Dr. John Day, Cardiologist

What’s Worse for Living a Long Life—Loneliness or Eating a Bad Diet? If you want to live a longer, healthier, and happier life, it’s every bit as important to be socially connected as it is to what you eat. In fact, it now seems clear from the research that being socially connected is an even more important factor in our current and long-term health than what we eat. Being socially connected can be with your family. It can be your…

14 Reasons Why You Got AFib So, why did you get atrial fibrillation? There are a lot of possible substrate causes—some of which you can control and some of which you cannot. Below is a list of the 14 most common reasons why our patients have developed AFib. 1. You Inherited the Wrong Gene Some people inherit a genetic predisposition that makes AFib more likely. Up to a third of all people who have atrial fibrillation without another identified cause…

Will Smiling Help You to Live to 100? Smiles. That is what I came to expect more than anything else when I would visit Mawen in her home in Bapan as we described in our best-selling book, The Longevity Plan. At 107 years old when I first met, she was feisty, funny, and ferociously dedicated to helping others understand that life, while not always easy or fair, is too wonderful a thing to waste with sorrow. I cannot recall a…

Should You Weigh Yourself Daily? Should you weigh yourself daily? The simple answer is it depends on what you are optimizing for. If your goal is normal sinus rhythm and longevity then for most of my patients the answer is a resounding "yes." However, for my rare patient that has achieved a very high level of mindfulness, a daily weight check could be counterproductive. So, unless you have years of optimal weight management under your belt using a mindfulness approach,…

5 Scientifically Proven Reasons Why AFib Ablations Are Better than Drugs The primary goal of anyone who has just experienced their first atrial fibrillation attack is to do everything possible to reverse this condition so that you don't ever get another attack. Ideally, you can make the key lifestyle changes after the first AFib event to maximize the chances of this approach being successful. And of all the healthy lifestyle changes you could make, the most effective is to get…

The Top 3 Drugs Your Cardiologist Wants to Put You on to Slow Your AFib Heart Rate Of all the drugs that doctors prescribe for AFib, rate controllers are probably the most popular. And yet, in most of the cases we see, these drugs usually don’t reduce AFib attacks and seldom do they prevent them all together. They also don’t always prevent heart failure—because, when it comes to heart failure, rate control alone may not be enough. Many doctors don’t even know this yet, but…

Could the News and Social Media be Causing Your Heart Problem? Good, bad, or otherwise, the news used to come to us in far more manageable doses—a bit in the morning when the newspaper hit the doorstep and a bit in the evening when Walter Cronkite, or another seemingly trustworthy person, sat behind the desk of the evening news. Nowadays, news is a 24-hour affair. And what often passes for news—angry people screaming over one another, blowhard commentators spewing politically predictable talking points, and celebrity…

Can High Blood Pressure Cause Atrial Fibrillation? Whenever I meet with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation patients they always want to know why they got Afib. Sadly, one of reasons is usually something they haven't given much thought to...their high blood pressure. Indeed, high blood pressure or hypertension is one of the main causes of atrial fibrillation. How Does High Blood Pressure Cause Atrial Fibrillation? Hypertension occurs when the force of a person’s blood against the walls of their arteries is high…

Can You Only Take AFib Blood Thinners When Needed? The vast majority of my AFib patients hate their blood thinners. In fact, most would be willing to do just about anything to get off them. While the official AFib treatment guidelines don't yet recognize only taking AFib blood thinners when needed, for some patients this can be a reasonable approach to balancing the risk of stroke versus life-threatening bleeding from blood thinners. Is there a way to only take blood…

How to Reprogram Your Genes to Live to 100 Just prior to giving the keynote lecture at a large medical conference organized by Northwestern University in Chicago on the subject of “How to Thrive to 100,” a surprising number of conference attendees I met said something to the effect of, “who in their right mind would want to live to be 100?” That sort of response completely ignores the fact that a person who arrives at 100 still skiing and in good health most likely also…

