Fifty Plus (50+) - Harrowing Experience - Update On Palpitations

Looks like your experience was nearly the same as mine. I think I may have been mistaken to call mine "atrial" tachycardia though. Apparently tachycardia can affect different areas of the heart. My doctor said some are more dangerous than others, so I don't want to give the wrong impression as to which kind I had.
SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) is a generic term to indicate a tachycardia that originates above the ventricles. I had AV nodal reentry tachycardia, which is the most common and I believe less dangerous than others, but still annoying and uncomfortable. One type of SVT is called "atrial" tachycardia:

http://www.mindwheels.com/ED-WEB%20Web/SVT.htm



I haven't had any more episodes since the procedure. If I drink about six cups of coffee I get a twinge, but that's all. How about you?
Same here, at worst I get a twinge, and I'd have to have a lot of caffeine and add a little stress at work to even do that. I had the ablation a few weeks ago, so maybe I still need to give it a little time. But I can push a heart rate of 190 on the bike (I'm 37 y.o.) and not even get a twinge.

Dnvr,
Just read you original post today and I'm glad to hear you're doing better. Heart problems can be very scary, I know, I'm 5 weeks post-op mitral valve repair and one of the complications after this type of surgery can be A-fib. Developing A-fib was one of the things that had me terrified before the operation. Fortunately, this never occurred and my recovery is going well ecept for an occasional cough which hurts like hell in the incision area. You mentioned a HR of 155 - was that resting? I'm a little stressed because mine is in the 80's (resting 40's before surgery). I hope you're able to get that down. I was wondering why they have you on blood thinners, but then I guess it's to prevent the clotting. Since my valve was repaired and not replaced, I was able to avoid the whole blood thinner thing. Very happy about that!! Good to see you're still riding the bike though. Doctors told me 6 weeks and only then on the trainer. Probably have to wait another few weeks before attempting the road - don't want to fall on the sternum. Again, congratulations on your improvement! Take care.

SVT (supraventricular tachycardia) is a generic term to indicate a tachycardia that originates above the ventricles. I had AV nodal reentry tachycardia, which is the most common and I believe less dangerous than others, but still annoying and uncomfortable. One type of SVT is called "atrial" tachycardia:

http://www.mindwheels.com/ED-WEB%20Web/SVT.htm



Same here, at worst I get a twinge, and I'd have to have a lot of caffeine and add a little stress at work to even do that. I had the ablation a few weeks ago, so maybe I still need to give it a little time. But I can push a heart rate of 190 on the bike (I'm 37 y.o.) and not even get a twinge.

LCI Brian: I've noticed your avatar also on the Wrightwood California Forum. Do you live up here in God's country? If you do, I live by the country club on the corner of Twin Lakes and Elm. Stop by and say hello sometime!

You mentioned a HR of 155 - was that resting?

Wehn I first had the AFib, my resting heart rate was about 155.

Even one month later, when I finally got to see a Kaiser MD and they then sent me in an ambulance to a hospital, the reason they sent me was because my resting pulse was way too high. They put me on drugs to slow the heart, and would not rrelease me until it was below 100 bpm.

Right now, after the ablation, it is running about 70-75. Before the ablation it was 59. I have been told it will take about a year until it gets back down to about 59.

As of today, I am off of all prescribed medications associated with the Atrial Fibrillation.

I will be taking one adult aspirin daily.

My heart remains in Normal Sinus Rhythm

A big CONGRATS Dnvr......come a long way from the discouraging days before the procedure to the hassles of traveling here to CA, to the doc not finding the veins, etc. etc.

Probably should go down to your workout room, turn on your most bodacious Spinerval and some WWII action, and really blow out the pipes! :beer:

A big CONGRATS Dnvr......come a long way from the discouraging days before the procedure to the hassles of traveling here to CA, to the doc not finding the veins, etc. etc.

Probably should go down to your workout room, turn on your most bodacious Spinerval and some WWII action, and really blow out the pipes! :beer:

Thanks!

