It occurs to me that my afib is possibly a lot due to my anxieties and stress. When it started 15 years ago, I had a lot of upheaval and stress in my life. I have been doing some research and find that adrenaline plays a big part in this problem and wondered if others were of an anxious disposition and can put some of their condition down to adrenaline?
I am trying hard to keep control of my feelings to see if this does in fact help.
I've stopped all the outward triggers such as alcohol, chocolate, coffee and I don't smoke. I drink more water and take quite a lot of gentle exercise.
What do others think about the "flight or fight" hormone?
i really believe that - when my bout happened this year i was under a lot of stress with a sick mother and i also came off a lot of drinking at a wedding, I then had the pounding heart that i thought was stress. So i do believe - think about it adrenaline speeds up your heart-and if you have a tendency toward afib your heart just cannot get back into rhythm on its own. Try meditation maybe. Good luck
Hi , wondering how your b/p is ?? Have you passed out due to afib ?? Are you able to tell it's happening , or are they more of the silent type . Meds ?? Tc 👍
I read recently that there is adrenaline in the injections that dentists use and that it puts some patients back into a bout of AF.
Hi Gwen,
I have mentioned this before, the adrenal glands are a very important part of all of us and are the place the flight or flight hormone is made, and several other important hormones, they are part of the endocrine system, quite often when people present with AF the first thing they do is check their thyroid as an underactive thyroid can cause palpitations but they do not check to see if you may have low adrenal reserve. if the thyroid is stuggling undiagnosed or border line which they don't treat, the adrenals kick in to help it out and eventually they get so tired that they struggle to push out the cortisone needed for the flight or fight reaction we need when we are stressed or frightened that is when I think the heart takes over leaving us with Afib.
L.
I could go on but better shut up now
I am retired and was living a life in paradise with no stress whatsoever when I was diagnosed with afib. This last year has been quite challenging. Just wanted to let u know of my opposite experience to yours.
Maybe stress brings it on or not. When Iwas under a great deal of stress it should have shown up but didn't. Then later stress seemed to be when it may have contributed. I think it is a build up of life's stresses plus whatever genetic and lifestyle on leads. I don't think anyone knows..I too take gentle exercise and trying to drink more water but often forget. Who really knows! One can only control what they can.
I wasn't implying that adrenaline is everyones reason for afib but If you have low adrenal reserve it doesn't help, the main factor in the onset of mine was an undiagnosed infection in the peracardium. like betty says no one really knows and we all seem to have different triggers.
L.
Hi Azbella, my blood pressure is good 120/60 usually, but I am taking pills for it. I have
passed out due to afib and I have had two ablation and three cardio versions. I am in sinus rhythm since my last ablation in March with occasional bouts of flutter but they don't bother me.
The reason for my comment was just thoughts that came to mind that I thought I would air for responses and thank you for doing that.
Yes, I do consciously think about relaxing when I get stressed and that seems to help.
Thank you for your reply and I hope you are well
Useful to know you can tell your dentist you have this problem and adrenaline increases your risk of flipping into AF, and ask for adrenaline-free anaesthetic! It exists. I've had it for years. It is slightly shorter acting, but they can always top you up if it wears off. I've not found that necessary even for an extraction, so you should be ok
Same applied is you have any small surgery eg lumps removed, stitches etc that need a local - ask for adrenaline free
That's very interesting Linda, because I do suffer from hypothyroidism and since I've been on heart drugs my TSH has been all over the place and difficult to keep stable.
I've recently been taken off Bisoprolol and will stop Flecainid in November, so I was just mulling over what I can perhaps do to prevent afib raising it's ugly head again in the future.
Thank you so much for your reply and what you say makes sense xx
Hi Suzanne, that just goes to prove a point that not all afibs are caused by stress.
Strange isn't it? I wonder if, one day, they will ever treat the cause rather than the effects?
I pray it happens in my lifetime since the negative affects from the meds can be pretty brutal. Also frustrating, there doesn't seem to be one clear cut treatment. It greatly varies from patient to patient and doctor to doctor.
My hubby has afib n they did 48 hr halter monitor n ultra sound of his thyroid , during the monitor yhey called him to see if he was okay he had a four hour run if afib , while he was asleep. When he went to er the gave him IV cardizam n that helped , he just doesn't feel well n is tired everyday , he's lost 29 lbs but continues to smoke ... its scary ...
that is very interesting because i have had a lot of dental work done recently! i will make note of that- thank you Derek!
It does seem a bit haphazard from what I am reading. Perhaps many of us are so used to stressing over things that we don't realise we are doing it. My husband, who is extremely laid back and unfazed, is astonished at how easily I get wound up and we often argue about how not wound up I am!.
Genetics probably do come into it but because all of my family are no longer with us, I have no one to ask. They mainly died of heart related disease, so who knows?
There are lots of interesting points here to me. Whilst i think AF can have lots of causes stress has played a part in my story. For me it started at the END of a stressfull period one incidently I appeared to cope with well by which I mean I wasn't outwardly stressed. After my first ablation I had a major problem with waking up in the night with AF - the adrenals were mentioned then and I read about them and it seemed to fit my profile but a test indicated NOT a problem. My thyroid is tested every time I see a doctor and present my symptoms, I have previously been treated for thyroid on the NHS and then not treated by the NHS being one of those people classed as border line. I also suspect the vagus nerve but again when I mention that the medical profession just look at me and say NO. A brilliant idea to try and cut out the possible triggers. Going back to what you specifically ask - NO I am not of an outwardly anxious disposition but on the meds I feel like a changed person because so weak and unwell and therefore have lost confidence about going out far and yet to put up with what I do each day I also think I must have bags of confidence and steely grit and determination.
Hi Kate,
As you say we are all different, some 20 years ago I was thought to have Addisons disease an adrenal gland problem like you tests came back inconclusive,, the microbiologist that did the tests told me just because we can't find it doesn't mean it isn't there this condition mimics many others and quite often isn't found till years later, I have an appointment in early december to see an endoctinologist as several of my recent blood tests have come back with very low sodium and my GP suspects and adreanal problem, I will let you all know the outcome.
when doing some research recently I found an article that said Bisoporol can hide thyroid symptoms.
Keep your chin up Kate, as you say the meds we have to take make us feel worse than the condition but where would we be without them.
L
Stress is definitely a trigger for me. On the other hand, on several occasions while AFibbing, I've had a sudden stress -- being startled or alarmed (e.g. imminent car crash) cause me to revert to NSR.
I stumbled on this thread while searching the internet for connections between adrenaline and cardio-inversion.