The 12 Most Common Atrial Fibrillation Symptoms Most of our patients mistakenly believe they don’t have any AFib symptoms because they can’t feel the palpitations that are commonly associated with this arrhythmia. While many patients do indeed experience palpitations, in my experience most do not. In this article we'll cover the 12 most common AFib symptoms and how to get rid of them once and for all. Read on to learn more... The Top 3 AFib Symptoms Sadly, most AFib patients don't…

Are Grains Bad for Your Heart? While there has been a recent flurry of books and websites demonizing grains in every form, the scientific literature does not support this belief. Indeed, in major study after study, real whole or intact grains have consistently been associated with decreased cardiovascular mortality, cancer and premature death. Processed grains, on the other hand, behave just like sugar in the body. And it’s clear that these products are responsible for much of the obesity crisis, as well as the epidemic of…

Does Atrial Fibrillation Have to Get Worse with Age? AFib is a heart condition that, for many people, is little more than another inevitable consequence of aging, many doctors still tell their patients that there is nothing they could have done about it—and that there’s not much they can do now but make it “less bad.” They prescribe some drugs, or order up a procedure, and that is that. While AFib may be a warning sign that you are aging too fast, does atrial fibrillation have…

Does Stress Cause Atrial Fibrillation? How dangerous is stress for people suffering from atrial fibrillation? Will keeping stress levels in check help with your AFib? In this article, I'll do my best to answer the question, does stress cause atrial fibrillation. Evangelina's Experience with Stress and AFib Evangelina was 57 years old when she was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. It had been two years since her husband passed away suddenly of a heart attack and, while she missed him desperately, life was…

How to lose 100 pounds Have you ever wondered what happens to the “biggest losers” on reality TV shows? When the cameras stop rolling, do their incredible transformations stick? Not usually. Researchers have found, in fact, that these contestants’ crash diets send their metabolism into a tailspin, making long-term weight maintenance nearly impossible. In most cases, the weight comes right back and, even six years later, their metabolism is slower than it was before they started filming. This is what…

Blood Thinners versus Watchman for Atrial Fibrillation: Which is Best? No one wants an stroke and most of my AFib patients at higher risk for stroke don't want to take a blood thinner for life. Fortunately, AFib patients at low-risk for stroke don't require blood thinners. But for those who have to take a blood thinner, are there any alternatives? In this article we'll discuss AFib strokes, the role of the left atrial appendage, and whether blood thinners or Watchman…

Dear readers, Recently I went on the Wise Athletes Podcast to discuss how to exercise without getting AFib. We covered all topics related to exercise, AFib, and why athletes seem to be particularly at risk for AFib. If you love to exercise as much as I do this is definitely a podcast you won't want to miss! Thanks for listening! John Wise Athletes Podcast episode website

The 12 Best Ways to Fix Atrial Fibrillation with Sleep Whenever people try to get healthier, and no matter what the underlying reason for that effort, they almost always start with diet and exercise. Those are two very important factors, but without addressing a third factor—sleep—they are almost assuredly doomed to fail in their efforts to eat better and exercise more. In this article, I'm going to give you my 11 best ways to fix atrial fibrillation with sleep. Most of Us Are…

The 11 Worst Medications Causing Atrial Fibrillation Could one of your medications actually be causing your AFib? Over the years I've seen a number of patients either significantly decrease their AFib episodes or even put their AFib into remission for a few years just by getting off an AFib causing medication. For those who needed a particular medication, catheter ablation was very helpful in eliminating the AFib so that they could continue to take their necessary medication. Below are my…

The 7 Most Important AFib Triggers to Avoid A new study was just published identifying the most important AFib triggers to avoid. Avoiding AFib triggers is incredibly important for AFib patients and something we covered in our best-selling book, The AFib Cure. In this article, I discuss the 7 most important AFib triggers to avoid based on published medical studies and my 30 years of experience caring for AFib patients. What are your AFib triggers? While most of my patients…

