8 month post-ablation niggles

Hi everyone.

Hope you are all doing well. Sorry not to be on here for a while and thanks to everyone who supported me over my ablation 8 months ago.

Things have been going well since then and I have been in sinus rhythm except for a few small incidences one month in the blanking period. My heart rhythm has felt stable - so much so, that my drinking has crept up over the weekends in the past month. This past weekend I drank every night and on Sunday had 4 pints (UK here!) which is the most I have had for very long time

On Monday I woke up to a slight odd electric buzzing sensation that I last felt in my blanking period. Then on Tuesday evening, after a workout, I could almost feel myself go into AF for 30 - 45 seconds. My sinus rhythm now feels less stable and the buzzing sensation is more constant since then.

Im worried that the beers have scuppered my success and that I have messed up the amazing opportunity of the ablation. Maybe I am putting too much down to alcohol but I do know its a major trigger which continues to be challenging to completely give up!

Have I messed things up? Should I double down on committing to a health(ier) lifestyle -again? (This is an obvious - yes!)

Any thoughts on this would be welcome. Thank you for your support and warm wishes to you

e-Blu

After my first ablation in 2012 i choose to never have more that one drink or one beer even though it might be a 9% craft beer. For 9 yrs i never associated it with an episode but i ended up with atypical flutter that was Dr Natale ablated 8/6 and no arrhythmias since and am now scheduled for a Watchman Dec or Jan. My advice dont temp your good ablation. Alcohol isnt a trigger for each here but it is for many and me.

Have you felt your pulse, taken a portable ecg (IWatch/Kardia/etc) to see if your buzz was tachycardia or afib to make sure?

Having a few beers can't mess up an ablation. It can possibly provoke other sources of afib outside the ablated areas, but it won't do any harm to your existing ablation. How long ago was the ablation?

Thanks Susan. No. I should have taken a reading so I cant confirm it was AF but it definitely felt odd and almost heading to an episode

Thanks Carey. That is reassuring in some ways. I really dont want to damage an ablation. I had it on 13th April 2021 at Royal Brompton in London.

So, if alcohol might trigger new AF - then I need to knock it 100% on head! - which is a challenge!

Alcohol is bad for afibbers. No doubt about it.

What is this buzzing sensation that you’re referring to? In the past I would wake up with something that could be described that way, but I wasn’t in AFib or tachy. I just felt like my torso was vibrating gently. Any ideas?

Hi Brian_og - the only way I can describe it is that it feels like there is a slight overcharge in my body electrics. I can sense it in my chest and face. - slight vibration. Weird. I have not had this since my blanking period. has your buzz disappeared?

Yes. Haven’t felt it in quite a while. I’d love to know what it was.

Quote
Pompon
Alcohol is bad for afibbers. No doubt about it.

Not necessarily for all. During my 6 years of diagnosed afib long ago, two drinks appeared to kick off afib maybe a dozen times with over 200 documented afib bouts. One drink - nothing.

After my first ablation, 13 years afib free and a glass of wine every day for those 13 years. Occasionally two drinks (beer or wine) and no afib.

Then afib came back, and I had my second ablation two years ago. Still drinking a glass of wine or beer a day and no afib since the blanking period.

Once ablated, why would alcohol initiate afib? But without an ablation, caution with alcohol is not unreasonable, but that alone will not prevent future bouts of afib. Once you have afib - NOTHING you do will eliminate future episodes (except ablation), but some things you may do, can reduce the number of future episodes.

I’ve been interested in this for a while as well as I’m due for an ablation soon and do drink a glass of wine or beer in the evenings. I’ve seen at least two studies that imply that drinking alcohol can result in AFib returning more quickly after an ablation. This study goes into it in depth.


[www.ahajournals.org]


Conclusion:
Alcohol reduction was associated with lower rate of AF/AT recurrence after catheter ablation of AF.

Quote
Brian_og
I’ve been interested in this for a while as well as I’m due for an ablation soon and do drink a glass of wine or beer in the evenings. I’ve seen at least two studies that imply that drinking alcohol can result in AFib returning more quickly after an ablation. This study goes into it in depth.


[www.ahajournals.org]


Conclusion:
Alcohol reduction was associated with lower rate of AF/AT recurrence after catheter ablation of AF.

Keep in mind that 44% of those in the study were (persistent AF 31.6%, longstanding persistent AF 12.5%). I am speculating that the likelihood of afib returning in that group after an ablation would be VERY high even without alcohol.

George had kindly told me of University of CA San Francisco’s afib studies.

They have a new one now on the effects of alcohol on afib. You may want to sign up. I got a free new smart watch to keep during my last study plus a free holter monitoring for a month.

[ucsf.co1.qualtrics.com]

I don’t qualify because I have not had a drop of alcohol since 2004 and I’m not starting for any study. Before I get ecv all ER doctors ask me how often I drink alcohol. They must know the effects of alcohol.

It’s a blind study and if you agree to take the study, it’s a 50% chance they could ask you to drink one glass a day for 5 years.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/04/2021 08:57PM by susan.d.

Prof Ernst by any chance?

If I drink alcohol it is one lite beer; I usually feel a few palpitations after it. For me, afib has occurred after only two beers. I have started drinking non-alcoholic beers, some are pretty good.

Anyway, this study and synopsis makes me want to quit for good. The Dr. giving the synopsis on youtube has afib.

<youtube>

<study>

Quote
MikeN
(...) I have started drinking non-alcoholic beers, some are pretty good (...)

Brewers have made amazing progress! I agree some of those beers are good. Did you try drinking more than a couple of those beers the same day? Say, half a dozen or so?
I did, and I didn't felt good after that. But I'm not able saying it was because of the non-alcoholic beers or because of other things (like food). I'm now used to drink water, and sometimes a beer or a glass of wine, particularly when eating with friends. I happened drinking some 4 to 6 non-alcoholic beers in such circumstances, and I had afib in the night. Of course, it might have been induced by something else, but non-alcoholic beers are, basically for most of them, beers from which alcohol has been "removed".

Quote
ElectroBlu
Thanks Carey. That is reassuring in some ways. I really dont want to damage an ablation. I had it on 13th April 2021 at Royal Brompton in London.

So, if alcohol might trigger new AF - then I need to knock it 100% on head! - which is a challenge!

Did Sabine Ernst do your ablation?

From the Study that MikeN posted:

"Methods
In this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, intravenous alcohol titrated to 0.08% blood alcohol concentration was compared with a volume and osmolarity-matched, masked, placebo in patients undergoing AF ablation procedures."

So, the study is pushing enough alcohol into the subjects to achieve .08%. See below to see what this means:

"One drink is considered to be one 12 fl. oz. beer, one 5 fl. oz. glass of wine, or one 1.5 fl. oz. shot of liquor. The general rule of thumb is it takes about three drinks an hour for a woman to reach a.08 BAC and it takes about four drinks an hour for men, but, these are general guidelines based upon the weight of the person drinking."

Four drinks in an hour for men??? Probably not an issue for most of us. I will still have my wine and beer.

Not Sabine but the kind Julian Jarman

Thanks all for this helpful thread