Food Triggered Irregular Heart Rhythm?

[cminor7th]

...
I only ran across one or two studies saying there was some enzyme in OVER ripe bananas that could affect heart rhythm, but I didn't save the links and can't seem to find them now. I also didn't have any other symptoms listed for banana allergies, or even having too much potassium.

The enzyme is tyramine. I know because I spent about 50 years wondering why my heart rate and blood pressure would increase uncomfortably several hours after eating certain foods, particularly pizza. Eventually I learned that some people react this way to consuming too much of this enzyme. (Some consumption is OK, but on accumulating a 'high' quanitity the tyramine is not properly metabolised and the negative affects kick in.) The most obvious (and demonstrable) culprit for me is aged cheese (hence pizza!), even though I don't take any drugs that would inhibit tyramine metabolism. Search for tyramine rich food (mostly fermented foods, but also overripe bananas) and you can formulate a list of foods to try to avoid to see if it helps.

(BTW I've also gone through multiple periods of PVCs, for which I could never discover a trigger, but who knows maybe they are subtly related.)

 

[mountainsoft]

I wonder, did the propofal cause it? I have records showing one day I didn't have it, and then..I had it..and I have it all the time.Hummm...

"Another" of my possible crackpot theories is the Covid vaccines. I developed the PAC's after the second or third booster. All the "official" studies say there is no connection, but I ran across numerous reviews from folks who developed PAC's after the Covid boosters. Maybe an unrelated coincidence? Maybe doctors don't really know? Either way, it's something that has made me apprehensive to get another booster. I skipped the last one, and so far have skipped this one too.

I had tingling hands and feet after the first shot that lasted several hours, and a milder tingling response with the second booster. So they're not symptom free.

It's also well documented that "young" men can have heart issues after receiving the Covid vaccine. Not that I'm young anymore.

I'm definitely NOT an anti-vaxxer, but it does make me wonder...

 

[mountainsoft]

The enzyme is tyramine. I know because I spent about 50 years wondering why my heart rate and blood pressure would increase uncomfortably several hours after eating certain foods, particularly pizza. Eventually I learned that some people react this way to consuming too much of this enzyme. (Some consumption is OK, but on accumulating a 'high' quanitity the tyramine is not properly metabolised and the negative affects kick in.) The most obvious (and demonstrable) culprit for me is aged cheese (hence pizza!), even though I don't take any drugs that would inhibit tyramine metabolism. Search for tyramine rich food (mostly fermented foods, but also overripe bananas) and you can formulate a list of foods to try to avoid to see if it helps.

Yep, that's the one! I don't remember when I started eating a daily banana, but it was roughly a year or so before I developed the PAC's. I started because they were supposed to lower blood pressure, not thinking they may have other effects. When I stopped eating them, the change was dramatic.

I don't eat a lot of cheese, but have never noticed an issue. I also enjoy fermented foods like sauerkraut, and dark beers and wine. I've never noticed a connection with any of those, but again, I'm not consuming them every day like I was the bananas.

 

[marko]

"Another" of my possible crackpot theories is the Covid vaccines. I developed the PAC's after the second or third booster. All the "official" studies say there is no connection, but I ran across numerous reviews from folks who developed PAC's after the Covid boosters. Maybe an unrelated coincidence? Maybe doctors don't really know? Either way, it's something that has made me apprehensive to get another booster. I skipped the last one, and so far have skipped this one too.

I had tingling hands and feet after the first shot that lasted several hours, and a milder tingling response with the second booster. So they're not symptom free.

It's also well documented that "young" men can have heart issues after receiving the Covid vaccine. Not that I'm young anymore.

I'm definitely NOT an anti-vaxxer, but it does make me wonder...

I developed an extreme case of tachycardia that had me hospitalized. It was 10 days after my last Covid booster. My doc says it was quite possibly the cause and suspects it's the contributor to my recent set of events. . I have no plans to get any more shots.

