Comments on: Does Stress Cause Atrial Fibrillation?

By: KenSturmer

KenSturmer — Tue, 01 May 2012 22:09:48 +0000

@SSD I am in a similar situation to yours. I take a combination of drugs for afib, which I really would rather not take. I know my afib is brought on by stress. I have been fine for three years, just had an echo and my heart was fine as well as my EKG. Then this past week, I put a deposit on a home I am trying to buy. Whammo! I have been having short outbreaks of afib. Today I made the mistake of trying to work outside in the hot sun ( here in Florida ). I was fine for awhile then while trying to trim some bushes I felt a thump, then another, then another. By the time I got in the house, I knew I was experiencing a break out afib episode. I got some ice and put behind my neck, and sat down and did some deep breathing exercises. Within a short time it stopped. I’m sure this is from the stress of worrying over this house! I’d hate to end up in the hospital, because of acheiving the dream of having my own home. I like you, wish I could find a way to overcome this naturally.

By: karenpugh

karenpugh — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:42:00 +0000

Yes, I always have rapid heart rate when in A-Fib. Terrible feeling.
Karen

By: karenpugh

karenpugh — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:33:05 +0000

Hi Scott:
I know what you mean. Every time I have to go to the ER and have a hospital stay, I have awful anxiety. It is so hard to get back to one’s normal life. I too have a hard time sleeping, so I do take 2 tylenol PM’s each nite and a muscle relaxer (which is for my herninated discs in my neck). What else can we all do? Pray for healing and for strenghten to get thru all this.

By: karenpugh

karenpugh — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:26:30 +0000

Hi Veronica:
I feel the same way as you do. I starting having A-Fib in 2004, after my father-in-law died in Feb. 2004, my Mom died in April 2004, (she lived we me and we were very close) then I had gallbladder surgery in July 2004 and went into A-Fib in the hospital, and then my (“baby”) daughter went off to college 6 1/2 hours away in August 2004. It was the worse year of my life. I was also working full time, driving alot and under stress there also. So I would say stress is a major cause. I also find if I get too overtired, or do to much in one day, or in a series of days, I go into A-fib. My episodes usually happen at night when I am trying to sleep or it wakes me up in the middle of the night. It does control ones life. I am fearful to travel to far, etc. because I might not be near a hospital. I always have to make sure I have my meds. with me, etc. Not a fun way to live.

By: SSD

SSD — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:25:35 +0000

Yes, I take Pradaxa. It was prescribed while I was hospitalized 2 months ago, along with a cocktail of drugs that I believe could create even more anxiety for me. I hate drugs. I was a person who so rarely ever took aspirin or tylenol, the bottles would expire almost full. I’m looking for other remedies.

Now my cholesterol has shot up too and the doctor wants to put me on a statin. I was so upset at the advent of that — that I felt sick again that evening. I did not have high cholesterol before I went into the hospital. I don’t eat any differently or live any different way than I was living. I asked the doctor if all these meds could cause that. It just doesn’t make any sense.

I’ve taken a statin before and it was horrendous for me. I was exhausted all of the time. I decided not to take it and see about finding a different physician. Only trouble is, with no health care here in America for those of us who can’t afford it, options are very limited. But I am not going to just be a lemming and take all of these drugs. Each drug has side effects. I’m on so many now, I wouldn’t know what is causing what anyway. There just has to be a better way to deal with this situation than all these drugs.

By: SSD

SSD — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:09:45 +0000

This is very interesting. Thanks for sharing your remedies. I believe that my condition is being caused by stress. Every time I get sick for any reason, I can trace it to a negative interaction with someone. Usually, it is someone I thought cared about me. I’ve never been that thin-skinned, but I find that as I get older, I’m worn out from dealing with nasty, negative and uncaring people.

In the ER the doctor asked me if I’d ever been treated for anxiety. I hadn’t, but I’ve had a very stressful life, which has never been acknowledged. In fact, family members have acted like everything was always fine, when it was and is not. I’ve spent my life acting like a doormat, despite the fact that I appear to be very outgoing and enthusiastic. This is because I have ignored my own feelings for so long, I didn’t even really know I had any. I’ve been taken advantage of, largely because I had allowed it. I thought I had to. Fear of abandonment. But no more. Now I just need to stick to my guns and avoid negative people at all costs.

By: SSD

SSD — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:56:31 +0000

Joyce — Reading your story, it sounds very similar to mine. While I’ve only had one marriage that ended, I have had serious issues with siblings and lost my mother years ago.

I have found that any time I am surrounded by negative energy, I do not feel well. I’ve gotten terrible flus and such — always after being around negative people (some of which are family members). It can take me weeks to recover, depending upon the situation.

