Coffee and Atrial Fibrillation – Update

Posted on by
2

A couple of years ago I posted an article on this block entitled Does Drinking Coffee Cause Atrial Fibrillation?   

It had been determined that drinking coffee, even in fairly large amounts, did not increase the risk of an individual going into atrial fibrillation.

 

In their analysis, the researchers found that coffee consumption was not associated with AF incidence, even in more extreme levels of coffee consumption.

 

The article went on to state that while drinking coffee does not cause atrial fibrillation individuals who have no history of atrial fibrillation, it was thought that coffee may be related to recurrence of atrial fibrillation and individuals who have the arrhythmia intermittently:

 

“These findings indicate that coffee consumption does not cause atrial fibrillation,” Larsson says. “However, high coffee consumption may still trigger arrhythmia in patients who already have atrial fibrillation.”

 

 

It was stated that more research was necessary. 

A recent, widely reported Australian study, a very large review of existing studies, determined that coffee is likely safe for people with atrial fibrillation.

 

“Although coffee increases your heart rate, it does not make it abnormal,” explained senior researcher Dr. Peter Kistler.  . . . “We found that there is no detrimental effects of coffee on heart rhythm and, in fact, coffee at up to three cups per day may be protective,” he said.

 

Protective?  That sounds like terrific news!  It is always nice to find out that something that is so enjoyable, but which you have assumed is possibly unhealthy, turns out to be not only safe but good for you also, reducing, to a small extent, episodes of atrial  fibrillation.

 

 Kistler’s group found that, among more than 228,000 patients, drinking coffee cut the frequency of episodes of atrial fibrillation by 6 percent. A further analysis of nearly 116,000 patients found a 13 percent risk reduction.

One cup of coffee contains about 95 milligrams of caffeine and acts as a stimulant to the central nervous system.

Caffeine also blocks adenosine, a chemical that can trigger atrial fibrillation, Kistler explained.

 

This study did, however, go on to recommend that people with heart arrhythmias avoid caffeinated energy drinks.  Furthermore, people who are sensitive to caffeine, should still avoid coffee.  Again there are certain people who identify caffeine is a trigger for atrial fibrillation and those individual should, by no means, return to drinking coffee.

 

Please comment with respect to your experiences with coffee, energy drinks, and atrial fibrillation.  Thanks!

The original study can be found here:

 Peter Kistler, MBBS, Ph.D., director, electrophysiology, Alfred Hospital and Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Byron Lee, M.D., professor, medicine, director, electrophysiology laboratories and clinics, University of California, San Francisco; April 16, 2018, JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology

Whatever Happened to AFIB Ultrarunner?

Posted on by
Reply

Sunrise at the start of an ultramarathon

So, whatever happened to “that one guy?” The one with the AFIB Ultrarunner blog?

When I decided to start this blog I had, of course, scanned the internet for similar blogs, and I found AFIB Ultrarunner. This was a somewhat short-lived but excellent 2010 blog by an unnamed man who was an ultrarunner, who like me, was dealing with atrial fibrillation (AF).

“Afibultrarunner” was actually the name I originally chose for this blog, but it was taken so that’s okay, I’d be simply “afibrunner.”

I’m particularly interested in contacting him for two reasons.

First of all, at the time I was starting this blog I was personally just starting to train for ultras. In fact, I went into permanent AF right at the end of a twenty mile training run while trying to train for my first 50K.  I didn’t really know how to train so I was simply running a twenty mile trail run every weekend and I truly loved those long, slow training runs; but evidently that wasn’t a good idea given what happened!

Second of all the AFIB Ultrarunner guy had had an ablation, and has an excellent description of his experience. I have never had an ablation and likely never will (I’ve been told my chances at success are poor) and wanted to find out how he did on a long term basis. At this point I’d really like to find somebody to write about the experience for this blog – but I’ve never been able to find out who he is or how to contact him.

His blog is excellent and ends, I think, on a very sad note:

My cardiac procedure was painful or uncomfortable in constantly new ways for 20 hours.  I think I took it

pretty well, but at the time I thought that that day would be amongst the worst in my life, as in up

there with losing a spouse, child or dying yourself (although this just might be my inexperience with death speaking.)  Also I tried two drugs and nothing worked. Also my condition effects my day to day life more, such as it is now harder to carry dog food from the car without an attack, and my running has suffered.

