Darcy - turn the heat down really low. High heat frying or cooking temp is detrimental to foods and then you eat those foods. Lots of free radical damage from high heat temps. Then you won't have to worry about burning food. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lynn - yes - calcium can be dominant over magnesium if magnesium is deificient and if that's the case, then the calcium excites heart cells. The normal dietary intake of calcium-containing foods along with magnesium, vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 MK7 serves to make sure that dietary calcium reaches the bones. It's best to successfully manage the afib and then after a period of stability of no afib,by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lynn since you have been doing well with Mg supplements, you are correct in focusing on the potassium.... many people cannot get enough potassium from foods alone. If your serum potassium from a blood test is low or borderline low, then it's important to get that level up to about 4.5...some people do better slightly less or slightly more. Most of us like the bulk powdered potassium glucoby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lynn - thanks for your emphathy... Strangely enough, in the 6 months prior to the ablation date, I set out on a mission to calm my heart and avoid the ablation.... I tried an assortment of things... what apparently helped the most was optimizing magnesium, potassium, taurine and correcting an irritated vagus nerve. I went from long daily events to zero. Then I tried to wean off the flecainideby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lynn - The intracellular magnesium is key to controlling afib.... along with potassium of course... and the others that I mention frequently. What's invaluable with the Exatest is the ratio of Mg/Ca and K/Na. I have had Exatest and several others here have had it and we were all found to be low or very low in magnesium. My thought is just assume you are low and start supplementingby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Off topic here, but response to the Amish comment. In several areas of Ohio, there are Amish communities. One is fairly close to me. It's known that the Amish aren't particularly kind to their animals and animal rights activist groups here are clammoring to pass some type of regulation to help monitor or hopefully eliminate the animal abuse, especially since these communities areby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tim - best wishes to you with your ablation recovery process. Usually, you'll have maximum swelling in 72 hours so bruising will go right along with that. As far as bruising goes, everyone is different and of course, it depends on how aggressive the insertion placements and removals were. I bruise easily and learned that Arnica gel is good for this type of trauma caused by the catheter insby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Interesting, Hans. I've always eaten eggs throughout my afib journey and post ablation with no association to afib. It's disconcerting to learn about yet another chemical contaminating our food supply. In recent years, I've been reading quite a bit about arsenic in chicken feed and the fact it gets not only into eggs but is residual in the tissue/meat we eat. Obviously, thisby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Peggy - there is discussion about vitamin D supplements elevating calcium levels in some individuals... free calcium that doesn't get into bones where it belongs can then be deposited in soft tissues like blood vessels, aorta, or attach on bones in the form of spurs. Since arteriosclerosis and hypertension both can be results of arterial calcifications, it's thought that the K2 MK7 isby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yes - it's needed to help the vitamin D direct calcium out of the blood stream and into bones where it belongs. You only need 45 micrograms of the K2 MK7 daily. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lynn - I used nattokinase in my last two years of afib prior to ablation when I had events that were daily or every other day, some lasting 27 hours and starting up again in 4 hours. I have a difficult time taking warfarin and felt this was my best option. It did keep me safe...even after ablation when I developed a clot in the Left Atrial Appendage as a result of cardioversion at 103 days postby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Tom - there are two Conference Room sessions devoted to nattokinase... what it is and how it works. #39 and 40. If you plan to use it, it would be good to slug through both so you understand how they work and what they do and don't do. There are also numerous posts on this topic in the archived BB posts. Using nattokinase will not reflect in your INR measurement. It works in another wayby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lynn - while you're researching, it would probably ease your mind a bit to start using nattokinase on a regular basis. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Darcy - the iron product you may be looking for is the Ferrochel... bis-glycinate chelate form. It's easy on the stomach and is only absorbed if you need it so the danger of overload is eliminated. Ferrochel is a true chelate mineral supplements utilizing Albion Advanced Nutrition starting material.... so check the label identifications to verify it's the Albion product. On the iherb websitby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lynn - I appreciate your comments. What annoys me is the lack of focus on blood viscosity and measuring fibrinogen, C-reactive protein as an inflammatory marker, Hemoglobin A-1C, ferritin, etc. I'd like to see those routinely monitored on every individual and especially with afibbers whether lone or otherwise. