John00

I was diagnosed with constant a-fib three years and over 12K miles ago. It's common in endurance athletes. I read the VeloPress book " The haywire heart" didn't come away with any ideas about what to do about it. My cardiologist says I have the heart of a healthy 30 year old, I'm 68.
Anyone else here have a-fib and what are you doing about?

gregf83 

I have a friend who had it treated with ablation approximately 5 yrs ago. Prior to the ablation he was on a cocktail of drugs to control the afib and reduce the risk of stroke. The drugs have plenty of side effects including reduction in performance on the bike. He was very happy with his procedure.

Find a good EP and explore treatment options.

canklecat

I've had some a-fib and a murmur for decades, first diagnosed when I was in my 30s. Seems to run in the family. My oldest daughter's was worse and she had a corrective procedure done in her 30s.

For me it's mostly annoying -- the frequent thumping and fluttering, random fluctuations in resting heart rate from the 60s to 90s.

Probably contributes to some of my lifelong bouts with otherwise inexplicable weakness and shortness of breath, no matter how much I exercise. I was hospitalized for a few days in the 1990s for it, but didn't have any corrective procedures.

At 60 I don't worry about it anymore. It was more aggravating in my teens and 20s when I was more competitive in sports.

Ptcycles

I went into the hospital about 16 months ago for kidney stones and was diagnosed at that point. Doctor convinced me that this is serious and recommended the "Cardio", shocking the heart externally to correct the electrical problem. Had it done in January of last year, and it took three shocks, (you are sedated), but it was corrected. I have been on Eliquis since and it has not returned. Doc says I will be on it for the rest of my life. He also said it was probably brought on by either the stress of the stones or sleep apnea. I do feel better, but I think the meds have caused some weight gain..

JohnDThompson 

One of the biggest risks with a-fib is thrombosis, which is managed by anti-coagulants. Invasive procedures like ablation are usually only indicated if your a-fib is symptomatic. Otherwise, rate-controlling medications can usually work well, but may have undesirable side effects.

Biker395 

Not I, but I know several endurance cyclists that have Afib. Scary stuff for anyone who rides a lot.

Wanderer

I've got it, never knew I had it, and taking meds to control it!

Blanchje

I had a pacemaker implanted 2 years ago as a result of a left bundle branch block. My PM uploads every night and that's when I found out I have a-fib. It is not continuous and I don't always know when I have an episode. I'm on a beta blocker and anti-hypertensive med to help remodel my heart. Combined with exercise I have raised my ejection fraction from 32 to 59. For the a-fib I take an aspirin to reduce the chance of stroke and have cut back on caffeine and alcohol which can trigger it. My cardiologist told me I may have to go on a stronger anti-coagulant when I get older (just turned 60). Concern there is crashing. Guess I'll worry about that later. For now my doc has told me "live your life". I ski the Rockies, ride, workout, etc. and I feel good.

Carbonfiberboy 

Most of the riders I know who've gotten Afib from too much high-end cardio have had ablation procedures. Some of them started by trying to control it with the elimination of alcohol and caffeine and anaerobic work. This worked long-term for one rider, but not for others. I don't have it, at least not yet.

dadof7

past 13 years. gotten more frequent, gave up the biking and running ,,, now scheduled for ablation June 6,2018. hope to get back to running and biking, by July ish.

ramius

First and most important: Find a GOOD doctor. Sounds obvious, I know, but it takes some effort. My first 2 doctors, quite literally, nearly killed me, and wasted a year of my life.

Spoke to my sister, who was an RN in a cardio recovery ward at the time, and she recommended a particular 'nerdy little doctor' (her words)

First visit, he looked at my medication list and said very carefully, "are you taking ALL of these meds?" When I replied in the affirmative, he said "Let's see how many of these we can do without."

A few months later, I was doing much better. A couple of years later, I was riding nearly as well as before my near-fatal episode in 2004. I've had one hospitalization since then, and it was for only 6 hours, not a week in ICU like the original, near fatal episode.

Some doctors believe every side effect requires yet another Rx pill. Find a doctor that is interested in getting you well, not in getting your insurance information. My doc is a road rider- first thing he asks each visit is "are you riding your bike?" My bike keeps my BP down, my weight under control, and my mind at peace. He knows this. No pill required.


Do your research, ask a nurse, talk to friends with the same problem. But find that 'good doctor'

It might just save your life.

mdadams1

Could you describe in detail what "High-end Cardio" was in your case?