Lets hope 2011 has more adventure running, and less heart problems.

 

And that was the end. I’m curious. How’s he doing now? Still running? Still dealing with AF? Maybe he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore – he is a little secretive about his identity, although there is a photo of him during a 50 mile race but there’s no contact info. A fifty mile race while dealing with AF – not too shabby!

Hey, man, if you’re out there let me know!

Famous Athletes with Atrial Fibrillation

Posted on by
4

Famous Athletes with Atrial Fibrillation

This quick article is presented here just so you don’t feel you are all alone with your athlete’s heart in atrial fibrillation (AF).

This article from Everyday Health, which you may have already seen, reveals nine well known athletes who had AF.

1.) Billie Jean King, the iconic tennis hero, went into AF in 2015 and had a successful ablation. “Today, King says she continues to eat well and exercise, and she’s teamed up with Janssen Pharmaceuticals to educate patients about their afib-related stroke risk.”

2.) Basketball legend Larry Bird evidently had AF symptoms while he was playing (tachycardia, lightheadedness, disorientation) but never reported it to his team physician. After he retired in 1992 he was formally diagnosed with AF, which the article states he now has “under control.” (Whatever that means)

3.) Canadian professional triathlete Karsten Madsen was diagnosed with AF in 2010 and was successfully cardioverted, and reportedly continues to compete.

4.) World Class tennis pro Mardy Fish dropped out of the 2013 French Open with a mystery illness later diagnosed as AF, and treated with ablation. I’m not sure if he continued to play, but he is currently retired from tennis.

2014, Tour de France, tappa 10 Mulhouse – La Planche des Belles Filles, Belkin 2014, Trek Factory 2014, Mollema Bauke, Zubeldia Agirre Haimar, La Planche des Belles Filles

5.) Spanish pro road cyclist Haimar Zubeldia was sidelined for three months with AF, but with rest and treatment he was able to return to competitive cycling and finished sixth overall in the Tour de France that same year. Wow!

6.) Olympic rower Nicola Coles (New Zealand) developed AF weeks before the Beijing Olympics, and was cardioverted.  Because many common AF treatment drugs are banned  for Olympic athletes her treatment options were limited and she ended up using magnesium and fish oil to control her symptoms. her symptoms did not recur and she competed in Beijing with her teammate and they finished fifth. She subsequently retired from competition.

7.) US astronaut Deke Slayton, one of the original Mercury program astronauts was diagnosed with AF; but he continued with his astronaut training program. In 1970 he had his AF under control and was reinstated to full flight status and eventually was able to pilot the first Apollo Docking Module for the Apollo Soyuz Project. 

8.) Eight time Olympic champion canoe racer Brigit Fischer was diagnosed with AF and forced to drop her plans of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics at the age of fifty:

Though she believed she was in better shape than in her last Olympic comeback, Fischer admitted that being told she had atrial fibrillation confirmed her suspicions that something was wrong. Already the most decorated Olympian in German history and only the third woman to win at least eight gold medals, Fischer decided her health was more important than another medal. 

9.) Fourteen time NBA All-Star Jerry West played with AF symptoms believing them to be panic attacks. He was eventually was diagnosed with AF, was cardioverted, but continued to have to deal with AF.

If that isn’t enough you can check out this site:

53 best Celebrities with A-Fib images on Pinterest  Although I haven’t really taken a long look at this site, and can’t attest to it’s accuracy it’s oddly comforting to think that we’re not only in the same boat as folks above, but also with people like Gene Simmons and Barry Manilow.

 

Alcohol, Athletes, and Atrial Fibrillation

Posted on by
8

Alcohol, Athletes, and Atrial Fibrillation

 

Beer drinking with my buddies at Marster Springs Campground

Does alcohol cause atrial fibrillation (AF)?

