Some feedback would be appreciated. ... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Some feedback would be appreciated. Do you think af can be affected by altitude, anything above 2000 ft?
We are all different so there is no hard and fast rule but why would it? O K so the higher one goes the thinner is the air and our hearts have to work harder to cope with it but that applies during exercise as well. If you find that any mild exercise puts you into AF then altitude may I suppose but I know that commercial airliners are pressurised to an altitude of (I think ) 6000 feet (it may vary) and flying has never brought on an event with me. Flown during loads of events but never had one come on in flight.
Bob
Mmm interesting on the airline front, I fly regularly and have not been affected. My question is for mountains, anything above 2000ft., I am assuming that airline pressure is one thing but that thinness of air is another, incorrect assumption?
I have to say that some years ago when I flew off to Europe as the pressure changed it pushed me into AF. That also happened on the return. I was in Sinus at the time, of course. However two years ago when I did the same journey a few months after an ablation, there was no problem at all.
I assumed it was pressure change, which I'm sure affects people differently.
Pip
Hi again. On that jouney to Switzerland I was 2000 metres up and I never had any problem then at all.
Pip
I don't know about flying but I think staying at altitudes for a period can affect some people. The first time I had AF was about 9 years ago when we were staying in the Pyrennees. It really kicked off when we went to over 9000 feet one day. At the time, I still had the defective heart valve that I was born with but wasn't on any medication. Since then I have been on medication of one kind or another and have been to similar altitudes without problem, though I am always cautious not to exert myself as well. I have not noticed any problems when flying long distance, which I have done several times.
I panicked about this when I went to Italy when I was first diagnosed and so I made a point of breathing very slowly and deeply until we were well up in the air and all was well. But what made me laugh a lot was I went to Romania, clearly did not read the itinerary my friend put together for us and found myself way up in the Transylvannian mountains, walking (or in my case walking and stopping to get my breath and repeat). We were there all day and I can tell you the altitude had no more effect on me than my usual inability to walk up hills or walk and talk. Our guide insisted I had a large glass of schnapps to alieviate the pressure of being up high. I did tip half of it back in the bottle but he was so insistent I drunk the rest. He said I needed the sugar to compensate. If anyone knows whether this is true or what it is based on I would be interested. Anyway I was fine and ready to go and walk round castles the following day. Note to self. I love Romania to bits and the food is magnificent but why does everyone want you to walk uphill??
I used to ski every year, the last time being in 2011. Mostly staying at 1500 feet but obviously going to above 2000 feet to ski down. It definitely effected me, I tired more quickly & easily, my heart rate was elevated most of the time and by the end of most days I was in AFib which went after a few hours once I rested. I think the rest of the chalet thought I was a right wimp, no partying for me, straight to bed after dinner. But it was ok. I found I had to do much less, more slowly and wait for me heartrate to decrease before starting a run. Typically it would be around 80 ish at 1500 feet, 112 at 2000 and up to 160 by the end of the run. It would take about 20 mins to return to 80. But that wasn't to far out from before I had AF in the mountains. My age also must have been a factor at 59 then.
Since then I was in Denver this time last year, no problems other than the usual altitude sickness and dehydration, headaches, bad dreams, nausea etc which goes after a few days acclimatising.
So no, I don't believe altitude effects the AF directly, it is more that you fatigue more quickly when exercising and that, as most of us know, that will bring on an episode. Take it slowly, at your pace and you will be fine. Take at least 2 days to acclimatise doing very little.
No probs with flying but plenty with altitudes above 3800. After a trip last year to Austria and visiting various mountains via cable car played havoc with me. Lots of discomfort sleeping at night and it also played havoc with my INR. Had a bad AF episode on my return
Never had any problem flying, or altitude apart from usual breathlessness.
Thank you for taking the time to respond, really helpful everyone of them. Mrspat, and I are in the same boat Re heart valve, did yours get replaced with artificial? The walking in the hills Liz, is pretty much what I was aiming at with the question, so perfect answer. And CDreamer we have a lot in common, age, AF and the strong desire not to be held back by this but to work with it, your experience gave me so many answers. Thank you all very much.
Yes, I had a new tissue aortic valve put in nearly 2 years ago.