I was a heretic today and went on a 5 mile walk instead of bicycling! Just liked the change.

As of today, I am off of all prescribed medications associated with the Atrial Fibrillation.

I will be taking one adult aspirin daily.

My heart remains in Normal Sinus Rhythm

That is just super Fox! I am so happy for you!!

A Question Fox: I was not aware that a good friend of mine and superb athlete was suffering from AFIB. He is a triathlete, has won state cycling championships, and is the swimming coach of the Maddogs (world's largest triathlon club here in the St. Petersburg area). He telephoned me last night to tell me that he had had a pacemaker/defibrillator combination implanted in his chest. It is tweaked to limit is max heart rate to 130. He indicated that he had "silent" AFIB meaning he would not be aware that he was suffering an episode. I find that phenomenon difficult to understand in that when I suffered my two events, I was immediately aware of the rapid, irregular beats. I wonder why one would undergo the implantation procedure rather than look in to an ablation procedure such as yours? Any thoughts - I am going to visit him later in the afternoon.

A Question Fox: I was not aware that a good friend of mine and superb athlete was suffering from AFIB. He is a triathlete, has won state cycling championships, and is the swimming coach of the Maddogs (world's largest triathlon club here in the St. Petersburg area). He telephoned me last night to tell me that he had had a pacemaker/defibrillator combination implanted in his chest. It is tweaked to limit is max heart rate to 130. He indicated that he had "silent" AFIB meaning he would not be aware that he was suffering an episode. I find that phenomenon difficult to understand in that when I suffered my two events, I was immediately aware of the rapid, irregular beats. I wonder why one would undergo the implantation procedure rather than look in to an ablation procedure such as yours? Any thoughts - I am going to visit him later in the afternoon.

Incompetent medical advice?

Happens all the time.

Otherwise, there must be more to this than meets the eye.

I am still in NSR, and the AFib is out of sight and pretty much out of mind!

Incompetent medical advice?

Happens all the time.

Otherwise, there must be more to this than meets the eye.

I am still in NSR, and the AFib is out of sight and pretty much out of mind!

Incompetent medical advice is always a very strong possibility and something that is unfortunately rather prevalent. I, for example, broke my neck in a bicycle race (last October 30th trying to avoid an official who ran into my path). It is the rarest and most fatal (50% mortality rate) of spinal fractures - a fracture to the C1 cervical vertebra (also known as the atlas). I will not get into the medical horror stories that I have faced in dealing with this situation, but my research has led me to a renown expert with whom I have an appointment this coming Wednesday.

As an aside, I have always had little patience for those who find excuses not to exercise. I ride my trainer for 70 minutes every day with a broken neck which gives me even less patience than I had previously for those folks.

I guess I will get the complete story regarding my friend's situation when I visit him this afternoon.

no, i don't believe it was from incompetent medical advise. not everyones afib is the same. i also had to have a pacemaker implated and have an av ablation. the ablation that denvr had would not have done a thing for me. along with afib i experanced tachycardia or very high heart rate. during exercise my bpm would go as high as 240. thats a little high for 62 at the time. perhaps in the future there will be other procedures to cure the problem. its been a year for me and have had zero problems and would advise someone to do the same if everything were the same. the only negative is i must still take a blood thinner, althou not as much as before the ablation.

Skydive...........you are superhuman! Glad you are back. I didn't know about your injury so I wondered what had happened to you. Hope you can stick around. Best wishes on your recovery, but you seem to have even a broken neck in hand. Hearing about your 70 minutes makes me embarassed for days I weasel out.

no, i don't believe it was from incompetent medical advise. not everyones afib is the same. i also had to have a pacemaker implated and have an av ablation. the ablation that denvr had would not have done a thing for me. along with afib i experanced tachycardia or very high heart rate. during exercise my bpm would go as high as 240. thats a little high for 62 at the time. perhaps in the future there will be other procedures to cure the problem. its been a year for me and have had zero problems and would advise someone to do the same if everything were the same. the only negative is i must still take a blood thinner, althou not as much as before the ablation.

