Eating and overeating can trigger afib and most people get a little tired after a meal anyway (probably vagal response). I know what you mean though. It's like the meal is pushing up on your diaphragm when you bend over or walk upstairs... actually, people kind of bend forward when they climb stairs. The best way to deal with it for me is to stay as thin as possible and eat more, but lighter, meals.

Strange this whould come up. We went out to eat at a buffet last night. We came home, I was feeling a little tired so went to bed eartly woke up at 2 AM with afib, first time in 10 months. I took a BB, didn't work in over an hour took another, then in 2 hour another. I though oh no, no ER for me. I took my morning walk wore my heart rate monitor and could see the HR coming down. By the time I got home it was over.

I think it was the amount of sugar I ingested, I usually don't go for the sweets that much. I hope it was that. I can control the sugar.

Weird after 10 months, I guess you can never let your gaurd down with this "thing"

Makes sense to me. It seems that heavy foods like pasta, Mexican, and spicy foods are the most problematic with me. Or like Petey said any large meal. I try to stay away from the buffets. Thanks for the responses.

Your energy is going to digest the food. Carbs just wipe me out. Small meals not much carbs is my secret.

That's a great question, I always thought that maybe I just over eat, since I having been going through that for a nice while now. It's to the point where my wife hates for me to eat if we have to do something cause she knows that I am going to need a nap.....

I always have arrhythmia after a meal, even a light meal. I keep burping for hours after the meal, each burp provides some relief. My cardiologist suggested OTC Simethicone, that does not help. Apart from the arrhythmia and burping, I don't have any other symptoms after the meal. I am thinking of seeing a Gastroenterologist, because cardiologists just dismiss the problem. I am already eating more frequent light meals, no spices.

In the beginning I was on Cardizem, rythumal and digoxin and in a fib most of the time. During the day it usually wasn't to bad but just after eating at night off it went. This was only with the evening meal which for me was the big one of the day. Over eating at night was the main trigger and the a fib would return most every morning until the morning dose of drugs kicked in and slowed things down a little. I would also get very sleepy and take a nap after eating which is not a good thing to do. When they switched me to flec and toprol xl the a fib mostly went away and now after eating at night my heart rate goes up for a while and beats strong and pounding but no a fib. I usually get short of breath at this time and a short nap still seems necessary. I'm certain, that for me, over eating is the main cause. It seems to push up my diaphragm and then the problem starts. The answer for me is small meals and weight loss. I quit smoking a few months ago and the eating and over weight are still a problem. Rick

Sugar, sugar, sugar, you get sleepy and tired because more than likely your blood sugar spikes very high and then crashes to some low value because your pacreas dumps a loy of insulin to clear the excess sugar in your blood.

This happens as we age, specially when we eat a lot of carbs. The sugar spike is actually very bad and has to be corrected.

You can easily test your sugar levels by getting a glucose meter. It is the same meter that diabetics use to measure their sugar. I would say checking the blood sugar in the morning and/or after we eat is a must as we get older. The meters are NOT just for diabetics.

I do NOT think the sluggishness/sleepiness after eating is caused by the afib. It can, but more than likely is as a result of blood sugar spike. So, watch out, it is not good!

Scottzz That sounds like a good idea to check that as a possible trigger. Rick

I wonder about a connection between acid reflux (GERD) and afib. I take an OTC Zantac every day but occasionally I managed to break thru - usually eating something late at nite. My afib has been behaving itself recently but Weds nite I ate late, had acid reflux and went into afib. The afib only lasted about an hour, thank goodness.
Connection?

I had chest pains in left side and when I would belch it would go away and Dr had me get OTC Gaviscon and it worked. Other night I had smething on both sides and took it and it worked. I wait to see if it tummy caused. So far has been. I only take when needed.

I think sugar may be my trigger and I stay low sugar most of the time. Dr says I can have some and keep wt down. So not eating big meals. When eat out I guess more. But I drink water with the meal so I can eat more and at home I drink a cup of milk with dinner and supper. Milk on cereal in morning with no salt or sugar. I can walk after eating. I want to lay down after the walk. .

I only go to a GP. My wt is down where he says. Can't eat a lot and keep it down to that low. I am trying to stay on a steady diet and watch the Vit K. I only walk a mile and day and Dr says that is good. He wants doing that.

I don't have GERD or heartburn after eating, just lots of stomach gas. The only solution I found is to eat very little, which is not good because I am already under weight. I can exercise quite a bit with an empty stomach, while even limited exercise after a small meal causes my heart rate to go up a lot. My cardiologist does not take the problem seriously, I'll see an EP in two weeks and I will insist on addressing the problem.

GERD and Afib:

http://www.jafib.com/app/videos/treasure_chest.php?cont=treasure_chest&title=Association%20Between%20Hiatal%20Hernia,%20GERD,%20and%20Atria&id=6

Before I knew I have AFib, I thought my shortness of breath was due to overeating a big meal in a restaurant. Now I realize that my body was just trying to tell me I had a problem and it was not from overeating......I am doing good if I can hold 100 #'s on a daily basis!
I haven't been able to identify any particular foods that are a trigger for me so am still in the dark on that one. Even though I am not supposed to eat green veggies when on Warfarin, I have been told twice now to go eat a big salad or a big green something as I keep thinning out too much......go figure!

Hi gretab,
Have you checked your thyroid function. If you have an overactive thyroid, your heart rate will be elevated and you would lose weight. Please make sure they give you a complete thyroid panel test consisting of TSH, T4, and free T3 thyroid hormons. Make sure T3 is included in your test. Doctors do NOT give this important test. T3 hormon is the one which acts on your cells. T4 has to convert to T3 to be effective.

Also, I am NOT sure why they tell you to eat a big salad to gain weight. You need good quality protein and of course the salad too. If you are having enough protein in your diet, then your thyroid might be overactive.

In addition, you need vitamin K (from greens) for absorption of calcium to your bones. Without vitamin K, you will end up losing bones and ultimately getting osteoporosis. That is the case with people who are on Warfarin (Cumadin) for a long time. That is the bad thing about being on Cumadin type blood thinners for a long time.

Also, I like to mention that my afib from a particular food, shows up hours later, sometime the next day. For example, if I eat nuts, I get mild afib the next day. The same with butter and cheese. So, please consider the time lag for the food to get into your systme too. Of course, if you are alergic to some food, it shows up very fast. But, that is not the case with food caused afib.

Good luck in finding yours.
Scott