My Extended Fast to improve my Atrial Fribrillation symptoms

[tdseest]

In the past, I’ve done many extended fasts, but most without a specific purpose. Most of my fasting was done out of a sense of curiosity and learning. And, I can honestly say that I learned much about myself during my hours and days of fasting in 2016.

As many of you know, I contracted viral pneumonia at the end of December, 2016 and ended up with an Atrial Fibrillation. In the past 2 months, I’ve had many blood tests done, been “shocked” back to normal (briefly) using a procedure called a Cardioversion, and have learned more than I care too about the cardiovascular system. From the standpoint of good news, I have no pain in my condition, but I tire more easily, and have an elevated risk for having a stroke. The condition also can be depressing at times because I no long get to take the long bicycle rides that I love.

I’ve spent the last 2 months collecting all sorts of base line data, and gaining an entirely new perspective about my health; a new paradigm. As an example, my condition causes me to pee all the time, which can be taxing for electrolytes. Fasting is more difficult because I’m hungry now; something I never dealt with before. But, I’ve continued to gather the data. And, I’ve done a ton of research (of the online reading kind) as I’ve had the time. My condition continues to slowly improve, but is no where near perfect.

But, I’m ready to fast again. I’ve done lots of reading about the impact of various herbs and supplements on my condition. I’ve also researched fasting with my condition. And, I’m ready to collect data again.

So, I started another fast at 8:00 PM last night, and started a new revised spreadsheet. I don’t know how long this fast will go but I’m aiming for 21 days.

I will be collecting data with the following devices during this fast:

QuardioArm - https://www.getqardio.com/qardioarm-blood-pressure-monitor-iphone-android/
MocaHeart - https://www.mocacare.com/mocaheart/
MocaCuff - https://www.mocacare.com/mocacuff/
AliveCor Kardia - https://www.alivecor.com/
Wahoo TICKR - http://www.wahoofitness.com/devices/heart-rate-monitors

My goal for this fast is to improve the condition for my A-fib, so I’ll be closely monitoring my EKG’s, blood pressure, heart rate, etc. and the spreadsheet has been modified to include this data. I’ll be posting the data as I get time, along with screen snapshots, spreadsheet data, etc. Hopefully, what I learn will benefit me and others.

NOTE: I will be taking vitamins, supplements and consuming dietary protein during this fast, as I have to for my condition. I realize this may bother many of you that will say that I’m not fasting. I just want to be clear that I’m not interested in how you define fasting, etc. I realize that many of you define a water fast, as the only kind of true fast. I’m not interested in debating the topic with any of you, nor do I care to. I simply don’t have time for your semantics in my life now. As in the past, I’m fasting to get my life back, to increase the joy in my journey, and to learn. My time every day is limited as I need more sleep now, and I won’t spend my time arguing with you about the term “fast” so that you can feel better about how much smarter you are than me. I’ll concede the victory now; this is not a water fast. I am aiming to get as much benefit from fasting while providing base level nutrients and electrolytes to maximize my health given my condition. If you can’t be civil, don’t follow my progress.

ANOTHER NOTE: Many of you are probably thinking that my fasting is risky. As with anything in life, there are many risks. I have done hours of reading on my condition, tested various supplements, sleeping and exercise patterns on myself, to get where I am at now. I realize there is risk with any fast, but I have measured the risks, and feel the potential benefits outweigh any risks. Please don’t try to convince me that I shouldn’t be doing this. If this is your aim, please move along now. I can assure you, as will my wife, that I am a very risk adverse person, even though many may think I take lots of risks. I do take risks, but they are measured risks. Here again, if you can’t be civil, please just move along.

FINAL NOTE: I like all of you (well, except for one of you). While the above may seem hostile, I’m simply trying to save time down the road. When you’ve spent your last couple of months trying to capture every heart beat, and to learn from each moment, you realize that you simply don’t have time to argue with people that can’t relate. So, I’m not trying to be a jerk; I simply trying to provide a non-cluttered location where I can log my fast, my protocol, and discuss it with other people that want to learn from it. I appreciate the learning and education that I’ve gained in the Facebook groups, and this forum, but this thread is NOT the place for you too teach others about how smart you are. So, if you are that one person; please move along. If not, I welcome each of you to ask questions and make suggestions and contributions. I’m pretty open to trying different things, explaining in more detail why I’m doing specific things, etc. I’m not a mean guy; I just don’t have time to argue with you.

So, please be well, and if you are interested, feel free to follow my journey over the next 21 days and beyond.

[tdseest]

2017-03-22 - 08:00 AM - 12 hours fasted - Morning Device Readings

I had a decent night of sleep and an uneventful drive into the office. These readings were taken once I reached the office. I awoke at around 5:30 AM. I am thankful that I am not hungry.

