AF, HEART FAILURE AND HILL-WALKING

[Scotheart]

Looking for advice/comments from any hillwalkers (or ex-hillwalkers) out there.

Hit by a double whammy last December – AF which also caused heart failure. Went within the space of a week from being able to climb a Munro (mountain 3,000-ft or over) to feeling breathless whenever I went upstairs to visit the toilet at home.

After my medication began to “settle”, things improved and sometimes I can walk up to ten miles, as long as I stick to the flat. It is now even possible to include a modest incline (say a very gradual 100 to 150 feet) without stopping for breath. At over 70 I’m just grateful for what I already have but is it possible I might be able to walk a bit higher still, at least for a while before advanced age and/or infirmity take their inevitable toll?

[BobD Volunteer]

I understand your point believe me. I was a Lakes man myself and visited several times a year but gave up when I was early sixties when my AF started in 2004. Now my arthritic knees mean that any walking is short and painful.

The general advice we give to people is that you should listen to your body and another point is being able to excercise and talk at the same time. Many AF medications will limit exercise and trying to overcome that will be conterproductive.

[Hidden in reply to BobD]

Was a keen walker myself ,and cycling, kayaking, do as much as you can while you can.I am now 78 and most things are limited by the breathlessness and additional arthritis !

[Hylda2]

78 , managed Mam Tor last year and not up the steps

[Hidden in reply to Hylda2]

Yeah but u gotta piggy back from Dan for the last half…..😂

[Hylda2 in reply to Hidden]

Scuse me! He couldn’t keep up once I’d struggled up to the top

[jeanjeannie50]

I had never heard of a Munro until a few hours ago. I volunteer at a National Trust property on Sunday afternoons. A visitor was telling me about the ones that he'd walked. Such a strange coincidence that you are mentioning that word here now.

I've walked up Cader Idris many times, been up every path to the top. I now live at the top of a very steep hill in Devon, catch the bus home from town at the moment, but once this hot weather goes I'll be walking home again. I find some days I can walk up hills easily and others I'm drained right from the beginning. Like you on the flat isn't such a problem. All part of life with AF I guess.

Jean

[Snowgirl65 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

You're so right, that sometimes I too feel I can walk forever, and other times just starting out on the hiking trail, I feel I'm ready to quit. Inclines have been a problem for me, but I don't know if it's because of my a-fib heart or allergies -- seasonal or cat-induced -- that sometime affect my breathing.

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Snowgirl65]

I think my tiredness is definitely caused by my AF. I feel so pleased with myself if I do a long walk and come home and don't flake out. The heat now is exhausting and hasn't given up for 1 minute in South Devon, even the bushes in my garden are wilting. I think we'll be dancing in the street when we get some rain! 🌧️🌧️💃👯🕺

[Snowgirl65 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

I live in Ohio in the States and we've had horribly hot and humid weather here, up into the 90s(f) -- your 35c. We'll finally be getting some rain and cooler temperatures this week. I'm so happy about that!

[Scotheart in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Strictly speaking it refers to mountains in Scotland which are 3k ft and above but suppose could also apply to those in the English Lakes and North Wales

[Gumbie_Cat in reply to Scotheart]

Not just Munros in Scotland either - for those who don’t hit those dizzying heights we have Donald’s, Grahams and Corbetts too. I found a link and couldn’t paste it.

Don’t think I have bagged a single one - dodgy knees preceded my A Fib by many years. If I made it up a mountain I would likely not get down again.

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi HoustieMetropolol made my breathless and exhausted after exertion.

Energy is returning after Johnson & Johnson was removed.

Still got aF but cONTROLLED with Diltiazem 120mg CCB Calcium Channel Blocker am and Bisoprolol 2.5 BB pm

Once you control your rapid H/R your walking up hills will return I reckon.

With me there is a limitation on exertion when H/R goes up.

cheri JOY. 73. (NZ)

[Tryfan]

Hi. Know how you feel. It's as if the horizons you took gor granted have closed in. You don't say what drugs you take. As mentioned in some of the replies some will slow your hear rate down so you can't press on that bit harder.Listen to your body. Keep doing what you do. Don't over exert, avoid stress, eat well, sleep well. Try Tai Chi and or Chi Gong, helps both flexibility and calmness and I would add acceptance. Build up distance slowly. Each week add a bit more distance or elevation. As long as , as was written in another reply, walk and talk without too much difficulty you should be OK.

Best wishes.

[BrotherThomas]

I had a very similar experience going from cycling 50 - 60 miles a week with up to single trips of 25 miles to not being able to walk up a single flight of stairs within 48hrs of starting medication. The culprit was Bisoprolol taken in conjunction with a calcium channel blocker. Perhaps your meds are the root cause of your problems.

[KMRobbo in reply to BrotherThomas]

I went from running 6 x 8 minute miles to not being able to run more than 100 yards, all because of 1.25mg bisoprolol! I stopped it after 8 days, and was almost back to normal in 24 hours. If you don't tolerate it it's not good.

[BrotherThomas in reply to KMRobbo]

Yes, agreed but sometimes all is not what it seems. For a time, I was taken off the Bisopralol in favour of diltiazem, another calcium channel inhibitor. The breathlessness went away after about 24hours and I could run up several flights of stairs should I have wanted to do so.

this combination caused serious side effects to the extent that I had to go to A&E on one occasion and call an ambulance of another. my meds were changed again, back to Bisopralol and Ramipril. an ACE inhibitor instead of the calcium channel blockers. The breathlessness did return but nowhere near as bad as it had been previously so I decided to carry on taking it. Why you may ask, two reasons; firstly, the two bad experiences I had were the only ones I've experienced since diagnosis and were extremely frightening, as my AFib is totally asymptomatic normally.

Secondly, my cardiologist is adamant that the Bisoprolol doesn't cause breathlessness so won't offer an alternative. I cannot change my cardiologist without the agreement of my GP and she thinks he's the best man around so won't agree.

So, in my case, although the Bisoprolol does cause a degree of breathlessness, the level is tolerable and I'm back up to cycling around 30 miles a week without difficulty now. It was the combination of Bisopralol and the calcium channel blocker Amlodipine that caused me such grief.

[KMRobbo]

Bisoprolol does not cause breathlessness?? Not medically trained BUT The reason I could no longer run was my max hr was 117 BPM which I got to in 25 yards. My resting HR went from 70 bpm down to 45 ish which I cleary could not cope with either had massive tiredness. My GP took me off it because of the low heart rate as she was concerned it would drop into the 30s at night. I tried atenolol, another beta blocker but although it was better it was still not good so she took me off that and said I probably did not tolerate beta blockers. I went on Calcium channel blockers after that, and did not have any issues with Verapamil.

Incidentally the bisoprolol warning leaflet advises it should not be given to asthmatics or people with heart failure.

However, if you have found a work around that suits you then that is a good result. Everyone is different with drugs!

Best wishes