Apparently he has the same situation that you experienced - episodes of extremely high heart rates. He also mentioned a number of 240 when I spoke with him on the telephone last night. Thanks for the information.

Skydive...........you are superhuman! Glad you are back. I didn't know about your injury so I wondered what had happened to you. Hope you can stick around. Best wishes on your recovery, but you seem to have even a broken neck in hand. Hearing about your 70 minutes makes me embarassed for days I weasel out.

My problem has been that my fracture has not healed - or a non union as they refer to it in medical circles. 4 1/2 months after the accident, I have little neck mobility and pretty substantial pain during neck flexion/extension. My orthopaedic surgeon wanted to send me for surgery after two months, but unfortunately, any of the fusing techniques used to fuse C1 relegates the patient to a guaranteed, permanent loss of 50% neck mobility. I have also been wearing a bone generation machine with electrodes attached to the lateral portion of my neck.

With all of that, last Sunday I was riding my trainer when I was just struck with the need to be on a real bicycle. I jumped off the trainer, put on my Bolle sunglasses and Giro helmet, and with stiff neck brace in place, I headed down the road. Although I did only 11.99 miles averaging 17.485 mph, and had to bend my eyeballs upwards as hard as I could to simply see down the road, it was an incredible freeing and exhilarating experience for me. The endorphins lasted for two days. I followed that performance mid week, and had the joy of hitting 31.1 mph in the park near my house. My son was quite mad at me for taking such a chance with a broken neck and opined that people must have thought I was someone who had escaped from the local mental institution! :)

It is true that I have been off of the forum. I have been struggling with bouts of depression dealing with this unfortunate turn in my life, and have just not had the inclination to deal with something in which I could not personally participate. I do intend to beat this, and I refuse to give up the goal of winning the National Senior Games time trials in Louisville in June of 2007!

SkyDiver....another reason not to give in (to damned understandable) depression is that now you are a hero of will-power, discipline and sheer guts to all us FiftyPlus types. Just what you needed, huh....a bunch of gray headed guys at the finish sprint shouting "Allez".

Keep wired in here and keep us posted towards '07.

[QUOTE=skydive69] I, for example, broke my neck in a bicycle race (last October 30th trying to avoid an official who ran into my path). It is the rarest and most fatal (50% mortality rate) of spinal fractures - a fracture to the C1 cervical vertebra (also known as the atlas). QUOTE]

I pray for your complete recovery and good health.

SkyDiver....another reason not to give in (to damned understandable) depression is that now you are a hero of will-power, discipline and sheer guts to all us FiftyPlus types. Just what you needed, huh....a bunch of gray headed guys at the finish sprint shouting "Allez".

Keep wired in here and keep us posted towards '07.

I am usually in good mental spirits, but once in a while I give in to a bout of depression. It is so difficult from going from doing a glorious 1000 miles a month on the roads to the tedium of daily 70 minute training rides in my garage staring down at the ever increasing pool of perspiration. Also, a non-healing C1 fracture is incredibly rare, but I guess when you get over 65, great health notwithstanding, things sometimes don't quite go as they used to. Anyway, I appreciate the encouraging words!

[QUOTE=skydive69] I, for example, broke my neck in a bicycle race (last October 30th trying to avoid an official who ran into my path). It is the rarest and most fatal (50% mortality rate) of spinal fractures - a fracture to the C1 cervical vertebra (also known as the atlas). QUOTE]

I pray for your complete recovery and good health.

Thanks berts - I'll take it! :)

skydive69

I sent you an email.

skydive69

I sent you an email.


Thanks - I got it and have replied.

