Just been diagnosed with Afib

Sounds like holiday heart.  Im sure you'll get several answers from the people on this website.  good luck!

Andy, you need to be treated to my sad (not really) tale: I am an olympic class drinker (on furlough since 1999) who frequently experienced a chestful of hammering heart in the middle of post drunk sleep. One time, when I was a little older than you, the aberation continued into the next day prompting me to go see a doctor who said it was "holiday heart". Thereafter I had occasional episodes (the doc word is paroxysmal atrial fibrillation) with decreasing intervals starting with months and ending with days. I began spending more time with cardiologists (it's my HEART, for God's sake) being treated with a succession of unsuccessful drugs and continuing the inexorable path to chronicity (afib all the time). I even had a right-sided ablation, also unsuccessful, and was constantly on warfarin, a blood thinner which is intended to reduce the risk of stroke attendant the fibrillation induced inefficiency of the atria causing little clots to form in the left atrial appendage, migrate to the brain and cause much mischief. After, what?, forty years since my first experience with this ratty condition, I am now on warfarin and control my level of anticoagulation through self testing. I am 78 years old and live a marvelous life. My wife and I take yearly (so far) bicycling vacations (cargo shorts, not spandex), exercise vigorously and regularly, and plan, with the concurrence of cardiologists, to live long enough and actively enough to spend the major part of our childrens' inheritance. Bad news for them, good news for you. This disease is rotten, intrusive, worrisome and a general pain, but absent a stroke it probably will not kill you. You will live to your use-by date and to the extent you can do so, you should not give this foul condition the dignity of letting it interrupt your joy any more than is absolutely necessary. I quit drinking, probably a good idea, and I also quit caffeine, but I didn't last on that one. Thin blood, moderate exercise and lots of sex. I made that last one up, but I think I'm right. Be well, Andy.

If you end up with AF and on all the drugs it isn't much fun so that is best avoided unless necessary.  I would treat this event as a one off and hopefully not repeated event.   The cardiologist will reassess in 2 months and it sounds like me a good idea to see if it is all now settled.    You don't want to go on all the drugs unless you need to.    AF is a bit of a random problem but the number of people on this site who mention heavy drinking and lot of food being a trigger is amazing.    Our bodies do the best they can all the time but sometimes they are overloaded and they shout out loud and clear to you.      I'd follow the advise you are given reduce the alchohol and don't eat heavy late meals.     You talk about anxiety and I would also look at getting some help with that.   If you start getting anxious about AF then you won't help the situation.   I'd be mindful of what has happened but try and forget it until you see the cariologist.     I'd also leave looking up on Internet unless  you have repeat events in future.   It's a warning and you know what not to do.    Good Luck. 

Andy,

you have had a couple of good replies. I too was a world clas drinker. I don't like taking all the drugs so am trying to change lifestyle. Eat sensibly, take plenty of excercise and, moderate alcohol. I find I am able to take a couple of beers or share a bottle of wine with my wife but not everyday.

reg

Potassium and magnesiumm are key ions needed for a healthy heart rythm. When you drink too much alcohol you are p*ssing out a lot of the potassium and magnesium and the result is "holiday heart" which has killed thousands and is a cause of aifb.  You probably have a lousy daily diet also, so you should ditch the sugar and focus on nuts and grains. Excess alcohol, sugar and caffeine along with stress cause potassium and magnesium levels to decrease. Everything in moderation, but as you get oplder, those deficiencies accumulate.

Frank