We’ve been reading for years that a glass of wine or two can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke; and it’s pretty clear if you’ve been hanging around at the finish lines of marathons, ultras, and long distance bicycling events that endurance athletes like to drink alcohol. Also, some studies have shown that endurance athletes have up to a five-fold increase risk of AF. 

So . . . is alcohol consumption a risk factor for endurance athletes dealing with AF?

Uhh . . . yeah.

Drinking alcohol frequently raises the likelihood of developing AF,  and more alcohol means more risk. One to three drinks (considered to be “moderate drinking”) increases the chances of AF, and “heavy drinking” (four or more drinks per day) increases the odds even more. It’s been suggested that every extra daily drink increases the risk by 8%!

Even if you aren’t a daily drinker so-called binge drinking, defined as five or more drinks in a day, also increases the chances of AF. (Some call it “binge drinking,” I might call it any weekend during my college years!)

Typical weekend from my college days

So how much alcohol is safe? Once you’ve been diagnosed with AF one or two drinks per day is probably safe, but three or more may be likely to trigger an episode. Also – make sure you figure out how much alcohol is one drink – a standard glass of wine versus a large glass of wine. A bottle of American light beer is going to be less alcohol than a bottle of craft brew IPA or stout.

My personal advice is that once you are diagnosed with AF the best move would be to quit alcohol altogether. That’s what I did. But consider that this advice is coming from a guy who is in permanent AF.

A very helpful WebMD article advises that even with moderate drinking you should avoid drinking every day: 

Even if you drink moderately, experts suggest you take a few days off from drinking alcohol every week.

  • Limit yourself to one to two drinks a day.
  • Try to have 2 to 3 alcohol-free days every week.
  • Talk to your doctor if you have an episode of AFib within an hour of drinking alcohol.

 

Exactly how does alcohol increase the chances of AF?

It isn’t clear why, but it is thought that hit might be related to increasing vagal tone. The more alcohol you drink, the higher the vagal tone. Another idea is that dehydration caused by alcohol triggers AF. A lot of people with AF know that alcohol can trigger their AF. Let’s face it – alcohol is basically a toxin with some pleasant side effects.

If you already are being treated for AF alcohol can interfere with the treatment – increase blood pressure, interact with anticoagulants, etc.

What is “Holiday Heart”?

Basically it is a nickname for the way heavy drinking around the holidays, so called “binge drinking” can trigger AF. According to Medscape:

Holiday heart syndrome most commonly refers to the association between alcohol use and rhythm disturbances, particularly supraventricular tachyarrhythmias in apparently healthy people. Similar reports have indicated that recreational use of marijuana may have corresponding effects.

 

The most common rhythm disorder is atrial fibrillation, which usually converts to normal sinus rhythm within 24 hours. Holiday heart syndrome should be particularly considered as a diagnosis in patients without structural heart disease and with new-onset atrial fibrillation.  Although the syndrome can recur, its clinical course is benign, and specific antiarrhythmic therapy is usually not indicated. Interestingly, even modest alcohol intake can be identified as a trigger in some patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. 

Finally – what is meant by “Drinker’s Heart” (a.k.a “beer drinker’s heart”)?

That’s cardiomyopathy, a serious disease of the heart muscle, related to chronic heavy drinking. Don’t let it happen to you. It’s bad.

 

beerMPG

I would love to have any readers with comments post them below. I’d love to hear from  athlete’s with atrial fibrillation who have had experience with alcohol as a trigger. Thanks for reading.

 

Jim and Alison’s Story – a Guest Post by Alison

Posted on by
2

Note: I had originally intended to post the article about atrial fibrillation and alcohol today, but I’m going to hold off and post, instead, this excellent guest post from Jim and Alison. Wow – I can’t relay relate to their story! Please comment below.

Jim Competing in a Triathlon

My husband Jim started running 35 yrs ago.

He and a neighbor were doing races for fun. At 6’2 with a swimmer’s build he had always been active with distance hiking as a teenager and as an adult he added martial arts, weight lifting and biking.