Is Caloric Density the Secret to Eating as Much as You Want without Gaining Weight? By Kate Clemens with John Day Is there a way to never feel hungry again and not gain weight? One answer is to mostly eat only those foods with the absolute lowest caloric density. In other words, a low caloric density means you want the most food you can get on your plate with the least amount of calories. And in this article, we'll teach…

8 Scientifically Proven Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally Studies show that up to 90% of all Americans will have high blood pressure by age 50! But yet isolated groups of people cut off from our modern lifestyles have normal blood pressures in the range of 110/70 mmHg throughout their lives without the need for medications. If your goal is to optimize for normal sinus rhythm, a heart free of disease, and a long healthy life, you have to…

13 Simple Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work Authored by Kate Clemens with Dr. John Day As Dr. Day revealed in his book, The Longevity Plan, he has struggled to maintain a healthy weight since high school. Indeed, 84% of all Americans report that they have tried to lose weight. Below are our 13 simple weight loss tips that actually work for us and our patients. 1. Diets Don't Work, Lifestyles Do You go on a diet and then you…

Can You Exercise with AFib? Can you exercise with AFib? And if so, how high can your heart rate go before it is unsafe? We all know that exercise is good for you but does that still hold if you're in AFib? If you or a loved one has AFib, read on to learn more. Can Exercise Cause AFib? Most of my patients are shocked to learn that people who run marathons, competitively cycle, or do Ironman triathlons are five times…

The 4 Best Reasons Why Intermittent Fasting May Prevent AFib Fasting has been shown to slow aging and help most chronic medical conditions but can intermittent fasting also prevent atrial fibrillation? In this article, I'll share everything you need to know about intermittent fasting's role in atrial fibrillation prevention. Why Did I Write this Article? My long-term readers know I've always been impressed by the strong data supporting intermittent fasting for longevity and cardiovascular health. Indeed, both of our books,…

The 7 Best Ways to Stop an AFib Attack If you find yourself experiencing a very occasional incident of AFib, you need not panic provided you aren't about to pass out, you're experiencing chest discomfort, or you're short of breath. Of course, if AFib is happening repeatedly then you need to see your cardiac electrophysiologist or "EP" as soon as possible. An EP is a cardiologist who has had two additional years of training in arrhythmias following their cardiology board…

Is Fish Oil Still Good for the Heart and Longevity? Is fish oil still good for the heart? Ten or 20 years ago I would have said most definitely for the heart and possibly for longevity. Now, I'm not so sure. But before we jump into this article, let me share with you 6 reasons why I have taken fish oil in the past. Six Reasons Why I've Taken Fish Oil 1. Fish Oil May Lower Blood Pressure 1-2 Points…

Get Out of AFib as soon as Possible A recent study reported that your risk of cardiac death, stroke, or hospitalization could be decreased by 22% if you can get out of AFib as soon as possible. If you're feeling okay, is there really a rush to get your heart back in rhythm? In this article we discuss the research behind the title of this article--get out of AFib as soon as possible. EAST-AF Study The EAST-AF Study was the recent…

Is Vitamin D Good for the Heart, Longevity, and Atrial Fibrillation? My answer to is vitamin D good for the heart, longevity, and atrial fibrillation is changing based on the most recent studies. While low vitamin D levels are definitely associated with heart attacks, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, longevity, cancer, infections, premature death, dementia, etc. it is becoming increasingly clear that taking a vitamin D supplement may not decrease the risk of any of these bad things happening. So what…

Ablation or Drugs First for Atrial Fibrillation? Should you do ablation or drugs first for atrial fibrillation? Technically, I would argue neither as studies show that with aggressive lifestyle changes, including weight loss, up to 50% of atrial fibrillation cases can be put into remission without drugs or procedures! Assuming you have already tried lifestyle changes, let's discuss next options--ablation or drugs first for atrial fibrillation based on three recently published meta-analysis studies. Background Information If you're not sure what…

