If stress can break your heart

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If stress and sadness can "break" your heart, why can't it cause something like Afib? I know that researchers say that stress can trigger it, but seems to me that it can actually cause it too.

I've had lots of (short, happily) afib episodes in 3.5 years, taking notes since the beginning.
I still don't know what really triggers afib and what to do to stop it. But I'm sure there are things creating conditions for afib:
Alcohol. Undoubtedly the first of all.
Heavy (late) meals.
Tiredness.
Stress.
Infections (a cold may be enough).

I can avoid alcohol and heavy meals, but stress may come suddenly as well as gradually. It is, among those things, the most difficult to deal with. It causes tiredness, then weakness making one more receptive to infections.
Stress feeds afib and, in return, afib feeds stress.

I believe it does. I got Afib in a very stressful period of my life

Stress creates an adrenal response. First, and early in life, the adrenal glands produce cortisol. Cortisol is inflammatory and, if stress is chronic, can produce systemic inflammation in the body. Over many years we can experience adrenal fatigue, meaning our glands have lost their ability to produce cortisol and instead produce adrenaline in response to stress. Adrenaline shortens the atrial refractory period and is certain to produce PACs and, in some, a-fib. Stress also depletes magnesium. So it’s a three-pronged attack over the long run. It’s inflaming your body, unbalancing your electrolytes and, finally, throwing gas on the fire of atrial arrhythmia.

So, the answer is a resounding YES. Stress begets AF. And the solution is NOT benzodiazepines. Don’t drug your brain to fool the rest of your body. It’s the same deal as painkillers. Fix the underlying problem. For stress, that’s individual. But it means being honest with yourself and making hard choices about what’s worth having in your life and what is not. My AF journey had me quit a job and end some personal relationships. Oh, and give up some money too. I would do it all again.

Quote
wolfpack
For stress, that’s individual. But it means being honest with yourself and making hard choices about what’s worth having in your life and what is not. My AF journey had me quit a job and end some personal relationships. Oh, and give up some money too. I would do it all again.

This was a great post and I agree with it completely. I quoted the above in particular because I did the same quite recently. I walked away from a very well-paying job two years earlier than I'd planned solely to rid myself of the stress. That job was going to kill me and no paycheck is worth that. If you're under a great deal of stress, do all you can to find a way out of it even it costs you. Your heart and every other organ in your body will thank you.

+1... I'm with all on this thread.

/L

Quote
wolfpack
Stress creates an adrenal response. First, and early in life, the adrenal glands produce cortisol. Cortisol is inflammatory and, if stress is chronic, can produce systemic inflammation in the body. Over many years we can experience adrenal fatigue, meaning our glands have lost their ability to produce cortisol and instead produce adrenaline in response to stress. Adrenaline shortens the atrial refractory period and is certain to produce PACs and, in some, a-fib. Stress also depletes magnesium. So it’s a three-pronged attack over the long run. It’s inflaming your body, unbalancing your electrolytes and, finally, throwing gas on the fire of atrial arrhythmia.

So, the answer is a resounding YES. Stress begets AF. And the solution is NOT benzodiazepines. Don’t drug your brain to fool the rest of your body. It’s the same deal as painkillers. Fix the underlying problem. For stress, that’s individual. But it means being honest with yourself and making hard choices about what’s worth having in your life and what is not. My AF journey had me quit a job and end some personal relationships. Oh, and give up some money too. I would do it all again.

I couldn't agree with this response more. I'm 100% convinced that my stress/anxiety, and love for craft beer is what ultimately caused my afib to happen. The weird part is, during those years I kept telling myself, "if you don't figure this out, something is going to give with your heart". What I wouldn't do to go back and make some better choices regarding dealing with the stress.

I'll be honest. When I posted the OP, I figured I would either get no response or a lot of people telling me they disagreed. I wish I knew the secret to handling stress. I haven't always been this way. When i was younger, I just let everything roll off me.

The question is.....if one is able to get a handle on their stress, does that eliminate the Afib? (One of my big stresses is worrying about it ).

Hi Kate

I've had an extremely stressful life,and I know now it was probably to blame in part, for my AF.

Thinking back over the years as a young girl and then as an adult, I recalled countless occasions when my heart was racing at a hundred miles an hour and I was dizzy and fatigued with chest pain etc. I was always told I suffered anxiety and nobody ever checked my heart or BP, just loaded me up with antidepressants, which I never took. They were the bad times medically. Thank goodness times are changing.

I have found meditation very helpful along with the occasional massage, and doing pilates. Most medication I've tried has side effects that clash with other chronic conditions I have so I'm just taking very small dose of BB and Eliquis and supplements,
I know I will probably never cure my AF, but I can keep it in check .

I believe diet and sleeping habits are also important along with controlling one's weight. I can guarantee I will have more episodes if I allow myself to become overweight or over tired.