correlation between apnea and A fib

[newname]

MY cardio told me A-Fib and sleep apnea seem to be related. He said most people he sees with A-fib have apnea.
Has anyone else been told this?

[Kate M]

There is a strong correlation between A-Fib and Sleep Apnea. Numerous studies have shown that people with OSA, (severe OSA in particular,) are far more likely to develop Atrial Fibrillation. People with Atrial Fibrillation also have a higher prevalence of OSA than people without it. As far as I know, there is no clear answer as to whether OSA is actually a causal factor in Atrial Fibrillation (or vice versa.) It is well known that there is a correlation however.

Blessings,

Kate

[TangledHose]

about a month after my sleep study that showed severe OSA I ended up being diagnosed with a pretty severe case of A-Fib as well, so I can vouch for the relationship of the two.............after trying several different drugs for the A-Fib I ended up having a Cox Maze procedure that got rid of the A-Fib and I have been using CPAP to control the OSA ever since. Don't know if one caused the other or vise versa or if they both just popped up at the same time, but from my personal experience they go hand-in-hand.

[MsBea]

I had afib and while hospitalized they said I had very low oxygen while sleeping and to get checked asap. My husband had told me before that I stopped breathing sometimes, but I shrugged it off until I got sick. I believe my osa caused my afib.

[Lsfreese@fuse.net]

I had A-Flutter that landed me in the hospital 3years ago. The cardiologist did a cardio inversion, got my heart back in rythem and sent me to a sleep specialist and a sleep study. I had more than 70 incidents per hour, definitely sleep apnea. They put me on a machine and I have not had any recurrence of the a-flutter.

[newname]

My oxygen while sleeping seems to be okay. Maybe having such severe apnea causes A fib, but I wear my mask every night, so it was a surprise to wake up, take off the mask, and feel my heart going out of control like that. I got a ride to the ER and they said my heart was beating 160. It lasted 6 hours.
Maybe I should get something to wear at night to see how my oxygen is all night. I'm hoping I never get A fib again. My cardiologist tried switching one of my blood pressure medicines to diltiazam and my pulse went down to 40 after 2 days so she put me back on amlodipine.
What experiences have all of you had with medications and A fib?

[HoseCrusher]

Diltiazam is a fast acting heart rate drug. It can quickly (within hours) drop your pulse rate about in half. I believe the idea is that if you slow things down the heart will go back to normal rhythm.

Many are able to prevent additional occurrences of afib by using magnesium.

[rosacer]

I have a friend who was diagnosed with A-fib and then they found he had sleep apnea. He told the CPAP was for the old people (he was almost 70 at the time) and he didn't want the machine. He lost weight and his condition improved but then he gained it back and returned to the same condition.

Two years later and 3 cardioversion + 2 pacemakers his A fib was irreversible, he had a pacemaker + defibrillator and still very ill. He accepted the CPAP one year ago but his heart is finish.

Yes I think Sleep apnea can produce A-fib.

[newname]

If I take a calcium supplement that has magnesium in it, is that enough to prevent A fib?

Another question, why would the cardio prescribe Diltiazem if my heart rate is only in the 50's? Isn't that asking for trouble? She said if I go into A fib again, instead of my heart going to 150 it would only go to about 115.

[Slinky]

I've been fortunate. Both my OSA and my A fib were Dx'd as "mild". Rythmol has controlled any tendency for my heart rhythm to go off kilter and Toprol has slowed my heart rate (I also have COPD so a tendency to a speeded up heart rate). I haven't had an episode of A-fib (that I am aware of) since the 3rd day of starting Rythmol. I've been on Rythmol for 2 1/2 years now.

[HoseCrusher]

newname, The short answer is NO.

Supplements that contain both calcium and magnesium usually have them in the balance needed in the body. If your diet was deficient in both calcium and magnesium the supplements would be very beneficial. Unfortunately most people have a diet that is very high in calcium so the body gets overloaded with calcium and the magnesium provided in the supplements is not enough to be effective. In addition magnesium by itself behaves differently than a calcium/magnesium combination.

Magnesium for afib is more effective when it is taken by itself and separate from other supplements by a couple of hours or so.

An excellent book on magnesium is "The Magnesium Miracle" by Dr. Carolyn Dean.

Pharmacology is a complex science. As I understand it, and I am not a medical professional, diltiazem in lower doses is used to control blood pressure and to control high heart rate the dose is increased. I suppose it is reasonable that a moderate dose may limit the fast heart rate but I don't know that for sure. Years ago when I first discovered I had afib I was told to double the diltiazem dose when I popped into afib until I could get to the doctors office. Since then I have been able to eliminate the incidences of afib using magnesium.

I will add that using magnesium for afib is a process that is rather involved in getting the correct dose figured out. The first step is finding a source of magnesium that is easily absorbed by the body. Once you find that you need to figure out the dose and timing. If you take too much you end up sitting on the toilet for an extended period of time because magnesium acts like a laxative.

I tried several different approaches and amounts and just to throw some numbers out I ended up taking magnesium 3 times a day. If I am using ReMag I take 750 mg a day. If I am using Magnesium Malate I use 850 mg a day. In contrast my calcium/magnesium supplement has 189 mg of magnesium. It actually took me about 6 months to get things dialed in, but I think that effort was worthwhile and am enjoying life free of afib as a result.

In addition I believe that eliminating sleep apnea through the use of my xPAP therapy plays an important part in all of this too.