hi all
Has anyone experienced a spike in heart rate whilst lifting moderate weights in the gym? I have trained for past 6 months but when I went into persistent af 2 weeks ago I stopped. I started again today and was just doing bench pressing 30kg when my heart rate went up to 150. I had to come home and take a further 1.25 of bisoporol on top of my normal 2.5mg. Has this happened to anyone? I’m now sacred to move
I think your heart rate is supposed to go up when you exercise. Surely that is the point? I remember when I used to go to the gym my trainer gave me a max figure to work with on the chest strap I had to wear. Why hasn't yours? Think it was something like 220 less your age.
Just using Apple Watch bob, EP said I shouldn’t go over 115/120 whilst exercising whilst in AF and below 100 at rest. It just went a bit crazy this morning and took a while to settle. I’m considering trying for a cardioversion tomorrow at local A&E ( ED ) will update on that.
Cardioversion is only if you are in AF . 150 is not high for most people in AF even if you are. Many are over 200.
my heart rate gets up there with weights but I am not currently in AF, I think it is normal...
I think the supine chest press puts a bit more load on the heart so I’m putting it down to that.
Maybe bench pressing is not the right exercise while you're in a fib. You could try push-ups or wall push-ups to keep your heart rate where your EP wants it.
I don't know your history, but if you're gonna have a cardioversion, it's often a good idea to take daily anti-rhythmics like flecainide afterwards to keep you in normal rhythm. If that hasn't been brought up, you might want to have this discussion with your EP prior to the cardioversion.
Jim
I exercise regularly with medium tomorrow weights, it’s quite normal for your heart rate to go up 150. There’s nothing to be concerned about. It’s how quickly it goes back down again. Mine tends to range between 78 and 185, Depending on how intensive the exercises But it goes down quite quickly once I stop exercising so that’s the main thing to look at. It goes up and persist then that could be an issue
I have found on exercise moderation, regular and listening to your body's messages is the key to success.
I have done bench work in AF and in Sinus. Having said that whilst in AF I take both Flecainide and Metoprolol. My HR does jump more in AF and doing bench work involves moving from a flat position to standing up between sets this in itself gives abrupt jumps in HR. The question is how quickly does it drop to a reasonable level?
I think the problem yesterday with me was when I saw it up at 145/150 I panicked and that likely made it worse, I am only on 2.5mg of bisoporol. On Monday I done a full pull day session and no trouble at all, sick feeling in my stomach all the time , just a hateful thing to have as you all know too well
true the stress creates my ectopics which can kick off AF. I’ve been a lot better practicing nasal breathing, slow and steady and things settle. So when I press or do curls or even chin ups I focus on nose breathing, it helps. I see my wife hold her breath for too long when we train together, my heart doesn’t like me holding my breath too long. Read a book called Breath by James Nestor it’s a good look at how best to breath and how doing it incorrectly is bad for our overall health
Supine bench presses (as opposed to standing squats or deadlifts) shouldn’t spike your heart rate too much, though as others say 150 bpm isn’t that high. What is important is how well your heart rate recovers after exertion. I’m on 1.25mg Bisoprolol and it tends to cap my output at around 150 bpm when I’m doing aerobics (which I hate!) but I’m afraid I always stop exercise if I go into AF because my episodes are very short (30 mins) before I revert to normal sinus. Before I started taking Bisoprolol, my PAF would take me over 200 bpm.
Overall from the numbers you've listed, your heart rate seems ok. Your EP says keep it below 120 while in Afib? See, for most of us while in AF that would be impossible! In AF, when I merely walk across the room I hit 130 plus. 
When i used to try little hikes while in AF I'd get over 200. But with heart electrical problems, HR is gonna be a little out if whack, and weight lifting with any vigor puts pressure on the system certainly. My HR has never returned to what i used to consider normal before AF and two ablations. I do a short run or even elliptical machine etc and my HR goes up to numbers quickly that I'd only hit under far more exertion before. E.g., a short flat run of 3 miles hits numbers i used to only hit running 10 miles in the mountains. I keep exercising, but it's lower intensity. I also weightlift a fair bit , and 120 or 130bpm not a stretch. I've had to consider it a new normal of sorts, as are the daily ectopics etc. A new one I've added in the last 3 months is daily super ventricular tachycardia. Just keep the quality of life you can with the help of your docs. Your concern though is not uncommon.
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