Trigger for Afib

My 3rd and last AF episode started immediately after I rolled onto my left side when trying to get to sleep. Then I read somewhere that sleeping on your left
Side can be a trigger for AF.

I haven’t slept on my left side since that night and I MISS sleeping on my left side. Is this a “tale” or is it true?

Thanks!

I've heard it from a few people so it's not unheard of, but it's by no means common. I'd say sleep however you want and if it happens consistently then you know it's a trigger for you. But if you label things as triggers because they happen a single time, pretty soon everything in your life will be a trigger. Remember, you were doing something before every single afib episode. That doesn't make every one of those things a trigger. The vast majority probably aren't.

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lds001
My 3rd and last AF episode started immediately after I rolled onto my left side when trying to get to sleep. Then I read somewhere that sleeping on your left
Side can be a trigger for AF.

I haven’t slept on my left side since that night and I MISS sleeping on my left side. Is this a “tale” or is it true?

Thanks!

Left side was never a trigger for me. Then, as I've previously written, I started stress eating wheels of brie during a divorce. After 18 months, I figured out the extra calcium from the cheese made me much more sensitive as afib triggers were concerned. Things that were never triggers before included being prone on my left side, drinking copious quantities of cold liquid, the time after sexual orgasm. I'd notice PAC's first and if I was quick, I could usually avoid or abort an afib episode, for example by changing position, getting up and moving around or drinking warm/hot water. After I figured out the extra calcium was the cause of my sensitivity, I removed it and all these sensitivities abated.

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Carey
I've heard it from a few people so it's not unheard of, but it's by no means common. I'd say sleep however you want and if it happens consistently then you know it's a trigger for you. But if you label things as triggers because they happen a single time, pretty soon everything in your life will be a trigger. Remember, you were doing something before every single afib episode. That doesn't make every one of those things a trigger. The vast majority probably aren't.

That's a very good answer, IMO. I'm telling this because my 300+ episodes in 4 years and two months offered lots of occasions to think about triggers, but in vain.

I already went into afib when rolling on my left side as well as rolling on my right side. It's likely more the movement than the side... And often, gently changing position - I mean slowly - as soon as feeling the first ectopics is enough to stop them. Moving quickly in such circumstances can make things worse.

Triggers are a mystery for me and, as Carey said, they can be anything.
What is less of a mystery to me is conditions favouring afib. Most are food, drinks and digestion related, along with infections, great tiredness and stressfull situations.

When such conditions are met, "anything" usually harmless can be a trigger.

I'm with Pompon. Through experience I've learned I'm more "primed" for afib if I've not slept well or am stressed. My triggers at that point are very random. Meaning a cold drink could set me into afib, or not. Rising from a seated position or exerting myself too much from rest could set things off, or not. If I'm better rested, and don't have as much ongoing stress, then possible triggers are less likely to do anything. But it is very unpredictable. I've gone out of my way to do everything "right" and not even be thinking about afib and while just driving along on an open road, bam, afib out of nowhere. Nothing is certain. Heck, even sleep has put me into afib, while also getting me out of it other occasions.

The ablation has helped a ton. Any random trigger has thus far been squashed by ablating the pathway to afib. But I got off topic, side sleeping has given me ectopics in the past. Can't say left was worse than right, I don't think side sleeping has even caused an afib episode for me. Being seated or putting pressure on my abdomen has, and getting up from rest or a seated position has. But that's me.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2020 04:55PM by keeferbdeefer.

lds101 - You may not have read this report from long ago posted in the Conference Room Sessions link on the topic of Left Side vs Right Side... written by Patric Chambers, MD who was actively participating in the forum back then.
There may be a nugget or two that addresses what you've mentioned.

[www.afibbers.org]

Jackie

What about crouching or squatting down ? There's obviously a connection to erratic beats and this position - is it perhaps vagal related?

that is very interesting Jackie. My AF was never connected to sleep, happened at totally different times of the day. However recent episodes seem to happen while sleeping on left side and I would wake up in AF (altho strangely these have been much less intense episodes) I started trying to sleep on my back or right side. After several sleepless nights I gave up and am back to the left side so will see what happens...........

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Jackie
lds101 - You may not have read this report from long ago posted in the Conference Room Sessions link on the topic of Left Side vs Right Side... written by Patric Chambers, MD who was actively participating in the forum back then.
There may be a nugget or two that addresses what you've mentioned.

[www.afibbers.org]

Jackie

Very interesting article.......I just know I don’t want to lay on my left side!

Thanks Jackie

After almost 8 years of pretty stable afib episodes (about one a month or less), I'm having a lot more (4-6 times a month). So now I'm thinking about triggers again.

My thyroid med? Maybe. I had to change from NP Thyroid (sublingual tablet) to Armour around the end of 2019, and that's when the frequency increased.

Electrolyte imbalance? Probably. I used to think this was a trigger, especially too much salt. I've used low-salt V8 for years to help balance things. I've cut back on salt and quit coffee, but that doesn't seem to have helped the frequency issue.

Stress? Definitely -- not enough sleep (as in cross country road trips). Mental stress? Covid-19 stay at home, sitting at the computer, too much bad news media, political, isolation.

Getting older/into a new "phase"? Maybe. I'm 70, healthy, but you know - age.

My afib almost always occurs while lying down - usually sometime during the night when I wake up from sleep - to pee, for example. I've avoided left-side sleeping for years, and I think it helps, but not so much anymore. Lying on my back seems to put pressure on my upper stomach area and that feels like a trigger. Also, I can feel during the day that I'm vulnerable to getting an episode -- I try to put it off, avoid triggers, etc. But even so, an episode is starting to feel inevitable somehow, based on how my heart is reacting to the following ---

Eating just ever so slightly too much at one sitting, putting pressure on stomach. Going to bed on a full stomach. I'm actually losing weight because I'm eating less at a sitting and now have a sort of negative attitude about meals.

I take 12 mg metoprolol and 100 mg flecainide when an episode starts -- that still works for me - back to NSR within about an hour. I'm OK with that, but flecainide really saps my energy for about 12 hours after -- or maybe it's the metoprolol.

I have Sjogren's and bradycardia related to that. My resting rate is around 44, but goes down to 37-38 when sleeping or sitting (inactivity). I had a stress test last autumn, and there's no heart problem. I don't do much cardio activity - mostly just gentle yoga. I'm so used to having a slow heartrate that it feels weird and risky to bump to up - fast for me would be 120 or more. I do best increasing it slowly.

Thanks for listening,

Calli