Atrial fibrillation and magnesium

Strangely enough @MDB, I just ordered some Magnesium Taurate from Amazon a few hours ago, along with some Iron Supplements, and Vitamin C… Currently suffering from Chronic Fatigue, that seems to be getting progressively worse, I use proscribed Beta Blockers, for anxiety & wild fluctuations in my heart rate, I also have type 2 diabetes… I am hoping for a slight improvement in my constant tiredness, I have had several blood tests over the last couple of years, from my GP, but nothing seems to show up… I thought, it might be Iron Deficiency, (I don’t eat meat) after my daughter suggested as much, she is a staff nurse, with a master’s in nursing, along with a couple of other degrees… I will try to incorporate these supplements gradually, and hopefully see some improvement? Cheers Kev

Thank you @Zebras for that information, as always, I am much obliged

Oh gosh Kev it sounds like a rough patch, to put it mildly.

I HAD afib until I got an ablation; I still have sleep apnea and treat it every night with a cpap machine. I LOVE my cpap machine. It’s allowed me to finally sleep through the night and dream. And I feel rested in the morning and not grouchy and angry from lack of REM sleep. Apnea sufferers most often don’t know how bad it is because they’re always half asleep, desperately trying to sleep and also desperately trying to breath. It’s a never ending battle without a cpap machine.

Potassium and magnesium are necessary for heart health for sure. There’s a great site called StopAfib that has good discussion by folks who’ve suffered from afib, or are suffering still and have questions. It’s NOT a piece of crap whoo-whoo non science based site.

Having poor medical care is more than frustrating and you’re obviously free to do as you choose. I just don’t think it’s wise to start adding things without knowing if your body needs them or not. There are simple tests that would tell you if you’re deficient in iron or magnesium. It’s likely the doctor already checked your blood count (which would tell if you’re anemic which would be the case if you’re low on iron) if you complained of tiredness (I assume that’s why they checked thyroid?)
As @jeffrey suggested, sleep apnea is a real possibility based on your symptoms. Best of luck.

I recently had a mini stroke, and before that, was called in due to dangerously low Pottasium (from a riutine blood test). Also type 2 diabetic. Hyper Tension is my biggest worry. I just collected my monthly batch of tablets… I should have taken a trolley

I also have sleep Apnoea, but (probably) due to a misaligned septum, I can’t live with the machine.

We’re a right lot here

Peter

I still can’t find the article I read that said age-related Afib usually starts in older folks with sporadic events that become more frequent, but WebMD has a great, EXTREMELY detailed guide to Afib.

Here’s a link to an article on OTC supplements for Afib. Magnesium is mentioned first, but as MDB says, there’s a proper balance, and testing is advisable.

Supplements and Vitamins for AFib (webmd.com)18

Your description of how afib often starts certainly fits my Mom’s history. Hers started when she was about 80? Initially controlled with cardioversion and medication. Gradually became more frequent until she was in it most of the time. She was on warfarin (early anticoagulant) for years. She eventually died from stroke at 93, but it was from vascular disease, not from throwing a clot from her heart.

@jim_lewis said:

My primary care physician wanted me to start taking a beta-blocker but I didn’t want to possibly reduce my heart’s ability to respond to exertion.

In my experience my heart will respond to exertion even with a beta blocker holding down the rate. It’s as if the drug and the body’s signals are in a “tug of war”.

I’m in afib all of the time and take metoprolol at a dosage that brings my resting ventricular rate down to the 60’s or lower. Here’s what my Polar monitor showed during one treadmill session:

@jeffrey said:

Sorry to say that Afib tends to be progressive about 97% of the time. People look for lifestyle changes and triggers to stop it, but…i

I think it’s similar to the fact that a good body weight can’t keep you from dying. However, controlling your body weight can help prolong your life and help control various medical conditions. Whatever propensity you have to have Afib, controlling various factors can help minimize the chances of having an attack. You’re more prone to Afib attacks if you drink heavily and gulp your booze down in a few swigs, if you’re dehydrated, if your potassium levels are low, if you’re very sleep-deprived, etc. My wife is a board-certified internist who, by her practice, is essentially a geriatrician. She said when I asked her just now that control of lifestyle factors can moderate the propensity of your heart to engage in episodes of atrial fibrillation. Just do an Internet search, for example, on whether alcoholics are more prone to suffer atrial fibrillation. That’s a lifestyle factor that damages your heart… I only drank in moderation (45 ml of 80-proof vodka a day), but both an RN practitioner and my cardiologist advised me to give up drinking, saying alcohol is a cardiac poison. So I did.

Edit_Update (from UCSF Medical Center): Alcohol Can Cause Immediate Risk of Atrial Fibrillation | UC San Francisco (ucsf.edu)1

@jim_lewis said:

But I think I’ll wait to see if I get into all-the-time Afib before taking a beta-blocker. My PCP is keen on trying ablation - but that seems silly if 99.9% of the time I have nothing to monitor.

I imagine your doctor wants you to do something because of the ventricular response to your 2nd noted AFib episode. It isn’t so far from there to dying. Or getting in the paper as a driver who lost control because of a medical condition.

Metoprolol is a very benign drug. You might have no trouble with it, or any side effects might go away as you adapt. If it doesn’t work out, stop taking it and it’s gone. And it’s cardio-selective, so doesn’t mess up sexual function like non-selective beta blockers.

Although I think it’s generally better to follow doctor’s advice, I don’t think Jim’s choice is particularly unwise. It’s quite possible that the dose of metoprolol that Jim would tolerate when he was in sinus rhythm wouldn’t be enough to keep him out of atrial fibrillation or keep his rate low enough if he did go into atrial fibrillation. My Mom ended up needing a pacemaker to tolerate an adequate dose of metoprolol. Her rate in atrial fibrillation was fine but if she would convert to sinus her rate would drop into the 30’s and she’d be lightheaded. A pacemaker was a good fix, but since Jim is basically fine more than 99% of the time, not taking metoprolol seems like a reasonable decision. Ablation can be useful, but in my opinion has been oversold. It often doesn’t last and people still end up on medication.

Fooling around with self medication or worse taking advise from internet ‘experts’ is a disaster waiting to happen.