If you’re a Blackberry addict or a stress junkie, which can contribute to atrial fibrillation, you may be interested in this new article in which Mellanie True Hills, CEO of StopAfib.org, was quoted.
Mellanie True Hills quoted at FOXBusiness.com
P.S. A reader just sent this additional link for Blackbery addicts:
Texting and walking is bad for your health, emergency-room doctors say
So texting can kill, too.
If you have atrial fibrillation related to sleep apnea, you’ll want to check out this article as it could save your life.
Caution For Those With Atrial Fibrillation Related to Sleep Apnea
Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered a genetic mutation that may be responsible for atrial fibrillation in families. They scanned the entire human genome and discovered a genetic mutation common to all family members with atrial fibrillation.
Is there anyone with atrial fibrillation who hasn’t been told that coffee and caffeine can cause or trigger atrial fibrillation?
The first step to controlling atrial fibrillation, we’re often told, is to eliminate coffee. Because of this, coffee and caffeine are frequent topics on afib discussion forums.
But there’s interesting information about coffee at the Micronutrient Information Center of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.
This fascinating site contains interesting facts, such as that unfiltered coffee can raise total cholesterol and bad cholesterol (LDL) levels. In addition, coffee consumption is associated with decreased risk of Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and liver disease, and there is no evidence that it increases the risk of cancer. It can increase blood pressure, but most studies found no increased cardiovascular disease risk from moderate consumption.
What was most interesting, though, was the relationship of coffee and cardiac arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation. According to the site,
“Clinical trials have not found coffee or caffeine intake equivalent to 5-6 cups/d to increase the frequency or severity of cardiac arrhythmias in healthy people or people with CHD. A large prospective study in the US that followed more than 128,000 people for 7 years found no association between coffee consumption and sudden cardiac death. More recently, two prospective studies in Scandinavia found no association between coffee consumption and the risk of developing atrial fibrillation, a common supraventricular arrhythmia.”
So, according to this, coffee, even 5-6 cups per day, doesn’t play a role in developing atrial fibrillation or increasing the frequency or severity of arrhythmias.
When this topic comes up on a discussion forum, someone will inevitably say that they drink as much coffee they want as long as it’s organic or it’s decaf.
What has been your experience with coffee and afib? Does cutting out coffee or caffeine decrease or eliminate your atrial fibrillation? Or does it make it any difference at all?
How many of us grab some coffee when we’re stressed? Could it be stress, not coffee, that’s the culprit?
Since the shocking death of political commentator Tim Russert a few days ago, we have seen a huge outpouring of love and respect for this man who was so admired. I admired him, too, but this post is not about what his life taught us, but about what his death taught us.
Many of us with atrial fibrillation also have heart disease. Even those with lone atrial fibrillation may be at risk for heart disease. Thus this story hits close to home for many of us even though it’s not about atrial fibrillation.
We were shocked that Tim Russert was taken from us at age 58. Why, and how could that happen to one so young? Why couldn’t he have been saved?
While heart attack symptoms for men are usually overt, and for women subtle, there are some men for whom the symptoms are subtle as well. So for many of us, a heart attack is the first recognizable symptom. He may have had subtle symptoms that could have saved him had they been recognized and acted on in time—that’s how I had a different outcome—but maybe not as it’s not always possible.
We’ve since heard from Tim’s doctor that an autopsy showed that he had coronary artery disease and an enlarged heart, which is often a by-product of the heart having to work too hard. A cholesterol plaque ruptured an artery, caused a clot, and led to his death.
His coronary artery disease was being treated with medication and exercise, but medication doesn’t generally reverse significant heart disease and you have to question whether he was able to find time to exercise with his intense job.
He had just had a good stress test, too. Of course, passing a stress test is no guarantee of good heart health—it’s a reasonable screening test, but it’s only accurate at indicating heart disease in about 2/3 of men and only 1/3 of women.
Interestingly, Tim had just come back from a trip to Italy with his family to celebrate son Luke’s college graduation. Some doctor blogs have suggested this as a possible source of a clot. This hit home for me because my very first episode of atrial fibrillation was just a few days after my own long flight back from Italy. I had artery clots (not vein clots from “economy class syndrome”) and a close call with stroke. Tim’s trip to Italy could have played a role.
To me it seems that Tim’s intensity and relentlessly high standards drove him to literally work himself to death, the same as what almost happened to me. His colleague, Tom Brokaw, said, “He worked to the point of exhaustion so many weeks.” That sure sounds familiar.
It didn’t help that his role in “Meet the Press” was to confront. And the media business is stressful—always on deadline and always trying to scoop the other media. The stress on Tim’s face told us that he was a heart attack waiting to happen.
Is Tim Russert the canary in the coal mine for the rest of the media? There are so many heart attacks just waiting to happen there. In one particularly heated Fox News debate about immigration, Bill O’Reilly was so angry that the veins on his face popped out—I thought he would have a heart attack or stroke right there. His sparring partner, Geraldo Rivera, appeared equally angry and at risk. Come on, guys, take it easy! It’s not worth a heart attack!