Once the kids were on their own we had more time to devote to our love of running and hiking, soon discovering the incredible joy of trail running and hikes rated ‘Very Strenuous’. We traveled across the US to hike and even started to explore trail running and hiking in the Alps. Jim added triathlons and spent most of his free time working hard to maintain that level of fitness. Then he began “hitting a wall” during runs and hikes. We would laughed it off, he would eat an energy gel, and then pushed on through it. We had all kinds of reasons for “The Wall”. We even changed the term to a “Flat Tire”. Some excuses were: Didn’t sleep well the night before, needed more carbs, exercised too much the day before, and the list goes on.

What raised a warning flag was when we ran a simple 5K fund raiser where he worked. It was an out and back and as always he quickly disappeared ahead of me. Soon the fast runners began appearing on the return side, but no Jim. As I approached the turn around point there he was walking and looking awful. We both didn’t laugh this time but he seemed fine later that day. Something was wasn’t right, but he was fine…right? The “Flat Tire” problem continued on and off. Then one day while lifting weights in the basement he came to the top of the steps looking ash grey, swaying unsteadily and saying “Something is wrong with me! My heart is beating weird.”

Pumping Iron

 

At the General Practitioners office the Nurse Practitioner brushed it off that he must have stood up too fast. She never took his pulse or blood pressure. After all he obviously looked in excellent shape!

I called a cardiologist group from a University in our area for their take on this and when I briefly explained what had happened they said Jim needed to be seen the next day. Wow! I felt a twinge of anxiety. At the cardiologist office there were no smiles from the doctor seeing Jim. Jim was given an EKG and asked many questions about his medical history and life style. Then oddly the doctor asked him how long had he been an athlete. We both looked at each other and chuckled ! Jim quickly corrected him, “Oh no! I’m not an athlete! I’m just having fun running, doing triathlons and hiking. It’s a good stress release too.” I was nodding with a big smile in agreement.

The doctor unsmiling replied “Triathlons too? So your an endurance athlete then with many years of distance running.”

We both stared at the doctor confused. Then the doctor grabbed the EKG paper and waved it at us sternly stating, “You have serious heart disease!! Your heart rate is very high, blood pressure high and your heart is in arrhythmia!”

“That’s impossible!” I protested, “Jim is in really good shape! He doesn’t even have a gut and he’s only 56!”

The doctor glanced up from his paperwork at my shirtless husband sitting on the examination table and said, “Yes he is in good shape, but his heart isn’t!”

I found myself starting to argue with the doctor and stopped. He was obviously used to the denial routine and was ignoring me.

So we sat there slack jawed for about 15 minutes as the doctor explained how Jim had gone way passed the point of moderate exercise benefits. He told us about the scarring, inflammation and the damage caused by not resting during long runs and pushing through tough workouts. And how many other people had, and were, doing the same thing to their hearts. Oh, and that shot of fine bourbon he so enjoyed every night? No more. We learned that alcohol is poison to the heart muscle. 

We’d never heard of any of this before, nor did we even consider ourselves athletes. The years of Jim enjoying his passions weren’t adding years to his life but were shortening it! I wondered if I’d damaged my heart as well. I get “Flat Tires” all the time, jeez…. Hiking was our joy in life together! We couldn’t just stop running and hiking. It was part of who we are!

We left the doctors office silently with scripts for blood work, several different cardiac tests, and prescriptions for a blood thinner, as well as a medication to reduce his heart rate. All of this to lessen his chance of stroke. Appointments were made with other doctors in the cardiology group as well. (Our care was excellent, by the way.) Jim was told he could still workout but not to push. With any luck he could stay this way for the next three maybe five years before needing an ablation. That sounded very scary! Your going to burn what?!!Where?!!

Jim was handed a wallet sized laminated card with a copy of his EKG on one side and the doctor’s business card on the other.

“Please call us immediately if you have any problems. One of our team will meet you at the hospital. Give this card to the ER personnel.”

Really?!!! Wow!!! WTH?? Well, at least he might have three to five years, so everything’s ok….I guess… right?

