Only alcohol -- not caffeine, diet or lack of sleep -- might trigger
heart rhythm condition

Date:
November 24, 2021
Source:
University of California - San Francisco
Summary:
New research that tested possible triggers of a common heart
condition, including caffeine, sleep deprivation and sleeping
on the left side, found that only alcohol use was consistently
associated with more episodes of the heart arrhythmia.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
New research from UC San Francisco that tested possible triggers of
a common heart condition, including caffeine, sleep deprivation and
sleeping on the left side, found that only alcohol use was consistently associated with more episodes of the heart arrhythmia.


==========================================================================
The authors conclude that people might be able to reduce their risk of
atrial fibrillation (AF) by avoiding certain triggers.

The study is published in JAMA Cardiology and was presented November 14,
2021, at the annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association.

Researchers were surprised to find that although most of the things that participants thought would be related to their AF were not, those in the intervention group still experienced less arrhythmia than the people in
a comparison group that was not self-monitoring.

"This suggests that those personalized assessments revealed actionable results," said lead author Gregory Marcus, MD, professor of medicine
in the Division of Cardiology at UCSF. "Although caffeine was the most
commonly selected trigger for testing, we found no evidence of a near-term relationship between caffeine consumption and atrial fibrillation. In
contrast, alcohol consumption most consistently exhibited heightened
risks of atrial fibrillation." Atrial fibrillation contributes to more
than 150,000 deaths in the United States each year, reports the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with the death rate on the
rise for more than 20 years.

To learn more about what patients felt was especially important to
study about the disease, researchers held a brainstorming session in
2014. Patients said researching individual triggers for AF was their top priority, giving rise to the I-STOP-AFib study, which enabled individuals
to test any presumed AF trigger. About 450 people participated, more
than half of whom (58 percent) were men, and the overwhelming majority
of whom were white (92 percent).

Participants in the randomized clinical trial utilized a mobile electrocardiogram recording device along with a phone app to log
potential triggers like drinking alcohol and caffeine, sleeping on the
left side or not getting enough sleep, eating a large meal, a cold drink,
or sticking to a particular diet, engaging in exercise, or anything
else they thought was relevant to their AF. Although participants were
most likely to select caffeine as a trigger, there was no association
with AF. Recent research from UCSF has similarly failed to demonstrate
a relationship between caffeine and arrhythmias -- on the contrary, investigators found it may have a protective effect.

The new study demonstrated that consumption of alcohol was the only
trigger that consistently resulted in significantly more self-reported
AF episodes.

The individualized testing method, known as n-of-1, did not validate participant-selected triggers for AF. But trial participants did report
fewer AF episodes than those in the control group, and the data suggest
that behaviors like avoiding alcohol could lessen the chances of having
an AF episode.

"This completely remote, siteless, mobile-app based study will hopefully
pave the way for many investigators and patients to conduct similar personalized "n- of-1" experiments that can provide clinically relevant information specific to the individual," said Marcus.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_San_Francisco. Original written by Elizabeth Fernandez. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Gregory M. Marcus, Madelaine Faulkner Modrow, Christopher H. Schmid,
Kathi Sigona, Gregory Nah, Jiabei Yang, Tzu-Chun Chu, Sean Joyce,
Shiffen Gettabecha, Kelsey Ogomori, Vivian Yang, Xochitl Butcher,
Mellanie True Hills, Debbe McCall, Kathleen Sciarappa, Ida Sim,
Mark J. Pletcher, Jeffrey E. Olgin. Individualized Studies of
Triggers of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation. JAMA Cardiology, 2021;
DOI: 10.1001/jamacardio.2021.5010 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211124154126.htm

--- up 1 week, 6 days, 2 hours, 55 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)