Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) and associated digestive problems?

Yes Edward. I am on Apixaban since January and I get high abdominal pain and bloating/diarrhoea. I've had all investigations but I'm told I have IBS. It's strange that my afib seems to come on when I'm having a bad IBS attack. I'm wondering if it's the Apixaban that is causing this. Are you on an anticoagulant now? Does it have side effects?

I'm sitting with palpitations that have been going for about 4 hours now. I am wondering if it is because I took a laxative and am now bloated. Maybe I should've considered that it is a stimulant? I've been dealing this for five ears now but must confess I don't take care of myself. Would love to hear from someone who has had success thru diet and exercise. Maybe it would motivate me to do the same!

Such an interesting thread.  Over the years I have had bouts of indigestion and reflux accompanied by a feeling of fast heart beat, which of course being male I ignored!!  Some 2 years ago I went for a routine BP check and my heart beat was 180 at the time I had not been aware of any symptons.  After hospital checks I was put on Bisoprolol and a blood thinner this has knocked my heart rate down to the 50s and occasionally 61 or so, I was offered an ablation but warned they do not always work so I elected not to have this procedure.  I have been fairly clear of AF for nearly a year now but today my pulse rate went haywire missing beats etc and 124 speed at the same time indigestion stomach gurgling and an oppressive heavy feeling at the back of my neck.  I have usually found that bouts of AF do occur at the same time as indigestion problems.  The symptons also cause me to feel slightly faint when getting up and moving around.  I am in the UK, my Doctor did an ECG and said nothing to worry about but come back if I get chest pains too!!  I will search for information on the Vagus nerve.  Thank you all for making me feel that I am not imagining the digestive connection.

I had not been too bad for quite a while, I always get missed beats throughout the day but some days I get loads of them. I had missed taking my Senna tablets as it was thought I had Diverticulitis but I had the camera up and down and found nothing. Due to not take the Senna tablets the night before, my PAFib was so much worse it is like your body cannot cope with food or bowel contents and decides to freak out. I was given Bisprolol on the second occasion but I only really see the doctor when it gets into a crazy rhythm as the doctor said not to take the medication when it is just a fast beat or random missed beats, only if it is has been longer than 15 minutes in a very odd rhythm. It is strange that all of us on here have had digestive or bowel problems so surely they must now make the link? Stress also causes it but then stress makes digestive and bowel problems worse. I find I do some exercise if I can between the weird feeling I get and by doing that it sometimes rights itself and it gets worse if I lie on my right side and not my left. I have had it for 10 years now and it is scary it does make you have a sudden headache and makes my face hot. I wish I didn't have it but these things you have to live with and learn how to cope with it the best you can by finding out what triggers it.

I also have Diverticulitis but have not been prescribed anything.  So far today my erratic and fast heartbeat together with indigestion has lasted 8 hours with no sign of abating.  As you say we have to live with things!

I discovered afib by accident.  I receive an Apple watch as a present.  One day I decided to fiddle with it and see what the heart icon was showing.  It showed a pulse variation between about 50 and 173.  Three ECGs and ER monitors confirmed I was in afib.  But, the interesting thing was I was constipated at the time a arrived at ER, and while still in ER, I went to the bathroom.  Within about 30 mins, the afib was gone and while in ER another ECG confirmed that fact.  Coincidence?  Note that I have been fighting 3-day constipation cycles for over 3 years.  What was afib I thought was digestive sensations!  I suppose I was lucky because the only medication I was taking was baby aspirins.  Now, I am on a blood thinner (Eliquist).  ?I made the constipation-afib connection with considerable hindsight!  I now work with both GI and Cardio doctors, and I'm still in the midst of testing and attempting to isolate constipation as the sole cause of my afib.  However, I am amassing data largely with the help of an iPhone app, Cardiogram, that works with the watch.  It provides a good way to keep a brief journal of afib episodes and digestive situations (or any other events that might be associated with afib).  At this point, the data point to the conclusion that for me, constipation is triggered between 3-4 days of constipation, and arrhythmic measured by the watch stops within 1-2 hours after bowel movement.  In my situation, the difficulty is solving the constipation issue reliably without using extreme drugs to do so.  I'll check back again to this forum in a few months with better data.  But, at this point I strongly recommend anyone having afib and an apple watch/iPhone combination use it to "journalize" GI issues.  That's what I am doing, and I am sharing the results with both my GI and Cardio doctors.  The working hypothesis is that bowel distention and/or chemical reactions attributable to constipation trigger Vagus nerve activity in the gut.  Because the Vagus works both with the guts and the heart, there may be digestive-related signals attributed to constipation that cause interference with signals also going to  the heart.  That interference may be the cause of my afib.  I am quick to point out, however, that there are no medical studies that either look at that hypothesis or support it!  So, I'm the Guinea test subject! 

Hi Edward, I have found since being given Senna to take at night that mine is rare now so by having your bowels open every day as like you I would go three days and it made it much worse, it seems to have solved the problem.

I hope you manage to get a definitive answer so we can actually know there is a link.

Edward,hopefully by now you have received some answers to your problem. I have digestive problems with my AF also.Both a pain in my stomach and heartburn. My cardiologist didn't think they were related, but my internist believed they were. He put me on protonic and said to take an antacid between. I am going to put myself on a gerd diet to cut down on the acid. Drinking ice water will sometimes help the AF. Hope this helps and the best to you Bettie

Edward your symptoms sound like mine,usually at night when I like down.Sounds like gastroesophageal reflux disease.

I completely concur with you all. What to do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=168&v=bwgDFHOkR20

HI,

I have Paroxysmal Afib too. I notice that indigestion, salty food, bloating, being constipated, eating too big a portion at one time etc. can bring on an episode. For me even eating gluten can instigate an episode. My episodes last anywhere from 9 to 48 hours.

The vagus nerve can be irritated or inflamed ( from the list above) and cause an Afib episode. I recently read a medical article about "VAGAL AFIB" being a new category.

So your observations about what triggers your own afib are founded.