One of the tests revealed a slightly enlarged heart. We were told again the ablation would help the AF, a temporary fix, but there was no cure. The ablation surgery could also make it stay the same, or it could make it worse. We both figured he had a few years before it got worse so we decided to wait. Unfortunately we didn’t have the five years or even three – Jim’s problems increased rapidly. He started having trouble going up the stairs at work. He was getting more and more tired. There were days where his face looked grey and haggard. His heart beat wildly in his chest. He began spending more and more time having “lazy days” where he would spend all day laying on the sofa watching tv, too dizzy and exhausted to do much else. Sleep was difficult as his hearts crazy beats kept him awake.

Interestingly family insisted he was fine! Not Jim! He’s in great shape! Wish I looked like him! He’s just stressed and needs to take yoga classes! So we had no much needed support. His episodes of AF were soon lasting for days. He was in AF more then out. I stopped tracking it on the calendar. Jim’s mood tanked. During the autumn of 2016 he decided he wasn’t going to let this best him so we went away to hike in the Blue Ridge mountains. The ascent that should have taken us three hours took almost six. I watched my husband frustrated and angry as he struggled to get up that mountain. I don’t know how many times I had to stop and wait for the man who always used to have to wait for me. The next day he was too weak to leave the car for an easy three mile hike to an overlook. I realized our time in the outdoors was now over and so were all our plans for good times.

Jim decided he wanted the ablation surgery.

He retired from his job before the surgery. Having already buried our son, Jimmy, several years ago from the war, mortality wasn’t the stranger it is to most people. We even had an intense discussion with the surgical team right outside the operation room over the forms Jim had signed. Apparently they don’t tell you everything that they are going to do during the ablation! Jim had a DNR order.

“I don’t want to be resuscitated if my heart stops,” stated my husband. But as it turns out, if the heart doesn’t reset itself after the ablation then the doctor will shock it back into rhythm, which in fact stops the heart, albeit but a moment. It was finally agreed that as long as Jim didn’t come out of the operating room worse then before he went in the team could do whatever they felt necessary.

 

He’s Primarily a Hiker Now

It’s been almost a year since the surgery and Jim only has that flipping feeling several times a week and his energy is back. He prognosis is: If he goes one full year post surgery without going into AF then he has a 70% chance of staying AF free for another three years. So we are back enjoying our hikes! But now we have put a limit on them. Six hours or ten miles whichever comes first, pace: 2.5 mph, not 4 mph. Plus the doctor recommended break every hour. We both gave up running. The doctors said he could still run but we already know he has damaged his heart enough and don’t need to hurry the AF back any faster then need be. As it will return! One of our doctors said, “Once in constant AF the heart wants to stay in constant AF.”

Cycling and AF Blog

Posted on by
4

John’s Bike

I’d like to recommend that readers of this blog take some time to check out the Cycling and AF Blog , if you haven’t already done so.

In this easy to read blog, with generally short entries, you’ll read of the personal journey of a middle aged road cyclist /club rider from England.

His atrial fibrillation (AF) began with some vague  symptoms in 2015, eventually diagnosed as AF. Follow his personal journey dealing with alcohol, coffee, diminished cycling performance, beta blockers (and other AF drugs), two ablations (!) and an Atricip procedure.

I think readers of this blog will find his journey interesting. Based in England the healthcare system is different, as are some names – a TEE (trans-esophageal echocardiogram), for example, is a TOE (trans-oesophageal echocardiogram).

I would certainly like to learn about the Atriclip procedure – I’ll research that and post about it in the future.

Speaking of alcohol – I’m planning my next blog post to be about alcohol and AF.

I hope you enjoy the Cycling and AF Blog as much as I did.

This is me, in AF, riding around Crater Lake

Endurance Sports and Atrial Fibrillation – WHY?

Posted on by
9

Endurance Sports and Atrial Fibrillation – WHY?

starting a long run on the local PCT. We saw a bear that day – fun.

Exercise is supposed to be good for you, good for your heart, right? Then why is that endurance athletes have two to ten times the rate of developing atrial fibrillation compared to “normal” people? Is a little or moderate exercise good but excessive exercise bad? As an endurance athlete (marathons, trail running, long distance mountain and road biking) who has permanent atrial fibrillation (AF) I would certainly like to understand “WHY?”

There is a terrific article on Europace entitled Endurance Sport Practice as a Risk Factor for Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter . By internet standards it’s a long read but I will review it here.

