If you’re concerned about AFib, you may consult your doctor and try yoga and other exercises, slow down your breathing, or practice other ways of reducing your heart rate.

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If you have atrial fibrillation (AFib), which is an irregular heart rate, you may feel a fluttering in your chest, or it may seem as if your heart is racing. Sometimes, these episodes stop on their own. In other cases, some kind of intervention may be necessary.

Although working with your healthcare team is important for managing AFibTrusted Source and any heart-related issues, you may also want to find some simple ways outside of the doctor’s office to possibly address your AFib risk.

You should only try techniques to stop an AFib episode at home after consulting with your doctor first. It’s important to know when your symptoms are serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room or at least a trip to see your doctor.

Slow, focused, abdominal breathing may be enough to relax you and your heart.

Sit quietly, take a long, slow breath, hold it for a moment, and exhale slowly. Try holding one hand gently but firmly against your diaphragm (around the area of your lower ribs) as you exhale.

You can learn this type of breathing through biofeedback training. Biofeedback is a type of therapy in which you use electronic monitoring of some of the body’s involuntary functions, such as heart rate, to train yourself to have voluntary control over those functions.

Among other techniques, biofeedback involves:

Talk with your doctor about whether you’d be a good candidate for biofeedback therapy.

For some people who have paroxysmal AFib, certain maneuvers may help slow down your heart rate or help you cope with the symptoms of atrial fibrillation better. Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is a type of AFib in which episodes usually resolve within a few days.

Other techniques that can affect the heart’s electrical system include coughing and bearing down as though you’re having a bowel movement.

These are called vagal maneuvers because they’re designed to trigger a response in the vagus nerve, a major nerve that affects your heart function and releases chemicals that can slow down your heart rate.

Vagal maneuvers may not be safe or appropriate for everyone with AFib, so be sure to discuss this with your doctor.

If you’re in the middle of an AFib episode, a little gentle yoga may help settle your heart down. Even if it can’t stop an episode that’s already started, yoga may help reduce the frequency of episodes in general.

A 2015 studyTrusted Source found that people with AFib who took antiarrhythmic medications and went through yoga training achieved significant reductions in blood pressure and heart rate and symptomatic episodes of AFib. They did this while also achieving a better quality of life.

If you’re an athlete living with AFib, you may find symptom relief by exercising. In a case study from 2002, a 45-year-old athlete with paroxysmal AFib was successful at halting AFib episodes by working out on an elliptical machine or a cross-country skiing machine.

While certain exercises may help stop an AFib episode, you should not try this approach without first consulting your doctor, as exercise can also sometimes trigger AFib episodes.

The best way to stop an AFib episode is to prevent one from happening in the first place.

The American Heart Association (AHA) statesTrusted Source that addressing the most common risk factors is the best way to lower your risk of AFib. Risk factors may include obesity, physical inactivity, sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and other lifestyle-related factors.

You can reduce your odds of having an AFib episode in two ways: avoiding things that might lead to AFIB and maintaining good heart health in general.

Pay attention to your triggers and talk with your doctor about lifestyle changes you should make to help keep AFib episodes at bay.

Here are some ways to help preventTrusted Source an AFib episode, according to the AHA:

You can also work with your healthcare team to manage any health conditions that may affect your heart, including

Talk with your doctor about what else you can do to maintain or improve your heart health.

When to seek medical care

You may need to consult your healthcare team and seek emergency medical care if you experience any of the following:

You should also call your doctor if an AFib episode lasts longer than what you normally experience or is associated with concerning symptoms.

While preventing an AFib episode may not always be possible, there are steps you can take to help your heart health and avoid any triggering instances for another attack. This may include yoga, other types of exercise, adjusting your breathing patterns, and other methods to slow your heart rate.

Keep in mind that AFib and sudden heart or chest pain may be a serious sign of an emergency that requires immediate medical care.