Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...

"A-Fib.com is a great web site for patients, that is unequaled by anything else out there."

Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

"Jill and I put you and your work in our prayers every night. What you do to help people through this [A-Fib] process is really incredible."

Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI

“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP.

Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017

“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”

Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD

Doctors & patients are saying about 'Beat Your A-Fib'...

"If I had [your book] 10 years ago, it would have saved me 8 years of hell.”

Roy Salmon, Patient, A-Fib Free,
Adelaide, Australia

"This book is incredibly complete and easy-to-understand for anybody. I certainly recommend it for patients who want to know more about atrial fibrillation than what they will learn from doctors...."

Pierre Jaïs, M.D. Professor of Cardiology, Haut-Lévêque Hospital, Bordeaux, France

"Dear Steve, I saw a patient this morning with your book [in hand] and highlights throughout. She loves it and finds it very useful to help her in dealing with atrial fibrillation."

Dr. Wilber Su,
Cavanaugh Heart Center, Phoenix, AZ

"...masterful. You managed to combine an encyclopedic compilation of information with the simplicity of presentation that enhances the delivery of the information to the reader. This is not an easy thing to do, but you have been very, very successful at it."

Ira David Levin, heart patient,
Rome, Italy

"Within the pages of Beat Your A-Fib, Dr. Steve Ryan, PhD, provides a comprehensive guide for persons seeking to find a cure for their Atrial Fibrillation."

Walter Kerwin, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

FAQs Understanding A-Fib: Local Anesthesia

“I read that the local anesthesia my dentist uses may trigger my A-Fib. Why is that? What can I do about it?”

Dr. Sam, a retired MD, wrote to caution A-Fib patients that local anesthesia containing epinephrine can trigger your A-Fib. Local anesthesia (with Epi or Adrenalin) is used by dentists and emergency room personnel.

Dr. Sam writes:

At the Dentist: “This past year I had to have a dental implant and bridgework requiring that I have Local Anesthesia several times. The dentist uses local anesthesia with Epinephrine (Epi or Adrenalin) to numb your mouth.

Epinephrine (Epi or Adrenalin) is one of the drugs EPs can use when completing a catheter ablation—they try to trigger A-Fib to check that their ablation scars for working. So dental local anesthesia with Epinephrine (Epi) potentially can trigger A-Fib. I found very little info online about this and no studies had been done about dental anesthesia with Epi & A-Fib.

My EP said he thought it would be OK to use. So I had it, and within 30 minutes I was in A-Fib which lasted about 20 minutes and then I went back into NSR.

From then on I requested that my dentist use only local anesthesia without Epi, and I had no more A-Fib episodes. Dentists like to use local anesthesia with Epi because it lasts longer and reduces bleeding locally.

Discuss with your dentist if you think you’re sensitive. Tell him/her you have A-Fib.”

At the Opthamologist: “The drops that the eye doctor uses to dilate your eyes are similar to Adrenalin. Discuss with your eye doctor if you think you’re sensitive. Tell him/her you have A-Fib.”

At the Emergency Room: “In the ER doctors use local anesthesia with Epi to sew up lacerations and/or to do small surgical procedures requiring local anesthesia, because it reduces bleeding locally and lasts longer. Tell your doctor you have A-Fib and discuss your concern that the use of local anesthesia with Epi may trigger your Atrial Fibrillation.”