Just for clarification, my specific form of LAF is paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, with most episodes lasting a few hours initially a few times a year. Frequency of AF episodes has tended to increase over the years, but greatly improved with supplements including Vitamin C. Length of episodes is mostly predicted by the severity of the triggering virus infection, which is my main trigger. Heart is structurally normal and according to my cardiologist the heart is not enlarged in any way. (But I do not have the dimensions of the last echo-cardiogram accessible right now - I will find out, if LA its below 4.0 cm. My cardiologist never discussed left atrial dimension with me only LVEDD, which is normal at 5.0 cm and hasn't changed for 15 years.) Anyways I'm in sinus rhythm right now and on maintenance meds, so I wasn't primarily intending to using Vitamin C for effecting a cardioversion, but for the purpose of maintaining sinus rhythm.From Dr. Levy wrote:... long term prognosis and response to interventions like vitamin C will be strongly affected by how large the left atrium is on M-mode ECHOcardiography. 2D ECHO is helpful as well if the M-mode is a suboptimal cut. When the left atrial dimension is greater than or equal to 4.0 cm, a solid reversion to normal sinus rhythm without properly dosed antiarrhythmic drugs is unlikely to occur. And when the left atrium is even significantly larger, the atrial fibrillation will simply become locked-in and chronic, regardless of what the patient does. ...
I have worked on eliminating all known triggers and dietary toxins. Interesting, that he mentions toxin load and especially mercury here in the context of arrhythmia. Though in my case there is no evidence of cardiomyopathy, it makes a lot of sense to me, that mercury would accumulate in the heart muscle and cause inflammation at the cellular level. I have currently no idea how bad my load of mercury is, but I intend to find out and to look into some form of dental revision to minimize toxic load. I don't have any amalgam fillings any more, but have had them in the past and I see other potential problems with bridges and root canals. Incidentally I had major dental repairs done during the year 1993 when my first episode of AF appeared. I believe that the dentist removed previous amalgams without any precautions. It reminds me of a testimonial I read here:From Dr. Levy wrote:...As a practical point, vitamin C would really only be useful in the very early stages of this process, along with the elimination of stimulants such as caffeine from the diet. If there is evidence of cardiomyopathy elsewhere in the heart, a program that will effectively eliminate the toxin loads, such as mercury, that appear to often be the underlying cause/major aggravating factor for the arrhythmia, as the myocardial levels of such toxins can be very high. Of course, such increased toxin loads in the myocardium would be expected to promote a chronic inflammatory process at the cellular level. ...[emphasis mine]
Mercury did terrible damage to my girlfriend's health; removal of her remaining amalgams improved her health ...
In 1982, she had amalgams removed for cosmetic reasons by a dentist who showed no special care in amalgam removal. ... 10 days later, she buckled over from severe heart pain, only the beginning of many severe health struggles, including nocturnal seizures, arrhythmia and multiple chemical sensitivity. It wasn't until 20 years later that she made the connection between the improper amalgam removal and her "countless" visits to doctors and hospitals for serious health problems. ... [emphasis mine]
Now, if I understand Dr. Levy correctly, he indicates, that Vitamin C is useful for atrial fibrillation (in combination with detoxification), as long as the left atrium is not enlarged yet. Since Dr. Levy did not specifically address lone atrial fibrillation, I am wondering, if cardiomypathy is the main symptom of a toxic load of mercury in the heart or could atrial fibrillation be caused by mercury in the absence of cardiomyopathy?