Guest guest Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 WFS, I am a vagal AFer and a cold drink was an absolute trigger for me, every time. My EP agreed it, is one of the normal triggers. I don't know about you but when my heart was racing at that rate or higher, I always headed to the ER, since I was symptomatic, i.e., tightness in chest, breathless and lightheaded. I am almost seven weeks post ablation, can have cold drinks now but still am a bit wary. My one piece of advice, you can learn to live without iced drinks. JMM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 WFS, I am a vagal AFer and a cold drink was an absolute trigger for me, every time. My EP agreed it, is one of the normal triggers. I don't know about you but when my heart was racing at that rate or higher, I always headed to the ER, since I was symptomatic, i.e., tightness in chest, breathless and lightheaded. I am almost seven weeks post ablation, can have cold drinks now but still am a bit wary. My one piece of advice, you can learn to live without iced drinks. JMM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 > I've had two episodes of AF in the last three years. Both times I > had just finished a very cold drink - which froze my throat - and > pow, my heart was off to the races. Each time I went to 240 or so > for an atrial rate and about 160 for the ventricular rate. Cardizem > at the ER brought it down and converted. Is there a possibility > that extreme cold can set these things off? .... > > I see some here say that such episodes do not require the ER? Is > that so? So if you do nothing - just lay down, that racing heart > will return to normal on its own? Its certainly scary. Hi, cold drinks or ice cream, etc. also can set me off. I haven't gone to the ER, but my beta blocker keeps my heart rate down. I would talk to your doc about what the best thing is for you to do. Myself, I feel like I am more comfortable in my warm quiet living room than in a noisy cold bright ER waiting room where they might not have time to see me for hours. Just the thought of the latter would make my afib worse ;-) My cardio agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 > I've had two episodes of AF in the last three years. Both times I > had just finished a very cold drink - which froze my throat - and > pow, my heart was off to the races. Each time I went to 240 or so > for an atrial rate and about 160 for the ventricular rate. Cardizem > at the ER brought it down and converted. Is there a possibility > that extreme cold can set these things off? .... > > I see some here say that such episodes do not require the ER? Is > that so? So if you do nothing - just lay down, that racing heart > will return to normal on its own? Its certainly scary. Hi, cold drinks or ice cream, etc. also can set me off. I haven't gone to the ER, but my beta blocker keeps my heart rate down. I would talk to your doc about what the best thing is for you to do. Myself, I feel like I am more comfortable in my warm quiet living room than in a noisy cold bright ER waiting room where they might not have time to see me for hours. Just the thought of the latter would make my afib worse ;-) My cardio agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 > I've had two episodes of AF in the last three years. Both times I > had just finished a very cold drink - which froze my throat - and > pow, my heart was off to the races. Each time I went to 240 or so > for an atrial rate and about 160 for the ventricular rate. Cardizem > at the ER brought it down and converted. Is there a possibility > that extreme cold can set these things off? .... > > I see some here say that such episodes do not require the ER? Is > that so? So if you do nothing - just lay down, that racing heart > will return to normal on its own? Its certainly scary. Hi, cold drinks or ice cream, etc. also can set me off. I haven't gone to the ER, but my beta blocker keeps my heart rate down. I would talk to your doc about what the best thing is for you to do. Myself, I feel like I am more comfortable in my warm quiet living room than in a noisy cold bright ER waiting room where they might not have time to see me for hours. Just the thought of the latter would make my afib worse ;-) My cardio agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 > I've had two episodes of AF in the last three years. Both times I > had just finished a very cold drink - which froze my throat snip....................... Hello: Sorry, that you have had two episodes. Cold drinks are a known trigger for some, and as far as lying down when you have afib, you might try sitting in a recliner, you'll find after awhile, sometimes an hour or more, that you will be able to lie down and go to sleep. Some of the listmembers sleep in the recliner most/all of the night while in afib. Isabelle - > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 I also only had afib 3 times in my life, the last time was while eating a bowl of ice cream, I tried telling my cardio that this happens to many people on this board, his answer to me is he has never heard of cold being a trigger and also to stay off the Internet. I am looking for a new ep, just having trouble with the insurance. I did eat ice cream yesterday, but I let it melt in my mouth first, at least I got the flavor! Kathy in CT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 WF - your EP needs to do some reading.. perhaps suggest he/she read this board for a while? ... cold drinks are notorious for setting off afib!!! I no longer drink cold drinks WHILE STANDING UP, since 95% of my episodes were triggered that way... cold milk, cold water, cold frozen yogurt.. etc... I can drink cold things sitting down, but not standing? I mostly don't drink really cold things anymore, since I really hate being in afib, and don't want to take the chance.. sitting or standing! Sounds to me like avoiding cold drinks for you, may just assist in avoiding another