Mike Adams

Carbonfiberboy 

In my case, I don't have it, so nothing relevant to describe. The most recent of my buddies to come down with it had been doing 2-3 1200k Grand Randonees every year, including Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP). The summer when he really came down with it and quit riding, he was doing the steepest local climbs up to 18° and totalling ~3000', 3 times a week, plus a brevet on many weekends. I don't know what his HR stats were, but one can imagine. Another buddy would do a couple of anaerobic hill repeat sessions twice a week, plus a competitive group ride on weekends, plus daily workouts on his rollers and had been working out like that continuously for over 50 years. My over 60 doctor who had an ablation has an 18% hill right near his residence and would do intervals on it when he was on call. That kind of a guy.

Apparently if you push your limits often enough and for enough years, it becomes a risk. The literature says it's most common in competitive athletes starting at maybe 45, who try to maintain their youthful speed and competitiveness as they age.

My practice for the past 20 years has been to limit my zone 4 to ~45'/week and zone 5 to ~10'/week - or less for both of those. So far so good but I know I'm pushing it. YMMV

Edit: I might mention that my out to keep away the competitive part of my nature was to take up tandeming with my wife at ~65. There's no pretense of being competitive with anyone, but we still go hard and have fun, just on our terms and not getting sucked into any group sufferfests. My survival strategy, FWIW.

Biker395 

I have no basis for doing so but I agree with you. I found an article that summarized the results of a number of studies on Afib and one of the frustrating things about the studies is that there is NO standard by which they decide someone is an athlete or not. One of the studies regarded anyone that completed a metric century at any pace as an athlete .... another considered elite athletes participating in Ironman contests and the like. I think that is nonsense, because riding at a conversational pace is a whole lot less stressful than riding at a competitive pace.

My belief (and I'll admit I have little basis for it) is that the demographic at risk are just the people you are speaking of.

IronM

I’ve had an irregular heartbeat even before I took up cycling, well back into my college days. It comes & goes. I could feel a ‘fluttering’ in my chest, or even when it skips a beat. A few years ago, when it got bad, I wore a monitor for a month. They did capture irregularities, but the doctor told me it wasn’t the type they worry about. So I don’t either. I suspect, however, this cardiologist probably sees many more blockages than he does athletes. Not sure how to find a ‘good’ cardiologist that understands aging athletes, or even if I need to bother.
Now as I age, my body has become less stress tolerant. I’ve found I feel healthier if I DON’T push the training stress level too high. Often, my heart just isn’t ready for training & I can feel it. In such conditions, I just don’t push it. There are times where too much of a good thing is just too much of a good thing. I suppose everyone’s condition is different. As I’ve quit racing, learned to control stress and prioritize sleep, I can’t recall feeling any obvious arrhythmia recently.

Carbonfiberboy 

Yes, many people with Afib are not athletes at all. Just happens. But among athletes, risk increases among those whose high training levels are maintained for decades.

Carbonfiberboy 

Perfect, IMO. I've had heart weirdnesses too, but they, like yours, didn't amount to anything. My doc says skipping beats or having the heart do a reset is quite common and does't mean anything. I do have one issue, a partial left bundle branch blockage. My cardiologist says nothing to worry about unless I get symptoms. I guess I'll know if I do.

I've started taking my HRV (heart rate variation) every morning with an app on my smartphone. That's been interesting and I think helpful. Recommended.

mdadams1

Apparently if you push your limits often enough and for enough years, it becomes a risk. The literature says it's most common in competitive athletes starting at maybe 45, who try to maintain their youthful speed and competitiveness as they age.

Thank you for sharing this. I have the tendency to push too hard. I am 63. I do not suffer from AFIB but I have some very athletic friends who do.

Mainiac

I've had it for about 10 years. I've been cardio-verted 5 or 6 times, but it kept coming back. I've been taking drugs for it for about that same amount of time, but after a while, even after increased doses, they stop working. I'd finally decided to have an ablation, but the "electrician" (if you've been to a cardiologist you"ll know what I mean) said to hold off a bit as they are finding out they often don't last and you need to have it done again. Taking blood thinners makes me a bit nervous, but I'm still riding.

CliffordK

I don't really know here. Every once in a while I'll have what feels like a personal earthquake. Usually when sitting quietly. And it eventually goes away on its own, sometimes when moving around a bit.

Several years ago, I just about completely stopped drinking coffee, soda, and caffeinated beverages (although I still like hot chocolate).

Cutting out caffeine has helped a lot with the flutter, and it is extremely rare. It has also reduced finger tremor.

Cycling doesn't seem to have a negative impact.

Oh, in the last couple of years, I've pushed my resting HR down to the lower 60's/upper 50's. In the past, I think I never saw it below the upper 60's and miid 70's.