I thought I would record my experience for any sporty types who have an ablation. The cryoablation went fine but I was feeling a bit tender and had a sore throat from the TOE. I was very concious of everybodys advice about taking it easy and not overdoing things in the early weeks. However the problem for us sporty types is to define what is over doing it. The consultants only give very general advice. I am 67 and a keen touring cyclist.
Week 1 - Nothing
Week 2 - Nothing. 30 min on rollers at end of week. Heart rate kept to 90bpm max.
Week 3 - Rollers + first short cycles up to 25 miles. Aim hr <100bpm. Road miles 48.
Week 4 - 3 cycles. 121 miles. Aim hr <120bpm.
Weeks 5-8. 120 miles/wk. Aim hr <120bpm. Odd peak at 130 bpm on hills.
Week 9 - Flew to Denver Colorado for long arranged cycling holiday. Had discussed this with EP who's advice was "keep well hydrated". 5 days aclimatisation in Boulder (6,000ft) - three 30/40 mile cycles - aim hr 120bpm max. Noticed the effect of altitude. Transfer to San Juan mountains - two 60 mile cycles over passes up to 10,000ft. Difficult to keep hr down to 120max when at altitude even in lowest gear. Felt OK and able to push it on the down hills. Total 225 miles. At the end of the week suffered an 18 hour bout of AF. Not sure whether this was due to "overdoing it" or a stressful situation that I encountered.
The combined effect of AF and altitude gives you a double whammy!
Week 10 - took a day off cycling and changed strategy to getting lifts up to the top of passes at 12,000ft and only cycling down, or on flatter routes. 2 more days off cycling. Total miles 171.
Week 11 - two more 50 mile cycles at altitude, felt fine. Returned to UK and did a pacey 11 miler with all those extra red blood cells in my system from altitude training (aim hr still 120bpm max).
Some might say that a cycling holiday at altitude was not the best thing to do after an ablation but this was discussed with my EP on several occaisions and was a previously arranged tour with a group of 11 friends. I felt fine during the trip apart from the AF and altitude. I have found that keeping my heart rate down to 120bpm max seems to work for me and I adopt this on all my club rides and whilst touring. Occaisionaly, heart rate peaks at 130/135 on hills and in that case I stop for a breather.
I also have an enlarged heart (cardio-myopathy) and dodgy electrics (left bundle branch block) but this does not seem to be affecting me too much at present. The absence of pesky AF (apart from the one incidence) since the ablation is a major improvement.
I hope my experience is of help to others.
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AFCyclist
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I had a cryoblation in January. Would kill to have a average hr of 130/135 on the hills :-). I average about 50K a ride. My average hr after a ride is around mid to low 140.Lot better than before I had the ablation.Starting to feel better while I'm out there but I've lost a little of the endurance I once had but hell I'm over 70 and just glad to be back on the bike. Couldn't imagine doing those climbs at altitude. Good for you!!!. Going to Italy next week and I actually toyed with the idea of doing a ride while there. Maybe some of the routes from the Giro.
I strap on a heart rate monitor to monitor things when I am out on a ride. That way I can "back off" if I see it getting too high. Glad you can still enjoy your cycling. The Italians are a dab hand at getting the wife to give them a lift to the top of the col and then cycling downhill in their fancy gear!
Wow, well done. Shows what determination can do and a positive attitude. Happy ongoing cycling. Incidentally where did you get travel insurance from. I am on the search now for European only cover.
Wow!!!! I'm an obsessive cyclist trying to deal with Afib which is poorly controlled meds (bisoporol at 2.5mg). I'm certain this is causing more problems than it solves. How did you manage cycling/Afib pre abalation? Any advice?????
I am also on 2.5mg bisoprolol. I think it might be helping to control/slow my heart but I do feel quite lethargic at times.