The studies aren’t large, and male athletes predominate – but it is clear that endurance athletes have, as mentioned above – 2 to 10 times the likelihood of developing AF. It is not actually known why but it is thought that ectopic atrial beats, chronic inflammation, and larger atrial size are all risk factors.

Personally – the story checks out – I started having runs of “premature atrial contractions” years before ever going into AF, and because endurance athletes train more frequently and tend to avoid rest the atria are chronically inflamed, which leads to fibrosis (scarring) of the atrial muscle. And of course my left atrium has been severely enlarged for decades – not as much because of sports but because I had previously had mitral regurgitation (repaired surgically 1994 but the atrium never shrunk back to normal).

But even without the mitral valve issues endurance athletes tend to have enlarged atria. And we don’t rest enough leading to inflammation and scarring. The Europace article cites several studies that link long term endurance sports with AF, compared to sedentary individuals.

Moderate exercise may actually protect against AF.

Ringo after a long run – Fremont Trail

The Europace article also cites studies that show a correlation with “occupational physical activity” and AF – meaning people that have difficult, physically demanding jobs are also in the same boat as endurance athletes.

I didn’t know this – there is also a higher rate of AF related to how tall a person is – damn! I’m 6’3” (or 6’4” – depending on what year was measured.)

The article discusses, speculates, as to the mechanism of AF in the athlete’s heart but much of this is a bit technical for this blog. Feel free to explore the article if you are curious.

The typical clinical profile of sport-related AF or atrial flutter is a middle-aged man (in his forties or fifties) who has been involved in regular endurance sport practice since his youth (soccer, cycling, jogging, and swimming), and is still active. This physical activity is his favourite leisure time activity and he is psychologically very dependent on it. 

Interestingly the AF rarely occurs during running:

They almost never occur during exercise. This makes the patient reluctant to accept a relationship between the arrhythmia and sport practice, particularly since his physical condition is usually very good. The crises typically become more frequent and prolonged over the years and AF becomes persistent. Progression to permanent AF has been described by Hoogsteen et al .

Again, for me, the story checks out. I certainly recall long episodes of palpitations at rest that I now can identify as AF – until the day when it became (dreaded) permanent AF!

The article suggests that abstinence from sports is helpful for athletes having episodes of AF, although it isn’t curative. The problem, as any endureance athletes knows, is that it is nearly impossible to get us to give up our long runs, bike rides, etc.

Other therapeutic measures are also discussed – but that is a talk that is best left to the runner and the cardiologist.

Although ablation seems to be quite effective, endurance sport cessation associated with drug therapy seems to us a more suitable approach as an initial therapy, particularly in non-professional, veteran athletes.

To conclude I’m just going to quote their conclusions right here:

Vigorous physical activity, whether related to long-term endurance sport practice or to occupational activities, seems to increase the risk for recurrent AF. The underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated, although structural atrial changes (dilatation and fibrosis) are probably present. There is a relationship between accumulated hours of practice and AF risk. Further studies are needed to clarify whether a threshold limit for the intensity and duration of physical activity may prevent AF, without limiting the cardiovascular benefits of exercise.

I’d be interested in others opinions and experiences with these issues. Reading this article was a little emotional for me – like I said – the story checks out! I guess that if I knew what I know now I might have cut down a little on the endurance sports before I was forced to do so by permanent AF. Truly, for me, a day long run with my dog, on a trail, in a local wilderness area was the most enjoyable thing I can imagine. And at this point it isn’t even the AF preventing me from still doing it – it’s the  high dose of beta blocker I take for rate control – really takes the wind out of my sails.

 

 

“C’mon Boss, let’s go for a trail run!”

Bariatric Surgery Lowers the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation

Posted on by
Reply

Bariatric Surgery Lowers the Risk of Atrial Fibrillation

I’m not sure how much this applies to endurance athletes, but I found this interesting. As, I think, everyday knows, obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, and that includes atrial fibrillation. Researchers in Sweden recently published a study where they followed 4200 obese individuals with normal sinus rhythm (ie. not in a fib at the beginning of the study) for an average of nineteen years. During that period approximately half of the subjects had had bariatric surgery – basically various surgical procedures to rearrange the internal organs to force the patient to eat less and absorb less resulting in significant, life-changing weight loss.

