One of the most common heart rhythm disorders is atrial fibrillation. In fact, this condition affects 2.7 to 6.1 million Americans. It triggers irregular heartbeat which leads to irregular blood flow through your heart and to your body. Some of the most common symptoms of AFib are confusion, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath. In order to prevent and ease the symptoms of Afib, a person might be required to take medications and undergo some lifestyle changes, such as reducing the intake of sodium and fat and increasing the intake of heart healthy food. There are several factors which can cause an AFib episode, including stimulants, alcohol, and caffeine.

The Effect of Caffeine and alcohol on A-fib and the Heart

According to studies, alcohol might have both positive and negative effects on the heart. The positive effects of alcohol are usually associated with moderate drinking. Hence, moderate drinking might prevent platelets from forming blood clots, reduce the buildup of plaque in the circulatory system, and raise the levels of the "good" cholesterol.

On the other hand, heavy drinking might have a negative impact on the heart, such as enlarged heart, heart failure, high blood pressure, and weight gain.

Until now, no research has been able to find the link between caffeine intake and heart disease. However, several studies found out that drinking more than 5 cups of coffee each day can raise blood pressure.

However, the question here is whether alcohol and caffeine can trigger an A-fib episode. Based on many health experts, there is a close link between caffeine and alcohol intake and Afib and they can trigger an A-fib episode. Nevertheless, it has been very hard to determine how much alcohol and coffee cause an episode of A-fib.

It has been proven that alcohol can trigger a specific form of A-fib known as holiday heart syndrome (HHS). This condition is a sudden appearance of A-fib in individuals who are otherwise healthy but have taken part in binge drinking. Binge drinking means that a person has drunk more than five drinks in a 2-hour period. HHS is more common and frequent after weekends and holidays. Moreover, chronic alcohol use is also closely connected to the risk of Afib.

Are Alcohol and Caffeine Safe with Afib?

The scientific community still hasn’t come to the conclusion whether people who have atrial fibrillation are safe to drink alcohol or caffeine. However, these people should definitely avoid excessive amounts of alcohol and caffeine, while there is no significant risk for moderate drinkers.

Hence, if you have Afib but still want to drink both caffeine and alcohol, make sure you do it moderately. So, as recommended by StopAfib.org, moderate drinking means one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. Moreover, the American Heart Association, a drink is 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. When it comes to caffeine, the safe daily caffeine use is between four and five cups of coffee or 400 milligrams (mg) of caffeine.