I am a keen cyclist and was diagnosed with PAF 2 years ago.
Flec, Biso and diet control this to a good degree but I am considering an ablation, as I get regular short runs of AF which make me feel anxious.
What’s the experience of athletes who have had an ablation, getting back to some level of fitness over time?
I an 60 and not expecting any miracle but want to know what may be possible. Currently I am still enjoying my riding at a slower pace than before.I would love to hear your stories.
Thanks
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MTBCyclist
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From my experience, the Bisoprolol (Beta blocker) will be significantly suppressing your ability to exercise. Post a successful ablation (note it can take 2 or 3 to pin point issue), and off the Bisoprolol and Flec, I would expect you to be able to exercise safely at a higher exertion level than you now can with the Bisoprolol. I would warn though that outcomes can vary and AF manifests itself in many forms.
As far as how quickly, I had (at 56) a typical flutter ablation which is far less invasive and did not involve piercing the septum, and I was back running, swimming and cycling within a fortnight. With a Fibrillation one (Which I may elect for later this year) I would expect a much longer rest period (3-6 mths) with slowly building back up your stamina.
I have heard many stories of athletes getting back to (almost, but not quite) to where they were. I think the thing to consider is whether it was the high intensity endurance exercise that triggered the AF in the first place and so what level can you return to that will not recreate the conditions of the original AF. I am PAF waiting for an ablation and turning over different scenarios in my head,
hi I was a runner and cyclist and haven’t been able to return to either as my consultant was sure it was these activities that had contributed to my AFib and after my ablation was advised to not do either unless I wanted a return of my symptoms so now can only walk, although I do walk quite briskly. Sometimes AFib can be exercise induced which seems to be my case 🙁
There have been a lot of similar posts so why don’t you search AF + exercise in the search box.
I think there is a strong case to say 60+ pushing yourself is not a good idea. I can’t direct you to them but I do remember studies which indicated that detraining is as important to maintain health.
Have you read the Haywire Heart - written by a cyclist & EP?
Too much exercise can kill you. The Haywire Heart is the first book to examine heart conditions in athletes. Intended for anyone who competes in endurance sports like cycling, triathlon, running races of all distances, and cross-country skiing, The Haywire Heart presents the evidence that going too hard or too long can damage your heart forever. You ll find what to watch out for, what to do about it, and how to protect your heart so you can enjoy the sports you love for years to come.
If you search for my log "HHT and afib athlete" I have written a lot about that. Though I'm not really an ATHLETE just a jogger. Since being on amiodarone I'm nearly back to full fitness but I get more tired than before, I think and I'm slower. But I'm also five years older than pre my afib nightmare so who knows if that is the main reason. Hope it is helpful. (You do need to search with the speech marks" otherwise google won't find it!)
I returned to regular recreational cycling about a month after my ablation and have enjoyed it for the passed 10 years. The medication slows you down a bit but I am still doing 120 mpw. I now use electrical assist at aged 75. I avoid overdoing it as that in itself can be a trigger. Similarly if I get AF, cycling up a hill can correct it.
What is possible very much depends on the result of your ablation. If successful then it’s definitely possible to get back to a decent level.
I’m fortunate to be AF free since an ablation in sept ‘16 and I’ve been able to exceed my pre ablation performances. All my running pb’s are post ablation. I run as often and as hard as I want to. I have no concerns about running as hard as I can.
That said, I train sensibly with plenty of easy miles and I don’t run marathons, mainly because they don’t really interest me.
One thing is absolutely vital is to return to training cautiously after an ablation. Absolutely don’t be in a rush. It’s easy to undo the success of an ablation by doing too much too soon. I sat in a chair for a week. Then did no more than walk the dog at a really, really slow pace for a month. Then I walked the dog at a normal slow pace for another 2 months. I didn’t do any actual exercise for 3 months and even then I started with short easy jogs with walk recovery intervals. I was really, really careful.
I was a serious cyclist - biking 6000-8500 miles a year with lots of elevation gain (500-800K feet) and living at altitude in Colorado. I would typically be in the top 1% (or better) on the Strava leader boards for hill climbing segments. I'd do one all out effort every couple of weeks as that high intensity training seemed to keep me from losing fitness after I turned 50. Also, was diagnosed with athlete's heart about the time I turned 50.
