5 Top Tips To Control Atrial Fibrillation by Dr Boon Lim

Helpful facts and 5 Top Tips To Control Atrial Fibrillation by Dr. Boon Lim, rated best Cardiologist in London for treatment of Atrial Fibrillation:

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most common heart rhythm abnormality (arrhythmia) which affects up to 5% of the population > 70yo. Symptoms include shortness of breath, palpitations, chest pain, lightheadedness, feeling fatigued, and generally unwell.

Risk factors for atrial fibrillation include the following:-

1. Hypertension
2. Diabetes
3. Coronary artery disease
4. Heart failure
5. Obesity
6. Sleep apnoea
7. Thyroid dysfunction

In addition to these risk factors of atrial fibrillation, some patients can have very clear triggers for Atrial fibrillation (AF), without any obvious risk factors. Some of these triggers include:

1. Exercise
2. The relaxation phase following exercise (In other words, in the hour to six hours following completion of the exercise, particularly if followed by deep relaxation, sleep, large meals and/or alcohol )
3. Eating certain types of food (some patients have noticed that AF can be triggered by MSG (monosodium glutamate, typically found in Chinese/Asian dishes esp takeaway meals), large meals where there is a feeling of fullness in the abdomen after the meal.
4. Alcohol
5. Stress and fatigue (such as which occurs after long haul flights or a tough week at work)
6. Sleeping (nocturnal AF which wakes patients at night)

Why does AF occur?

There are several reasons to explain why Atrial fibrillation develops in patients at various stages in life. There is a generally accepted theory of triggers versus substrate for the initiation and maintenance of AF. Furthermore, it is thought net one of the key components the create both the trigger and maintain the substrate is the autonomic nervous system. the autonomic nervous system is the primitive part of the brain which controls automatic functions.

These functions include respiration, heart rate, temperature regulation, digestion, gastric secretions. The most commonly known arm of the autonomic nervous system is termed the fight or flight response (also known as the adrenaline rush).   This response may be manifest in certain situations that are familiar to all of us such as a job interview, running for a bus, being angry or afraid, or being in a chronically stressed environment.

Find Here How To Do Atrial Fibrillation Treatment

Conversely, there is an opposite response to the fight or flight, and this is called the rest and digest response (also known as the rest and digest response). This is mediated by the vagus nerve, and the response is known as a vagal response.

It is common for atrial fibrillation to be triggered when there is a great shift between the expression of the flight of fright, versus the rest and digest response. This may explain why atrial fibrillation is most often triggered in the wind-down period Following exercise rather than during peak exercise, as the fright or flight Is wound down, and the rest and digest response is increasingly expressed. This period of changing autonomic states is one of the recognized triggers of atrial fibrillation.

There is also a substrate theory of atrial fibrillation and in these cases, patients often have risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, previous heart attacks all of which can put a strain on the heart causing an increase in scarring in the left and right atrial chambers, the filling chambers of the heart. In these cases, once atrial fibrillation is triggered, the duration of atrial fibrillation appears to sustain longer than a patient who has no obvious substrate.

Top five tips for atrial fibrillation

1. Understand your triggers and avoid them. This may be simple it’s avoiding alcohol binges, excessive amounts of caffeine, or extreme fatigue.
2. Keep risk factors under control which include aggressive management of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.
3. Tell your doctor if you snore or find yourself waking several times a night: this may be an indication that you have sleep apnea and this needs to be ruled out and treated given that it is a major risk factor for each will fibrillation, and other health conditions.
4. Keep a healthy exercise pattern and eat well
5. If you can afford it, monitor yourself with available consumer products such as the Apple watch series 4 or 5, or the Alivecor Kardia mobile ECG device. Save these records and understand how frequently you develop atrial fibrillation and what the duration of each episode is. This will be invaluable data for your cardiologist in helping then make a decision about the best management strategy to help with atrial fibrillation.

• See https://www.apple.com/uk/apple-watch-series-5/health/,for more information on the ECG capabilities of the Apple Watch Series 4 or 5
• See https://store.alivecor.co.uk/products/kardiamobile , for more information on ECG capabilities of KARDIA.

To see an expert in atrial fibrillation and discuss treatment options, please contact Dr. Boon Lim, a top cardiologist in London who is considered one of the best trainers in the atrial fibrillation ablation techniques for junior doctors,  on 0207 042 1789, or email on pa@drboonlim.co.uk