I had AF about once a month for 7 years and sometimes used cycling to stop an episode. I still cycled regularly including tours in Alps/Pyrenees but AF was a pesky nuisance. I gave up alcohol as I found that was a trigger. Last year I went from paroxysmal to persistent AF for 3 months which was eventually corrected by a cardioversion. I was still cycling when in AF but it was a bit of a struggle. I think some relatively hard rides last summer may have prompted the change but I am not sure. I started to use a heart rate monitor when on rides to keep things below 120bpm, but often peaks at 130 on hills. I did not like being in AF as I was worried that things would only get worse. Having read the experience of others on this site I therefore decided I wanted an ablation.
Wow, quite impressive. I'm a cyclist, age 61, no other heart issues, but I've moderated my activity quite a bit more than you and am now going for ablation number two since I still need to take Meds to keep AFib under control. Not to rain on your parade, but a major AFIB episode with concurrent heart issues is concerning when riding that much, so soon post ablation particularly at high altitude. I likely overdid my cycling after my first ablation and have now moderated it significantly--rides of 25 to 35 miles and no more than 100 miles per week at a more moderate level than before. However, once I complete the next ablation in October, I won't touch a bike for a good month or more and then ramp up ever so slowly. While your feats are impressive, be careful as AFIB is insidious and extreme sports can exasperate the problem especially at your age. Can't say for sure but my AFIB may have even originated from my 8000 plus miles In 2014 and "death" rides that were 15,000 feet of climbing or more following retirement. Won't do that anymore. Hopefully your AFIB episode is one off and won't return after the 3 month blanking period but if you have another episode, suggest backing off somewhat I know it's hard to dial back those competitive juices
Thanks for your cautionary comments. I think some relatively hard rides last year prompted my paroxysmal AF to go to persistent AF for 3 months. I then backed-off quite a bit and started using a heart rate monitor to check if I went over 120bpm. I was still cycling when in AF, but more slowly ( and of course heart rate was much higher with readings up to 160 bpm). I asked several cardiologists whether cycling in AF did any harm and was told by one that "exercise was good for an AF heart" and others did not show concern.
Now that the Colorado holiday is over I intend to settle down to a steady 120 mpw over flatter roads in South Yorkshire. I am planning a couple of cycle tours in France for 2017.
Sounds like you've spent the time to manage this properly. The close monitoring of your heart rate is good. I use a garmin and can track my heart rate on my rides every moment. As you know though, your heart rate can still be relatively low, and still fall into AFIB. For me, when I get an AFIB event, my rate shoots sky high along with the abnormal rhythm.
I live in California and I suppose that different doctors say different things. While mine absolutely encouraged me to continue cycling, he insisted I moderate. Kind of hard when you are competitive like us but still a great form of exercise.
one thing I'd add is for any altitude activity (mine is walking on glaciers) get an oxygen concentrator. Very small battery ones weigh a couple of pounds and get the pulse down quickly
Thanks for your story. I am a mere kid of 47 and i am on the waiting list for an ablation. Ive previously been put back into rhythm with DC & chemical on two separate occasions.
I am not particularly worried about the ablation procedure, but more the after effects and whether it would affect my exercise (running and swimming). Your diary helps a lot to show exercise is possible still
I am 61 and have had insulin dependent diabetes since age 13. No health issues except PAF.
I've read that AF and cycling are associated. Maybe I'm a slow healer, but it took me 6 months to recover from ablation. I have no trouble exercising. Running and swimming have always been my thing. But I took it easy after the ablation. In fact I've never done so little exercise in the six months post ablation.
I never run more than about 5km and do laps for 20 minutes. Surfing depends on the day and might be up to 2 hours.
I don't think long distance cycling is necessarily a prudent form of exercise, given the association with AF. Unnatural constrained position for upper body for hours on end, etc......
@AFCyclist Be encouraged by the fact that both the winner (Robert Gesink) and 6th place finisher (Heimar Zubeldia) of the queen stage of this years Vuelta España have both had an ablation for AF. I`m not sure that cycling gets harder than that!
I`m taking a more cautious approach than you in my return to exercise post ablation but, in time, I fully intend to reach the the highest level I can.
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