Afib question - Heart Disorders Message Board

sam061 · 10-07-2005, 06:41 PM

I have had afib for 30 years. I take Rythmol and digoxin. I am also pacemaker dependent. I was at a health store getting for some fish oil. I take both it and flax oil for choloesterol also 10mg lipitor.

Anyway, my question is the woman at the health store told me if I took 1000mg of Calcium and 1000 mg of magnisum it would stop afib. I thought about trying it . The meds above just keep help keep my heart rate down.

I had a new pm implant 22 months ago and have been in afib 1000 times at my checkup last week. That is a lot of times. I wake up almost every morning in afib. With the ablation I am not suppose to feel it but I do. Has anyone tired the Ca and Mg? She said it was used in Canada all the time to stop afib. - sam

Machaon · 10-08-2005, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam061

I have had afib for 30 years. I take Rythmol and digoxin. I am also pacemaker dependent. I was at a health store getting for some fish oil. I take both it and flax oil for choloesterol also 10mg lipitor.

Anyway, my question is the woman at the health store told me if I took 1000mg of Calcium and 1000 mg of magnisum it would stop afib. I thought about trying it . The meds above just keep help keep my heart rate down.

I also have afib, and take Digoxin. I also take vitamins and minerals, including calcium and magnesium, but in lower quantities than the salesman at your health store suggested. In my case, I can't take calcium, or eat a food with too much calcium, within two hours of my digoxin pill, or it will cause increased heart arrhythmias. In fact, I take my vitamins/minerals at least two hours away from any of my heart meds.

Quote:

I had a new pm implant 22 months ago and have been in afib 1000 times at my checkup last week. That is a lot of times. I wake up almost every morning in afib. With the ablation I am not suppose to feel it but I do. Has anyone tired the Ca and Mg? She said it was used in Canada all the time to stop afib. - sam

She probably doesn't even know anything about afib. Her goal could be just to get you to buy more stuff at the store. If calcium and magnesium could cure afib, it would be a huge medical discovery.

How well does the pacemaker work for you? What changes have you experienced since having it put in?

sam061 · 10-08-2005, 06:19 PM

You asked me about the pacemaker.

Last week I received a letter from my EP which stated my pm had been recalled. There have been 3 times since the last checkup I had been sitting and suddenly began to faint. So this made me rather tense. I was able to see a Guident tech the next day. My EP was in surgery. He found nothing wrong with the pacemaker. My EP's nurse is also qualified to give checkups and stood with him as he checked it. He stated that pacemakers are to be within .01% tolorance. My model had had a 1% failure rate. As I said I still have the symptoms of Afib, but don't feel the quivering unless I am lying on my stomach. I had had 1000 afib occurances since implantation. Which is quite a bit.

When I had this pm implanted, about a month after implantation I became dizzy one morning. I was by myself at the time. I was pretty sick. I called 911 and then went and sat down. I also called my sister-in-law who talked to me to keep me from passing out. I took my pulse and it was 40. The paramedic's arrieved and when they got here my pulse was 150bmp. It ran like that for quite awhile. The hospial wrote "pm failure", but my EP said it was his fault for sitting the high end at 150. But since that letter I always have wondered what caused it drop to forty. At the time I had my first one implanted the only thing that could be done was an ablation, ameriderone (sp?), or just keep going to the ER. OH, the cardiologist would not give me ameridone and three other would also not do it. And to tell you the truth I didn't want it. Too many side effects. After 35 years I now have mild lvd. I get along ok, but not like I used to. I walk on the treadmill 3mph for twenty minutes every other day.

My Cardiologist told me I didn't have heart failure. My PC told said no, but I do have a weak heart. But then the pharmacist told me they were the same thing. My EF was in the 50-60 range and that was about a year ago. I believe he said 63, but my PC showed me on the papers that were faxed to him it stated 70. I don't believe it would be that high. I know this is more than you asked for. Take care of yourself. I am 62 now and have had this for 35 years. The first pm was implanted in 98. Afib can be debilitating as you may know. It simply ruined my life. - sam

Excelsoir · 10-08-2005, 10:34 PM

There is some evidence that Magnesium will help in controlling AF. I am not medically trained, but have permanent AF, so I know a little bit about it. The aim in my situation is rate control and the medication, Sotalol (Sotacor), works for me. Amiodarone was very effective, but I developed thyroid problems, and had to cease this medication. It has a lot of potentially serious side-effects, and is best avoided if possible. I cannot take magnesium supplementation because of chronic renal failure. Are you taking an anti-coagulant such as Warfarin ? This is very important, especially if you have episodes of AF.Anyway to answer your original question,in my experience Mg will not stop AF, but a lot of people with AF take it. You need professional advice on the quantity. I don't know anything about taking calcium supplementation. Again I would not ingest anything without knowing its likely effects, and advise from a trained person. AF does not lead directly to heart failure, but obviouly is not helpful to your cardiac functioning.
A cardiac echogram may answer most of your questions.Do you ever feel any congestion around the lungs eg. have a "tight" chest and cough? This can be an early
sign of early heart failure.A degree of heart failure is not uncommon in older age groups, and is usually easily diagnosed and can be treated quite well in the earlier stages.Hope this helps a bit, but remember, I am not a doctor. All the best.
Regards, Excelsior

sam061 · 10-08-2005, 11:43 PM

HI,
Thank's for your comments. By permanent, do you mean you have afib all of the time? I go in and out of it on a daily basis. I don't think I will take any Mg for I agree with what you said. I am very careful with herbs. I do take fish oil and flax oil daily. I have three friends whose doctors put them on it. My brother takes flax and fish oil for cholesterol.

Yes, I take Coudamin, but asked the doctor to switch me to warfin due to cost. I also take Rythmol (generic) and it along with digoxin control my heart rate. I have been on the digoxin for for almost ten years. The Rythmol eight years. I wanted to ask you if you have ever experienced a drop in body temperature for a few hours. My temperature dropped to 96.3 on three different occassions. And the temperature in the house was 80F. I put on a sweat suit. The reason for mentioning it is I think I read where this is a symptom of thyroid problems. Also, when you had renal failure, what were the symptoms? Did you just begin holding water? It sounds like you and I have been on the same boat for a number of years. Thanks for replying.- sam