10 Tools To Combat Sugar Cravings By Kate Clemens Added sugars in the diet is one of the leading causes of weight gain. And as you know, keeping those extra pounds off is critical to avoiding heart disease - especially atrial fibrillation. Below are 10 tools to combat sugar cravings. 1. Hydrate Often sugar cravings are a sign of dehydration.  Before you give in to that sweet tooth because to quench your thirst.  You may just find that craving loses…

10 Bad Conditions Linked to Low Magnesium By Kate Clemens Low magnesium levels have been linked to the following 10 bad conditions:  atrial fibrillation, heart attacks, cardiac arrests, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, headaches, osteoporosis, and cancer.  Clearly, no one wants any of these conditions.  Scientific literature shows that magnesium intake has decreased over the years especially in the Western world.  Deficiency is not uncommon among the general population and prominent cardiologists have even called magnesium deficiency a…

9 Signs You Aren't Getting Enough Potassium By Kate Clemens I was surprised to hear from Dr. John Day, the author of “The Longevity Plan” and “The AFib Cure”, that most patients in his practice aren’t getting enough potassium in their diet.  He even tracked his own potassium intake with the Cronometer app and learned how hard it is to get the recommended daily amount - which will be noted later in this article.  It makes one wonder, could the…

The Promise of The Atrial Fibrillation Cure Our latest book, The Atrial Fibrillation Cure, comes out today! For the week leading up to the release, The Atrial Fibrillation Cure has maintained a Number 1 New Release status on Amazon. This book is the ultimate source for anyone suffering from this condition. And let me share with you the "promise" of The Atrial Fibrillation Cure which is what you'll read in the first 11 pages of the book. ___________________________________________________________ Much of…

The Top 10 Atrial Fibrillation Triggers A few years back, my good friend, Mellanie True Hills, the founder of the StopAF.org website, teamed up with researchers from the University of California at San Francisco in an effort to better understand atrial fibrillation triggers. What they found in their investigation was that people who are healthier usually have definitive triggers, while people who are less healthy might not even require a trigger to push their heart out of rhythm. They also…

The Longevity Plan Diet The centenarians of China's Longevity Village, home to the highest percentage of centenarians in the world as described in our book The Longevity Plan, eat as they have always have--A bit of animal meat, but not much. Nothing processed. No added sugars. And, owing to the fact that most Chinese are lactose intolerant, no dairy products. Lots of roots and tubers. Lots of wild fruits, garden vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes. Whole grains, never refined, and…

3 Ways to Strengthen Your Willpower to Eat Better in 2021 In this article, I'll share 3 ways that have worked for thousands of my patients to strengthen your willpower to eat right.  While we all want to eat right but it always seems like life somehow gets in the way and derails our willpower.  But if your "WHY" is strong, temptations can be eliminated, and your support is strong enough then willpower is no longer needed. 1. Find Your "WHY"…

4 Reasons Why Normal Sinus Rhythm Beats Atrial Fibrillation The long awaited EAST-AF Study was finally published and the results were compelling--normal sinus rhythm beats atrial fibrillation. If you or a loved one is battling atrial fibrillation the results of this study could completely change the way you and your cardiologist treats atrial fibrillation. No longer should atrial fibrillation be ignored--as long as it can be caught early hitting it hard is your best chance at maintaining normal sinus rhythm…

5 Scary Heart Problems Magnesium May Prevent No one wants unnecessary heart problems, especially scary heart problems magnesium may have prevented. In this article, I share the findings of a study of over 1 million people showing just how effective magnesium is at preventing the worst heart problems. The Million Person Magnesium Study To obtain the data of more than a million people, the researchers of this study had to pull the raw data from 40 individual studies. And when…

How Successful are Atrial Fibrillation Ablations? Atrial fibrillation ablations may be the answer to when your heart is pounding away uncontrollably at 130, 140, or faster than 150 beats per minute and medications are no longer working. And while ablation procedures have had a bad rap for lots of redo procedures in the past, fortunately with the latest HD mapping technology all of that is rapidly changing. Our hospital has been at the forefront of making these procedures much safer,…