Lifestyle Factor Risks That Make Your A-Fib More Severe: Which Ones Can You Modify?

Most A-Fib patients have one or more lifestyle factor risk that makes A-Fib symptoms more severe. This makes treating A-Fib more difficult with increased risk of complications. Lifestyle factors can also affect the longevity of a treatment such as a catheter ablation.

The lifestyle factors that can affect your A-Fib include:

• Obesity
• Smoking
• Drug Abuse
• Excess alcohol use
• Lack of exercise
• Poor nutrition

Where to Start: When Was Your Last Physical Exam?

Check with your doctor or healthcare provider for the date of your last physical. If it’s been over a year, schedule an exam.

The results of your exam may reveal you have undiagnosed conditions that could exacerbating your A-Fib.

Tip: You can request to have your blood draw/urine lab tests be done beforehand so you can discuss these findings during your physical exam along with the in-office testing.

Changing Lifestyle Factors and the Impact on Your Atrial Fibrillation

Multiple research studies have shown that modifying these lifestyle factors risks can:

• Lessen A-Fib symptoms and reduce the number of A-Fib episodes
• Slow A-Fib progression
• Reverse persistent A-Fib to paroxysmal A-Fib
• Eliminate A-Fib entirely

Obesity: Associated with the progression of A-Fib, obesity results in changes to the myocardium substrate of your heart. A-Fib patients who are overweight should target 10% weight loss to reduce A-Fib symptoms, burden, recurrence and progress to Persistent A-Fib. Recommended are progressive goals to achieve a target BMI of ≤25 kg/m² and initial low intensity exercise for 20 minutes 3 times weekly, increasing to 150-200 min./wk. of moderate-intensity activity.

Weight fluctuation of >5% (unstable weight) was independently associated with A-Fib recurrence. Losing as little as 5-10 lbs. can lessen A-Fib symptoms and improve the long-term effectiveness of a catheter ablation.

Smoking: Tobacco use has been associated with increased A-Fib risk. A-Fib patients are advised to quit smoking to mitigate increased risk of A-Fib-related cardiovascular complications.

Drug Abuse: There’s an association between use of cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine or opiates with the increased incidence of A-Fib.

Excessive Alcohol: For some A-Fib patients alcohol is a known trigger (but not for everyone). Excessive alcohol may serve as a sustainer of A-Fib via atrial remodeling and autonomic effects. Binge drinking, i.e., “Holiday Heart”, is common around celebrations like Christmas, New Year’s Eve and the Super Bowl with a rush of emergency room visits with drinkers experiencing discrete or new-onset atrial fibrillation. Practicing moderation is always a good habit.

Exercise: The recommendation for A-Fib patients is at least 150 min/wk. of moderate-intensity or 75 min/wk. of vigorous-intensity physical activity. But, extreme levels of exercise may be associated with a higher risk of A-Fib. Since so many of us suffer from a sedentary lifestyle, the use of a pedometer or smartphone/watch which can provide activity feedback is an effective strategy to increase daily physical activity. Setting a step goal (e.g., 5000 steps per day initially and then working up to >10000 steps per day) can help to sustain effort over time. The benefit: reduction of A-Fib symptoms and burden, an increase in maintenance of normal sinus rhythm, and improved Quality of Life.

Nutrition: According to the Cleveland Clinic, there is no single specialized diet for Atrial Fibrillation. The Mediterranean and DASH diets have both been clinically studied and proven to support overall heart health, including the management of blood pressure, blood cholesterol, blood sugar, triglycerides and weight management.

A good place to start is cutting down on processed foods and sugary and artificially sweetened drinks and eating more “whole” foods, i.e., more vegetables and fruits.

You Can Change…

Modifying lifestyle factors can have an enormous impact on the severity of your A-Fib symptoms, reduce the frequency of A-Fib episodes, or even eliminate it entirely.

Existing evidence suggests that improvements in obesity, physical fitness, sleep apnea, Hypertension (Blood Pressure), and Diabetes, as well as modification of other risk factors such as alcohol consumption, may reduce A-Fib burden, often to a degree that exceeds that of catheter ablation and other invasive approaches.

…But Know You’re Not Alone

You are directly in control of these factors. But you aren’t alone! Solicit your family and loved ones to help you. Losing weight and stopping smoking are huge tasks that require support from those around you.

Improve your fitness by recruiting family and friends to workout together, and plan celebrations that don’t center around excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages.

These “Lifestyle” changes take effort but will be worth it when your A-Fib symptoms and frequency lessen (or disappear), your Quality of Life improves, and you have long-term success with your A-Fib treatment plan.

Remember to Seek Your A-Fib cure. Don’t just aim to ‘manage’ your A-Fib with medications. It will all be worth it when you no longer suffer under the burden of Atrial Fibrillation.

Resources to Help You

Below are some resources to help you learn more about Lifestyle Factors.

Personal A-Fib Stories of Hope

Under our Personal A-Fib Stories of Hope, over 100 A-Fib patients have written about their journey to a life free from the burden of Atrial Fibrillation. Among their lists of ‘Lessons Learned’, you’ll find many have made changes in lifestyle factors.

To help inspire you and help you find a story by subject matter, we cross-referenced stories by five major Themes/Topics. We encourage you to look for stories similar to your own. Go to Personal A-Fib Stories of Hope.

Recommended Reading
♥ Alcohol: Research into Alcohol & A-Fib: How Many Drinks are Too Many?
♥ Exercise: Moderate Exercise Impact on A-Fib Recurrence After Ablation
♥ Nutrition: FAQs Coping with A-Fib: Diet & Lifestyle
♥ FAQs Natural Therapies: Whole Food or Organic Diet?
♥ Personal A-Fib Story: Lifestyle Changes/Meds Restore Normal Sinus Rhythm

Video: A-Fib Best Treated by Changes to Diet and Lifestyle Says Dr. John Mandrola
Interview with Dr. John Mandrola, MD, cardiac electrophysiologist, Louisville, KY, on the impact of lifestyle factors on patients with atrial fibrillation, metabolic risk factors like obesity, poor diet, sleep apnea, alcohol intake, and lack of exercise; Managing these risk factors can make a significant impact on the patient’s heart rhythm. (5:29). Click to go to video.

Reminder: Schedule a Physical Exam. You may find you have undiagnosed conditions exacerbating your A-Fib.

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