Tea loving afibbers, what do you drink?

Herbal tea lover here, but feeling a little down since dx-ed w afib without it. I’ve heard mint teas, rooibos and raspberry leaf tea (a long time fave) can cause afib or palpitations. Honeybush is another one I love, but can’t find any information on it? What teas do the good folks here enjoy that don’t trigger or cause problems for you?

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AL777s
Herbal tea lover here, but feeling a little down since dx-ed w afib without it. I’ve heard mint teas, rooibos and raspberry leaf tea (a long time fave) can cause afib or palpitations. Honeybush is another one I love, but can’t find any information on it? What teas do the good folks here enjoy that don’t trigger or cause problems for you?

I've never had any form of tea trigger Afib or palps. I usually drink black tea though. Caffeine doesn't bother me at all, though I don't drink 10 cups of coffee a day! Many of us have found that food triggers are "oversold" and that, aside from alcohol, most of us are safe with eating a good, healthy diet. Good luck!

Lucky girl on the caffeine there, especially in today’s world. I’m one of those rare ones I guess that had prior structural (congenital) heart dz w most likely both vagal and adrenergic contributing, and so caffeine hasn’t been an option for years for the likes of me. Never liked the way it made me feel anyway but definitely envious of those that can benefit from the boost. Thanks for sharing your perspective and experience.

I am a green tea lover. Before Afib started in 2019, I used to drink green tea from morning to night and rarely drink plain water. Now I limit myself to 2 cups a day. I don't think tea is a direct trigger for me, but sometimes it can raise my HR and that's scary enough for me.

Caffeine and theobromine, both found in teas, are stimulants, and they will have an effect on various parts of your body. However, some of us here are a bit doubtful over the claims that caffeine causes, exacerbates, magnifies, or triggers AF. There is no empirical evidence that we can find showing conclusively that AF is made worse, or brought on, by any amount of caffeine. Alcohol is a different story (Holiday Heart syndrome).

This is not to say that none of us believe those who claim to have an unwanted series of events that seem to be related, or to follow, caffeine ingestion. We do accept that some appear to be sensitive to caffeine and other triggers.

While in the hot seat awaiting a second ablation over the past six months, I kept caffeine to about 50% of my normal consumption. Between two regular bags of tea steeped in about a liter of water, I would normally consume that over about two-three hours each morning. Then, between 1300 and 1500 hrs, a single cup of coffee, maybe seven ounces. My guess would be about 80-90 mg of caffeine in total. When my first ablation was obviously a failure, I began to have one regular tea bag and one decaf. Coffee would be half and half to keep the dosage low. It didn't seem to matter because I had repeated episodes of AF even on days when I drank no caffeine as an experiment.

Rooibos, Acai berry (normally pure and sans caffeine, but it does have theobromine), or simple decaf. When I'm well, I drink Kilkotagiri, Oolong, Lapsang Souchong, Dilma Ceylon, Tetley Bold, and Yorkshire Gold. Coffee, it is usually Peruvian Chanchamayo, Tanzanian peaberry, Guatemalan....those kinds.

I was never heavy on alcohol consumption, despite my maternal grandfather's penchant for the drink and despite my military career. Even so, I slashed what little I drank during this same period by at least 60%. Again, during weeks when I didn't have a drop, I still had AF.

AL777s-

My fav is cinnamon tea. Celestial Seasonings has cinnamon tea blend that I enjoy and causes no heart issues for me. I have other herbal teas when I want something different. I avoid all sources of caffeine and that keeps my heart calm.

[celestialseasonings.com]

Jackie

I never found a relationship between coffee/caffeine with my afib (two successful ablations). I drink about 12oz of coffee every morning. I had afib for 11 years before my first ablation, and when I had a bout of afib, it typically started in the afternoon.

Here's a link to Mayo Clinic's table of caffeine in beverages: [www.mayoclinic.org] I wonder if how fast the caffeine is consumed is a factor in its effect. If it is, energy shot drinkers certainly take the biggest risk.

