Atrial Fibrillation triggers?

Farmorl I have PAF and on Flecainide and Apixaban. Only got diagnosed 2020/2021. My old GP where I used to live miss diagnosed me by in house ECG as LVH.

My new GP sent to to see the cardiologist who after having and echocardiogram then a bubble echocardiogram found I was born with a hole in my heart . After MRI on my heart in 2021 found the hole is small and on the side of my heart between my lungs.

I had jaundice in 2017 caused by tablets for my neurological condition I had been in since 1992. Left me hearing my heart beat in my left ear so I know when I miss hearts beats.

I find if it's very hot, very cold or very windy it can trigger my PAF it doesn't last long as I know to just relax and it's over. I do get breathless at times but as long as I don't get chest pain I just get on with things. If my mobility is very bad and I am exhausted it can also trigger my PAF but I know my limits so rest to prevent it. I am 66.

Getting seriously fed up with the AF - it is happening so much of the time now. It is stopping me sleeping and causing chest and back pain. Seeing cardiologist on Thursday again - I am using my savings to see him privately. If I had gone with NHS I would be waiting another 5 months. I feel so sorry for those who have no savings to get the treatment they need. There is no way I could just live with this for months with no treatment.

Yup - I pee for England when it is on the go - which it is right now. It has been niggling around for the last few hours and I knew what was in store. It flipped over about 10 minutes ago. TBH I am getting a bit fed up with it.

I am running an arts festival tomorrow so I hope it will have settled by then.

That’s really interesting about the dentist Freya I didn’t know.I am another one who swears by flecainide . I take it twice a day and haven’t had an episode for five years. Alcohol used to bring it on for me but otherwise it would just come on mainly during the night with no obvious reason .

Thanks for responses - mine is definitely not as bad as yours, Luckygirl but I was interested in it being triggered by eating. On one occasion I was out with a group where everyone had brought food. There was a lot of very sweet stuff and that seemed to trigger an episode! Also it seems I wasn't imagining that a cold drink could cause it.

I also am aware of it "brewing". I feel brief episodes of arrhythmia and a general feeling of uneasiness - hard to describe. One thing that happens to me at the start is a huge increase in urine output - sometimes that's how I know I'm having an episode during the night. I have a full bladder every 20 - 30 minutes! Apparently it's due to a diuretic hormone (atrial natriuretic peptide) released by the heart.

That's interesting about the local at the dentist.

Good to hear flecainide is working for you. I need a stress test before I can have it but they are wondering how this will work as I am in a lot of pain with hip/back and running on a treadmill might be problematical.

It sounds as though he plans to keep me on the beta-blocker (metoprolol) and add in flecainide. Are you on both?

Luckygirl3

Eating - anything - sparks it off. Drinking cold drinks - which is why I ask for no ice when out. Spasm of sphincter of Oddi - a problem I have had since having my gall bladder removed and which gingers up the vagus nerve and sets the AF off.

I don't even try to make it stop now - none of the methods suggested work for me: coughing, splashing cold water on face, pretending to push out 20 pound baby - all make no difference. I just grin and bear it - but it causes chest pain, breathlessness, pain in throat and neck, and is particularly troublesome at night as it is worse lying down.

Mine recurs like clockwork every 48 hours - there is no rhyme nor reason to it - and it lasts between 4 and 12 hours. It is a darned nuisance.

I can feel it brewing up - sinking sensation in chest and short runs of arrythmia.

I am on anticoagulant and metoprolol. It looks as though flecainide might be added soon.

That's sounds really dreadful for you, and must be dreadful to cope with.
Initially I had a on and off two week episode, they put me on Bisoprolol, then taken off because I have Asthma. I've been on Flecainide for nearly two years now, with only two small episodes of AF. Although I understand all are different , I hope it does make a difference for you.
A tip too, if you need LA at dentist, request it without adrenaline, too much is what my AF started with.

Eating - anything - sparks it off. Drinking cold drinks - which is why I ask for no ice when out. Spasm of sphincter of Oddi - a problem I have had since having my gall bladder removed and which gingers up the vagus nerve and sets the AF off.

I don't even try to make it stop now - none of the methods suggested work for me: coughing, splashing cold water on face, pretending to push out 20 pound baby - all make no difference. I just grin and bear it - but it causes chest pain, breathlessness, pain in throat and neck, and is particularly troublesome at night as it is worse lying down.

Mine recurs like clockwork every 48 hours - there is no rhyme nor reason to it - and it lasts between 4 and 12 hours. It is a darned nuisance.

I can feel it brewing up - sinking sensation in chest and short runs of arrythmia.

I am on anticoagulant and metoprolol. It looks as though flecainide might be added soon.

Ginger beer non alcoholic and sugar free, anything spicy, Chinese food, and cucumber. I know it’s baffling.