Sometime around my 56th birthday, I started to notice that my heart rate and power would become decoupled, especially at altitude. And, I generally started to have uneven performance. Doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong for years and finally a watch caught Afib at night. This became more regular and eventually I had an ablation a few months before I turned 60 (tried meds, didn't help).
Since ablation, no Afib, 90+% reduction in ectopic beats. Back to biking after a month and back to biking whatever I want now, a year later. BUT, I've cut intensity way down and duration also way down. Instead of top 1%, I'm top 20% - and I don't think I could every get back to where I was. Resting heart rate is high 50s instead of high 40s. Max HR is down about 5 beats from before.
Overall, in a happy place with my riding - no complaints!
That’s a very interesting story, thanks. I don’t plan to be trying for Strava PB or KOM, Although my meds keep me back to around 120bpm I still go with the same group, just I am at the back rather than at the front. I would like to do some longer rides (3plus hours)even if at a slow pace.
My normal rides are 2-3 hours and I've ridden as much as 4.5 hours since the ablation - maybe 60 miles and 6000' of climbing. The ablation, for me, was very easy to recover from - hopped on an 11 hour flight to Europe 13 hours after the ablation, no problem. Also, FWIW, alcohol was never a trigger for me and I can eat/drink whatever I want. My echocardiogram/Holter holtemonitor results are now back to totally normal - as if I never had athlete's heart or Afib. And, I'm thankful every day for that.
To me, the most interesting thing about this forum is just how different everyone's experience is with AFib. IMHO, there is little benefit to waiting to get an ablation.
I have been in athletics since I was 14 years old. I was running 5k and 10k. When I was 45 I got my first AF during a 5K race. I continued running but not racing and I used to get AF once a year. Usually they lasted between 30 and 48 hours and went back to normal without any medication. At 55 I decided to stop running and did only walking. Gradually the AF started to get more frequent and last year at the age of 75 I decided to gave an ablation. Because it was only 6 months ago I am careful with exercise. The doctor told me that people involved in endurance sports are 5 times more prone to AF. I recommend anyone involved in endurance sports to read the book The Haywire Heart by John Mandrola MD who is a cardiac electrophysiologist.
I'll second that book recommendation. I was living in Boulder (where one of the coauthors and main patient, Leonard Zinn lives) when all of my symptoms started. I can tell you that arrhythmias are endemic there - I had two cycling buddies there also get diagnosed with different types of arrhythmias.
During my search for an answer, I eventually ended up at Mayo Clinic where one of the cardiologists said that if he had two 60 year old men in his office - one, a 60 year old super fit cyclist from UT or CO, the other an overweight couch potato. Which one has AFib? Always the cyclist.
While I said in an above post that alcohol wasn't a trigger, what was a trigger was elevation. I believe moving to lower elevation (1400' vs. 5600') was also helpful in my recovery
Thanks Arnobarno, I have read the book and don’t plan on any attempting any PB,s more interested in if it’s an improvement in being on Biso and Flec.
The Biso limits me to about 120bpm , not that I aim to push to 165 that I was before but it would be good to be able to get a little more on occasions.
My max HR was 161 before the ablation, now, a year later it is 155. I am one of those guys where 220 - age formula works perfectly - or did until the ablation. Now off by 5 - though I may still get those back as immediately before the ablation my range was 48-161, immediately after it was 72-125. It took a very long time for me to be able to get my HR up to new max HRs and for resting HR to come down. Adding 10 lbs because of eating like a tour rider but riding like a weekend warrior probably didn't help...
I was having symptomatic short episodes every day before the ablation . The docs thought that my AFib might have been vagally mediated and put me on an old drug for AFib - Norpace - as they had seen some evidence of success with that drug in athletes. Didn't work for me.
Hi, I just replied to a similar query by 'intheweeds' about returning to jogging. I don't want to regurgitate that post here. I'm hoping you can click on my avatar and find my reply to them. Short version is, while not guaranteed that you'll return to where you were before, that's not impossible either. I've had a wonderful response to my cardioäblation with no AFib return and I'm as active as I was before the cardioäblation... even more so.
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Ectopic beats after an ablation.
Post ablation fitness levels 
A-Fib after an ablation.