I'm a morning brewed green tea drinker, probably 3 cups in a couple of hours, then perhaps 12 oz of black iced tea with lunch and have never associated that consumption with Afib.

I have never been queried about caffeine consumption from a medical provider. Most old time physicians seem to be big coffee drinkera.

A couple of studies have found caffeine to actually be mildly helpful for afib. It's a perfect example of a nocebo.

Glad you aren't bothered, Gordon.

Early in my afib career that began in '95, I found my usual a morning cup of regular coffee tended to give me palps and sometimes AF. I switched to decafe but found I preferred caffeine-free types of herbal tea. I never drank coffee for the caffeine/wakeup/stimulation-effect but rather, just to have a nice, warm beverage...so after lots of experimenting, I decided I was comfortable with the caffeine-free herbal teas. Jackie

Green tea is so good for you and anti-inflammatory too which I guess helps for people like us? But yea, caffeine raising your HR is definitely the “on the other hand”. Glad you found an amount that works well for you. Thanks for sharing.

Yea, agree everyone has different degrees of caffeine tolerance, and so I guess each person has to gauge what works for them. I’ve never read a list that didn’t include caffeine as exacerbating afib from cardiology sources here in the states, and so I’m not sure. Maybe there have been studies that refute those recommendations elsewhere? They’ve definitely changed their views on aspirin per some new studies so I guess it depends on what sources one is reading from too, in addition to sensitivity - in making a final determination for oneself.

Yum. I love cinnamon, and its a natural anti-viral and anti inflammatory as well. Good choice Thanks for mentioning it.

Lucky you eh? That’s great you’re still able to enjoy.
I’ve read caffeine takes 5 hours to pass from the body and depending on your particular sensitivity (and amount consumed) can take 12 hrs or more to be completely purged.

Good point on shock to system possibly being factor - like espresso etc.
Oh I think you hit the nail on the head there. LOL There is a large coffee crew amongst docs but I can see why I guess. Here in the states w our 5 minute drive thru style McHealthcare, I don’t know how a physician could practice without some kind of boost. It’s nuts...

Those are some studies I’d love to read. Remember where you saw them? I worked at NIH for a summer in medical coding as a paid intern so I dig checking out methods for each study.

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AL777s
Lucky you eh? That’s great you’re still able to enjoy.
I’ve read caffeine takes 5 hours to pass from the body and depending on your particular sensitivity (and amount consumed) can take 12 hrs or more to be completely purged.

Five hours is the 'half-life' of caffeine, and of metoprolol tartrate, incidentally. It doesn't leave the body in five hours; half of the dose is still available in the blood serum after five hours. After another five hours have passed, it is down to approximately 1/4 dose. After 15 hours from ingestion, you have 1/8 still available. That's pretty slim, so most of us dose again between 8-12 hours, depending on instructions. I mean metoprolol...not caffeine. I think the standard dose rate for caffeine is something like 2-4 hours....isn't it?

That’d be true if you’re on tartrate, but I think a lot of afibbers are probably on succinate for more consistency. Succinate also has a peak time, so there definitely is that to factor in as well. As always, and in all things medically speaking, I guess it just depends on what works best for each individual.

As far as caffeine, we’re both basically saying the same thing, but thanks for including us in your interesting research on it fractionally speaking.

To expand on the “each individual” aspect, there’s this from Medical News Today:

“How long do effects last?

There is no set time limit. The duration of the drug’s effects depend upon the dosage and on personal factors, including age, body weight, and how sensitive a person is to caffeine.”

As someone else mentioned here I think... sensitivity is key as caffeine is definitely a drug where attained tolerance and dosage is key, and so trying to figure a fractional framework that is the same for everyone across the board? I’m not particularly sure outside of lab studies w set parameters this would be a very practical application.

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Carey
A couple of studies have found caffeine to actually be mildly helpful for afib. It's a perfect example of a nocebo.

I wonder if this mildly helpful effect is linked to an increase of the heart rate, since caffeine is "stimulating"... Might people having HR troubles at rest, when the heart slows down, benefit from some stimulation?