Covid and AFib Connection?

My Wife at 71?yrs young had an A-fib episode after getting the Pfizer vaccine. Drs installed a loop to monitor her heart.
Now she’s getting shortness of breath & feeling of a wave across her heart with weakness afterwards. Anyone with similar conditions?

Could I ask how old you are, male or female?

I developed Atrial Fibrillation after receiving the Pfizer vaccine. I didn’t make the connection so I got the second one as well as the first boaster. I’ve had heart problems in the past. RBBB, murmur, extra beats, however the new symptoms were something I’ve never had. I went to my cardiologist who had me wear a monitor for a week. It showed AFib. I asked him if it could be related to the vaccines. He said no. He sent me to an Electrophysiologist who put a Loop Recorder in my chest. He said it definitely can be a result of the vaccine. And I should not get another boaster for now. The episodes have seem to stopped but I still get strange new symptoms. Anyone else experiencing this? I’m 72, female, I had a lobectomy in 2018 for lung cancer. Thank you. Phyllis

71 female

I developed AFIB after my Moderna booster. I’ve had SVT for years and well under control but this was very different. Not getting another booster shot.

Yes after I had my booster with Pfizer vaccine, exactly 2 weeks after, I had some sort of allergic reaction and I was diagnosed with Afib. I had an allergic reation 2 weeks after having my 2nd dose of vaccine. My skin broke out in a rash all over. I never put 2 and 2 together until this has happened. I believe the vaccine brought on the Afib. Never had any issues previously. Never saw a cardiologist previously. Now I am seeing a cardiologist and electrophysiologist. They put me on Diltizem, shortly after I had a reaction where my face turned red and was extremely hot. They then put me on another medication metroporal 25mg 1x a day, Now that medication is bringing my heart rate down too low. My episodes are far and few between. Currently we have stopped all medications and I am keeping a journal. No more vaccines or booster shots for me. The advise is to get an ablation. I am female , 66 years old. I am not ready for that, but I am keeping an open mind if my symptoms continue.

Same thing happened to me. My Electrophysiologist told me to not get the boaster at this time. He thinks the vaccine caused inflammation around my heart. I didn’t realize the symptoms were related to the vaccines until after the first boaster.

If you didn't see my previous post, I experienced A-fib after the Pfizer double jab. May have been a reaction to a major loss of electrolytes due to Pfizer-caused chronic diarrhea. I am now taking a safer, non-laxative form of magnesium. BTW, many do not know that, world-wide, there has been a dramatic spike in food hypersensitivity due to the vax. So, thanks to Pfizer, my mastocytosis has escalated to mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). Thus the chronic diarrhea due to myriad food allergies/hypersensitivity. NEVER had food allergies before. My only "trigger" was tobacco smoke. Foods that I tolerated for decades now cause a severe GI reaction! Loss of magnesium has definitely been diagnosed as the cause of my muscle cramps. And... the heart is a muscle. Thanks, Pfizer! A-fib is better but not 100% resolved. Also could feel blood clots due to A-fib. The two go hand in hand. Yes, I'm that in touch with my body. Used to be a dancer, super fit and limber. Used to be an industrial grunt/blue collar worker for almost 25 years. Again, very physical work, fit, limber to the max. So, when I have a throbbing in a specific blood vessel, I know! So now I take 1/2 of an adult aspirin per day as my blood thinner. A-fib is bad enough. I don't need a stroke! #VaccineRegret

This is both a comment and a reply to all of you.

1. I am so grateful not to be alone.
2. My dentist, a DMD (not a DDS), brushed off my comment re: Pfizer double jab adverse reactions I suffered.
3. I am self diagnosed with A-fib. Why self-diagnosed? Because I've had SO many pervs/creeps/liars as MDs and GYNs--both male and female. No need to go into details. I come from a family of honorable medical professionals but now hold all others in contempt until they prove their integrity and professionalism. Ergo, I no longer have a GYN or MD. Been decades since a PAP smear, etc. Even had problems with more than one Dermatologist.

Now... What's all the above got to do with A-fib? Before the Pfizer double jab, my mastocytosis was strictly cutaneous. My only "trigger" was tobacco smoke. BTW, I was diagnosed via two biopsies (an active lesion/degranulation on my right thigh was gently scraped and a colorless "mole" near my collarbone was excised). Results? I was Case #138 ever diagnosed in America. I was born with 1,000 times the normal number of mast cells in my skin. The doctors at Vandy had nothing to offer but some legit anecdotes of other masto sufferers (allergic to FD&C Red #2 and another patient was allergic to natural sunlight). Years later, knowing masto can eventually cause leukemia, I went to my wonderful Dermatologist for my annual exam and Rx for another year of Claritin 10 mg. Yep, it was Rx only back then. I mentioned my annual company physical indicated elevated leukocytes so was referred to an Oncological Hematologist who added another antihistamine to my regimen. Bear in mind, Claritin alone had kept my masto completely under control for decades. Never had to use my epi pen. That second histamine blocker? Tagamet. All was well. And then...