It can take some time to take all the measurements, gather all the data, etc. that I have too to update my spreadsheet and take all the associated photos. So, the only thing I can say is that all of these readings occurred within 15 minutes of 8:00AM +/- 15 minutes.

Here is my morning Blood Glucose reading:

Here is my morning Blood Ketone reading:

Here is my morning QuardioArm readings:

Here is my morning MocaHeart reading:

Here is my morning MocaCuff reading:

Here is my morning hear rate data from my night of sleep last night, along with my heart rate track:

Here is my EKG data from my Kardia Mobile:

[tdseest]

2017-03-22 - 11:00 AM - 15 hours fasted - Late Morning Device Readings

I had a good morning, but am encountering some stress at work. Still not hungry, so that is good.

It can take some time to take all the measurements, gather all the data, etc. that I have too to update my spreadsheet and take all the associated photos. So, the only thing I can say is that all of these readings occurred within 15 minutes of 11:00AM +/- 15 minutes.

Here is my Late Morning Blood Glucose reading:

Here is my Late Morning Blood Ketone reading:

Here is my Late Morning QuardioArm readings:

Here is my Late Morning MocaHeart reading:

Here is my Late Morning MocaCuff reading:

Here is my Late Morning hear rate data from my morning of driving and working:

Here is my EKG data from my Kardia Mobile:

[tdseest]

The Hills and Valleys of my Heart Rate

I try to log most of my hours of work, sleep, etc. while wearing my Wahoo TICKR heart rate belt, which seems to be the most accurate (compared to my cardioligist’s office) source of heart rate data. You’ll notice that when you look at the output from my device, you’ll see lots of peaks and valleys like this:

The picture heart rate track was started right when I went to bed last night. I generally get into bed and read until I fall asleep. Anytime you see my heart rate go over 150, that means I had to get up and walk to the restroom, as I can’t hit the toilet from the bed.

I’ve have discovered that my heart rate drops lowest when I sleep resting on my right side, a little higher when I sleep on my stomach or back, and highest when I sleep on my left side. Unfortunately, I’ve always preferred to sleep while resting on my stomach or my left side. So, you’ll see variations through out the night. But, this was a good night. In many cases, you’ll see I get up between 10 and 15 times per night to use the restroom, as my Atrial Fibrillation causes me to urinate more frequently. There is science to explain this problem, but I won’t bore you with the details.

Here is my sample heart rate from my morning drive, and walk to work, etc.:

I’m a programmer, but I have to walk occasionally as part of my work. I also have to walk about 1/5th of a mile to the bathroom at the office (each way), which will lead to the expenditure of more heart beats. So, you’ll notice where I’m sitting, or where I’m walking.

[tdseest]

2017-03-22 - 03:00 PM - 19 hours fasted - Mid Afternoon Device Readings

I had a good afternoon, but still having stress at work. Still not hungry, so that is good. No eating to date.

It can take some time to take all the measurements, gather all the data, etc. that I have too to update my spreadsheet and take all the associated photos. So, the only thing I can say is that all of these readings occurred within 15 minutes of 3:00PM +/- 15 minutes.

Here is my Mid Afternoon Blood Glucose reading:

Here is my Mid Afternoon Blood Ketone reading:

Here is my Mid Afternoon QuardioArm readings:

Here is my Mid Afternoon MocaHeart reading:

Here is my Mid Afternoon MocaCuff reading:

Here is my Mid Afternoon heart rate data started after my last heart rate track this morning:

Here is my EKG data from my Kardia Mobile:

[tdseest]

2016-03-22 - 3:40 PM - Spreadsheet is updated.

I’ve posted the new spreadsheet here, and have updated what I can to date. I’ll be adding to it, modifying it, etc. as time progresses:

https://1drv.ms/x/s!AnnheiLCcfWxgaQGwWUHCpqZ3MK_MA

[tdseest]

2017-03-22 - 03:45 PM - 19.75 hours fasted - EliteHRV.

As suggested by @BillJay, I’ve added a reading from the EliteHRV IOS app using my Wahoo TICKR heart rate strap as a data source.

Here are screen snapshots from my 3:45 PM reading:

This app is new to me, so I don’t have a good explanation of the data at this time. Perhaps @BillJay can provide more of an explanation if people have questions.

Either way, I’ll read up more about it when I get the time, and I’ll update my spreadsheet to reflect the new details.

I like data, and we now have more.

Thanks Bill…

[BillJay]

This app is new to me, so I don’t have a good explanation of the data at this time. Perhaps @BillJay can provide more of an explanation if people have questions.

I’m no HRV expert, but the basic premise is that relative stimulation of the sympathic and parasympathetic nervous system affect the spacing between the heartbeats and as a very, very general rule a higher variability means better fitness and recovery.

