Originally Posted by
terrymorse
My best buddy and "twin separated at birth" texted me from the hospital yesterday. His watch detected an irregular heartbeat, so it contacted 911. He was helicoptered from the boonies to UCSD Medical.
This morning, he's "converted to sinus rhythm". A relief. Looks like classic atrial fibrillation, the bane of us aging endurance guys.
With all the riding I do, atrial fibrillation is the one thing I worry about the most. Risk increases with total training volume.
When exercise becomes risky for AF:
- > 2000 lifetime hours of exercise
- > 10 hours per week
- male
Check, check, and check.
I understand that it's empirical data, but 2000 lifetime hours is ridiculously easy to surpass. Let's say you ride 1500 miles a year, at an average speed of 15 mph. That's 100 hours a year, and all you're doing is 30 miles a week. Do that for 20 years, and that's 2000 hours right there. I don't know that I'd call someone who does 30 miles a week an "endurance athlete".