BTW, I promised to get back to you: I stopped all peanuts, cashews and peanut butter for the past 5 days. Unfortunately, I've seen no improvement and my PVCs continue.

 

[JoeWras]

Study from the NIH, i.e. not a crackpot organization: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9862670/

The current systematic review and meta-analysis showed that the IR [incidence rate] of cardiac arrhythmia post-COVID-19 vaccination is rare and ranges between 1 and 76 per 10,000. mRNA vaccines, including Moderna and Pfizer, were associated with a higher IR of arrhythmia than vector-based vaccines.

Arrhythmia side effects are not zero. Not exactly common, but enough to take attention. My neighbor developed a pretty bad one after his last booster and was hospitalized for a while.

If you read the study, it says that more work is required to verify everything. I'm also no anti-vaxxer (just got my flu shot), but I say they should still be looking into the mRNA vaccines and studying them for safety. This is still new tech and needs follow up.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Well the premature contraction hits different chambers of the heart.



This is seen with an EKG to differentiate.



From what I hear, they feel very much the same to the human.



Another thing about my PVCs. It felt like the beat was missed, then suddenly caught up with two fast beats in progression. The medical experts tell me that is perception, and it is actually a beat too fast (premature).



When they mild, you don't feel them. If you are exercising, you feel them easier. If you have a whole string in a row, you feel them and even have other symptoms as others describe above.

A quick cardiology lesson:

To be more clear, the terms PAC and PVC has to do with where the electrical impulse originates. Both premature atrial contractions (PACs) and premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) cause the ventricles, the larger and thicker pumping chambers, to contract.

An area of the right atrium contains pacemaker cells and is the sinoatrial, or SA node. There is a secondary area between the atria and ventricles called the AV node. The pacemaker cells in the SA node fire off at a faster rate then AV node, so the SA node determines the heart rate. If that fails (through damage of the heart muscle) the AV node takes over as a back up system. There are other pacemaker cells that kick in on occasion, giving rise to PACs and PVCs.

In general, PACs are not dangerous. Rarely, PVCs can be, if they occur during, the T wave, which is when the ventricle repolarize, it can (but usually doesn’t) trigger a bad arrhythmia.
Basically, these extra beats are part of normal heart function, the backup pacemakers of the heart. However, too many can be very disruptive and certain patterns of these extra beats should be treated.

I’m a retired pediatrician, not a cardiologist. But working in the newborn nursery, I would frequently have to evaluate newborns for irregular heartbeats and order ECGs.

One last thing: consuming alcohol is a known risk factor for atrial fibrillation. One of the many reasons I’m generally removing alcohol from my life, except for the occasional celebratory drink.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/alcohol-and-atrial-fibrillation

 

[JoeWras]

Thanks EastWestGal!

I'm getting sour on alcohol too. I've been trying to lose weight and have been dry for about 5 weeks. Amazing how much better I feel overall.

 

[mountainsoft]

I developed an extreme case of tachycardia that had me hospitalized. It was 10 days after my last Covid booster. My doc says it was quite possibly the cause and suspects it's the contributor to my recent set of events. . I have no plans to get any more shots.

My PAC's started about three months after my second (3rd?) booster shot. So enough time passed that I can't directly correlate the two. However, I never had any issues in my life until getting the Covid shots and every test I've had since shows my heart is still in great condition physically. I'll never know for sure.

BTW, I promised to get back to you: I stopped all peanuts, cashews and peanut butter for the past 5 days. Unfortunately, I've seen no improvement and my PVCs continue.

Bummer. Sorry to hear that. Hopefully you will discover what is triggering yours (if anything).

My PAC's were acting up the last week. I had made a batch of peanut butter cookies and was eating far too many of them as usual. Anyway, two days after they were gone my PAC's tapered off significantly too. So I can probably add peanuts to my list of triggers.

Small quantities of peanuts, cashews, watermelon, etc. don't seem to bother me. But if I eat them for multiple days or in large quantities that seems to trigger my PAC's.