The study found that 12.4% in the surgery/weight loss group experienced atrial fibrillation compared to 16.8% in the non-surgical/still obese group. That’s a 29% lower rate of developing atrial fibrillation for the surgery/weight loss group. Furthermore the study also concluded that, “Compared with usual care, weight loss through bariatric surgery reduced the risk of atrial fibrillation among persons being treated for severe obesity. The risk reduction was more apparent in younger people and in those with higher blood pressure.”

(Citation is HERE)

Other studies have shown that weight loss can be helpful in reversing atrial fibrillation and that ablation success rate is improved with weight control. I don’t have literature citations but I read this here.

So what does this have to do with endurance athletes with A fib? All endurance athletes are already thin, right? Well, obviously that isn’t true; but probably very few endurance athletes would meet the criteria for bariatric surgery. So we should be in the low risk group to begin with – so why do so many endurance athletes end up in a fib?

Well, as everybody knows distant runners and other endurance athletes often gain weight when they have to quit or reduce exercises because of, say, atrial fibrillation. These studies suggest better outcomes with weight control regardless of method.

As to why endurance athletes have a higher rate of A fib – I’ll address that in next weeks post.

Thanks for reading – please feel free to post comments below.

Watchman Device Update

Posted on by
3

A little one a year ago I wrote about the Watchman device. People with atrial fibrillation often develop a blood clot in the part of the left atrium called the left atrial appendage. This Watchman device basically closes off this area to prevent clot formation.

Last time I wrote the device was relatively new (long term data wasn’t yet available), and based on my research it didn’t seem like a great choice. I would refer you to this excellent article on John Mandrola, MD’s blog: Say No to Watchman.

As a person who has already had a ministroke and a verified blood clot in my left atrial appendage, well yes, I am very interested in a device that would prevent me from having a stroke which, at this point, for me, seems pretty much inevitable. Technology improves over time, right?

So what is going on with the Watchman now?

Well, Boston Scientific released its final five year outcome data from the PREVAIL study, along with five year outcome data from the PROTECT-AF trial. I would refer you to an excellent article in Cardiac Rhythm News (link).

At first look I was fairly optimistic:

In the PREVAIL and PROTECT-AF randomized clinical trials, LAAC with the WATCHMAN device was compared to warfarin for stroke prevention in high-risk patients with non-valvular AF. In addition to stroke prevention comparable to warfarin, the analysis concluded the WATCHMAN device also effectively reduced non-procedure related major bleeding, disabling or fatal stroke, and mortality.

Source Cardiac Rhythm News

I had been thinking the best course of action would be to, perhaps, have a Watchman implant and just remain anti coagulated. After researching this, however, that doesn’t seem like a good plan. The Watchman device has been shown to protect from strokes with an outcome similar to warfarin; but it turns out most of the additional benefit of the Watchman is basically related to the fact that those patients didn’t suffer as many warfarin related side effects/deaths from strokes caused by bleeding or from other major bleeds:

The analysis confirmed a 55% reduction in disabling or fatal stroke, largely driven by an 80% statistically significant reduction in hemorrhagic stroke. Further, the combined data demonstrated a 52% decrease in non-procedure related major bleeding and 27% reduction in all-cause mortality when compared to long-term warfarin therapy

Source Cardiac Rhythm News

At best, regrettably, the Watchman device might be equivalent to warfarin as far as stroke prevention is concerned, but not necessarily better. At best, I think, it would be a good choice for people who have had problems (such as bleeding) with warfarin; but it hasn’t been tested on people who are not eligible for anticoagulation (who are generally less healthy patients). And the Watchman hasn’t been tested against the newer anticoagulants (Pradaxa, Eliquis, Xarelto) which may actually be more effective than warfarin.

So I’m just going to keep watching and hoping for a better option than the Watchman device. I’d be interested in your opinions, and especially in the opinions of anybody reading this who has had a Watchman implant. Please comment below.