plaque buildup caused heart attack. Palpitations just recently started out of nowhere. tried to watch for triggers but it didn’t matter what i was doing . I rely heavily on oils ,lavender. ,oregano. frankincense. r.c. myrrh. I do however like the chiropractor piece which speaks to body alignment. What oils do you find most helpful. You are absolutely correct about the diet piece it is what we put in our mouths and exercise all of which i was doing before my h.a.

Again, thanks for sharing
dont forget i’d like to know what oils you find most helpful

Yes I use lavender oil diluted with olive oil on the bottoms of my feet and on my chest before getting into bed at night.

No sugars or carbs for me and it works good to keep my heart kind of on a level playing.

My issue is getting somebody who can help me with the impingement of my Vegas nerve in my upper left body and neck. Any quick movement, or bending over will set it off. Then I do my deep breathing breathing out very slowly for 10 seconds, I also put ice on my face and neck and relax in a reclined position with my legs up. If I have to that is when I take A metoprolol 6.25 and I actually dissolve most of it under my tongue so it works fast and swallow the rest.

I know there’s nothing physically wrong with my heart and I just need to get this vagal issue taken care of but it is terrible trying to find someone who is knowledgeable about this. There is a person called a functional manual therapist who I am trying to look for one in my area that hopefully can help me out.

Being sure that your neck has a natural curve in it, and does not have any issues is important because this has a lot to do with your heart. Also your thoracic spine I think T5, is very important, if it is out of line it will affect your heart and cause palpitations.
All the best to you!

The left side position to go to sleep immediately triggers my AF or something that feels like it...

YES mine does also.

BUT last week my chiropractor worked on aligning my neck and this week I can lie on my left side for a few minutes.
I still need to sleep on the right side but I see improvement.
Praise God, NO AFIB in the past week!

SPINAL ALIGNMENT is SO IMPORTANT with Afib.
There can be nerve impingement.

@jocrane @lchh You may want to take a look at myofascial release work with a physical therapist. It can break up the tight tissue and scar tissue in the fascia all through the body. This may help with Afib. I can get a fast heart rate too when my chest is tight, and I also have thoracic outlet syndrome that contributes to the problem. There is a provider search on the myofascial release website. I am a spine surgery patient and spine alignment is very important too. I only see my PT for that because chiropractors are risky if there is vertebral slipping or disc damage.

Here is our discussion for information. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/

That is an amazing story and I wish you well, Dyanne. I don't think I will ever use estrogen supplements.

Rich Osborn

Without a monitor on my chest I don't know when I am in A-Fib. I don't feel it & it doesn't appear to exhaust me as others have experienced but thanks for your input. I spend much of my day on my computer bent 90 degrees at the waist. does that trigger your A-Fib ?

Are you sure you didn't have A-Flutter ? That is fixed with one ablation & is a typical warning of A-Fib in a few years after the ablation. That's what happened with me. Just a heads up. Good Luck !

Hi @phillipdobrien, there can be lots of triggers for A-Fib. Changes in habits and stress are two major ones. Fatigue and alcohol use are also things that can trigger A-Fib. Are you experiencing any of these triggers?