I had an ablation a year ago and probably for the 8 months that followed I noticed I became breathless much easier during exercise especially when going uphill or when bending and standing up. I began to get very concerned that I would never get my fitness back which is a big thing for me as I am a very physically active man in my mid 50s and fitness was/is a huge part of my life and what makes me happy and content. I think I would have got better naturally as I recovered fro the procedure but what I found really useful was diaphragmatic breathing. I was put on to this by a PT friend of mine and it is genius. It has transformed my tolerance to exercise and helped my breathing immeasurably. It's all about charging your body with oxygen by improving the efficiency of your breathing by slowing the intake and increasing the volume of oxygen rather than "panting" where you take shorter breaths more often. It takes a while to master and you can feel very panicky at first as you are are attempting to reverse a natural reaction of your body to exertion but after a while you will learn to relax through your breath. There are plenty of instructional videos on-line so if you experience this problem, give it a try.
Breathlessness: I had an ablation a... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Breathlessness
Thank you for this Kenny. My husband had a very small heart attack last year and soon after developed paroxysmal AF. The AF episodes are now infrequent and he had a scan that showed excellent cardiac function. However his exercise tolerance is very poor. Although he’s 71 we both used to walk quickly - 5 miles plus and cycle 20 miles plus. Now he can only walk on the flat for fairly short distances and cycle slowly on the flat. I’ve noticed he doesn’t breathe deeply - I will try to get him to explore diaphragmatic breathing - but it might be an ‘uphill struggle’ for me!
Agreed. Breathe and how we breathe is incredibly important and something many people ignore.
If you haven’t already, you may find 2 books interesting - The Oxygen Advantage by Patrick Mckeown who trains athletes in breath technique for increased performance and a book by a research journalist, James Nestor who wrote a book simply called Breath which looked at what can go very seriously wrong when we do not breath properly. If you look on YouTube you will find a video of them both in conversation.
I was first introduced to diaphragmatic breathing back in 1970’s by a hospital physio following surgery. She visited daily for a week to ensure I was doing all the exercises to help me clear all the anaesthesia from my lungs. That was back in the day when that happened for everyone following anaesthesia. I never forgot and went on to study breath and breath control and found it really has helped everything from anxiety to athleticism.
The MOST important thing is to breath through your nose, not your mouth and what I always called LSD breath = long, slow and deep.
This is invaluable info, thank you. I am 3 months post-ablation, feel amazing, but have also noticed the symptoms you describe during even moderate exercise. I will try it today during pickleball.
I've had 4 ablations, and it took me probably 18 months to stop being so breathless and be able to normal activities. Slowly building up.
Absolutely
What an excellent post. I noticed too that it's been more difficult to walk uphill after my ablation(s) -- though in my case, it could be age-related (I'm 73). I'll definitely look into your recommendation.
thank you. I will try this. I haven’t had an ablation and my heart is deemed healthy. I do have paroxysmal afib and a naturally slow heartbeat, but even when I am not in afib I am struggling up hills/inclines. Worth trying
Jane
When boxing, breathing and exhaling through the nose was very essential and necessary, as with a mouth piece in place it is hard and unadvisable to open your mouth anyway as you could get hit on the jaw at that time and break your jaw. It takes some getting used to to be able to do this but it builds up lung capacity tremendously which might help in your situation as well. Good Luck and Have a Great Day.
thanks for all the information- I have taught Pilates and use a lot of breath work/ but I need to continue to use the techniques in every day activities. I had my 6th ablation, followed by a pace and ablate for atrial tachycardia- slowly I am improving! Hills have always been a challenge
Breathlessness 
Intermittent breathlessness with effort
Spoiler
Improving your fitness in persistent A-fib