afib episode.... that would be nice! Stef wfstrong23 wrote: I've had two episodes of AF in the last three years. Both times I had just finished a very cold drink - which froze my throat - and pow, my heart was off to the races. Each time I went to 240 or so for an atrial rate and about 160 for the ventricular rate. Cardizem at the ER brought it down and converted. Is there a possibility that extreme cold can set these things off? THE EP says there is no particular proof - could be unrelated. I had a ASD repair 40 years ago. He believes that the scar tissue from that surgery may cause the AF. He tried to do an ablation but couldn't recreate the episode during the procedure - so had nowhere to burn. My heart is structurally sound and strong. I have been put on rythmol to control the episodes. I see some here say that such episodes do not require the ER? Is that so? So if you do nothing - just lay down, that racing heart will return to normal on its own? Its certainly scary. Insights? WFS Web Page - http://www.afibsupport.com List owner: AFIBsupport-owner For help on how to use the group, including how to drive it via email, send a blank email to AFIBsupport-help Nothing in this message should be considered as medical advice, or should be acted upon without consultation with one's physician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 WF - your EP needs to do some reading.. perhaps suggest he/she read this board for a while? ... cold drinks are notorious for setting off afib!!! I no longer drink cold drinks WHILE STANDING UP, since 95% of my episodes were triggered that way... cold milk, cold water, cold frozen yogurt.. etc... I can drink cold things sitting down, but not standing? I mostly don't drink really cold things anymore, since I really hate being in afib, and don't want to take the chance.. sitting or standing! Sounds to me like avoiding cold drinks for you, may just assist in avoiding another afib episode.... that would be nice! Stef wfstrong23 wrote: I've had two episodes of AF in the last three years. Both times I had just finished a very cold drink - which froze my throat - and pow, my heart was off to the races. Each time I went to 240 or so for an atrial rate and about 160 for the ventricular rate. Cardizem at the ER brought it down and converted. Is there a possibility that extreme cold can set these things off? THE EP says there is no particular proof - could be unrelated. I had a ASD repair 40 years ago. He believes that the scar tissue from that surgery may cause the AF. He tried to do an ablation but couldn't recreate the episode during the procedure - so had nowhere to burn. My heart is structurally sound and strong. I have been put on rythmol to control the episodes. I see some here say that such episodes do not require the ER? Is that so? So if you do nothing - just lay down, that racing heart will return to normal on its own? Its certainly scary. Insights? WFS Web Page - http://www.afibsupport.com List owner: AFIBsupport-owner For help on how to use the group, including how to drive it via email, send a blank email to AFIBsupport-help Nothing in this message should be considered as medical advice, or should be acted upon without consultation with one's physician. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 A doctor who tells his patient to keep off the internet needs to get with the program! Not everything you read is true, and certainly there is a LOT of bunk out there, but this board at least, doesn't pretend to give out medical advice.. we give out experience, and there are enough of us here who have cold liquid triggers that anyone who says that's nonsense has never had the displeasure of experiencing cold triggered afib. Look for a new EP.. this one isn't doing you any favors. klun@... wrote: I also only had afib 3 times in my life, the last time was while eating a bowl of ice cream, I tried telling my cardio that this happens to many people on this board, his answer to me is he has never heard of cold being a trigger and also to stay off the Internet. I am looking for a new ep, just having trouble with the insurance. I did eat ice cream yesterday, but I let it melt in my mouth first, at least I got the flavor! Kathy in CT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 I don't think many doctors really have an understanding of afib. As I said on my previous post my cardio said that he had never heard of ice cream as a trigger. So today my daughter had her appointment for her physical with our family doctor so I thought I would see what he had to say, I really do like this doctor, he's very caring. He, also told me that it was not the ice cream. I explained to him that myself, along with many others on this board say cold drinks and ice cream are absolutely a trigger. He again said that he had never heard of that. So what's going on? Why aren't these doctors up on all of this info? First my cardio now my family doc? I feel like the only one I can truly trust is myself because Im doing my homework. Isn't that their job? Sorry to babble on, Im just getting so frustrated. Kathy in CT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 25, 2004 Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 I don't think many doctors really have an understanding of afib. As I said on my previous post my cardio said that he had never heard of ice cream as a trigger. So today my daughter had her appointment for her physical with our family doctor so I thought I would see what he had to say, I really do like this doctor, he's very caring. He, also told me that it was not the ice cream. I explained to him that myself, along with many others on this board say cold drinks and ice cream are absolutely a trigger. He again said that he had never heard of that. So what's going on? Why aren't these doctors up on all of this info? First my cardio now my family doc? I feel like the only one I can truly trust is myself because Im doing my homework. Isn't that