I have had a fairly long stretch for me without an episode ( 1 wk) . I don't stay out in the summer heat long because heat/cold are triggers for me. Went on Saturday to take pix of baby granddaughter in the pumpkin patch (mid 80s) and was staying hydrated. But I had Afib off/on the whole afternoon and evening. I know the cold winter will do the same thing, so I try to avoid both as much as possible. I am praying that the weather is nice for the Winter Wonderland pix. Lol!

Wow paul60, that is a long time to have afib. Yes hot weather does
make my heart act funny. I drink lots of water and take a pinch of sea
salt in it. I really sweat when I walk and work out in the yard.

I have had only one afib event last year and one this year. But I do
get tachycardia once in awhile. Then I take a beta blocker and so far
that has stopped it within an hour or so.

We live in FL so the cold is OK for me.

Interesting question. I believe I must have had afib before I was diagnosed (in NJ btw) 2 years ago at 62 with asymptomatic persistent afib that turned out to be longstanding persistent (never came out of afib on my own). I always had trouble with the heat and deyhdration. When I was 31, I had my first silent migraine (aura only) in August. It was mostly August when I had any subsequent ones. I have only had maybe 20 or less in my life and tyhe only other trigger was sugar/ chocolate. I bring this up because I believe the afib and silent migraines are related. They are both electrical disturbances AND many times when people have afib ablations, they get silent migraines (aura/scintillating scotoma/whatever you want to call them). We have posted on this topic before btw. I believe dehydration is part of the equation and that stimulation (could be caffeine/alcohol/something you are allergic to) is another part.


"CONCLUSION:

This study reports for the first time the incidence and outcomes of isolated migraine aura in patients undergoing electrophysiology procedures involving Transseptal catheterization (TSC). For post-TSC patients who present with atypical neurologic symptoms, especially "scintillating scotoma," once transient ischemic attack or other neurologic event has been ruled out, an aura associated with the TSC should be entertained as a possible diagnosis. Electrophysiologists who perform TSC, need to be aware of this phenomenon and can reassure the patients of the transient and benign nature."

So the hole in between the chambers matters. In the case of congenital holes like PFO, read this:

"For the first time, a patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been linked with the occurrence of a visual aura without the migraine headache, researchers found. At 3 months after PFO closure, 40% of patients with only the aura had complete resolution of symptoms, as did one-quarter of those with both aura and migraine and half of those with an aura unrelated in time to the migraine, Jonathan Tobis, MD, from UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, and colleagues found. As a possible mechanism of action, the research group hypothesized that the auras are caused by "chemical stimulants that pass through a PFO and bypass metabolism in the lung vasculature."


"A Hole in the Heart - Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO)

When a person has stroke or transient ischemic stroke (TIA) "out of the blue" with no obvious risk factors, doctors often check to see if the event was caused by a "hole" in the heart called a patent foramen ovale (PFO)? About 1 in 5 Americans has a PFO. Many don't know it until a medical condition like a stroke or TIA occurs. PFOs often have no symptoms but they may increase your risk for stroke and TIA. Many PFO-related strokes are called cryptogenic, meaning they have no apparent cause."

"There was a greater number of atrial fibrillation cases with PFO closure..."

" ...having a PFO can increase a persons stroke risk by up to 25
percent."

So there is a link with aura and ablation and PFO and strokes.


Now I'm sure a lot of you are saying, "I never had a migraine aura... ad I don't know if I have PFO...what relevance does this have?"

My answer is "I don't know" other than there is a relationship of sorts and it is interesting.

I guess I gave us all another thing to worry about with strokes... PFO.


petey