Aspirin may be the cause of my sudden AFIB

Hi All,

Just wanted to share with you that after 10 consecutive nights of Afibs that took up to 5 hours to diminish I discovered that baby Aspirin seems to be causing my Afibs.
I had a few episodes of Afib 3 years ago that went away with a stent but all of a sudden it came back two weeks ago but I was experiencing them every night at bed time. I have been taking Statin and Aspirin (for past 4 years) at night time after dinner and lately after I was in bed for a little while severe Afib episodes attacked me that were getting longer and longer each night. After going through process of elimination with everything that I eat or drink I finally realized that Aspirin (81mg) seems to be the culprit ! Seems like I have become intolerant to Aspirin! I did try a new bottle and I was able to repeat the same result...

I am sharing this with you all in hoping that your symptoms may be as a result of a trigger that you are not aware of. Please keep a diary of what you eat and drink including medications and use the process of elimination to perhaps find your trigger!

Hope this helps!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/2022 11:03PM by MartyM.

So you stopped taking aspirin and you've been afib-free ever since for many days now?

I'm a wee bit skeptical because aspirin has been a mainstay afib prescription for decades.

I'm afraid I don't buy it either. It would be vastly different, and much more convincing, if you had said you were never a user of baby aspirin for prophylactic reasons, but that you decided, or were professionally advised, to begin taking it. And, almost immediately you had AF for some reason. And then, as an experiment, you only took the aspirin at breakfast, and that's when the AF appeared shortly thereafter. You stopped using altogether, and have been AF-free ever since. Then, last night you forgot and took one at bedtime, and POW!

About as far down this path I will go is that the aspirin has finally caused an ulcer, maybe in the esophagus, and that has been triggering a Vagus nerve response, which we do know does cause a lot of AF. Otherwise, we are all stick stuck in the 'post hoc maze'.

I've always had the suspicion that Eliquis is the cause of AFIB.

George Carlin once reported that saliva is the cause of stomach cancer but....

only when swallowed in small amounts over long periods of time.

He was almost right, he should have joked about heart disease.

Hi Folks,

Just an update that the Afib is back after a few days
However Aspirin amplifies the symptoms of my Afib....

Quote
MartyM
However Aspirin amplifies the symptoms of my Afib....

Why do you think so?

I think you are mentally conditioned to be anxious when you take what you have already decided is the culprit. Being anxious eventually deadens the Vagus nerve, which is the nerve that quiets the heart and the rest of the sympathetic nervous system. You want the Vagus nerve to be actively suppressing your tendency to be aroused.

If you were truly even mildly allergic to aspirin, I could see you being triggered by it. But unless you have established that as of ten years ago, I don't believe you are.

Quote
MartyM
Hi Folks,

Just an update that the Afib is back after a few days
However Aspirin amplifies the symptoms of my Afib....

You could try challenging a strong muscle e.g. the deltoid prior to taking the Aspirin. If strong, then put the Aspirin under your tongue and challange again. If it stays strong (same as initially) the Aspirin is probably not the problem. On the other hand, if the muscle weakens then i'd not tke the Aspirin.
You need someone to do the testing for you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2022 10:07PM by Joe.

Quote
Joe
You could try challenging a strong muscle e.g. the deltoid prior to taking the Aspirin. If strong, then put the Aspirin under your tongue and challange again. If it stays strong (same as initially) the Aspirin is probably not the problem. On the other hand, if the muscle weakens then i'd not tke the Aspirin.
You need someone to do the testing for you.

That's a strange test. What is it supposed to demonstrate?

It is, apparently (it is claimed by some that the medicos call fringe) that the strength of the muscle weakens when we ingest something that is better not taken. Of course, no scientific proof as far as i know; and yes, it can be influenced by one's mind i.e. block the effect. I've done it when it was tried out on me but then again that's not how it is meant to be applied.
In the Aspirin question i only suggested it in a half serious way since Marty isn't sure.
The Pseudo Science is called Applied Kinesiology and is loosely based on the Chinese Meridian theory.

A more methodical approach would be to attempt to derive repeated results using repeated testing procedures. If this person goes four days without AF, takes an aspirin, and is reliably in AF within about three hours, and this happens on six different trials, I would buy it.

For about five centuries now, a theory must be both falsifiable and testable. Empirical evidence builds the theory, and then you look for what is termed 'predictive validity'. For aspirin to be a reliable and verifiable trigger, the AF sufferer must repeat trials and note times and whether or not there was an onset of AF within a short period of time. Ideally, that time period would be within a small range, perhaps depending on stomach contents (just after a substantial snack or a meal, for example, would confound the trial because the aspirin would be mixed in with a mass of food and liquid and be absorbed much more slowly). If five or six trials after a number of days free of AF can reliably produce AF within 60-180 minutes of the ingestion, I'd say you're on to something.

You'd want some measures of standardization between trials. Same numbers of AF-free days, followed by a trial, same time of day, same dose, controlled stressors such as worry or over-stimulation of a kind, including exercise, eating the same bland diet (maybe no hot sauces?)....that kind of thing.

Quote
gloaming
A more methodical approach would be to attempt to derive repeated results using repeated testing procedures. If this person goes four days without AF, takes an aspirin, and is reliably in AF within about three hours, and this happens on six different trials, I would buy it.

For about five centuries now, a theory must be both falsifiable and testable. Empirical evidence builds the theory, and then you look for what is termed 'predictive validity'

In 2004, my EP told me it was perfectly valid to be your own control, during my 2.5 month episode. I've generally followed what you've outlined for trials (if not as formal) as I described here. However one particular instance I did not. In 2005, I'd gotten my remission routine dialed in pretty well. I then went two years without an episode. Part of my plan included supplementation with magnesium to bowel tolerance, taurine and potassium as citrate powder, also titrating long duration exercise to a Zone 2 intensity. With two years of no afib, I thought I was "cured' and decided to quit all the supplements. Within 24 hours, I had an episode. I immediately restarted the supplements. I never repeated the experiment until inadvertently much more recently (5 years ago). A family member came down with a very serious illness and I'd sometimes forget my supplement regimen and again, within 24 hours I'd have an episode. I finally had a talk with myself that I needed to care for myself first before worrying about my family member.