Does alcohol cause Atrial Fibrillation

Alcohol is a common trigger for atrial fibrillation, and we certainly find that patients who have excessive alcohol consumption are at higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation. And in patients in whom the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation is made, high intake of alcohol can certainly exacerbate symptoms and make it much harder to treat atrial fibrillation. Therefore, if you do have atrial fibrillation, you need to moderate your alcohol consumption and depending on the severity of your atrial fibrillation and the severity of symptoms, it may be that a period of abstinence may be helpful as your heart rhythm is brought under control.