Skydive69,

I have recently picked up a new book titled Bike for Life, How to Ride to 100, by Roy M. Wallack and Bill Katovsky (Marlowe & Company, New York, 2005, ISBN 1-56924-451-0). In it, they discuss a previously under estimated hazard to bicyclists, especially us older ones, called osteoproosis. Here are some quotes from Chapter 9, page 212:


Dr. Jeanne Nichols, PhD, a professor of ex.rcise andnutrition and a serious cyclist, was conducting bond density studies of veteran bike racers and endurance riders. Ultimately, she examined the bones of 27 Masters racers and endurance riders, like Penseyres and Templin, who had an average of age of 51.2 and trained an average 12.2 hourrs a week for 20 years. Her study, "Low Bone Mineral Density in Highly Trained Male Masters Cyclists," was published in the August 2003 issue of Osteoporosis International. And her conclusions, communicated in an article by this coauthor published in the March 2004 issue of Bicycling Magazine, would stun the bike world: Anyone who rides a bike as his or her main form of fitness is risking osteoporosis...

...In Nichols's study of 27 male riders, however, two-thirds showed at least "osteopenia," moderate bone loss. Four of those had severe bone thinning, or osteoporosis. The test group's average hip and spine bone densities were 10 percent lower than a control group of similar aged, moderately athletic noncycling men.

When I remarked to Nichols that 10 percent didn't seem like a big deal, she was agast.

"Clinically, 10 percent thinning is significant--not good--almost frightening," she said. "Because at age 50, average men have no bone loss at all..."

Seeing this (there is a lot more discussion on the mechanism for bone loss in the book), and hearing you discuss the cervical vertebra which is not healing, I have to ask whether you have discussed your training with your doctor? If not, you might want to talk to him about it and be tested for this newly uncovered aspect of cycling contributing to osteoporosis. It could explain some of what's happening to you.

Good luck,

John

Skydive69,

I have recently picked up a new book titled Bike for Life, How to Ride to 100, by Roy M. Wallack and Bill Katovsky (Marlowe & Company, New York, 2005, ISBN 1-56924-451-0). In it, they discuss a previously under estimated hazard to bicyclists, especially us older ones, called osteoproosis. Here are some quotes from Chapter 9, page 212:



Seeing this (there is a lot more discussion on the mechanism for bone loss in the book), and hearing you discuss the cervical vertebra which is not healing, I have to ask whether you have discussed your training with your doctor? If not, you might want to talk to him about it and be tested for this newly uncovered aspect of cycling contributing to osteoporosis. It could explain some of what's happening to you.

Good luck,

John

Also, please see:

http://www.beezodogsplace.com/Pages/Articles/Osteoporosis-Cycling/Osteoporosis-Cycling.html

and previous numerous threads on osteo and cycling, like this for example: (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=44525&highlight=osteoporosis)

I am very new here and just happened on this thread which really caught my eye and I have sat here and read every post. It caught my eye because I have had paroxysmal atrial tachycardia for over 5 years now. Normally, atrial tachycardia is not as serious as Afib, but in my case it has been. Mainly because it has yet to be satisfactorally controlled, and my HR goes over 200bpm for sometimes days. Have done the ambulance scenario many times. I have had 2 RF ablations. Well, one actually. The first one in 2001 had to be aborted because the Dr. punctured the atrial wall and I ended up in ICU for a couple of days. I have been on so many different medications over the past 5 years that I can't count them all, and was recently put back on coumadin after another attempt at ablation in November which didn't work. I had been afraid to try the ablation again because of what happened the first time, but I was so sick of the condition and the medications that I thought I had no choice. Mine is in the left atrium which is very unusual and a lot more risky to go into. It took 6 catheters and the whole procedure lasted 7 hours. I am now back again on flecainide which controls it most of the time. My cardiologist says it IS AFib, but my electrophysiologist says it is not. :rolleyes: Anyway, I have always been very active and hiked in the mountains (vigorously!)in Wyoming before I took up mountain biking here in AR 2 years ago. I have always wondered if maybe my lifestyle contributed to the onset of the tachycardia, and now after reading this thread, I am convinced. I am 61 yo and I am still going strong, but when I am having the tachycardia, I am debilitated, as I can't be in an upright position without nearly passing out. My electrophysiologist wants to try the ablation again, but I am very skeptical, but I hate being a mountain biker and being on the coumadin. Also, I have not yet been able to find any ladies to ride with me here, and I know it is not a good idea to go alone, but I do anyway, or not ride, which is not an option as far as I am concerned.
Anyway, thanks for listening, as I just had to add my 2 cents and let it be known that a very fast heart rate is not always Afib. Believe me, it feels the same as described on this thread. I always say I have a boxer in my chest using my heart for his punching bag and his rhythm really sucks! Sometimes it awakens me in the middle of the night and shakes the whole bed. :eek: I am very used to it now, though and it never scares me even when it makes me pass out. But it scares my husband and my family to death. It scares my family doctor and he usually puts me on the ambulance to the nearest emergency room 35 miles from his office.
DnvrFox, I am so happy for you that the ablation worked for you and you are now in NSR. That is so wonderful! Bless you, you have certainly earned the relief!
Please excuse the verbal diarrhea. :o

