Is there any hope with afib?

Heart health and blood vessels
1

Feeling very hopeless. I'm only 37 yo. I have three very young kids. They are only 8, 5 and 3. I had a very wonderful life and a pretty wife and a very good job. 

I think I messed myself up by taking a vegan diet for two weeks before afib. I watched a damn film about how good vegan diet is, then I decided to try it for two weeks to see if I would feel great. I wasn't obese, my BMI was 26 before I took vegan diet.  I did the vegan diet only in the hope of getting even more healthy and to avoid heart disease. Up to the point I had afib, I was very fit and healthy. And I was a man that always full of energy, creative, passionate, calm, confident and family oriented. I also had a strong mind that once I decided to do something, I would achieve it. 

So I started the vegan diet and obviously I didn't eat enough. For the first few days, I felt very tired, and one the 3rd day, my heart skipped beats for four hours until I ate my dinner. I didn't link it to the diet but thought it was just caused by my anxiety. I also had diarrhea for the first few days. Then few days before my first afib, I started to have heavy sweating during sleep, then on the 14th day, I woke up at 2am with afib. My whole life changed on that day.

I was put on metoprolol after the first episode, and had another three episodes in the first three months, all happened during I was sleeping. I'm not exactly sure if the vegan diet put me into afib, or there's other things. Now I had stopped metoprolol and not taking any daily med and didn't have any episode for three months. I also notice when I lay on my right side, my heart rate would rise immediately and beat irregularly. I didn't notice this before afib. Not sure if afib changed my nerve so it acts like this now?

Any way, now I don't know how to live my life. I'm so scared not only the risk that afib brings to me, but the long term prognosis of afib. I know I'm doing good for now having an episode for three months, maybe I can even make it to three years? But even though, if I could live to 70 yo, I feel it's a true suffer to live in fear for the next 33 years. 

Now I only want to sleep, and I don't feel like myself anymore. I'm not as active as before when I was with the kids, and I lost all my passion and hope for the future. I tried so hard to not think about afib and tried to live a normal life as before, but I can't really do it. The afib thing is always in my head 24/7. I'm so draining and feeling desperate.

I apologize for the rant/vent. Can you please tell me there's hope for afib? I really don't see any. Sorry, and thanks.

2

You might have screwed up your electrolyte balance on your diet... and that might have triggered an underlying predisposition.  Often afib is genetic.  It also gets triggered sometimes as you point out when you lie on your right side .. This is called a positional trigger. The main danger with afib is stroke.  Most specialists recommend that you get on a blood thinner and stay there for life to minimize stroke.  Also, the more you go into afib and the longer the episodes last, the more stretching of the heart happens and the electrical wiring in your heart gets distorted.. In other words the longer you have afib the worse it can get.  There are medicines to control and sometimes surgical interventions but they don't often work. I recommend you check out Dr. John Mandrola who is a specialist and afib sufferer.  He writes for Cardiology.. I can't  post links here, so Google him and check out his site.  Good Luck

3

Thanks. I’ve read everything I can on the internet, including Dr Mandrola. The more I learn the more hopeless I feel.

4

Hi there, I went through the same thing emotionally as you when first diagnosed 7 years ago. I got some counselling and that helped a lot. Over the course of 7 years my A Fib episodes have actually gotten better. I have had 1 per year over the past few that needed cardioversion. I used to be so anxious about when the next episode would come. Now I just don't care. It's more of a nuisance than anything. As for blood thinners. My cardiologist has just put me on a arrhythmia medication and not a blood thinner because I know when I'm in a fib therefore I get cardioverted right away before the 24 hour threshold for stroke increase. Food is a major trigger for me. So I use the FODMAP diet with great success. You can live a long and healthy life with A Fib. My dad is 91 years young with A Fib. So see your life will not be shortened. It's a good thing to reach out to other A Fibbers on this forum. We all understand. And the different viewpoints of others are important also. Don't be afraid of A Fib. It won't kill you. There are many other illnesses that could be much more devastating. Take care. You really will be ok smile

5

Hi Li29,

Afib can be a real PITA but on the scale of life threatening illnesses, it doesn't even make the cut. In fact, it's the most common heart rhythm irregularity worldwide.

Regardless of what you may read, afib will not effect your life expectancy and in most cases will not effect your lifestyle. People with afib have families, run marathons and can live to be 100.

This isn't to minimize the stress and strain afib takes on people, but a lot of it is self inflicted due to stress and anxiety, ie worrying about stuff that statistically doesn't happen.

Best thing you can do now is take a deep breath, relax, and hen learn as much as you can about afib. I think the more you learn, the more you will be able to put it in perspective. Groups like this are terrific, but there's always the problem of one person's anxiety transferring to another, so try and not let that happen to you as you read through the posts.

Are you seeing a cardiogist or  GP? You definitely want to see a cardiologist. How did you know you were in afib the three episodes when you were sleeping? How many of your four episodes were confirmed by an ekg? There is also some evidence that Metropolol may not be the right drug for certain types of afib and may even help cause it. Getting a second (or third) opinion on afib management is not a bad idea.

Someone else recently mentioned an afib episode after switching to a vegan diet. And my last episode of afib also occured not too long after I switched to a vegan diet. So there may be something there either with the electrolytes or perhaps lack of protein. Needless to say I'm no longer vegan and have upped my protein as well as healthy fats. I was also on a very low sodium diet and have sinced upped my sodium to more normal levels.