 

[RAE]

I started experiencing PVC's about 4 years ago. They became pretty bad, to the point where I could not sleep because they would constantly wake me up. Really started to become sick, and extremely fatigued. Went to several docs (most of whom said my heart was fine, don't worry about it, nothing needs to be done), until I finally found one who suggested that my iron levels may be too high. Had a serum ferritin blood test done, and that was WAY too high (nearly 500). Started donating blood, and after a couple times doing that, the PVC's became much less noticeable. After the third blood donation, they went away completely. I am convinced that my high iron level (iron overload) was causing the PVC's. Now I donate blood at least 2X yearly, and try to keep my serum ferritin below 100. Feel great now. High iron can be very damaging to many organ systems, including heart liver, etc.. Can lead to cancer also. The serum ferritin blood test is cheap, I think everyone should ask their doc to include it when you do your annual blood tests.https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/14971-hemochromatosis-iron-overload

 

[JoeWras]

The serum ferritin blood test is cheap, I think everyone should ask their doc to include it when you do your annual blood tests.https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/14971-hemochromatosis-iron-overload

I don't know if you need it annually, but everyone should get it as a baseline and occasionally thereafter.

500 is really high! I'm glad your doctor had the smarts to think about that.

I donate a lot of blood and mine dropped to 8. My doctor refused to believe the test it was so low. After 6 months of mild iron supplements, it got back to normal.

Come to think about it, my PVC episodes were before I started donating blood. I hardly notice a PVC these days. Interesting...

 

[mountainsoft]

Had a serum ferritin blood test done, and that was WAY too high (nearly 500).

I looked at my last blood test results and my ferritin level was 175, which I think is right in the middle of the recommended range.

One thing I've learned from the PAC's is they can have numerous causes. I'm glad you found what was triggering your PVC's.

 

[FedRetired50]

Bananas have always pushed me around too. Not as far as PAC, but general malaise and heartburn. Other high potassium stuff aggravates me, or combines and sneaks up on me.

I discovered years ago there is a chemical in bananas, avocados, and kiwis which triggers an allergy. I loved bananas but would have to take a handful of tums before eating one, or it would eat me. While I had no problems with guacamole, I once tried to eat an avocado like an apple and about a minute later I almost had a violent reaction (that would have been awful in my work cube). So I checked the net and sure enough found out about this odd allergy to these 3 things (not the cross-reactive latex allergy).

I can now eat bananas if they are cooked, and I can still eat guacamole, so I assume the chemical changes from cooking and dilution from eating chips and other food with gauc prevent issues. But I'm still on an antacid pill almost every day.

Edit: also following this thread since I've had irregular heartbeats for many years. Multiple Halter monitors, including one for 2 weeks, shows NO irregularities. And I've had every other test under the sun, with every doctor telling me "you're normal". Sure doesn't feel that way some days, literally. And maybe this issue was a partial contributor for wanting to FIRE. Get out and enjoy retirement while I physcially can...

 

[FloridaJim57]

My wife's cardiologist suggested taking magnesium tablet twice a day and it has helped greatly.

 

[mountainsoft]

I discovered years ago there is a chemical in bananas, avocados, and kiwis which triggers an allergy.

Until I started getting the irregular heartbeat, I had no issues with bananas. I don't eat avocado's or kiwi's, so can't comment on those.

Like everything else, I still don't know if banana's "caused" my PAC's, or just made them more frequent and intense. All I know is I have felt better since I stopped eating them.

Unfortunately, the PAC's are often random with no known trigger. Mine flared up again this week, the worst they've been in a few months. But I have not been able to figure out any link to a potential cause. They're still not as bad as when I was eating the bananas, but annoying none-the-less. It has been difficult to sleep with the constant trigeminy pattern thumping the last few nights.

 

[mountainsoft]

My wife's cardiologist suggested taking magnesium tablet twice a day and it has helped greatly.

I tried magnesium early on (a couple different types) and didn't see any change at all. Same with cutting caffeine, alcohol, and reducing stress. Nothing seemed to have any effect whatsoever.

