Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Support Group
Atrial fibrillation (AF or afib) is an abnormal heart rhythm (cardiac arrhythmia) which involves the two small, upper heart chambers (the atria). Heart beats in a normal heart begin after electricity generated in the atria by the sinoatrial node spread through the heart and cause contraction of the heart muscle and pumping of blood.
I wanted to check in on behalf of my husband Chris who had an ablation 1 year ago for atrial flutter and a fib. I"ll give you a bit of his history...he's 49 in good general health. He's 6'3" 265 lbs has OSA...has a neck larger than 18.5". Chris was diagnosed with afib in June 2012. He was symptomatic while in afib. He tried flecainide which made the arrythmia much worse. He would have evening episodes like clockwork after dinner, then again during the middle of the night when he would get up to go to the bathroom. He decided along with his local cardiologist that an ablation may help him, so we were referred to Dr. Roger Winkle of Silicon Valley Cardiology. On November 9Th 2012 Chris had an ablation. 11 weeks post op he had an 8 hour episode of afib and was put back on an event monitor. He has not had any further episodes of afib, and is monitored every 3 months by his local cardiologist and every 6 months by his GP. Post ablation Chris experienced about 4 months of random PACS which were confirmed by his EP. Those have completely subsided. Currently Chris Takes Diltiazem and baby aspirin. He also uses a CPAP nighly and funny enough we both sleep better! He is very in touch with his heart and is being watched for silent AFIB. We wish everyone a blessed holiday season. Lisa & Chris
However, everyone is different. I went on a Slim Fast diet a couple years back and I lost 32 pounds. I was 5'11" 180 pounds and probably the healthiest I had been in my life from a weight perspective. Two days after I did my last weigh in, guess what happened? I had an afib attack that sent me to the E.R. for my 2nd cardioversion.
By your logic, I shouldn't have had an attack because I lost all that excess weight but I did.
And look at Howie Mandel. The guy is extremely healthy and runs 7 miles per day. He still suffers from afib.
While I'm willing to concede *diet* may play a significant role, I have yet to hear of the "perfect diet" curing afib. You keep talking about all this research you've done and I've asked you to share it here or with me directly (so I can share it on my blog) but you don't respond.
If you claim to have a cure, you should be sharing your research instead of jumping in forums claiming everyone has it wrong and only you have the answers. Give some specifics, my friend, if you want to be taken seriously.
Travis
I just HAVE to add my Len Bias story...being from Maryland, it was big news here locally when he died. I just think he had one of THE greatest exit lines ever...when his drug dealer (who was in the dorms with him at a celebration party) told him "Lenny, take it easy on the coke!" He looked at him and said "Hey, I am mother f'ing Len Bias!" and dropped over dead. Sorry, just thought that was a great exit line for a coke user. It was a sad way to end for a kid who had everything going for him.
And back to the afib thing.....read an article by Dr. Calkins online where he noted that being obese/overweight can lead to the failure of an ablation. Hopkins recommends 120 minutes of exercise a day to strengthen the heart. I am now semi-retired, and there is no way to fit in 2 hours of exercise a day! I admire those of you who can do that. It seems obvious that diet is incredibly important for good health, but exercise is just as obviously good for the heart, and very important for those of us who have had ablations and need to get the heart back "in shape."
Still fat Bill
Bill
Steve
Happy Thanksgiving to you too Steve.
Congrats to you and your husband Chris on the successful ablation. Happy Thanksgiving.
-petey
Len Bias- It's pretty bad when your drug dealer tells you to slow down with the drugs.
Chris' weight- Eb, you cannot tell a person they are overweight when you don't know their waist size or amount of muscle.
In defense of exercise- Eb, look how long Jack Lalane lived. I know, you think it was the juicer, not the exercise. Actually, look at his life story and his training and weightlifting. He exercised to the end in his 90s and because of that had a QOL that is to be envied.
Dropping acid- Eb, you gotta let go of preaching about acid. Everything isn't solved with one solution for everyone. The "bentonite lady" you gave us the URL FOR started her ideas after being an alcoholic and drug addict as she says. Maybe all that stuff is good for getting clean, but she doesn't mention afib at all. Any solution that claims to fix every condition under the sun cannot be valid. You should start a "Drop the Acid" support group. You are free to express your views and we are free to express ours.
To all you turkeys out there- be careful today.
petey