Davidz709

Hi -- I am 71 and had an ablation to fix my afib on Feb. 7. So far, so good -- i've been in normal sinus continuously (yay, and fingers crossed), and have begun light spins on my inside bike. Was very active, often "extreme" cyclist before, until afib started interrupting too many rides. My cardiologist said extreme cycling is a risk factor for afib -- not that he's discouraging me from riding. Would be interested in any who've gone thru a similar experience, especially how you handled post-op training. Sadly, it seems that afib is pretty common among cyclists. Thanks. -- David

Carbonfiberboy 

Welcome! What was extreme in your cycling? Heart rate, distance, both?

terrymorse 

Glad you're recovering well, and I hope the ablation has done the trick.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of those things lurking out there for us older endurance athletes, and the actual causes don't seem to be that clearly known, so we're left to guess at ways to avoid AF while still training at a high level.

From the American College of Cardiology article entitled Atrial Fibrilation in Competitive Athletes:

" [There is a] complex relationship between endurance exercise and risk of developing AF. At low to moderate levels of exercise, there is a lower risk of AF. However, rather than a linear benefit derived from increasing levels of exercise, there appears to be a threshold beyond which increasing exposure is associated with an increased risk of AF."

Great, there's a threshold. But where is that threshold?

They hint at some other 'triggers' that might cause the onset of AF:

"It is also possible that environmental and lifestyle triggers act as the 'final hit' in a dual or multi-hit hypothesis for AF in athletes. Stimulants, alcohol and performance enhancing drugs are all pro-arrhythmogenic, while viral illness and psychosocial stressors may be other salient triggers for AF in athletes."

Davidz709

Hi -- I used to do at least 4 centuries per year, a number of "metric centuries" etc. over hot and hilly MA during cycling season. Having said that, clearly "extreme" is a relative and personal descriptor. Whether it really amounted to a risk factor in my case clearly is only a matter of conjecture.

Davidz709

Thanks Terry. You've clearly captured the ambiguity and uncertainty surrounding the condition. One part of me says, let it all hang out and deal with an afib recurrence with another ablation. OTOH, a truck driver passing me too closely could make all of that moot. As Tom Friedman, the veteran Times reporter said of his time in war-torn Lebanon: "Take every reasonable precaution then live your life." -- David

PeteHski

Yeah I wouldn’t describe that as “extreme”. I was kind of hoping you were going to say that you were doing weekly 300k rides all year! If a handful of centuries per year is a major risk factor for a-fib then I’m doomed!

Carbonfiberboy 

As above. The folks I've ridden with who got Afib were all a bit more extreme, so you're a little early but as we say here, everyone's different. I've got one randonneur friend, did PBP twice, has a wall full of "K-hound" medallions, all for year's distances only doing brevets and the like, 10,000-20,000k, would do hill reps on a local steep 1200' climb day after day. His Afib started when he was about 65. Another rider was in his early 70s, broke local age-group records, rode to 18000' in the Himalayas, that sort of thing. Another guy was a hot MTB racer, moved to tandem riding with his much less powerful wife and was still faster than stink. He started to get brief Afib episodes in the mountains and backed it all way off, below his Afib threshold, never had an ablation. Of the other two guys, one's ablation was successful, the randonneur needed multiple ablations and he's still not totally OK.

So you might be able to decide whether to get an ablation or just back you HR off. Talk to your electro-physiologist and take your blood thinners..

Calsun

Many people have AFIB to some degree. The problem arises when a doctor decides to fix the perceived problem. No one knows if extreme physical activity is good or bad for someone with AFIB and there is a not going to be any research or studies that one can rely on.

One thing I would do is keep myself well hydrated to prevent thickening of the blood. This means drinking a couple of quarts of water each day. I used to drink only when I was thirsty and that was a mistake.

Carbonfiberboy 

We are all doomed. "There is hope, but not for us." -Kafka

MinnMan

uh, yeah. And here I was, kind of knocking myself for not yet having completed a century in 2024. I just spent a week in the Texas Hill country and didn't do one. Last time I was there (2020), I did two centuries in 6 days. Maybe I'm setting myself up for afib, but what the hell, I'm going to ride the way I want and can until my health stops me from doing so.
(62 y.o. now).

Carbonfiberboy 

Right on! That was exactly what I said, one pacemaker, 3 stents, one heart attack, and 2 years of doctor visits instead of riding ago. To quote Hendrix, "I'm gonna live my life the way I want to!"

At this point, I might have reformed, just trying to be able to do that guvmint 150' of aerobic and 2 gym days per week. Mostly, I'm worried that I might not outlive my wife, which would be really bad. I have two afib friends who have also reformed. One's doing OK, the other not so much. OTOH, I had a lot of fun and have wonderful memories. But is that what we want late in life? Just memories? "Boring stories of --- glory days?"