their job? Sorry to babble on, Im just getting so frustrated. Kathy in CT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 it is the ice cream......for 3 years l was a fib free definetely with medication,a month ago i was eating ice cream and here it goes l was in afib untill tey cardioverted me after a week. l think somebody has to do some research about the triggers. tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 it is the ice cream......for 3 years l was a fib free definetely with medication,a month ago i was eating ice cream and here it goes l was in afib untill tey cardioverted me after a week. l think somebody has to do some research about the triggers. tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 it is the ice cream......for 3 years l was a fib free definetely with medication,a month ago i was eating ice cream and here it goes l was in afib untill tey cardioverted me after a week. l think somebody has to do some research about the triggers. tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 I have to agree with you. I'm frustrated with the " there is no real cause " for Afib explanations from my doctor. I'm a true believer in cause/affect. Everything I read on this board tells me I'm not alone. I often feel my doctor considers Afib an anomaly and would rather focus his attention on patients that have " true " heart issues. Maybe that's cruel. Anyways, thanks for your comments. klun@... wrote:I don't think many doctors really have an understanding of afib. As I said on my previous post my cardio said that he had never heard of ice cream as a trigger. So today my daughter had her appointment for her physical with our family doctor so I thought I would see what he had to say, I really do like this doctor, he's very caring. He, also told me that it was not the ice cream. I explained to him that myself, along with many others on this board say cold drinks and ice cream are absolutely a trigger. He again said that he had never heard of that. So what's going on? Why aren't these doctors up on all of this info? First my cardio now my family doc? I feel like the only one I can truly trust is myself because Im doing my homework. Isn't that their job? Sorry to babble on, Im just getting so frustrated. Kathy in CT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 I have to agree with you. I'm frustrated with the " there is no real cause " for Afib explanations from my doctor. I'm a true believer in cause/affect. Everything I read on this board tells me I'm not alone. I often feel my doctor considers Afib an anomaly and would rather focus his attention on patients that have " true " heart issues. Maybe that's cruel. Anyways, thanks for your comments. klun@... wrote:I don't think many doctors really have an understanding of afib. As I said on my previous post my cardio said that he had never heard of ice cream as a trigger. So today my daughter had her appointment for her physical with our family doctor so I thought I would see what he had to say, I really do like this doctor, he's very caring. He, also told me that it was not the ice cream. I explained to him that myself, along with many others on this board say cold drinks and ice cream are absolutely a trigger. He again said that he had never heard of that. So what's going on? Why aren't these doctors up on all of this info? First my cardio now my family doc? I feel like the only one I can truly trust is myself because Im doing my homework. Isn't that their job? Sorry to babble on, Im just getting so frustrated. Kathy in CT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 I have to agree with you. I'm frustrated with the " there is no real cause " for Afib explanations from my doctor. I'm a true believer in cause/affect. Everything I read on this board tells me I'm not alone. I often feel my doctor considers Afib an anomaly and would rather focus his attention on patients that have " true " heart issues. Maybe that's cruel. Anyways, thanks for your comments. klun@... wrote:I don't think many doctors really have an understanding of afib. As I said on my previous post my cardio said that he had never heard of ice cream as a trigger. So today my daughter had her appointment for her physical with our family doctor so I thought I would see what he had to say, I really do like this doctor, he's very caring. He, also told me that it was not the ice cream. I explained to him that myself, along with many others on this board say cold drinks and ice cream are absolutely a trigger. He again said that he had never heard of that. So what's going on? Why aren't these doctors up on all of this info? First my cardio now my family doc? I feel like the only one I can truly trust is myself because Im doing my homework. Isn't that their job? Sorry to babble on, Im just getting so frustrated. Kathy in CT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 > I have to agree with you. I'm frustrated with the " there is no real cause " for Afib explanations from my doctor. I'm a true believer in cause/affect. Everything I read on this board tells me I'm not alone. I often feel my doctor considers Afib an anomaly and would rather focus his attention on patients that have " true " heart issues. Maybe that's cruel. Anyways, thanks for your comments. > Absolutely true. I had a bad doc like this (no longer). Of course there's a cause. There's a defect or defects in the electrical tissue in the heart or pulmonary veins, and various things trigger them to cause problems. Can we always figure out what triggers them? Probably not. Do we deserve to be ignored when we're literally suffering, because this is not a simple problem to deal with? Well, yes if the doctor is a lousy doctor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 > I have to agree with you. I'm frustrated with the " there is no real cause " for Afib explanations from my doctor. I'm a true believer in cause/affect. Everything I read on this board tells me I'm not