excess weight

Hello all;

I'm just finally coming into this site after starting to read Hans Larsen's book. I'm only on page 47. I'm wondering how much extra weight (50lbs) contributes to lone afib. Cardiologists keep telling me that many thin people get it and they haven't been able to attribute it to excess weight. Does that sound ridiculous or are there many posts on this site attributing excess weight to LAF?

Thank you for any insights.

In my experience when I was having short runs of AFIB I was 5'11 and 160lbs. Over the next few years, my activity level dropped, and I went up to 195lbs (ended up at 250ish lbs). My AFIB did get worse as I put on more weight. After AFIB was well established, losing weight had no effect.

My thought is losing weight to get into an "ideal" weight is probably good. But I’m not sure if it would help with AFIB overall. But it sure won't hurt other factors that can attribute to it and other problems.

I developed AF when I was in good condition and only slightly overweight. I was perhaps eight pounds heavy, but I was running 40km a week. It was sleep apnea. My weight ballooned to 188 pounds over the past 20 months, and my AF did get worse, but it started off with a vengeance when I was quite a bit lighter 20 months ago. It's not to say that excess weight is never going to cause AF, or to contribute to its progression; I think it does. But I don't think the relationship is all that strong, not across individuals. It is most often a combination of factors which put stress on the body, and by extension on the heart.

Quote
gloaming
It is most often a combination of factors which put stress on the body, and by extension on the heart.

I totally agree with this statement. I don't think it is just one thing that causes AFIB, but a combination of things. In my case, I know stress was/is a factor. I was very active when it stared, running 10+ miles a week, bicycling 100 miles a week and rollerblading another 10 miles a week. Plus additional activities when I could fit them in. Not sure on other things, but I haven't found many that I suspect to contributing to AFIB. Perhaps the next biggest is just working to the point of exhaustion.

There are quite a few studies that show excess weight can contribute to AF. Also excess weight can cause sleep apnea, which also can contribute to episodes of AF.

Ditto what kliving concluded above.

/LarryG

Plenty of fat people have afib, but most don't.

Plenty of skinny people have afib, but most don't.

Plenty of athletes have afib and plenty of couch potatoes have afib, but most don't.

My prediction is that in the end it will boil down to a combination of genetics and environment. You have to have the wrong genes to begin with in order to be susceptible to it, and then you have to do the wrong things to set it off.