Sympathetic activation means more regular intervals and reflects stress such as exercise, lack of sleep, etc.

Parasympathetic activation means the intervals are less regular, ie. more irregular, and reflects relaxation and recovery.

The most important reading is first thing in the morning and taken in the same manner, ie. sitting, lying down, etc., with as much of everything else being equal as possible. The “best” time is to strap on your tracker right when you wake up and take the reading, but I prefer to sit on the couch watching the news for the 2 minutes 30 seconds it takes for the reading.

In actual practice, it’s the dynamic relationship and shifting from sympathetic to parasympathetic and back again that’s important and watching HRV on a daily basis to see the interplay is important.

In other words, it’s not fair to compare my HRV of 64 to someone else’s of 72 and conclude that they are definitely in better shape than me, but it’s much more important to see how my HRV changes over time.

If my morning HRV was 64 and I exercised intensely later that day, I would expect my HRV to go down the next morning, let’s say 56, and if it doesn’t then I didn’t train as hard as I could’ve trained - maybe that’s the intention, maybe not, but I have the feedback to plan my next exercise session.

That means the day after exercise, if my morning HRV still hasn’t gone to or above the original 64, then I’m not ready for exercise again because I’ve not entered a phase of parasympathetic dominance which indicates recovery.

The EliteHRV app is good because it takes those regular morning readings and interprets the data over time for you and provides a readiness score.

That’s the basics of HRV.

[Stephanie]

This is great data. Thank you for sharing. Are you taking an anti-platelet medication for the afib? I notice that your HR is above 100, any rate control meds? Do you feel differently when your HR is higher?

Also, we frequently use condom catheters on our ICU patients (instead of an invasive Foley catheter). I wonder if that would allow you to get more rest at night.

[tdseest]

To be very clear, I am taking no medications now. I did take them for four days, but didn’t like how they made me feel.

I understand completely why the doctors want people to take anti-platelet, anti-clotting agents to reduce the risk of stroke, but have opted to supplement herbs, vitamins, etc. instead.

I do not feel any different with the high heart rates. Occasionally, if I sustain a heart rate of 220 for over a minute, I’ll be breathless but keep in mind that I could sustain a heart rate of 150 for hours at a time while cycling and not feel bad. So, I have no real symptoms.

I normally get enough rest at night. Some nights are better than others.

[tdseest]

2017-03-22 - 7:15 PM - Types of Atrial Fibrillation

I came across a good infographic that displays a general description of the types of Atrial Fibrillation:

I am currently classified as a “Persistent AF” in that I’ve had it for over 2 months, and the attempt to restore normal heart rate and rhythm to normal failed to hold.

I had a Cardioversion which reset my heart rate / rhythm for 40 hours, but what ever trigger or cause for the A-Fib persisted, and I went back out.

Just pasting this for information for people that may want to know more.

[tdseest]

2017-03-22 - 7:30 PM - Multi-Vitamin Supplements

I view multi-vitamin supplementation as insurance in case I’m missing any vital nutrients for the heart while fasting.

To that end, I’m actually taking two multi-vitamins daily:

Biotics Research - Bio-Mullti Plus (Iron & Copper Free)

Pure Vitamin Club - Daily Multi Cap

[tdseest]

2017-03-22 - 08:45 PM - Electrolyte Supplements.

I will be taking the following electrolyte supplements during my fast. With an A-Fib, it is extremely important to maintain an adequate level of electrolytes at the cellular level. While testing can be difficult, the lack of, or too much of a specific electrolyte can actually cause an Atrial Fibrillation episode.

KAL Magnesium Glycinate 400

Pure Vitamin Club - Broad Spectrum Magnesium Caps

Biotics Research - Bio-CMP

[Scrunchii]

Your experiment is very interesting to me. I’m a cardiac ICU nurse and see people with afib frequently. But also both of my parents have afib and I frequently have runs of bigeminal PVCs ( I wonder if this could be a precursor to future afib).
I just think your data is spectacular! I’m also wondering the rationale behind taking protein. And I’m wondering why your not replacing potassium to a greater degree? Thanks. Good luck to u. I’m interested to see how fasting helps afib. Whenever I’m fasting at work people are convinced I’m going to drop dead…even though 90% of our patients are fasted for medical or testing reasons. Seems so strange to me.

