over exertion

[babs1234]

HI I’ was diagnosed with afib in May, prescribed beta blocker and apixaban. I get episodes maybe once a month. Thursday during my weekly netball (walking) my heart rated shot up to 164. 20mins after the session my watch showed I was in afib. It went in and out all day and still hadn’t settled till the following day. I understood that exercise was supposed to be good. Anyone else who’s afib kicks off after exercise?

[BenHall1]

hi Babs,

At the risk of being dubbed pedantic but I just wonder ........... you clocked it at 164 - so, forget the AF or at least put it aside for the moment ........ but I'm wondering how long it stayed at 164, did it come down ? how long did it take to come down, what did it come down to ... 80bpm ?? Just wondering also, what your BP was doing when this hit 164 .. do you know ? probably not re-reading your post again.

I simply ask because I am AF free as far as I know although have a reputation for being asymptomatic but when I'm out and about, driving my bus on a shift mine frequently gets up to around 140 - 150, suddenly, quickly, right outta the blue, then - just as quickly it falls to around 72 to 82, then settles at around 70 ish. I get no AF that I know of, never feel unwell, just carry on with no side effects at all and I just go on ignoring it.

I can see this on my tracker ( Garmin ) when I get home (on my laptop) and can even identify where I was what I was doing when the event occurred.

John

[babs1234 in reply to BenHall1]

Thanks for your reply. The HR did come down gradually after I stopped the session but then went into AF. I don’t know what my blood pressure was. I did phone doc. Who said that 164 was ok if I was doing exercise even though according to my age it shouldn’t go over 150 plus the fact I’m on the beta blocker. I felt ‘off’ all day

[BenHall1 in reply to babs1234]

Hi babs,

I made my comments - from a general interest point of view. You see, when I was first diagnosed with AF in Jan 2010 I was diagnosed in about 9 hours fromm starting to feel unwell. My BP dropped dramatically in a few hours from around 136/80 ish down to 76/50 and my HR in hospital was then clocked at 156 bpm whereupon I was drip fed Amiodrone but it initially didn't make any impact .... hospital kept me in and shoved me off to the Cardiac ward. That was why I was interested in how your BP behaved, I understand that it couldn't be taken at the time.

[babs1234 in reply to BenHall1]

If (hopefully not) it happens again. I’ll check my BP. Thanks for the info

[mjames1]

Yes, exercise is good for both the heart and afib, but it's also a common trigger. If it sounds a bit of a conundrum it is

What you will have to do is find the sweet spot between what is good for you and what is too much. Sometimes that is possible, sometimes not.

If not, then you may need help from anti-arrhythmic medications and/or look into having an ablation.

Sitting around all day is really not a good option, unless during acute recovery from an episode. You just end up getting de-conditioned and that can lead to all sorts of issues.

Jim

[babs1234 in reply to mjames1]

Thanks

[secondtry]

I found similar problems when over exerting myself at tennis, running, cycling and skiing. So stopped them and did just brisk walking with Nordic poles 1 mile x2 per day. In the last few years I started playing walking basketball with no problem. I take just Flecainide 200mgs/day.

So I would say your priorities are to remove all risk exercise and and make other lifestyle changes (many often discussed here) and see a cardiologist to get the episodes stopped completely, as one a month very likely will lead to more as the heart gets used to 'slipping out of gear'. Once you have stabilised the situation for say a year, you can gradually try increasing the exercise again. Good luck.

[EngMac in reply to secondtry]

Recent research has shown devices can be somewhat inaccurate and because of this many medical tests result in more harm than help. Your heart needs to beat faster if you hope to do what you do as it always has in your life. I guess you need to decide what type of life you want with AF factored in. It is very difficult to determine what actually triggers the AF. For example it could be something you did to your back that affected the vagus nerve. Until you get a better solution for AF and if you can live reasonable well with it the way it is, maybe this is the best choice for now.

Research, mapping, is being done on the 164,000 nerves, ( I think this is the number) that are called the vagus nerve. Very little is known at present, and the hope is, when more is known, how health care is now done will change drastically.

[secondtry in reply to EngMac]

Can't wait for the results of that research!

[babs1234 in reply to EngMac]

I use a device that stimulates the vagus nerve to help migraine

[FancyPants54 in reply to secondtry]

How on earth can you play basketball walking? Seriously, I have no idea how that would be possible. I was in the basketball squad at school. It was seriously good exercise. But the only way past the blockers was speed and nimble footwork.

[secondtry in reply to FancyPants54]

You're right, most who play of all different ages don't seem to have grasped the walking bit 😂.

[FancyPants54 in reply to secondtry]

I can't even see the point in trying to be honest. It's a fast and furious fun game.

[babs1234 in reply to FancyPants54]

Still is fast furious and fun. Just power walking. There are tournaments every year

[babs1234 in reply to secondtry]

Exactly. There’s such a fine line between power walking and running. Many of us get pulled up for running. Have to make sure there’s always one foot on the floor. People who diss it should try it first

[Fibber222]

I used to take Eliquis (Apixaban) and was swapped to the generic cheaper version Apixaban and I’ve not had any problems.