No Coffee :(

[thehackster]

My doctor says that I have Afib and that I need to give up coffee.  Is decaf an option?  There is nothing anatomically wrong with my heart except the rhythm.  I was consuming about 800mgs of coffee a day.

[ireneo]

I never drink coffee but I thought I read that even decaf still has some caffeine in it. You might want to check that out.

[Manhattan]

You won't know until you try to cut it out completely. For me it makes no difference with my pvcs so I continue to drink as much as I want. On the other hand, alcohol brings it on every time.

[anacyde]

If I were you, I'd just give it up.  I have bouts of SVT, and coffee is a sure trigger.  I love the stuff, but I haven't had a "real" one since 1996 and when I tried decaf I learned very quickly that it still caused SVT.  The runs were shorter, but still there nonetheless.  I also gave up all caffeinated soda in 1996, as even a few sips will start the single PACs, which are the precursor to SVT in my case.  Apparently I am quite sensitive to the effects of caffeine, so I act accordingly.  Certainly no fun giving up coffee, but more fun than dealing with the arrythmias.

[BlueEgg]

Hello.  Eleven years ago, at age 46 I was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation; the worst case the cardiologist had ever seen.  I was put on the highest dose of beta blocker which barely kept it under control. After 15 months I was so tired all the time and feeling like an invalid. I decided to take matters into my own hands and claim back my body.  I went to a gym and got a good exercise program with a strenuous workout of 35 minutes plus stretches and weight training for a total of 65 mins per day.  After a month I was able to wean myself off the beta blockers completely.  My cardiologist said that they AF would come back for sure.  Well, keeping away from tea and coffee, chocolate, Coke and other energy drinks and any stimulants that are sometimes in supplements and diet remedies plus going on the treadmill several times per week now has kept my heart as strong and steady.  I wish I could shout my story from the rooftops so that people would try exercise rather than debilitating medications to cure their Atrial Fibrillation.

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

Decaf still has caffeine.  It depends on how sensitive you are to  it.  If you stop it and it makes no difference in the frequency of atrial fibrillation or your heart rate control, it doesn't matter.  It will take you a little time to determine if you are super sensitive to caffeine or not.

I hope this helps.