Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group

Are you adjusting for the a-fib or for coumadin? For a-fib the only thing I changed was to remove caffiene, however since I take coumadin I have to watch how much I eat anything with vit K, like green veggies.

Since I was diagnosed one year ago, I have changed my eating habits. I eat dinner early and do not eat anything after 7:00 p.m. My er attacks happened in the middle of the night. I stopped all sugar subsitutes, some spices, anything I notice that makes my heart flip.
So far, so good. My attacks are short and infrequent.

I agree with all the recommendations above. Other triggers include alcohol and sadly, chocolate - although tiny amounts don't seem to be a problem.

There is evidence that large and hot meals put more stress on the heart and when we teach patients at my work place, we do not recommed people with CHF to eat these types of meals.
I would imagine that the same could be true for a-fib since large hot meals increase heart and respirtory rates. I have been eating small frequent meals.
and yes, the chocolate seems to be the most common problem for a-fib.

It is a lot of trial and error... for me, triggers for Afib are caffiene, chocolate, and artificial sweetners..( also I think, the red food coloring in certain foods, it happened once or twice after I drank RED, berry crystal light, which also is diet..not sure about the red, but I am careful with that...

the only thing i had to avoid is caffeine. most of my episodes don't seem to have a trigger.

I notice no one has mentioned cutting out meat and/or dairy. In reading various books about preventing and reversing heart disease, I've learned how helpful this is. It's really not such a difficult transition either. I personally use mainly the RAVE diet. You can look it up online. I feel much better.

I have found that triggers in food are caffeine, alcohol, MSG and large meals. Stimulants are found hidden in a great deal of foods and they are hard to find. Also, stay away from decongestants, as they are stimulants. Even carbonated beverages can trigger Afib or PCVs. Not all the time, but I notice if I drink pop on an empty stomach my heart will skip. I only drink caffeine free pops, when I do drink them. Some people are not so bothered by alcohol, but I noticed that I get extreme PVCs and skipped beats if I drink any alcoholic beverage and so I have just learned to live without it all of my life. I have always wondered if anyone out there has ever noticed that if when their stomach is upset do they have worse days with skipped beats or A Fib episodes? I certainly do. A great deal of my episodes are either perceeded by "gas" or an unset stomach. Odd. Even my doc can't answer this one. But after my tummy calms down, I go back into normal SR.