AFIB may cause cognitive decline via multiple mechanisms: Stroke Multiinfarct dementia due to microinfarcts Microbleeds as a result of anticoagulants Cerebral hypoperfusion – decreased blood flow to the brain Decline in brain volume Beta blockers ??may contribute Catheter ablation for AFIB contributes to micro infarcts (ACE – asymptomatic cerebral emboli) AFIB may be a marker…
AFIB shrinks your brain
Steffansdottir published a study on brain volume in the journal Stroke in 2013. In it she states: AF is associated with smaller brain volume and the association is stronger with increasing burden of the arrhythmia. These findings suggest that AF has a cumulative negative effect on the brain independent of cerebral infarcts. The difference in…
plant based for environment
BBC has a compelling article today on veganism for the environment. It quotes an Oxford study. If everybody cut meat and dairy from their diet there could be… 49 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from food production. 76 per cent reduction in land used for food production. A 49 per cent reduction in…
sleep 7 hrs
Inspired by Dr. Koushik Krishnan who runs a lifestyle program for the veterans at VA Hospital in Tampa. Here is something I lifted straight off his Twitter page : “Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.” – Gandhi
processed food & mortality
A JAMA study from February 2019 showed highly processed food kills you. In 44 551 French adults 45 years or older, a 10% increase in the proportion of ultra-processed food consumption was statistically significantly associated with a 14% higher risk of all-cause mortality. Ultra processed food has high amounts of sugar, salt and saturated animal fat….
accupuncture & AFIB
Of all the non-allopathic (CAM – complementary and alternative) therapies out there, the only one that has been systematically studied is accupuncture. Puncturing of the Neiguan, Shenmen and Xinshu spots has been advocated to treat atrial fibrillation. The best study I can find in a peer reviewed journal is from JCE 2011. 80 patients post…
the wanderer (vagus) & AFIB
The Latin word vagus means “wandering”. The vagus is the longest nerve in the autonomic nervous system in the body. It is a parasympathetic nerve, i.e. it counters the fight or flight response. It innervates the heart, lung and stomach among other things. Just like the famous Nordic wanderer, Odin, the vagus nerve has been attributed with a lot…
athletes & heart arrhythmias
Moderation in everything, including exercise. Food for thought:
magnesium & AFIB
Low serum magnesium levels have been correlated with a risk of AFIB in both the ARIC and Framingham studies. There are also data that US population as a whole is deficient in magnesium. Here is an excellent review article on magnesium and its role in cardiovascular disease. There are data that magnesium supplementation may reduce…
last nail in the coffin
SSB – Sugar sweetened beverages ASB- Artificially sweetened beverages Study and editorial published in Circulation last week: 2 large studies – 37 716 men from the Health Professional’s Follow-up study and 80647 women from the Nurses’ Health study who were free from chronic diseases at baseline. 3.7 million person-years of follow up. SSB showed higher…