Posted by Carl Plaskett on August 24, 2001 at 15:31:08:
In Reply to: Booze posted by Bill Hawley on August 24, 2001 at 12:56:33:
Bill: As with just about all aspects of AF, I believe this one is as different as all of us.
In my early years of AF, my former cardiologist suggested that AF was sometimes caused by alcohol, and that I should try not drinking anything. Being a wine lover, this was difficult, but not as much so as AF, so I went some 3 weeks without a drink of anything. I still had AF throughout this period, and finally, when offered a gin and tonic at a friend's home, I accepted because I was really perspiring because of my rapid AF.
Within less than 5 minutes, I was suddenly in NSR.
In subsequent years, I found that even a small amount of beer would put me in AF at least 75% of the time, especially if consumed when I was hot from doing some work outside. I found that the popular lemon beers/malt liquors (One Eyed Jack, Mike's Hard Lemonade, etc.) would REALLY set me off within 5 minutes of just sipping some. Other alcohol did not set me off as quickly. I found that wine would usually not cause AF until several hours later or the next morning, and usually only if I had a few glasses.
Even now, post maze, I have found that my resting HR goes up to about 95-100, usually the next day, if I have say, a 1/2 bottle of so of wine with dinner. This is happening less and less, but if I am going to go out biking or other exercise, I will take 1/4 or less of a 50mg atenolol, and my resting rate goes back to around 70 in less than an hour, which makes exercising several hours later a little easier to get into. Otherwise, I start out at 100 and get to 145-50 too quickly and get out of breath before I get properly warmed up.I think most of us have found that alcohol more often than not will at least contribute to AF.