Thanks. So it sounds like you have continued brewing and drinking? Will go through your comments.
"There's a number of suggested possible triggers for afib." - true but alcohol seems to be one of the big ones they go on about. Posts in the AFib forum on reditt seem to be full of people who had to give it away to avoid recurrence.
"Work on eating better, reducing caffeine, quit smoking if you do, lose weight, get plenty of sleep, and reduce stress." - Yes trying to do all of these. (Not a smoker).
"Sometimes it is hereditary or just a poor conductive configuration in your heart." - Yep, Mum has it. But even if it is hereditary, alcohol can trigger it as I understand it.
"Let's face it, if it was alcohol, it would have happened identifiably. " - I'm not sure what you mean exactly. My AF bout occurred after a big weekend, and a buttock infection.
"Try controlling with meds but if not possible, such as continued need for cardioversion, consider an ablation." - Noted. On meds.
"have been fine for over a decade." - That's great. Apart from the health efforts then, you live as normal with the booze/brewing?
I appreciate you sharing.
Yes, I continued drinking. I was on an extended hiatus from brewing but restarted brewing about 6-7 years ago. I don't drink daily but have several weekly and do occasionally binge drink with friends (irregular periodicity).
I was in my mid-late thirties when first afib occurred. I binge drank a bit more (not weekly). No afib event ever occurred anywhere close to a drinking episode. I ate well, maintained my weight, exercised, smoked perhaps a pack of cigarettes a year, some funny cigarettes occasionally, held caffeine to about 60mg daily. Other than stress and hereditary no factor seemed indicative to triggering an episode, they were all different.
I have hypertension now (controlled well), don't get as much sleep as I need, more stress, and exercise less than I would like (joint problems) drink a little less frequently, don't smoke tobacco for about as long as the last ablation which was practically none at all. Second ablation got it.
All those factors they suggest are each generally small percentages in the research studies I read. No real leaders on any. The internet is not a representative sample. Read some either good research summaries from reputable health sources or the studies themselves. I recognize that is not everyone's capability as far as the actual research. Perhaps for some there are common triggers. Not me and if it was alcohol there was enough opportunity for it to trigger it. My mom has it and early for her, not like me though. A little later and worse outcome. She needs a pacemaker, but I think she has worn through four of them. Hers progressed to sick sinous syndrome so they had to ablate a node itself.
After your 70's or so, afib becomes more common yearly. It's an increasing risk and somewhat common in older people. Around 25% I think 70+ population. That's why afib commercials are somewhat common here in the US.
Afib is a misfiring electrical surge causing the chamber to fire out of sync. They know what regions of heart tissue it occurs in typically but the whys of it are kind of weakly correlated. I haven't read a lot lately though, but I read a lot when I did. I'm not a medical doctor to be clear. If you can find a good electrocardiologist, that's helpful.
It can be scary, especially the first time. OMG is this a heart attack?! Glad to hear you converted.
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