DnvrFox, I am so happy for you that the ablation worked for you and you are now in NSR. That is so wonderful! Bless you, you have certainly earned the relief!

Hi!

I do have a couple of support/info exchange groups in which you may have an interest if you have not already located them.


http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/P_Atrial_FibSupport/?yguid=11846886

http://www.afibbers.net/forum/list.php?f=4

From everything I have learned and read it is absolutely critical who does your ablation. I opted for Dr. Natale, world famous, from the Cleveland Clinic. Others go to Bordeaux, France.

There are also procedures such as the Maze and many variations of the maze.

Good luck. I hope you can find a solution.

Here is an interesting article on something just published this month:

http://www.lifeclinic.com/healthnews/article_view.asp?story=531294

According to good medical studies Omega-3 fish oils are number one for preventing fibrilation. You can check this out on Google. You may not get much or the right kind of fish in Denver. Most docs aren't aware of this as the drug companies have no financial incentive to spread the research results.

Contrary to what is stated in the article, A-fib may cause blood clots which may reult in a stroke, but not a heart attack, at least according to my cardiologists. That's why it's important to seek a medical opinion if you are aware of an irregular heart beat which lasts for more than an hour.

I just want to thank you DnvrFox for this thread and for all those who have contributed to it. Sorry to resurrect it if it was put to bed, but it is a great source of comfort for other cyclists going through these terrifying experiences alone. It helps to know that these occurrences have been not uncommon in our athletic community and others.

Like Lady Hawk mine has involved strange bouts where my HR has suddenly shot up to 235 bpm+ during exercise. And once, while at work...where, feeeling decidedly not good, a sudden spike to 210+ led to a trip to the ER to find out what in tarnation was going on with me.

It was a quite an experience to find myself overnight in the ER with so many folk whose defibs had gone off or who were in one kind of cardiac distress or another. What a great group of folk, despite their troubles.

Anyway, for now I am on Metoprolol ER together with a less potent version of my normal BP Rx, Diovan HCT. Trying to figure out the next step with my Doctor and Cardiologist. Haven't ridden a bike --at least not hard -- in a few weeks -- part schedule/part fear of it happening again. Just some medium weight lifting and easy treadmill walk/run routines so far.

Thanks.

I was pretty severely criticized by a couple of folks for having "medical" stuff (we 50+ folks aren't supposed to have "medical" issues) on the forum.

But, I thought that even if there were a couple of folks out there who were going through the same thing that it might be useful to have other's experiences to bounce ideas off of.

This thread started by DnvrFox is easily the most significant thread I have read here or anywhere else on the internet. I have suffered a few rather wide spread incidents over the past three years, and as I delved deeply into it, I was amazed to discover the number of very good local athletes with the same experience. As you are well aware, a good aerobic athlete is more apt to suffer AFIB and HVT than a "normal" person.

As an aside, a good friend of mine who is a very successful bicycle racer underwent an ablation procedure in January which rid him of his problem. He has been back successfully racing this season.

My first incident in 2004 (I have suffered a total of 5 over the years) was scary enough to bring me to the emergency room, but fortunately I went out of AFIB prior to getting the medication they were about to give me. Probably very stupidly, the last time I suffered an incident, I went for a two and a half hour bicycle ride while in AFIB. I found it amusing that my heart rate would actually go down when I was climbing.