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dick - My short response to your musings would be: "Depends on how your body reacts." And I might add what your health status is. If one is totally free of health issues and all the labs look sterling, then a small deviation from a healthy dietary intake once in a while may not do any harm at all. Ron Rosedale, MD, says that on occasion, rather than offend a hostess, he will eat aby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dick - regarding #2 and your comment, I've been under the impression that flutter ablations in the right atrium are pretty straight forward, easier and not having to cross/puncture the septum is a huge plus. Of course, depending on where the potentials are found, access may make them difficult regardless of which side they are on and some may be inaccessable. I think he was just generalizby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lynn- when it comes to lowering stroke risks, addressing all the underlying factors that put one at risk for stroke would be prudent. As we know, Lone AF has a small risk of causing stroke. Those with hypertension, diabetes and other chronic conditions that lend to high blood viscosity levels definitely place one at risk for stroke so even if ablation removes the fibrillating heart factor, theby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks Cynthia... Required reading for anyone considering ablation. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Recent article about pacemakers Obviously, this depends on one's age and health status at the time it's determined the need for this type of intervention. My friend who volunteers in a nursing home says the problem with pacemakers in the elderly is that they can't die and therefore suffer a number of complications as a result. This article points out some of the pitfalls anby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
In my many talks with a person with an ablation gone wrong, this pericardial effusion was a source of pain and concern. You would be well to either get the attention of the EP that did your ablation or seek help from another qualified EP. I'm very sorry you are suffering so much Mjayne. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Peggy - I was just saying that the Spiral CT scan definitely rules out stenosis whereas symptoms may or may not be present. With Dr. Natale's 'antrum' procedure, he does not burn close to the pulmonary veins and therefore the pulmonary stenosis is not a factor. When they used to do the burns right inside the pulmonary ostea, that caused a very large tendency for stenosis of the Pby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Jane - It's been my observation over the years with my own heart that the more optimized heart tissue is in the critical electrolytes and nutrients such as CoQ10, carnitine and now ribose, the 'easier' the afib event will be and less difficult to tolerate and/or from which to recover. A heart in afib is laboring significantly; when the muscle cells have optimal nutrition, theyby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
The spiral CT scan shows if there is damage or stenosis in the Pulmonary Vein area. Aside from the dye used and the extra radiation exposure, it's not a difficult procedure but it is expensive. I recall that when I was discussing the symptoms of PV stenosis with Dr. Natale, he commented that very often people who have significant stenosis have no physical symptoms. Pericardial rub does ocby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lisa - My history is that after a successful ablation 11/03.... I have experienced periodic breakthrough arrhythmias in years 4, 5 and most recently Mother's Day this year.... which was about 18 months since the last event. I attribute that to becoming deficient in both magnesium and potassium and also not able to sustain mitochondrial energy production which I address with CoQ10, carnitiby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
The citrate form is definitely very absorbable; unfortunately, it doesn't stay in the tissues very long. The amino acid chelate form called magnesium glycinate is found to be not only very bioavailable, but it stays in the tissues where it can accumulate and do some good. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lisa - go here and scroll down to the many reference articles about bioidentical hormones. Jackieby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thank you Peggy. Sue - The ligands are the components I am typically concerned with in most multi's....and often the forms used are worthless. Check your label and if it says Magnesium oxide, then don't rely on getting much magnesium from that form. Depending on your age, or if you have anemia, you should not be using one that contains iron. There is food coloring/dye that is nby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Lisa - yes - I believe that is correct. Some are short and others are lengthy procedures. Mine was 2 hrs 45 minutes. It's not uncommon for surgeons to operate for 12-15 hours so EPs also may have very long days. Certainly it can be a very long day. Jackie I should clarify - my fluoroscopy time was 39 minutes... that's when he was ablating. They do other checking but once that&by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM