I am fit, well, take serious exercise regularly, am never breathless or dizzy after strenuous exercise - yet have AF. Any advice?

[Hedley54]

Am 73 and my GP wants to prescribe rivaroxaban

[Hidden]

Do you know your CHADS2VADC score? This is used as a general guide to the need for anticoagulation in AF

What other advice were you looking for? A bit more context would be helpful?

[10gingercats]

I have a similar profile to you.However, I have permanent Afib. with rare symtoms......twice in about 10+ years.A TIA many years ago pointed to a hole in he my art which was then closed by a simply surgical procedure.Apixaban takes care of the Afib.

[BobD Volunteer]

Rivaroxaban is an anticoagulant to help reduce your not inconsiderable stroke risk. If your doctors has judged you to need it then please take it. AF related strokes account for about 20% of all strokes but 80% of the least recoverable ones .

[chrisfellrunner]

Hi I could have written the same headline as I am a serious recreational sportsperson, but am 20 years your younger at 53 yrs old. I have AF and am awaiting an ablation, please take your rivaroxaban it's there to reduce your risk of a stroke which is significantly increased during AF. Yes it's a pain if you bruise yourself (literally!) or have nose bleeds but that's minor compared to a stroke.

[Hedley54]

Huge help everyone

[john-boy-92]

You need to take an anticoagulant. I was a committed gym bunny - cardio, rope work, machines, Spin, yoga, Pilates - and cyclist to and from work. In a medically supervised Bruce Protocol test I reached 235 bpm before flip flopping between atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter, I stopped and was back in NSR within minutes. I saw an EP who said that I was a 1% risk and didn't need to take an anticoagulant. As I had been close to death - medical paper by the clinical team - from dronedarone and amiodarone, I was loathe to take a prescription medication. Eighteen months later in July 2016 I had a stroke - I hadn't been to the gym for two days - that left me permanently partially sighted on the right hand side, and chunks of my memory missing. DVLA then permanently revoked my Group 1 (car) driving licence. Don't be worried about losing athletic performance because of an anticoagulant. I've just got a one million metre tee shirt from Concept 2 for rowing machine sessions that I completed this month and, during the winter I cut scrub in a nature reserve with a battery backpack and professional hedge cutter weighing 10kg in total. My GP says that I should not exceed 180bpm during cardio exercise, so I have an excellent Polar chest strap and HRM, as well as using the PM5 on the Concept 2. Don't risk a stroke. There is next to nothing in the way of support. In 2017 I was featured in an infomercial for Boehringer Ingelheim on fitness in older age, community and anticoagulation. It's circulated to clinicians in the UK and USA, and the producer is trying to get it released into the public domain.

By the way, I am 72.

[Ianc2 in reply to john-boy-92]

Did you get your driving licence back?

[john-boy-92 in reply to Ianc2]

No. The DVLA didn't tell me and don't publicise that you should be offered up to three months for refresher lessons before a driving assessment. Yet there is a Parliamentary Answer that confirms it should be offered. My vision at 6/5 is excellent but my horizontal visual field is less than 120 degrees. The visual test does not permit you to turn your head. (The DVLA don't employ optometrists. Although I had a clean driving licence for 50 years, the DVLA admitted in writing that I had been judged as dangerous before a driving assessment. The driving assessment form had several errors including that the assessment had been off-road whereas it was completely on public roads. Despite the wording of the Statute, there isn't a clinical test to prove adaption to a horizontal field defect. As it stands, I am not allowed to apply for a second assessment. This is currently being investigated by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The last report by the PHSO into the DVLA was in October 2016 titled "Driven to despair". It was a damning statement of the failings of the DVLA. Around 9,000 car drivers each year have their licence revoked because of a visual defect, assessed by admin. grades working to written instructions! I'm sure the Right Honourable Chris Grayling will emerge from this mess too!

[Gatun]

Go see a cardiologist, one other than who your GP suggests. Your GP may be great but he/she is not a cardiologist. Second and third opinions are warranted when dealing with the "ticker".

[Globe-J]

Hi,

You may also consider discussing surgical interventions: Ablation or the Maze Procedure. The Maze (an elective, open heart version fixed my problem). Of course, the Maze can be performed in a less invasive manner. Your cardiologist may be able to identify your specific AF trigger, then nip it at the bud, so to speak.

Best wishes

J (-:

[Ianc2]

I had a mini maze carried out during heart surgery, didn't work. I had an ablation a year later, which did work until I got zapped by some medicine for something else...always read the small print as 'in may cause palpitations'.

In yourcase I would raid my piggy bank and pay out for a consultation with an EP. GP's are not specialists.