Aa
Paroxsmal Atrial Tachycardis (PAT) - Triggers
Hi all,
I'm a 55 year old male, and two years ago I experienced an episode of PAT, and ended up in the ER with a pulse of 208 and VTACH. They slowed it down with drugs, and after a full workup by my cardiologist, I was told to stay away from caffiene. I switched to decaf coffee and have been relatively fine since.
Recently I've been drinking about 48oz of decaf coffee in the mornings, and have been miunching on some chocolate my wife has.
Well, for the past two weeks I've been experiencing small episodes of PAT, but they went away. Three days ago I had an episode that lasted for an hour, and ended up in the ER again with a rate of 201. They slowed it down with the usual drugs, and started me on Toprol XL 25mg, once a day.
As of today, my BP is 120/80, and pulse is 64 which is normal for me.
I will call my cardiologist first thing Monday morning and set up an appointment.
I guess 48oz of decaf coffee could be a trigger, and isn't too good anyway; I guess the chocolate is also a trigger, so now I'm only going to have about 16-20 oz of decaf every morning, and NO chocolate.
My question is can decaf coffee and chocolate possibly be the triggers that started this episode? I also understand that stress and anxiety can be triggers, but am really interested in knowing what are the other triggers I should aviod?
Oh and the Toprol XL-25mg, what does it actually do for the heart?
Thank you.....marc
I'm a 55 year old male, and two years ago I experienced an episode of PAT, and ended up in the ER with a pulse of 208 and VTACH. They slowed it down with drugs, and after a full workup by my cardiologist, I was told to stay away from caffiene. I switched to decaf coffee and have been relatively fine since.
Recently I've been drinking about 48oz of decaf coffee in the mornings, and have been miunching on some chocolate my wife has.
Well, for the past two weeks I've been experiencing small episodes of PAT, but they went away. Three days ago I had an episode that lasted for an hour, and ended up in the ER again with a rate of 201. They slowed it down with the usual drugs, and started me on Toprol XL 25mg, once a day.
As of today, my BP is 120/80, and pulse is 64 which is normal for me.
I will call my cardiologist first thing Monday morning and set up an appointment.
I guess 48oz of decaf coffee could be a trigger, and isn't too good anyway; I guess the chocolate is also a trigger, so now I'm only going to have about 16-20 oz of decaf every morning, and NO chocolate.
My question is can decaf coffee and chocolate possibly be the triggers that started this episode? I also understand that stress and anxiety can be triggers, but am really interested in knowing what are the other triggers I should aviod?
Oh and the Toprol XL-25mg, what does it actually do for the heart?
Thank you.....marc
alcohol can also cause it. as well as lack of sleep. extreme stress. and malnutrition.
Hi,
Decaf verdions of things that used to contain caffeine are generally not actually caffeine-free, they have residual amounts of caffeine in them that vary in concetration by the type of product they are. Chocolate has caffeine in it and also, I believe, has a different type of stimulant in addition to caffeine. Only your doctor can determine the cause of the episode, but you probably had ingested quite a bit of caffeine that day. I did see a study that said there is only one brand of (instant) decaf coffee that has virutally no caffeine in it, but unfortunately have forgotten which brand it is. Perhaps a Google search can find it.
Good luck with your appointment.
Decaf verdions of things that used to contain caffeine are generally not actually caffeine-free, they have residual amounts of caffeine in them that vary in concetration by the type of product they are. Chocolate has caffeine in it and also, I believe, has a different type of stimulant in addition to caffeine. Only your doctor can determine the cause of the episode, but you probably had ingested quite a bit of caffeine that day. I did see a study that said there is only one brand of (instant) decaf coffee that has virutally no caffeine in it, but unfortunately have forgotten which brand it is. Perhaps a Google search can find it.
Good luck with your appointment.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Heart Disease Community
Is a low-fat diet really that heart healthy after all? James D. Nicolantonio, PharmD, urges us to reconsider decades-long dietary guidelines.
Can depression and anxiety cause heart disease? Get the facts in this Missouri Medicine report.
Fish oil, folic acid, vitamin C. Find out if these supplements are heart-healthy or overhyped.
Learn what happens before, during and after a heart attack occurs.
What are the pros and cons of taking fish oil for heart health? Find out in this article from Missouri Medicine.
How to lower your heart attack risk.
