Atrial Fibrillation

Second ablation was delayed due to lack personnel at the NGH on two occasions, but took place in early October.  I had my six week review yesterday and all is good.  I am no longer on medication; I have had a Left Atrial Appendage closure so I don't need anticoagulants and my heart has remodelled so no longer need the beta-blockers.

I can slowly get back to normal levels of activity; I am not restricted to a max 130 HR, but am not ready for HIIT for a few months.  I am looking forward to the weekend when I have planned my first flat canal ride without performance reducing drugs.

Hi Just found this on a search.

I also have AF, first suspected Feb 2016,  confirmed in June.  I was put on Rivaroxaban to prevent strokes and Bisoprolol to control HR and blood pressure.  My cardioversion lasted less than 2 weeks in October and I was accepted onto a clinical trial at Sheffield's Northern General.  Nearly three weeks ago, I had an epicardial ablation and in another three months I will have a catheter ablation.  After a week of discomfort all is now good, I am in NSR and am back to work and light exercise.

I have recorded my experiences in a blog.  https://afibandcycling.wordpress.com/

Yep life is better than death...Had my meeting with the consultant...The bad news was I have persistent AF needing an ablation the good news I can carry on cycling but not as hard as I have been and I can enjoy a glass or two of red wine. The prognosis for the long term is good and once I have had the procedure I should be able to get back to normal taking care not to overdo it. So no more Fred whitton...Lol

Thanks Simon at the moment I am learning all I can about the condition. I have duly ordered my copy of the haywire heart. There is a large amount of information about Lone Atrial Fibrillation (LAF) in middle aged endurance atheletes on the web at the moment. I will hopefully get the AF under control and should know tomorrow when I see the specialist what the next steps are.  

Barry, I don't know if it's of interest, but in the time trial podcast ep.93 Mark talks with Chris Case and Lennard Zinn, co-authors of a book which began as a VeloNews article in 2015 as a result of Lennard's experience of heart arrhythmia.

Hi I saw your post whilst searching for information on AF. Yep I have just been diagnosed with it. I am a 55yrs old male who has been a regular cyclist since 2007 and a keen sportsman before that since the age of 10. I have never suffered from heart problems before. Wed 14th Feb I was out on a flatish Cheshire ride which normally presents no problems but I found myself getting out of breath, heavy legs and feeling tired throughout the ride.

I checked my heart rate halfway through the ride and was alarmed to see a reading of 190bpm my max is 164bpm. The average for the 73 miles was 160bpm with a max of 211bpm.

A trip to A&E confirmed the AF condition. I am now on blood thinners and beta blockers seeing a cardiologist tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

Since last Wednesday I have not ridden so am now like a bear with a sore head I normally ride between 150 to 200 miles a week.

I am hoping he will tell me I can recommence riding again and hopefully a treatment to cure the AF. After your proceedure Andy have you had any further problems?

There is no hope for you andrew
You will hate me for saying this, but twinings lemon and
ginger tea with a spoon of honey is ace, and a decafe latte
on a saturday is a big treat for me.
I too have 2 teenage kids, could be a medical breakthrough
I got sent to glenfield hospital in leicester, with all that is going on in the press about bad hospitals it is nice to be able to say it was an excellent hospial on every visit I have made there.
Hope all goes well for you and yes we should update.
P

Hi Andy
I feel your pain ! I have had AF for a good 8 years,I am now 49, though it took them a long time to find it, I had so many tests, I think they thought I was making things up.
My AF causes me to have big flat spots and make my arms and leggs vey tired, I always manage to ride but some days I go home early as its just too much.

I had an ablation 1 week ago, they said it would just be a bit uncomfortable under local anasthetic, wrong, it hurt me, though I have spoken to people who said it was fine.
I will not know if it has worked for 3 months they say, so fingers crossed.

The things I found most usefull while I was on tablets and which my first dr did not tell me were to cut out coffe and anything caffine based and alcahol altogether.
This is just what I found, others may differ.
Oh yes, avoid stress as well

Hope this helps
P

Your standard cardiologist may not know much about AF and sports and may caution you unecessarily against strenuous exercise. So don't be afraid to ask nicely for a referral for specialist advice!
I'm in the trade so was interested in the problem; this link may be helpful:
http://www.drjohnm.org/2011/04/cw-treating-atrial-fibrillation-in-athlet...

I know nothing about AF, but wish you all the best going forward and keeping up cycling

Hi Andrew,

I've had AF for nearly 20 years now and have to say it hasn't had any effect on my cycling or gym work although I'm only a leisure cyclist, charity cycles & long days out cycling, not sportives etc. I was diagnosed with the condition at a very young age for AF (normally something you get in later life apparently), I'm only 46 now and never had a problem. I still cycle every day & go to the gym regularly.

You'll probably be put onto tablets to control the irregular heartbeat, I assume Digoxin and possibly a beta blocker, but these shouldn't affect any training you do. The only annoyance with the condition is going for regular blood tests if you're put on warfarin. Hopefully you'll be spared that.

Your doctor will be quite happy for you to keep cycling, mine certainly is!

Good luck!
Dave