Ironically, drinking alcohol sometimes calms the PAC's down, which seems contrary to common recommendations. Ibuprofin sometimes helps too, though not as successfully.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

When mine first started, I wore a Holter monitor for 24 hours, then once I was diagnosed I tried cutting out alcohol for a week, then caffeine for a week, then both. That was the longest 6 months of my life. <rimshot>

But none of that worked; the CoQ10 worked. The only reason we could come up with was the weight loss, even though it's usually due to rapid weight loss and I lost 70 lbs. over more than 18 months.

 

[ER2B]

What triggers my PVCs is dark chocolate. It took a while to figure out. Process of elimination.

 

[FedRetired50]

CoQ10 has controlled them pretty well...

I want to thank you for mentioning this. I bought some the other day and I've had a major improvement.

 

[mountainsoft]

I want to thank you for mentioning this. I bought some the other day and I've had a major improvement.

My PAC's have really been acting up the last couple weeks, so I'm thinking of trying the CoQ10 also. What dose are you taking?

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

My PAC's have really been acting up the last couple weeks, so I'm thinking of trying the CoQ10 also. What dose are you taking?

I know you asked FedRetired50, but I started at 100mg and stepped up to 200mg when they weren't that well controlled, and as I said at some point, I tried stepping it down to 100mg recently and started feeling the PVCs again, so went back to 200mg.

 

[mountainsoft]

I know you asked FedRetired50, but I started at 100mg and stepped up to 200mg when they weren't that well controlled, and as I said at some point, I tried stepping it down to 100mg recently and started feeling the PVCs again, so went back to 200mg.

Did you notice any difference at 100mg, or did you have to go to 200mg to even see a change?

The high price has discouraged me from trying CoQ10, but figured I'll have to try it before I can rule it out.

 

[marko]

My PAC's have really been acting up the last couple weeks, so I'm thinking of trying the CoQ10 also. What dose are you taking?

This thread got me interested in CoQ 10.

FWIW, I hust read that it's not recommended for those on beta blockers like metropolol, so unfortunately I need to keep looking elsewhere.

 

[FIREd_2015]

I've started experiencing SVT a couple of years ago. It's mostly random but could also be triggered by dehydration and high intensity workouts. I'm starting to think it may be related to something in my diet. I went to Europe over the summer and I had an SVT event a few days after I arrived and I didn't have another SVT until about 4-6 weeks after I returned home. My diet in Europe was completely different than what I normally eat when I'm home so I'm slowly eliminating food items to see if there is a difference in my SVT occurrences. Might try CoQ 10 at some point.

 

[mountainsoft]

This thread got me interested in CoQ 10.

FWIW, I just read that it's not recommended for those on beta blockers like metropolol.

Most of the articles I've run across say CoQ10 helps the effectiveness of blood pressure drugs like Metoprolol.
https://www.stlukes-stl.com/health-content/medicine/33/000950.htm

In any case, I had to stop taking Metoprolol last year. My heart rate was getting down in the 40's, BP down around 90/60, vision was getting blurry, and I was having difficulty with short term memory (remembering names and whatnot). It also prevented my heart rate from rising as I exercised, so I could hardly do anything without getting exhausted. I was having to take 3-4 breaks just to mow the lawn.

I'm on 300mg Diltiazem now and haven't had any of the above side effects since starting it. Occasionally I'll feel a little light headed and random memory effects, but nothing intolerable.

I'm gonna pick up some CoQ10 today and see if it does anything. I tried the recommended Magnesium supplements and they did nothing for me.

 

[FedRetired50]

My PAC's have really been acting up the last couple weeks, so I'm thinking of trying the CoQ10 also. What dose are you taking?

The bottle recommended 1 tab @ 200mg/daily so that's what I've been doing. I take my meds before bed and some days this seems to run out by late evening. I may try finding a lower dose to take in the late afternoon to see what happens.