Jim

6

Mandrola isn't the definitive source -- no one is -- but I find him a good source. Don't know why you feel hopeless reading Mandrola. He has afib himself, and in addition to a hard working medical schedule, he still races bicycles and has an upbeat attitude. I'll admit that treatment recommendations can be confusing, especially the ablation debate, however it's not hopeless. And you have an advantage that most here don't --- you're young. That means a much greater chance that treatment advances and breakthroughs will take place during your lifetime.

Jim

7

Oh my goodness that's not good. I would success then to stop using the internet to look up information if all you are finding is negative. Life is what you make of it. Pick yourself up, put two feet in front of you and keep going. Afib is not a death sentence. You will adjust.

8

Right on Jim! smile

9

Thanks Jim. I learned afib doesn’t kill me. And it might not shorten my life of stroke is prevented. But what’s draining me is I can never get the peace of mind again and always feel guilty that I messed up my life and my family’s. The day to day depression is real and I can never grunt out of it. I can never get back to the old me. Sometimes I just want to give up.

10

 It Dr Mandeila made me feel hopeless but over all the information I get. The long term prognosis is bad, the mental toll is huge, the fact it can’t be cured and I can’t get out of it for life is so frustrated, and I might have messed up by going vegan just drove me crazy. 

11

Jim nails it again!👍

12

I looked at the blood test that I did just one day before first afib, it shows protein was 7.7, which was the middle of normal range. It also shows calcium, sodium and potassium in the middle range, potassium was 4.2. Then on the blood test of first afib, which was the next day, potassium was down to 3.6, just slightly above he minimum of normal range. Not sure about magnesium though. And I don’t know why potassium dropped in just a few hours, maybe because of the heavy sweating.

13

What long term prognosis are you referring to? Again, mortality figures are identical between afib and non afib patients. I had my first episode of afib in my 40's. Had 4 more episodes in the next 30 years. I would say it has zero impact on my life between episodes, except perhaps adopting some healthier habits like watching my blood pressure, weight, and stopping smoking. If John Mandrola and others can run marathons and race bicycles with afib, what exactly is it that you don't think you will be able to do? And stop kicking yourself for going vegan. It's not like you were reckless with recreational drugs or something. A lot of good evidence that vegan helps the heart, at least I bought into that. And who knows, maybe going vegan and getting afib were coincidental although I also have my suspicions there.

Jim

14

As I mentioned in an earlier post, you have no reason to feel guilty. You did what many others have done -- myself included -- in going vegan based on some very credible research suggesting it will add years to your life by protecting your heart. I bought into that and followed the Caldwell Esselytein diet. And like yourself I went into afib on the diet. FWIW this was the second time I was on the diet and did not have any afib issues the first time, so I'm not entirely convinced it was the diet, but who knows. And not that I'm rushing back to being a vegan smile -- but I still don't think I made the wrong decision at the time and I would not rule it out in the future but perhaps being more careful with electrolyte balance and adding modifying it with some healthy animal fats as suggested by Dean Ornish.  You can't keep kicking yourself for being a Monday morning quarterback. The Vegan thing made sense at the time and there are millions of vegans out there without afib and millions of non vegans with afib!

Jim

Jim

15

Can you get the peace of mind after these 7 years?

16

I think my electrolytes were mid range as well, so maybe not that. Maybe the lack of protein and fats, or again, maybe afib and being vegan were just coincidental. I also had xtra caffeine the day of my last afib episode, and maybe the very low fat vegan diet made me more sensitive to the effects of the caffeine. Have given up coffee for now.

Blood tests aside, did you have your three following night time afib episodes confirmed by an ekg? If not, it may have been benign palpitations like PACs, PVCs, which often follow or co-exist with afib and may have a stress component. I have them myself on a daily basis now. And while I intellectually know what they are, I do admit they stress me out at times. But on a scale of 1-10, that stress was a "10" right after my afib episode, and it's a "1" or "2" now. I still get the same PACs, but I am getting more and more comfortable as the knowledge sinks in that there is really nothing to be concerned about. Palpitations, as scary as they may seem, are in most cases not the same as afib.

Jim

17

Sandi,

Good point. Afib is such a strange condition. On one hand it's very common and usually benign, but on the other it can make lives so stressful. I think the reason is that what causes it can be so elusive.

In my case, I knew the exact trigger (cold beverages and ice cream) for thirty years. Knowing the trigger meant no stress. I just avoided ice cold beverages!

But then my last episode sort of came out of nowhere. I'm only guessing at the triggers. A lot more stress.

In your case, you took matters in your own hands and found success with the FODMAP diet. Hats off to you for being proactive as well as your positive attitude.

I don't know if I will ever be able to find my new afib trigger, but the silver lining is that even though I had relatively healthy habits, I'm now even more focused on good health. Lost a few pounds, watching my diet a bit more, making exercise a more constant part of my life.

But the bottom line is that what worries many of us about afib is less scientific and more emotional. I think time and knowledge is the best cure here.

Jim

18

Long term, I mean in the next decades. I hope it won’t progress very fast and give me time to raise my kids. There’re people got it progress very fast and in just few years they gone through all meds, ablation, maze and AV ablation. Then what next? I’m so young and there’s a lot of time for it to progress. I doubt if I can get a peace of mind eventually. Feel I’m stuck with this thing for life.

19

Yes Jim I totally agree. I got fed up with worrying so much and not getting on with my real life that I just decided this self destruction was gonna stop. Period. But it takes awhile to get to that point.

20

I went to ER for my first and second episodes, and they were confirmed. Waited at home for the 3rd and 4th episodes and confirmed by Kardia. All episodes ended exactly at 8am, don’t know why. During my second episode, they were going to shock me, but I converted myself after they sedated me.