Riding/Running/Exercising with Afib?

[pooneej]

My afib seems to have come back over this past weekend. Almost 7 years ago I had ablation and thought I'd never need to think about it again.

I went to my primary care physician this morning and an EKG confirmed that it's back. He wasnt very concerned is how he put it. The 'range' that my HR was 76-106 while hooked up. So he said I should make appt with the EP and go from there. Gave me script for metoprolol and said 'come back in a month' and no more exercise.

I'm feeling really lousy about it because my fitness was pretty good and I was really enjoying cycling/running/etc. It's something that really makes the day complete for me. I've been constantly looking at my HR since the appointment and its even more discouraging. It'll go from 61 to 96 in seconds. Then go to 82, then down to 74 and stay there for a bit then I get up, walk to kitchen and it's at 136.

Anyway - how stupid would it be to exercise with this? I am waiting a callback from the EP - tried scheduling appt but the receptionist said he is booked until 9/15. I am going to ask my primary to see if he can call into him and get me in sooner like this week if at all possible.

Or - if anyone else had this: can I hope that it is temporary and may go away within the next day or two?

[SoCalSteve]

My afib seems to have come back over this past weekend. Almost 7 years ago I had ablation and thought I'd never need to think about it again.

I went to my primary care physician this morning and an EKG confirmed that it's back. He wasnt very concerned is how he put it. The 'range' that my HR was 76-106 while hooked up. So he said I should make appt with the EP and go from there. Gave me script for metoprolol and said 'come back in a month' and no more exercise.

I'm feeling really lousy about it because my fitness was pretty good and I was really enjoying cycling/running/etc. It's something that really makes the day complete for me. I've been constantly looking at my HR since the appointment and its even more discouraging. It'll go from 61 to 96 in seconds. Then go to 82, then down to 74 and stay there for a bit then I get up, walk to kitchen and it's at 136.

Anyway - how stupid would it be to exercise with this? I am waiting a callback from the EP - tried scheduling appt but the receptionist said he is booked until 9/15. I am going to ask my primary to see if he can call into him and get me in sooner like this week if at all possible.

Or - if anyone else had this: can I hope that it is temporary and may go away within the next day or two?

I’ve been there! Had ablation 9 years ago and a couple years back I had a flare up. Went to the ER, cardiologist, EP doc and was going to have another ablation. They gave me a bunch of drugs, including blood thinners. I couldn’t tolerate any of them, especially when riding.

For me, of course this may not work in your situation, I did something called a “ pill in the pocket “ method.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa041233

I was very lucky in that I converted using these 2 drugs and never had a-fib again. I keep these 2 drugs with me at all times, just in case.

To answer your question, I did exercise while in a-fib, but it was truly miserable. Hopefully you convert soon and you can go back to living your life. But seriously, talk to your doc about these 2 drugs and the pill in pocket method.

Good luck!

[flying]

Not Afib but I have lived with PSVT for over 30 years. Cycled the whole time.

Longest bout I ever had was probably 13 hours of 170-200bpm before I went to ER to get the "shot"
I probably had that shot 6 times in my life? 6mg of Adenocard (Adenosine) yuk it is like a elephant steps on your chest till heart basically stops & reset

Anyway as I said not sure if you mean Afib or PSVT because ablation is usually used on PSVT also & like yours many times condition does return later.

Main thing to know is what you have & what are the dangers. In my case PSVT is not really a danger as it is basically an electrical shortcut if you can imagine in the heartbeat pathway

Yes there is a small risk of a problem if during the high HR you had a blood clot & it moved etc but that is not common.

Anyway like you many years ago they gave me metoprolol...I took it once & never again. It was like a rpm limiter & I felt terrible

Instead I just lived with it & did not really worry about it. Except when it was incessant & would not reset then I went for the shot.

But as I got older it has in fact gotten way less & I have not had to take the shot in a decade now.Any bouts I have not are short & I can usually reset them myself

I do have them now & then on rides still & many times do not even notice till I get home & see the spikes on my FIT file readout

Good Luck hope yours also gets better but always remember main thing is not to panic.
Think of how you feel...as a cyclist you have seen high heart rates many times yes?
You can use that knowledge to figure out if it is a true Afib/Heart Beat or more like a PSVT

Meaning when it happens are you breathless like a true 200 bpm?
Or are you quite normal & can say a 4 word sentence without feeling out of breath etc?

[SoCalSteve]

Not Afib but I have lived with PSVT for over 30 years. Cycled the whole time.

Longest bout I ever had was probably 13 hours of 170-200bpm before I went to ER to get the "shot"
I probably had that shot 6 times in my life? 6mg of Adenocard (Adenosine) yuk it is like a elephant steps on your chest till heart basically stops & reset

Anyway as I said not sure if you mean Afib or PSVT because ablation is usually used on PSVT also & like yours many times condition does return later.

Main thing to know is what you have & what are the dangers. In my case PSVT is not really a danger as it is basically an electrical shortcut if you can imagine in the heartbeat pathway

Yes there is a small risk of a problem if during the high HR you had a blood clot & it moved etc but that is not common.

Anyway like you many years ago they gave me metoprolol...I took it once & never again. It was like a rpm limiter & I felt terrible

Instead I just lived with it & did not really worry about it. Except when it was incessant & would not reset then I went for the shot.

But as I got older it has in fact gotten way less & I have not had to take the shot in a decade now.Any bouts I have not are short & I can usually reset them myself

I do have them now & then on rides still & many times do not even notice till I get home & see the spikes on my FIT file readout

Good Luck hope yours also gets better but always remember main thing is not to panic.
Think of how you feel...as a cyclist you have seen high heart rates many times yes?
You can use that knowledge to figure out if it is a true Afib/Heart Beat or more like a PSVT

Meaning when it happens are you breathless like a true 200 bpm?
Or are you quite normal & can say a 4 word sentence without feeling out of breath etc?

The condition the original poster has is definitely A-fib and not SVT. The way he described it is exactly what I experienced. SVT is very different as I had that too.

I have had ablations for both. Ablations for a-fib are pretty common.

Let’s not confuse him.

SVT: super ventricular tachycardia
A-fib: atrial fibrillation

I know there are a few doctors on here and definitely one cardiologist. Maybe we can get them to weigh in.