Atrial Fibrillation & Stomach Gas, Digestive Tract Problems?

[delcocat]

I saw another post about atrial fibrillation and stomach gas possible association or connection.  I too have the same thing so it may not be all in your head if your suspect this to be the case.  Most dr.'s think your crazy or never heard of this when you even suggest it.  Thats whats wrong with most dr's atleast in my experience in that they don't think outside the box enough possibly because this is what they learned.  I think I/we can guess or prognose just as well or better than they can at times particularly if we know something about health and or ourselves and our own health.  Never be afraid to speak up because I feel strongly that digestive tract problems are real and translate into other real nasty symptoms like this.  Fortunately we can prevent much of this & need to prevent it from happening. I do feel the more you get afib the worse it can become either physically, emmotionally or both no matter what the cause.  I thought up until now that I may have been the first to discover this but would like to know if anyone else has any real answers to this as being a connection?  I would like to know how many people feel that they get atrial fibrillation and feel that it may be related to gas or full, bloated stomach, intestinal or digestive tract troubles etc?  Isn't it possible
that the gas, bloat, perhaps inflamed digestive or intestinal tract can disturb the vagus nerve thereby possibly causing
you to go into an afib attack?  Any real dr's out there any more with some real info about this?  Even conjecture?
Any way I also would be interested in what anyone might have to say about it and or what they may have learned from this?   If you know or even think this to be the case for you I would also like to correspond with you to trade stories and info on what you''ve learned and done. Be well.  Sincerely, Rich - delcocat at aol *******

[JeffN]

thanks.  I do the inward/downward thing too, sometimes it helps.  I'll check out the tablets.  Often lying down helps to calm everything, and when I sleep I'm back to normal.  But lying on left side really intensifies that pounding.  Some docs make me feel like I need an ablation, others seem to shrug it off and say..you'll probably get an ablation within the next decade.

I have read from certain studies that when it's vagal related it doesn't progress to chronic.  Other studies suggest different.  Very scary if it were to become constant.

[SmokChsr]

My first line defense is Walmarts generic Multi-symptom Antacid-Antigas Berry tablets. It used to be sold as Rolaids but since they had their quality control issues they have been gone. 3-4 tabs generally help. If it feels like it's going to be a bad run, or I've already gone into Afib, I'll hit it with a mixture of those tabs, 2gas-X, and a Zantac-150.   I'll also generally take a Zantac-150 anytime I feel I'm starting to go acidic.

I've also found in my case, and this may not apply to others, I can inward and downward just below my ribcage and release gas not otherwise available to be burped out. So this is more of a mechanical intervention, but it works.

[JeffN]

Thank you much for posting.  I'm sorry to hear that anyone has to go through this, but, it is good to read from someone with professional medical field commenting from direct experience.  I go into it most every day and always burping.  I notice I feel my pulse stop or go irregular when I belch, so there's proof of the connection.

What do you do to relieve the gas and prevent the a flut/fib? Simethicone does absolutely nothing for me.  I belch and belch and the gas keeps building right back up in minutes.  Sometimes not even eating or drinking anything. It's like air just goes down the wrong way or something.

[SmokChsr]

Just a followup..
Up until the last post I haven't posted in a while. For a bit of an update, I'm still doing pretty good. I'll occasionally have an A-fib event when I get gassy and didn't realize it was coming. for the most part I've been able to prevent the event by quickly treating building gas prior to it causing a problem. My trigger level still seems to be higher than it was prior to surgery, but it's still there.  

[SmokChsr]

In my case I can prove the gas comes before the A-fib. As a Paramedic I'm fully qualified to read a cardiac monitor. Using a cardiac monitor when I get gassy I'll start to throw a bunch of PAC's then often go into A-flutter, which degenerates into A-fib with RVR.

As soon as I can relive the gas, the cardiac rhythm will start to correct in pretty much reverse order.  

[JeffN]

Thanks for sharing, Publo.  Same here, no burps, no AF.  It's always accompanied by the burping/gas.  I don't know which starts anymore, the heart causing the burps or the burps causing the heart...  The latter makes more since but one doc says he thinks it's the other way.  I don't know how but..

The meds were as bad as the AF.  I quit them too, just on aspirin.  I'm fearful of having an ablation because I feel that when I keep my vagus nerve calm, I'm good, I feel better than have in years, but if I have an ablation, then there's permanent scar damage, not to mention the risks and how some have died from having one done.  Also, docs tell me, if you're lucky you get a few years, before you have to back for another!  They consider that successfull!!!!  Not me.