alone. I often feel my doctor considers Afib an anomaly and would rather focus his attention on patients that have " true " heart issues. Maybe that's cruel. Anyways, thanks for your comments. > Absolutely true. I had a bad doc like this (no longer). Of course there's a cause. There's a defect or defects in the electrical tissue in the heart or pulmonary veins, and various things trigger them to cause problems. Can we always figure out what triggers them? Probably not. Do we deserve to be ignored when we're literally suffering, because this is not a simple problem to deal with? Well, yes if the doctor is a lousy doctor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 > I have to agree with you. I'm frustrated with the " there is no real cause " for Afib explanations from my doctor. I'm a true believer in cause/affect. Everything I read on this board tells me I'm not alone. I often feel my doctor considers Afib an anomaly and would rather focus his attention on patients that have " true " heart issues. Maybe that's cruel. Anyways, thanks for your comments. > Absolutely true. I had a bad doc like this (no longer). Of course there's a cause. There's a defect or defects in the electrical tissue in the heart or pulmonary veins, and various things trigger them to cause problems. Can we always figure out what triggers them? Probably not. Do we deserve to be ignored when we're literally suffering, because this is not a simple problem to deal with? Well, yes if the doctor is a lousy doctor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 In a message dated 6/26/2004 10:38:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time, rushthursday@... writes: > others on this board say cold > drinks and ice cream are absolutely a trigger. He again said that he had > never > heard of that. So what's going on? Why aren't these doctors up on all of > this > info? First my cardio now my family doc? I feel like the only one I can > truly > Kathy, I think that doctors tend to think more in terms of generalities rather than specifics like ice cream and cold drinks because possibly the effect of specific triggers such as ice cream, cold drinks, and dairy products depends on the physical differences of individuals. For example, when I mentioned to my primary care physician that cold drinks seemed to be a trigger for me, she readily agreed that was possible. However, she qualified her statement by saying that anything that goes on in the esophagus could be an afib trigger because the esophagus is anatomically so close to the sinus node. I suppose in some persons the distance between the two may be greater or larger, depending on the relative sizes of the two organs and physical size of the person. As another example, my cardiologist agreed that stopping dairy products may indeed have been responsible for my newfound relative freedom from afib. However, his emphasis in his response was not on dairy products but on anything that can cause a vasovagal response (irritation of the vagus nerve which controls heartbeat and digestion) and not on dairy products. Thus my two doctors acknowledge the validity of my triggers without proclaiming them to be universal triggers, and I think that this is perhaps the only valid approach in view of the great differences among people. The mechanism which creates the trigger seems to be the important concept and not the individual trigger which activates that mechanism, e.g. cold drinks irritating the sinus node via the esophagus or dairy products irritating the vagus nerve via vasovagal stimulation. The mechanism may be the same in all, but the triggers that activate that mechanism can vary widely. in sinus in Seattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 In a message dated 6/26/2004 10:38:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time, rushthursday@... writes: > others on this board say cold > drinks and ice cream are absolutely a trigger. He again said that he had > never > heard of that. So what's going on? Why aren't these doctors up on all of > this > info? First my cardio now my family doc? I feel like the only one I can > truly > Kathy, I think that doctors tend to think more in terms of generalities rather than specifics like ice cream and cold drinks because possibly the effect of specific triggers such as ice cream, cold drinks, and dairy products depends on the physical differences of individuals. For example, when I mentioned to my primary care physician that cold drinks seemed to be a trigger for me, she readily agreed that was possible. However, she qualified her statement by saying that anything that goes on in the esophagus could be an afib trigger because the esophagus is anatomically so close to the sinus node. I suppose in some persons the distance between the two may be greater or larger, depending on the relative sizes of the two organs and physical size of the person. As another example, my cardiologist agreed that stopping dairy products may indeed have been responsible for my newfound relative freedom from afib. However, his emphasis in his response was not on dairy products but on anything that can cause a vasovagal response (irritation of the vagus nerve which controls heartbeat and digestion) and not on dairy products. Thus my two doctors acknowledge the validity of my triggers without proclaiming them to be universal triggers, and I think that this is perhaps the only valid approach in view of the great differences among people. The mechanism which creates the trigger seems to be the important concept and not the individual trigger which activates that mechanism, e.g. cold drinks irritating the sinus node via the esophagus or dairy products irritating the vagus nerve via vasovagal stimulation. The mechanism may be the same in all, but the triggers that activate that mechanism can vary widely. in sinus in Seattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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