The media isn’t the only occupation at risk—there are many other high-stress occupations as well.
What about you? Will this be a reality check for you? If you need to, will you make changes that will save your own life?
Heart attacks can be prevented. Eating right, exercising, managing the insidious stress that hijacks healthy habits, getting enough sleep, and taking proactive control of your health—the HEART Program’s five simple steps—saved my life and could have saved Tim’s, too.
If you need help, there are many books out there (including my own). Just do something to save your own life.
It was so easy to like and admire Tim, and he really made us think. He was always influencing and teaching us. May he influence and teach us in death just as he did in life.
Post-menopausal women with existing heart disease have less risk of having or developing atrial fibrillation if they are taking statin drugs. This finding was reported at the Heart Rhythm Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco. It appears that it’s the anti-inflammatory properties of statins that cause this. More about study…
While the news stories say “older women benefit from taking statins” (the study focused just on post-menopausal women), it’s logical that it could apply to younger women as well (maybe men, too). Since inflammation causes heart disease and post-surgical atrial fibrillation, why shouldn’t something that reduces inflammation help reduce the risk of afib at any age? It seems logical.
I tell my audiences that heart disease is forever—once you have it you’re at risk for more heart disease, stroke, and other issues. I believe that inflammation from all those chronic sinus infections (and a case of bronchitis) contributed to my heart disease at age 51 and may also have contributed to developing afib later that same year.
So if you’re a woman with Lone Atrial Fibrillation (atrial fibrillation without underlying heart disease), these results wouldn’t seem to apply to you. Or do they? I believe that many who have lone afib may also have undiagnosed heart disease. It’s heresy, I know, to say that. But since almost half of us will have (and die from) heart disease or stroke, is it logical to think that we just up and develop it one day? I don’t think so. Heart disease builds up over time, starting in our childhood.
So how could heart disease go undiagnosed in a woman? We’ve learned through the WISE (Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation) study that women’s heart disease is different from men’s and that tests that diagnose heart disease in men often aren’t as accurate for women. For example, treadmill stress tests accurately pick up heart disease in men about 2/3 of the time, but it’s only about 1/3 of the time in women. The same applies to other tests that work well for men. Women may need different tests to find their heart disease, so just because a test came back clean doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t have any heart disease.
So what can you do if you don’t want to take statin drugs? Lots of folks don’t. Would a naturally-occurring statin (such as red yeast rice) or a natural anti-inflammatory agent work? Logic says that they might, though I haven’t seen any randomized studies confirming that. (This isn’t medical advice - just my ramblings - so you’ll have to make your own decisions.)
Bottom line for women: Finding ways to reduce inflammation could help control afib or reduce your risk of having it.
Does that work for men, too? Perhaps so.
For some ideas on naturally-occurring statins and natural anti-inflammatories check out these resources:
My friend, Dr. Ellen Taliaferro, used to be an emergency room doctor. Today she uses her expertise in dealing with trauma to help people use writing to recover from their illnesses and traumas.
I sent her a message the other day saying that maybe wellness writing can not only cure chronic diseases but perhaps even prevent them in the first place. That came from research I’d just read about from Arizona State University that writing can lower cholesterol and give you a healthier heart. Dr. Taliaferro just wrote about writing as a heart-healthy prevention strategy in her blog.
So if writing can relieve stress and give you a healthier heart, can it help with atrial fibrillation, especially afib triggered by stress? Could be worth a try.
Dr. Taliaferro is doing some workshops on Seeking Wellness Story by Story in beautiful Half Moon Bay, CA in April. If you attend, please let us know if it helps your afib.
Atrial fibrillation is so sneaky. So is afib really stress in disguise? Afib seems to sneak up on you when you least expect it and you wonder “where did that come from?” It’s hard to pin down an atrial fibrillation cause or trigger when it’s different every time.
For some, it’s triggered by alcohol or caffeine. For others, by certain types of foods or food additives. For some, it may come on during exercise or from something as simple as bending over. For still others, eating late or sleeping on the left side triggers it. It varies all across the board.
In medical information you rarely see mention of stress causing afib, but I think that stress is a huge contributor. Of the patients I’ve interviewed, about 3/4 said that stress was a huge component in bringing on their afib episodes.
Stress certainly could be a factor that leads us to indulge in alcohol, caffeine, or certain foods. But is the food the cause, or is the stress the actual root cause?
Here’s a short video clip of what triggered my afib:
Mellanie True Hills talks about what triggered her atrial fibrillation
We know that the numbers of folks having afib is growing exponentially, which is generally chalked up to Baby Boomers hitting their 60s. But I also see so many younger folks struggling with afib and wonder if the stress epidemic that’s due to our 24/7 lifestyles is causing an afib epidemic, too.
What do you think? Does stress trigger afib for you?
