Premature Atrial Complexes

  I have been diagnosed with premature atrial complexes and they practically destroy my quality of life. I have taken inderal and at other times tenormin but the arrhythmia still breaks through occasionally and I become stressed out because of them..  Often the episodes of arrhythmia are associated with eating and anxiety and can be temporarily releaved by lying down on my stomach or bending foward.
  I have recently become interested in the role of essential fatty acids in my diet and I have found some references to Omega 3 fatty acids used to prevent or decrease premature ventricular contractions..  I have to admit that I have been very careful over the past years to not eat a lot of fat primarily in response to my fear of developing heart trouble or making the palpitations worse. But, for all of my efforts to eliminate  fat in my diet, eliminate caffeine,  eliminate chocolate, eliminate cholesterol, eliminate salt, and to exercise among other things,the palpitations are getting worse. Now I think that maybe I have gone overboard in eliminating all fat from my diet and am incorporating polyunsaturated fats, primarily linolenic fatty acids and linoleic acids into my diet.  What are your thoughts on the effects of Omega-3 fats on arrhythmias and is there any information on people on low or no fat diets who go on to develop arrthymias?  From some of the postings concerning palpitations, I think that many of those people are health conscious, that is they exercise regularly and watch their diets.  I'd be interested to know how many of those people with palpitations  who have posted to this board are eliminating fats from their diets.  

[CCF CARDIO MD APS]

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Dear Amos,
There is no concensus on the effects of any dietary supplements on extra heart beats, mainly I believe because it is very patient dependent.  
For patients so affected by their extra heart beats as you are, the best advice is to try anything within reason; for you this could mean trying an omega supplement
(I believe I have heard from one PVC sufferer in the past whom this helped very much.)  In general one should never exceed the recommended daily allowance of any dietary supplement on
a regular basis. And trying a different kind of stress relief may be effective, it surely is not all about diet.
You may have eliminated too much fat from your diet, and it you have replaced the calories with carbohydrates then actually this is not so healthy.
You may want to ask your doctor for a nutrition consult in order to get your diet back in order so to speak.
I hope this information is useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for
general purposes only. Only your physician can provided specific diagnoses and therapies.
Feel free to write back with further questions. Good luck!
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please
call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at
www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the
cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your
cardiac problem.