Eat a heart-healthy diet.
"A healthy diet helps prevent obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar, which are all factors that can make atrial fibrillation worse."
Make it a low-salt diet, too.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends the
DASH eating plan
for people with atrial fibrillation. The plan is much lower in salt than the average American diet, so ask your doctor about salt substitutes and how much salt you can have in your diet. You can find out more about DASH at
DashDiet.org
.
Exercise regularly.
"Exercise, like diet, protects the heart from atrial fibrillation risk factors like high blood sugar and high blood pressure. Physical activity helps increase your heart strength and gets oxygen into your blood."
Quit smoking.
"Smoking, in addition to secondhand smoke, increases your risk for atrial fibrillation attacks because nicotine stimulates the heart."
Drink alcohol with caution.
"Alcohol is toxic to the heart. Binge drinking can cause atrial fibrillation, and drinking above moderation can cause an attack in someone who has a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation."
Avoid stress.
"Stress is bad for your heart and bad for atrial fibrillation. Not only can stress trigger an attack of atrial fibrillation, but it can also make it worse. Try to identify and avoid stress whenever possible."
(Source: Everyday Health, Inc. 2019)
