Atrial Fibrillation And Sleeping On Left Side

As weird or scary as an episode may feel.

Atrial fibrillation and sleeping on left side.

We are all different. Atrial fibrillation also known as afib or af is an electrical disorder of the upper chambers of the heart. In one study a team led by dr. I m guessing the left side thing happens because the vagus nerve can be stimulated in that position.

Like you mentioned lying on my left side is a trigger for me. I have a long list of af triggers for my heart. In contrast when you are on your left side the heart is pulled to the chest wall and you may feel every irregular beat of your heart. While many atrial fibrillation patients have noted that they have fewer arrhythmias when sleeping on the right side i could find no studies supporting this finding.

Atrial fibrillation is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that can increase your risk of strokes heart failure and other heart related complications. During atrial fibrillation the heart s two upper chambers the atria beat chaotically and irregularly out of coordination with the two lower chambers the ventricles of the heart. Gregory marcus of the university of california san francisco tracked data from millions of patients to assess the link between poor sleep and atrial fibrillation. I ve suffered with atrial fibrillation attacks for 12 years.

Also eating a lot of food before going to bed is a trigger for me. I have skipped dinner many times when i felt that vulnerable to another af attack. A quivery heartbeat or flutter in your chest. Though it s not necessarily harmful by itself having afib increases your risk for.

But if you find that laying in one particular position sends you into afib don t do it. Ive had my pacemaker on my left side for about a year and a half. Anyway the sleep apnea doctors say not to sleep on your back to sleep on your side. At first i couldn t sleep on my left side but it seems now that i can without a problem although i am a right side sleeper.

Come to think of it afib has a mind of it s own and comes and goes on it s own schedule.