[Lano3710]

Hi Tom, I too was diagnosed with Afib back in 2012 and probably had the irregular HR since about 2006. I had a Pulmonary Venous Isolation Ablation in April 2013, which seemed to “fix” it. This was before starting Paleo, LCHF and then Keto last May 2016. I had a major infection in my left saliva gland in March 2015 which put me in the hospital and then had issues with my HR going into Afib again and had other tachycardic episodes. I was told that this could have been because of the infection, stress and the meds and antibiotics I was being given too. I was put back on meds for Afib again to help it settle down. I am still on the meds, but I am still able to ride and push myself pretty hard with no issue. I even asked my cardiologist if I could come off the meds, and said I could, but slowly. Tried last year, but had an episode which turned out to be a lack of salt, so still yet to try again. I believe that due to going full keto and losing another 10 kg laast year, down from 103 kg in 2013 to 83 kg presently, my overall weight and health improvement has been part of the reason that my heart has “healed” and continues to be strong, that I will be able to come off the meds finally. I believe Tom, that you will be able to heal yourself through your continued ketogenic lifestyle, it just needs time and patience. I beleive that you have to do what you feel is right for you and I wish you all my best wishes in your quest to conquer what many medicos would say is impossible. Happy to share supplement regime with you,which I originally got to after my arrythmia problems, if you would like. Keto on and good luck.

[LouiseReynolds]

Wow! So much data! You’ll be geek’ing out your spreadsheet analysis for ages!

[rettakat]

@tdseest, Following your journey with keen interest. I have irregular heart rhythm and Paroxysmal AFib. On calcium channel blocker and warfarin.

Over at DietDoctor, Dr Fung answered my questions about fasting with AFib. He was cautionary about it, saying extended fasting can raise norepinephrine levels and set off AFib. I wanted to do longer than just short IF’s, and was researching longer fasts.

Since I can’t seem to get ketones up very far (above about .3) no matter how low my carbs/BG goes, I’ve been wanting to do longer fasting. Even 36 hours would allow me to take meds with food at the beginning in the morning, and then take them the next day at night. (I have some meds that must be taken with food).

So thank you for sharing the data you discover. I’m hoping to learn from your experiment. Best of luck with the results!

[tdseest]

Good morning. Both of your questions are excellent questions.

Regarding Protein; I will supplement protein only if I get hungry, as with my weight, hunger signaling is not likely to come from fat. So, I’m willing to supplement protein (in the form of food), but not likely too unless I get persistent hunger signaling. From a historical standpoint, I experimented for over a year with fasting (without A-Fib), and I’ve been fat adapted for over two years now, so I’ll be pretty aware if I get some hunger signaling. I’ll also be adding in more supplement data in the next couple of days (I’m taking more now), and you’ll notice that I’m taking an Amino Acid complex and D-Ribose. While my first (only to date) A-Fib occurred after viral pneumonia, I’m not convinced that I haven’t done damage to the heart, and I’m not willing to risk more damage. So, I’m supplementing some amino acids daily.

Regarding Potassium; it’s kind of an unknown for me. Here are the lab results from my Electrolytes blood draw on 2/23/2017:

As you can see, I’m within normal range on everything, although the normal ranges aren’t really calculated for people that eat a Ketogenic diet. So, I’m really unsure if my potassium is within range or not. I’m also unsure how, specifically, to supplement potassium, outside of food. When I was eating over the last couple of months, I definitely increased my intake of Avocados, etc. but, I’m still unclear to supplement. I do get some potassium in my supplement regimen now, but as you know; you don’t want to over supplement potassium. So, I’m still trying to get more direction there.

One of my big frustrations with the process (medical system), is that the cardiologist doesn’t seem to concerned about the cause for the A-Fib. I’ve given him all sorts of data about my diet, my exercise (endurance cycling), etc., and he just wants to talk cardioversions and ablations. He says my diet is fine, but has little interest in the data from the blood work. Note that ALL of the blood work that I’ve had done, has been ordered by me; not him. He only seems interested in getting me out of tachycardia (understandable), and not in causation.

So, I’m continuing my journey in trying to understand what I need to do to fix the problem, in a semipermanent fashion, without having an ablation.

On another note, I pay cash for my health care, so I’m not interested in running up large bills, just to try different treatments medically. If I have an ablation or maze procedure done, or another cardioversion, it will be because I’ve exhausted all other possibilities.

[tdseest]

It looks like you have quite the history with A-Fib and have made excellent progress. I hope this continues for you.

I will note that I still ride my bicycle; just not as often right now due to cold weather. I can’t spin as fast as I used too (only 60 RPM now to keep the HR managed), so I can’t warm up so easily. But, I plan on riding about 60 miles per week once it gets warmer.

Regarding supplements; I have not logged my entire supplementation strategy here yet, due to time, but I plan on getting it updated here over the next couple of days. Feel free to provide yours, as I’m always looking for new ideas.

Be well, and ride on.

[tdseest]

I wasn’t sure you’d notice any data collection going on, as I collect it in stealth.

You’ll notice I’m putting the BG and BK strips to good use again.

Thank you for all that you do, and for the stuff that you refuse to do for good reasons. (tee hee)