Afib and Nasal Sinus

Four years ago I had a question here about a possible connection with AFiB and nasal congestion and allergy type symptoms. There wasn’t a lot of response and then I went through a good year and a half without any episodes. Fast forward to now and the nasal congestion is chronic including more sinus pressure than before. Also back is many more episodes of Afib now along with aflutter. I cant find anything supporting the connection and am wondering if anyone has ever experienced this. it sometime feels like which came first but I would just like to know the why of this condition. And maybe there is no rational explanation. Just curious.because it doesn’t seem random anymore. Thanks

Have you had a polysomnography? It could be that your condition is more related to sleep apnea. A sleep lab, over night, will soon let you and your caregivers know if you have obstructive sleep apnea. That, more than anything, is likely to be the cause of your AF. Was for me.

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gloaming
Have you had a polysomnography? It could be that your condition is more related to sleep apnea. A sleep lab, over night, will soon let you and your caregivers know if you have obstructive sleep apnea. That, more than anything, is likely to be the cause of your AF. Was for me.

Thanks for the response, I totally agree as this being part of the initial cause. I have used CPAP since 2018. This different than apnea as it occurs during the day or night, awake or asleep.

Are you using a decongestant? Those are known afib triggers.

Carey No decongestants were used.

I've had lifelong chronic rhinitis. I've never noticed an association with afib. However, at 68, it is probably 95% less than ever before as I 1) changed my diet following instructions from one doc I've consulted with (that reduced it by a subjective 80%) and 2) following a protocol with more diet changes from a book written by a doc many years ago, that I came across (reduced another 15%). I can give more detail and references, if anybody wants them.

Sinus problem is often a manifestation of infection or allergies. I am not surprised when body is under attack of those, it affects the heart. Little over a year ago my sinus congestion and headache were really bad, so was my Afib. That's when I went to see an EP first time and eventually had an ablation last July. After reading Dr John Day's The Afib Cure, I modified my diet to minimize diary, simple carbs (for me mostly is bread and pasta) and processed foods. This diet change made huge difference for me, I rarely have sinus issues these days and my heart is calmer than ever

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GeorgeN
I've had lifelong chronic rhinitis. I've never noticed an association with afib. However, at 68, it is probably 95% less than ever before as I 1) changed my diet following instructions from one doc I've consulted with (that reduced it by a subjective 80%) and 2) following a protocol with more diet changes from a book written by a doc many years ago, that I came across (reduced another 15%). I can give more detail and references, if anybody wants them.

Details please! I have also reduced my sinus problems through diet but there could still be improvement. I also use a nasal probiotic (applied topically inside the nose) and that really helps as well. There is a fungal aspect for me.

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Yuxi
Sinus problem is often a manifestation of infection or allergies. I am not surprised when body is under attack of those, it affects the heart. Little over a year ago my sinus congestion and headache were really bad, so was my Afib. That's when I went to see an EP first time and eventually had an ablation last July. After reading Dr John Day's The Afib Cure, I modified my diet to minimize diary, simple carbs (for me mostly is bread and pasta) and processed foods. This diet change made huge difference for me, I rarely have sinus issues these days and my heart is calmer than ever

T
I wonder if one triggers the other or if they just co-exist? The diet part of this seems to be becoming something I need to explore more as a part of this. Thanks for your input

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Daisy
Details please! I have also reduced my sinus problems through diet but there could still be improvement. I also use a nasal probiotic (applied topically inside the nose) and that really helps as well. There is a fungal aspect for me.

My second approach was stumbling onto a 1956 book by Arthur Coca MD, an allergist and immunologist. I'm starting here as everybody is different & this is a way to get specific results tailored to you. The link is to a PDF of Coca's book.

Coca's approach was to have a person take their pulse prior to eating and then 30, 60 and even 90 minutes later. His hypothesis is that if the pulse is >6 BPM higher, you are sensitive to something in what you ate. Now the rub is you then have to repeat the test with individual ingredients to see which food is the culprit. In my case, I'd gotten an Oura tracking ring (this is now around 4 years ago). I was initially getting slow wave (i.e. deep) sleep scores of 0-3 minutes a night. This was not a good thing & I couldn't figure out how to improve it. I happened across the book and decided to experiment. I found some foods (don't recall what they are, but don't eat them anymore) that had non trivial pulse elevations, like 15-25 BPM. On a random night before doing this, in April 2019, my average pulse per Oura was 63 BPM. I was 62 at the time, and this is normal. Jump to a random night in June 2019 after removing these worst offenders and my overnight pulse average was 45 BPM, no change in exercise habits. Also deep sleep went to around 30 minutes/night. Still not wonderful, but a heck of a lot better than 0-3! I went on and tested many other foods and found others, but they didn't have as dramatic a pulse elevation, more like 8-12. I'm not perfect every night, but normal average pulse is 45-48 and my deep sleep is 30 - 120 minutes/night. This was a project for me. After the initial testing, writing it all down, I set up a Google Sheet that I could access on computer or phone and record the data. One thing I found is that a 60 second (old school) pulse rate gave better results than an instant reading from a heart rate monitor. This is what Coca would have used and I thing the averaging of taking the pulse for the minute was the benefit. Coca also said that everybody will get different results, not that one food is bad for all. I later did some expensive food sensitivity blood tests and there was a neart 1:1 association with the Coca results. I think the assumption is that a food sensitivity will stimulate a sympathetic response, thereby raising your heart rate. When I really pay attention, I can keep my (minute average) pulse with under a 5 or 6 BPM variance over the day.

I'm traveling at the moment, but will write more when I have some additional time.

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Daisy
Details please! I have also reduced my sinus problems through diet but there could still be improvement. I also use a nasal probiotic (applied topically inside the nose) and that really helps as well. There is a fungal aspect for me.

I started consulting with cardio thoracic surgeon/longevity clinician, Dr. Steven Gundry, in 2015. I selected him because he was one of the few clinicians I'm aware of that have successfully treated people with certain of my genetics since ~2000 with lifestyle & repeat blood testing of various inflammatory markers every 3-6 months (and into advanced age with many). Many of these folks have autoimmune conditions. I'm attaching 2 yes/no food lists I was given as a patient (one Keto). We started seeing him (my wife shares some of my risk alleles) long before he was all over the internet and had a supplement business (he never asked us to purchase his supps) or a YouTube channel. He's also got seven or so books in his Plant Paradox series. His approach is controversial and I'm not here to push it, debate it or defend it. As a previously said, following his approach (basically eating foods off his "yes" list and avoiding those on the "no" list, although pressure cooking many non-grains on the the no list reduces the lectin activity to an acceptable level - see the books for more nuance) reduced my rhinitis symptoms by 80-85%.

Thanks for the info . I don't know if it's just me but the pdf's seem a bit fuzzy to view

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JDfiB
Thanks for the info . I don't know if it's just me but the pdf's seem a bit fuzzy to view

Thanks for noticing that. The original files were over the 1MB limit (what we were given were image scans rather than text), so I'd exported & compressed them. Obviously compressed too much. I redid with less compression and a different filter and it looks better - larger files, but still under the limit.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2024 06:52AM by GeorgeN.

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GeorgeN

Thanks for the info . I don't know if it's just me but the pdf's seem a bit fuzzy to view

Thanks for noticing that. The original files were over the 1MB limit (what we were given were image scans rather than text), so I'd exported & compressed them. Obviously compressed too much. I redid with less compression and a different filter and it looks better - larger files, but still under the limit.[/quote
]Much better. Thank you