Did alcohol trigger atrial fibrillation?
QI am an active, healthy 72-year-old female concerned about a recent diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. I have had approximately six episodes over the past seven months. Each lasts about 15 to 30 minutes and has always occurred after a couple of “social drinks” and right after I go to bed. I don’t drink on a daily basis. During my most recent episode, I put on my blood pressure machine and was shocked by the numbers. My normal numbers are 130/75, with a pulse of 70. I take blood-pressure medicine every day. My blood pressure during the attack was 153/119, and my pulse was 156. Over the next 10 minutes, it went to 163/125, pulse 109, and then 164/87, pulse 70. Gradually, it lowered to 138/89, and my pulse remained at 70. Throughout the readings, the machine kept indicating an irregular heartbeat. I take two 81-milligram aspirins every day, but my cardiologist isn’t concerned about the episodes because he says they aren’t frequent enough to prescribe medication. He is not aware of these h