I got the vax. My cutaneous masto escalated to mast cell activation syndrome, MCAS-GI. For the past 18 months I've suffered up to 9 bouts of diarrhea per day. I am allergic to almost every food, herb and spice on the planet. I am desperate to get my weight back up to 117 or more.

Now this begs the question: Is my A-fib (which I can verrrrry easily feel for myself) the result of the Pfizer double jab or from a continuing loss of precious electrolytes? In any case, I am on a journey.

Oh, I must add that I'm very perceptive about my body. Used to be a dancer. Famous for my high threshold of pain. Used to be a blue collar worker. Fit! Flexible! A health nut! Then the jab... Along with the A-fib, I could actually feel/sense/discern blood clots when a specific vein would throb. So specific that I could have traced the vein with a Sharpie. Twice at the left rear of my upper skull. Twice on the inside of my left thigh. I have successfully treated those blood clots with 1/2 of an adult aspirin every night.

My A-fib is calming down as I address my magnesium deficiency, identified by Advanced Food Intolerance Labs testing (and foot and calf cramps). I'm also deficient in calcium. Was deficient in molybdenum but that is up to par now. I'm even low in sodium and do "enjoy" remarkably low blood pressure. My fasting blood sugar? As you can imagine in the low 70s.

So, which came first? The A-fib or the MCAS-GI resulting in my magnesium deficiency?

I'm on my own except for all of you. Oh, last item. I do exercise to keep my heart strong. Some nights a walk around our neighborhood (weather permitting) or time on the treadmill in our home gym (7 minutes at 2.5 mph, followed by 28 minutes at 3.2 mph). My pulse? High! Tooooooooo high! But I will not give up.

Now? I don't even have a Dermatologist. The wonderful one who referred me to an Oncological Hematologist? She was murdered. Seriously. Dr. Martha Post. Then I had a series of incompetent, deceitful, snide Derms. Found a good one but he joined the group with the liar. Again, those are other stories. My Dentist? She's excellent but uninformed. Via MULTIPLE legitimate sources, data has been collected proving a WORLDWIDE spike in dramatic hypersensitivity to food as a result of the vax. We've all heard of VAERS. Well, those reports are impossible to keep up to date and some MDs are skeptical or contemptuous of their patients. Even so, that international data has been collected! I am NOT crazy. I am the opposite of a hypochondriac. I have had zero psychosomatic moments in my entire life. I've had to be reality based, tough. Thus my remarkably high threshold of pain. Plus, who ever imagined or wanted attention for suffering 9 bouts of diarrhea per day? Only DAO enzyme and a low to no histamine diet have helped me keep a safer form (non laxative) of magnesium in me long enough to grant benefits. Much improved. And my A-fib is not as dramatic.

Thank you for your kind attention! Again, I appreciate the affirmation, proof that you and I are not alone!

Hi @nenek, you'll note that I move the new discussion that you started to this already existing discussion about the possible link between the Covid vaccine and inducing or re-activating a-Fib.
- Covid and AFib Connection? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/covid-phizer-vaccine-and-afib-connection/

This article on MedicalNewToday published in June 2022 helps unpack the most recent research.
- Is there a link between COVID-19 vaccines and arrhythmias? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/arrhythmia-and-covid-vaccine

Excerpt:
***
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not list cardiac arrhythmias as a possible side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine. But as with any vaccine, some people may experience uncommon side effects. Additionally, it is not always clear if an adverse condition is directly due to the vaccine.

Still, some research indicates that the COVID-19 vaccine may cause arrhythmia as a side effect. For example, a 2022 analysis (https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/S0735-1097%2822%2902829-7) reviewed information from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) (https://www.fda.gov/drugs/questions-and-answers-fdas-adverse-event-reporting-system-faers/fda-adverse-event-reporting-system-faers-public-dashboard) to search for incidents of atrial fibrillation, which is a type of arrhythmia. Researchers reviewed the reports of atrial fibrillation after the use of the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson vaccines, along with the influenza vaccine.

The researchers found the percentage of all adverse events reported attributed to atrial fibrillation were as follows:
- Pfizer: 2.6%
- Moderna: 1.8%
- AstraZeneca: 0.6%
- Influenza: 0.4%
- Johnson & Johnson: 0%

The data indicates that there could be a possible association between the vaccines and atrial fibrillation, although the potential risk is still relatively low. Further research is necessary to understand the correlation and why atrial fibrillation may occur in a small percentage of people after vaccination.”
***

I hope everyone on this discussion reports their experience to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) https://www.fda.gov/drugs/questions-and-answers-fdas-adverse-event-reporting-system-faers/fda-adverse-event-reporting-system-faers-electronic-submissions That way researchers will have access to accurate numbers of incidence.