Newbie to Site & Afib but need advice on exercise.

[dindy]

Hello All.

About 11 days ago diagnosed with Afib. I am male just coming up to 73 young years old. Two years ago was diagnosed with copd and as soon as I was diagnosed started to exercise my lungs & heart by jogging 3 times a week. Copd has not got any worse and lungs & heart got stronger. I have jogged the same 2 routes for 2 years and always recorded my min/max heart rates.

I suddenly noticed my heart beat was going up into the 160`s for 3 days running which was way to high so went to doctors. I did not feel any palpitations or even that my heart was beating that fast in fact one day it touched 198 bpm but I found out later it was the electrical impulses playing havoc with chest strap & watch.

Anyway now on 125mg of Digoxin once a day and 2 x 5g of Eliquis Apixaban twice a day. Again decided to carry on exercising but changed this to 2 miles each day of either slow, brisk or mixture of walk & short 50 – 100 yard jogs and this where I am undecided what to do. I am hoping someone on forum has experience of copd & Afib + jog or walk for exercise.

The Digoxin is ok for keeping my bpm low at rest but from what I have read no good for exercise. My max bpm for my age is tops out at 148 bmp and I try to keep it when exercising to around 95- 120 bpm. However I can walk for 40 -50 mins without even getting out of breath which may be ok for Afib but from what I understand does really exercise the lungs for my copd.

How do I strike a balance of keeping fairly low heart rate for Afib yet exercising my lungs by breathing harder to help my copd like I have done these last 2 years. Do I just do very short jogging bursts, and my monitor my heart rate rise then walk slow or even stop altogether to let heart rate drop?

I do not think I can walk any fast then the brisk walk I am doing now so not really the way to go. I believe beta blockers slow heart rate down when exercising but no doubt the cardiologist because of my age, copd and exercise induced asthma which to be honest I really do not suffer from now decided no good for me.

I have to wait 2 weeks to just speak to the doctor let alone face to face so not sure what she will say. I did when having a ecg also have a blood test and ha a letter asking at my convenience to contact her which I will do on the 26th Aug. Obviously not urgent but may of found a deficiency of say magnesium or potassium or even something else.

lt can be the worst thing to do as you will get conflicting advice but the cardiologist told me OK for my ventolin, forstair 100/6 and my Lansoprazole I take. The pharmacist also said ok for lansoprazole but the check their website for problems with digoxin & Lansoprazole taken together.

Now I read that Omeprazole or Lansoprazole taken for over 3 or 6 months can/possibly cause irregular heart beat problems. I have been taking 1st Omeprazole then Lansoprazole for almost 2 years!!! I have until I get more advice stopped taking it.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[BobD Volunteer]

General rule is you should be able to exercise and talk at the same time. If not slow down. Re PPIs like lanzoprazole. Bad idea regardless of arrhythmias as they frequently make things worse. Never understand why doctors throw them about so much.

[Singwell in reply to BobD]

YAY BobD re PPIs!

[Jalia]

Re Lansoprazole and it's ilk, if you can cope without taking them then all well and good. If I forget just one day of taking my PPI then I pay for it very sorely that night! I first had AF very many years before taking Lansoprazole.

[Buffafly]

I would also try the British Lung Foundation forum for advice on exercise and medication. Diltiazem is an alternative to Digoxin for people who are active but does seem to have a slight ‘braking’ effect.

[Ribbony]

Hi dindy! Sorry to hear your problems. I'm in your age bracket, though female, and my experience is with the Lansoprazole. I discovered from research that the symptoms of low stomach acid are identical to that of high stomach acid, so decided I had nothing to lose by trying natural remedies for low acid. For several years I have been taking Betaine HCI with digestive enzymes, and this works well for me, as clearly its low not high acid. (the stomach cannot empty until the HCI has digested it, so reflux occurs.) I experimented with different strengths and mixes and found the Viridian Digestive Enzymes works well, but there are loads out there. And on we go juggling our needs and medications!

[Singwell in reply to Ribbony]

This is very interesting as I have low stomach acid. I'm doing well on having changed my diet but I didn't know you could use a supplement.

[Singwell]

I don't have COPD so situation is different. Erm...singing would be a good thing to do - there are some great Singing for Lung Health groups. Let me know if you'd like a contact. When I asked about exertion My cardiologist told me it was essential to exercise for my BP. I started with 30-40 mins a day walking. I also do yoga regularly but that doesn't address HR especially. I now do interval walking - similar to what you're describing - slow for 2 mins, a bit faster for 2, hurrying/jogging for 2, then stand still for 2. I'm finding it really beneficial.

[LaceyLady]

Most people of the nature bracket have low acid and not high. Drs make it worse by giving anti acids

[BobD Volunteer in reply to LaceyLady]

I found a paper years ago which explained this. In order to open and pass food down into the gut, the lower sphincter in the stomach needs an acid environment. Take that away and the stomach fills up leading to back pressure. regurgitation and reflux. I found this myself probably twenty years ago when ppis actually exacerbated my problems since when I have refused to take them.

[LaceyLady in reply to BobD]

Being a Complementary Therapist, I had to study Anatomy & Physiology, I’ve done a foundation in Kinesiology which taught about stomach acid and what we needed. Digestive enzymes. I’d rather rely on complementary treatments where possible.

[RoyMacDonald]

2 x 5g of Eliquis Apixaban twice a day? Is that a typo? It's twice the manufacturers recommended dose! One of the side effects can be an irregular heart rate. Read the information sheet that comes with the Apixaban. I was put on a double dose for my weight in hospital and had a lot of side effects that stopped when my doctor put me on the correct dose.

My chosen form of exercise is cycling and I go out for an hour or so about 4 times a week. I still ride regardless of whether I have an SVT episode or not. My heart rate can be as high as 190 bpm as measured by my Garmin chest monitor. I've noticed that I have less trouble with the SVT's wearing a Respro cycling mask with the thing that holds the filter off your face. I suspect it causes more pressure in the lungs which seems to improve or stop SVT's according to research I've read. I'm 76 now and still race my bikes although I have no chance of winning now. I recommend getting a bike, Garmin and Strava subscription.

All the best.

Roy

[dindy]

Roy. Yes typo mistake!! One Apixaban twice a day!!! Not 2 twice a day. Now I know we are all different in as much we all have different heart if you know what I mean. Now I have always tried to keep under my max heart rate when either walking briskly or even slow short jogs. My max BPM for my age is 148 yours would be 144 if using the 220-age formula.

Your heart can go up to 190 on chest strap, does that worry you?? I worry that if bpm reaches say 155 -165 BPM I could be pushing heart too far and have problems. My experience with wearing chest straps with Afib which to be honest is only about 2 weeks is they do not give you an accurate bpm.

When wearing my polar watch my heart rate was 89 yet the chest strap said 147. I know there is about 10 beats difference between the two due to way each measures heart beat differently.

When I approached polar about this they told me the chest strap would be measuring the highs & lows of electrical pulse and it would come out as very high or low heart rates which were not accurate. In one case my strap recorded me as flat lined so I knew what they were saying was correct or at least why my strap was showing vast difference in heart rate to my watch.

When I jog or brisk walk and do get out of breath then yes I understand heart rate going high. On the other hand when the strap sometimes shows 162- 171 and even in one case 198 and not feeling any heart racing or palpitations or even out of breath then I can believe polar. I now wear just my watch as wearing strap will just stress me out I am doing too much.