I started doing yoga years ago, I eat healthy but have been hypothyroid, which is the opposite of what usually goes along with A-Fib. I am convinced that the stress from a difficult life has caused this condition.

In fact, my first A-Fib attack came after a stressful visit to a sister who I’ve had a life-long terrible relationship with. Before I left to visit her, she began invalidating me and I immediately caught a terrible flu. I almost didn’t go.

She never gets sick, however. After visiting her, I wound up in the hospital a week after I returned. The onset of the A-Fib occurred while I was with her, but I didn’t know it. Her uncaring attitude toward me during this time has only confirmed what I already knew. While I was hospitalized, she even continued to try to dump her own problems on my lap. It was unbelievable.

In the ER I was asked if I’d ever been treated for anxiety, because other than my thyroid, everything seemed normal. Then I realized that yes, I was anxious. Not treated for it, but being treated unkindly affects me such that I become anxious.

I am not interested in taking medication, but am on a cocktail of drugs that scares me. I want to get off of everything. I believe in meditation, not medication.

I’d be interested in hearing about how you’re progressing and suggest that rather then seek out other medication, look for alternative ways to correct this situation. One way I am dealing with this is to cut off all ties to people who don’t deserve to be in my life.

Before I got re-involved with my sister, I was doing quite well. In fact, whenever I don’t feel well physically, I can trace it to something directly related to a negative individual. I can go for years without feeling sick at all.

I may have had a chance of this happening, but it just seems odd that first I wound up with a terrible flu after merely interacting with her before I left, and then wound up in the hospital after visiting with her.

By: Kate101

Kate101 — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 04:12:33 +0000

Hi,
About a week ago I had a very rapid heart beat and was feeling faint. I had this feeling before but it had only lasted for a few seconds tops when it did happen (I’m only really remembering about 3 times). We moved about a year ago to a new home. We have had a lot of problems with it as new homes go, but a day before my big AF attack we had a water pipe break in the wall and water was pouring into our closet and soaking the carpet upstairs. This is what woke us up at about 5:30 am. We had five industrial fans running in the house and two large dehumidifiers in the house as well. That happened on Sunday. On Monday morning I had just had breakfast and my heart started to race. I waited for it to go away, but it seemed to get worse. I felt faint so I got up and went outside to get out of the noisy house and see if I just needed some fresh air. I was feeling the same way outside and the pounding in my chest wouldn’t subside. I started to wonder if it was a heart attack, but didn’t feel any pain besides the uncomfortable pounding in my chest and faint feeling.
It would get a little better for a short period of time – half minute to a minute- so I figured I would go to the ER urgent care close to the house. While driving there I started to feel like I was going to pass out. I stopped at a fire station and asked for their help. They put me in the ambulance and put me on a meter and saw that my heart was bouncing between 180-240 / min. but blood pressure was actually pretty good.
They took me to the ER and I was put on an IV and meds. Dx with AF and was eventually admitted overnight. From start to finish it was about 13-14 hours before I returned to NSR. They kept me overnight and observed me and discharged me the next day.
Everyone seemed to act like it wasn’t that big of a deal, with no restrictions on anything. The Dr. only checked off the normal low cholesterol, low sodium, low fat diet between now and my follow up after a month. I still don’t know when I am supposed to see a Dr. or to get help when I have an attack (which hasn’t happened again yet). How fast does my heart have to be going to warrant a call to 911 or a visit to an ER?
Anyhow, my house was torn up after the leak in the wall and while it didn’t seem very stressful, we had to pay for the water damage people to come out and leave equipment for a week that had to be running constantly. It sounded like an airplane in my house for a week. I was thinking the possibility of stress + vibration and noise from the equipment might have brought my attack on.

By: Tina48

Tina48 — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:17:10 +0000

Stress I think is a major reason we have so much afib now. Stress is the main reason that triggers mine almost every time. It’s funny no one has mention that you an do deep breathing and calm yourself down when you have a afib attack.

By: veronica Ross

veronica Ross — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:14:54 +0000

I have to agree that stress is a major factor in AF. I had constant stress all my life, 2 bad marriages, stressfull job and a stressfull family/ life. I was just diagnosed 3 days ago after doctors claimed i had a blockage. I underwent a catherization and no blockage was the result, but what i least expected Af was diagnosed. I would venture to say i had this for at least 10 years or more and nobody knew. I had passed out a couple of times in the last few years and asked my doctor why i felt like i was shaking at different times, but nobody had an answer until now. I was extremely upset about the catherization procedure and a few days before surgury i felt my heart pounding excessively. It pounded right up to the day i went into the operating room and then was classified as AF. I was put on meds and blood thinners. I do not know what to expect in the future with this heart problem. I feel like my life has turned upside down and I must be constantly monitored, which i am not happy about.