Would appreciate any tips for my husband who has been in atrial fib now for 5 days

It's the longest that he's ever had it. He's taking his medicines and going to work, but is very anxious about his situation. He plans to have an ablation ( first time ) but due to scheduling it is probably 2 months away or longer.
Questions; What are the most important things he can do for himself to keep his heart rate below 100 and take care of his heart health in general while he has the afib and try to faciltate his heart going into normal sinus rhythm?


2. For someone who has not been exercising on a regular basis for a number of months, would it be asking for trouble to start walking 20-30 minutes a day? Could the walking actually help the situation- get the heart back into rhythm?

thanks in advance for the advice- Dina Yaffa

What medications is he taking? Has he been prescribed a rate control drug such as metoprolol or diltiazem? If not, then he needs to contact the EP who will doing the ablation and ask about that. He shouldn't allow his heart rate to remain above 100 for prolonged periods.

Also, is he taking an anticoagulant? If not, he needs to get on the phone even sooner.

There's no harm in walking or other forms of exercise if he can tolerate it. It could help and can't hurt.

I also thing that any tolerable exercise is better than no exercise. Getting out and about gives one's sense of autonomy and health-problems a break from anxiety and continuous reliance on one's sensations or wearable devices for continuous feedback.

Unfortunately, as it is a progressive disorder, AF will tend to evolve out of the previously prescribed regimen, whether it be weight loss, diet changes for other reasons, avoidance of unique and common 'triggers' (caffeine and alcohol are the two biggest most agree can cause a run of PAC's or AF), anti-coagulants, and the many anti-arrhythmic medications. His cardiologist or elecro-physiologist might place him on a stronger dose of what he's taking, or change the drug to another. That's the trend for many of us....more power, as Ted the Tool Man would say.

For people who have been sedentary, there are data suggesting that adding moderate activity can be beneficial.