Hawthorn for Bradycardia

I'm having some problems at the moment with Afib episodes caused by Bradycardia. My resting heart rate is in the mid fifties; not super low but enough to give me pacs at night which can increase into Afib.

I can stop this happening by exercising - bending and straightening my legs quite quickly but it doesn't exactly make for a good nights sleep!

Finding a supplement to overcome this is proving difficult. All the good stuff; magnesium, potassium etc lowers pulse and blood pressure.

I was about to buy Hawthorn Extract - recommended by Hans, Dr Weil and others for increasing heart rate but many still others say it reduces heart rate rather than lowers it.


Anyone got thoughts on this or other alternatives.

Why do you think bradycardia is causing the PACs and afib? That seems unlikely.

Hi Sam - Thinking over your questions/comments on Hawthorne potentially lowering HR helps clarify why I didn't get along with Hawthorne ...many years ago. I was typically vagal at night with a low heart rate... and as I recall, I also experimented with taking Hawthorne at night which was when I typically had arrhythmia... at least initially....because there was always info on the benefits of Hawthorne and Afib in the literature. At the time I joined the forum in 2002, our resident MD expert, PC...Patrick Chambers, MD, instructed me to exercise before bed ...especially arm exercises to elevate HR to see if that would help. It did for the sleeping part, but eventually, AF surfaced periodically during the day which was "better" than interrupting sleep.

I don't know if you are an endurance exerciser, but there is this study conclusion that may be of interest on the bradycardia issue.

Arrhythm Electrophysiol Rev. 2015 May; 4(1): 9–13.
Published online 2015 Mar 15. doi: 10.15420/aer.2015.4.1.9
PMCID: PMC4711571
HCN4, Sinus Bradycardia and Atrial Fibrillation
[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Jackie

Sam,
I recently am going thru a similar situation. Yes regardless of what anyone thinks in my case slowing or a lowering heart rate does increase pac's and thus potentially afib. I am experiencing that now and have for the past 50 days or so. I began having heart slow down and what I call pauses for some weird reason. I have been to my Ep one possibility for I determine this is too bothersome is a pacemaker. Obviously I can't take toprol or other meds for the pac's etc because they lower the HR. I am currently seeking a plan to somehow strengthen my heart without affecting my afib etc.

Sam,

I successfully used powdered ginger spice <[www.afibbers.org] to ward off vagal afib at night. Turns out I determined that excess dietary calcium was the root issue and when I decreased the calcium, I no longer had the issue.

George

Thanks for the replies, folks.

Carey - I should have said that pulse rate is when I'm resting in bed at night. Day time resting rate is 60.
Since exercising when pac's start in the night stops them and resulting Afib is seems logical that the lower rate is a cause.

Jackie - Thanks for the link. It's interesting but I've never been an excessive exerciser.

George - I've tried ginger in the past but sadly it made things worse.

I've added 200mg Co-Q10 and 1.5 grams of Acetlyl-L-Carnitne to my supplements and waiting to see if these help.

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Sam
Carey - I should have said that pulse rate is when I'm resting in bed at night. Day time resting rate is 60.
Since exercising when pac's start in the night stops them and resulting Afib is seems logical that the lower rate is a cause.

I very much doubt that the lower rate causes it. Have you ever been tested for sleep apnea?

It only makes sense that if your SA node is weak or compromised resulting in slower heart rates that the cells represented by ectopics being competitor cells would start firing and at times exceed the SA cells. I think it's def easier to have ectopics with diminished SA function.

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tsco
It only makes sense that if your SA node is weak or compromised resulting in slower heart rates that the cells represented by ectopics being competitor cells would start firing and at times exceed the SA cells. I think it's def easier to have ectopics with diminished SA function.

Good point, but there's nothing here to suggest Sam has a dysfunctional SA node. A resting pulse in the 50s is perfectly normal.

I agree, I assumed by saying he was having Brady in the initial statement that maybe his typical resting HR was much higher and this was something new.
tim

My afib were brought on by bradycardia as well, I think. They only happened when I was sleeping. I wear apple watch to monitor heart rate when I sleep. Found once that my heart rate dropped to 42 about 50 mins before the afib onset.

I read back to the days that I hadn’t had afib and found most of the time my sleeping heart rate was around 60. So after afib, my heart rate always dropped to low 50s. Not sure if afib changed my heart so it beats slower when I sleep.