Another fascinating subject that gets rather involved is the difference in ecocardiogram readings between the regular population and highly trained athletes. I, for example, was flagged for my allegedly high Isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT). Research showed that a study of elite soccer players in Europe indicated that those athletes had IVRT readings well above the so-called normal reading. The secret is to enlist the services of a physician who is well aware that he is dealing with a super normal rather than sub normal patient.

Some of you might remember Dr. George Sheehan, the famous running cardiologist who other than being a world class runner, was also the running editor for Runner's World. He was a teammate of mine on the Shore AC, and once gave me a stress EKG. I was an active airline pilot at the time, and George said that my EKG reading might flag me as a cardiac case with my airline. He indicated that I had a super heart and only one of two that he had seen in his many years as a cardiologist. He indicated that the medical profession unfortunately is used to dealing with sub normal - not super normal. He further indicated that he would intervene on my behalf should I ever have an issue. Fortunately, I never did.

It is complicated out there. One must be one's own medical advocate and do extensive research. For example, when I broke my neck in a bicycle race in October 2005, the Orthopaedic physician I was seeing wanted to fuse my C1 cervial vertebrae to the base of my neck relegating me to a permanent 50% loss of neck mobility. I did my research and found a chap that proceeded without surgery. I ultimately healed and went on to break all of the FL state time trial records for my age group. Had I taken the "expert" medical advice, I would be incapable of even riding my time trial bicycle.

A forum like this is a wonderful place to exchange information, but after this long winded diatribe, I to want to thank DnvrFox for his candid and helpful information. It was fascinating following his case at the time, and it was very exciting when it came to a very successful conclusion!

Yes, I found this thread useful when dealing with my own arrhythmias. The thing about arrhythmias is that they can either potentially lead to more serious consequences, or they could just be harmless but annoying - you can't tell just from "feeling" them. Luckily for me it was the latter, but it still scared the **** out of me the first time.

DnvrFox, how are you doing nowadays? I've eliminated caffeine and don't get tachycardia any more.

DnvrFox, how are you doing nowadays? I've eliminated caffeine and don't get tachycardia any more.

I am doing great. No AFib since the ablation 2.7 years ago. Fully functional, never worry.

Like you, I use absolutely no caffeine of any kind - I find it does many things to my body which I do not like. However, caffeine was not the cause of my AFib. I simply don't use it as a precaution, and because of the other strange things it does to me. Same thing with any "cold" medicine or similar.

Thanks for asking.

Thanks.

I was pretty severely criticized by a couple of folks for having "medical" stuff (we 50+ folks aren't supposed to have "medical" issues) on the forum.

But, I thought that even if there were a couple of folks out there who were going through the same thing that it might be useful to have other's experiences to bounce ideas off of.

Thanks again for having the courage to bring it up, and damn the torpedoes. In the government world you'd be good for a Meritorious Civilian Service Award, I reckon. So here, I'd say a Meritorious Cycling Service Award.

I think that's an advantage of these subforums compared with some other places Web where any deviation from the concept of the idealized cyclist age 18-24 with no health issues at all, is greeted with a great deal of ignorance — almost ignorance of some of the vagaries of aging and genetic tendencies — or worse, derision.

I did discuss the first incident with a couple of doctors, in conjunction with a pneumonia and asthma issue I was recovering from — and managed to get an appointment for a stress test which reveled nothing unusual, except general good conditioning from cycling.

Neither doc mentioned SVT or AFib at the time, but after 2 different HRM straps, a new HRM, and a couple more Tachycardia events that happened recently, I figured it was not just an HRM malfunction and a total panic feeling (is my heart racing because of panic or some other reason, is it really racing, or what), but something was up.

Let's say I couldn't look at the HRM reading 240 after a while, it was freaking me out, I had to take it off.

Well, I'm very glad to hear it's behind you, and I'll get back to reading the remaining pages of this thread and other links that I haven't gotten to yet.

