MrsHJ wrote: ↑16 Mar 2023, 7:07pmNo medication at the moment- it’s not constant enough for beta blockers plus I don’t score enough points due to being young etc and frankly I don’t fancy them anyhow.
I really cleaned my diet up about a month before that so I’m now trying to figure if I’ve cut something out that was helpful. Honestly though my recent diet has been the poster child for heart health.
Do you mean the cha2ds2-vasc score? That's to assess your stroke risk with a view to taking anticoagulants, not betablockers.
What have you cut out of your diet, was it fat? There has been some research suggesting that low cholesterol may be associated with an increased incidence of AF, but I don't think it's any more than a suggestion thus far. My arrhythmia started about a couple of years after I made a big reduction in my fat intake (Cholesterol was 4.42 at that time), but if it had any effect at all I think it would have been only secondary.
Some take magnesium supplements and swear by them, although I never have, and I have seen someone complaining of symptoms that ticked all the boxes for magnesium overdose.
Alcohol is a no-no, and I was warned off caffeine at the time I was diagnosed, but there has been a big Chinese study since then which found that caffeine in moderation is slightly beneficial. I was drinking de-caff before diagnosis anyway, and I haven't changed.
Autonomic nervous system activity after big meals and after getting into bed are known and common triggers for AF, but not something you can easily avoid. A lot of patients find that laying on their left side in bed aggravates their arrhythmia; I didn't orginally, but I do now. Big time. The only position I can sleep in now is on my right (and I'm sick of it).
Swallowing hot or cold drinks can trigger an episode.
A DIY method for cardioversion is
valsalva manoeuvre, but it's never worked for me. I have been told by the NHS to try carotid massage on occasion too, but there are also warnings not to do it yourself, so take your pick.
The
ESC paper on risk reduction in AF patients lists many risk factors, most of which you can’t do anything about, but the ones you have some control over are:
Obesity
Blood pressure
Alcohol
Exercise
Sleep Apnoea
Smoking