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] c
omplex 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."