Denver,
I just got back to this real world and see this thread. I sure hope you will be OK? Forgive me for being so self-absorbed with the tour.
Will

Denver,
I just got back to this real world and see this thread. I sure hope you will be OK? Forgive me for being so self-absorbed with the tour.
Will


This is OLD - REAL OLD news, Will.

This is a newly revived thread.

All is fine for past 2.5 years,

Thanks.

I was pretty severely criticized by a couple of folks for having "medical" stuff (we 50+ folks aren't supposed to have "medical" issues) on the forum.

But, I thought that even if there were a couple of folks out there who were going through the same thing that it might be useful to have other's experiences to bounce ideas off of.


This thread started by DnvrFox is easily the most significant thread I have read here or anywhere else on the internet. I have suffered a few rather wide spread incidents over the past three years, and as I delved deeply into it, I was amazed to discover the number of very good local athletes with the same experience. As you are well aware, a good aerobic athlete is more apt to suffer AFIB and HVT than a "normal" person.


Thanks again for having the courage to bring it up, and damn the torpedoes. In the government world you'd be good for a Meritorious Civilian Service Award, I reckon. So here, I'd say a Meritorious Cycling Service Award.

I think that's an advantage of these subforums compared with some other places Web where any deviation from the concept of the idealized cyclist age 18-24 with no health issues at all, is greeted with a great deal of ignorance — almost ignorance of some of the vagaries of aging and genetic tendencies — or worse, derision.



If anyone still reads this thread, just wanted to update. It has been almost 6 years since my ablation for afib, I have had a NSR heartbeat for almost 6 years, I am on no special medication, I am 71 and I still ride in the neighborhood of 3,500 miles per year, swim about 4 times a week, do extensive resistance exercises and feel just great!!

If anyone still reads this thread, just wanted to update. It has been almost 6 years since my ablation for afib, I have had a NSR heartbeat for almost 6 years, I am on no special medication, I am 71 and I still ride in the neighborhood of 3,500 miles per year, swim about 4 times a week, do extensive resistance exercises and feel just great!!

That is good news.
(Wish I'd had the ablation instead of the meds. But I've got to get over herniated neck discs before I ride again.)

Thanks for the update - that's great news! Illigitimi Non Carborundum

That's great, Denver!

As you are well aware, a good aerobic athlete is more apt to suffer AFIB and HVT than a "normal" person.

Why would that be? When my dad was diagnosed with AFIB, around age 80, he was otherwise strong and very healthy. My brother (a ER nurse) said there seems to be a connection between a slow HR and AFIB. My dad had a slow HR, as I do I -- even when I was unfit my HR was low.

DNVR,
Thanks for resurecting this thread. I wasn't here first time and it is very informative and timely. My mother has Afib and it can be sacry when you don't know what is going on. Glad you are doing so well ans keeping us in line here (like hearding cats, I suppose.)

Bill

Thanks for the updates.
I first experienced "vagally mediated afib" after a workout 4 years ago. To begin with, I found that exercise can actually terminate an episode. Also discovered that beta blockers can be pro arrhythmic, so stopped taking them. Now I can terminate (or often head off) an episode with Rhythmol. If I'm unsuccessful in preventing an episode, I take 300mg, put on a HRM, get on a stepper and can return to synus rhythm within an hour.
The last episode occurred on the bike (only time) about 20k from home. I just pressed on, and a couple of minutes from home, watched my heart rate return to normal rhythm without drugs.
I have been offered an ablation here in Vancouver, but have decided to put it off, as I am down to a couple of episodes a year.
I will certainly request the procedure if the afib starts to take over my life.

Good luck to any of you who experience heart rhythm issues.

If anyone still reads this thread, just wanted to update. It has been almost 6 years since my ablation for afib, I have had a NSR heartbeat for almost 6 years, I am on no special medication, I am 71 and I still ride in the neighborhood of 3,500 miles per year, swim about 4 times a week, do extensive resistance exercises and feel just great!!
I think this is great news, keep on riding and avoid the goatheads!
R