My AF journey seems to have moved on - my last two episodes have started whilst playing football. I wonder if anyone else has experienced episodes starting during hard exercise?
My AF journey started with episodes starting due to alcohol consumption, then stress also seemed to be a cause. Now hard exercise also causes them.
During football sessions my pulse sometimes reaches 180bpm (I wear an Apple Watch whilst playing). I mentioned this to my cardiologist before AF episodes linked to exercise started, and although the advised max heart rate usually is 220 minus your age (in my case approx 150 bpm), he was relaxed about it due to my overall fitness level.
I have no distress issues whilst playing until AF starts when I start to feel light headed during peak performance.
I’m interested in knowing whether others have experienced AF episodes during hard exercise.
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As you know Afib is a progressive condition, both your Bio and this post bear this out. Luckily you have started your Afib journey with a good level of fitness. I am the same age as you. I do not exercise if I am actually in Afib. My view is that it places too much stress on the heart. I exercise most days if I am in NSR and I try to keep my pulse below 120 bpm. Basically I try to avoid oxygen debt.I think that most affibers try to identify triggers which bring on an episode, and then they avoid those triggers. The idea is to reduce the AF burden and hopefully never go into persistent/permanent afib. My understanding is that long periods of afib can remodel the heart and encourage further pathology.
My advice would be to abstain from alcohol and avoid exercise or spot which induces tachycardia. Regards.
I don't know about triggers it's always been for different reasons that I've gone into afib. I've blamed gardening,eating certain foods,stress ,wine and excercise but I'm in permanent afib and it doesn't stop me excercising or doing tough jobs on the farm.Having said that a lot of footballers and sports people get afib due in my opinion to the extra strength required to keep going for hours at football or rowing there are many new zealand sportsmen that have had to stop competing because of afib if I had to pick one thing thats a trigger it would be stress.
⁶your spot on with that one popepaul. I was a life long club cyclist. I go straight into tachy now. Thats what ive progressed to over 8 years of k owing ive got it. Im applying for an av node ablation because im excersise and drug intolerant.
I found helpful information Exercise and AF on London Heart centre. I came across it by chance. It includes longer warm up and cool down, and using Rate of Perceived Effort and aiming for 6. I had had AF triggered by exercise and also stopping too abruptly. I had not had any previous advice about this. Hope you find it helpful.
yes I have exactly the same, I am considering stopping competitive virtual cycle racing but want to continue playing hockey. I wonder if adrenaline or competition has something to do with making it worse. Sometimes mine is ok during exercise but kicks in shortly afterwards. Are you on any drugs?
That’s very interesting- I’m considering giving up football but continuing with tennis.
The problem with ball sports is that it’s virtually impossible to ease up - you either take part in the game fully or do not play at all. I couldn’t say to my football teammates- Sorry I can’t track back marking opposition players as I don’t want to trigger an AF episode!
As for medication I’m on Edoxaban (for AF), Lisinopril (to control hypertension), Tamulosin (enlarged prostate), Simvastatin (cholesterol).
So from what I can see you aren't on any anti-arrthymia medication, the Edoxaban is a blood thinner. You could discuss with your cardiologist, many people have long term success with a drug like flecainide to stop AFib episodes.
The cardiologist did offer me a choice with Flecainide in a previous consultation.
I have always taken it as a PIP, he told me if I wished I could take a small dose every day. At the time I thought it might be better not to have more regular medication and keep it as a PIP. However, if it means I can safely keep playing football it’s worth considering.
I had also thought of having a break of a few weeks from hard exercise. I only recently recovered from a cold bug which lasted a few weeks and wonder if that contributed to the recent AF episodes.
I'm assuming you took an EKG with your Apple Watch and it showed atrial fibrillation while exercising.? Because like your doctor said, you can have a high exercise heart rate without atrial fibrillation.
But to answer your question, exercise like stress, and alcohol, is a very common trigger for afib. And if your cardiologist is not taking documented episodes seriously., you probably should get at least a second opinion. Because depending on your afib burden, you might be better off on antiarrhythmic or having an ablation. You would want to see an electrophysiologist.(ep) about this..
The exercise related AF episodes started after my last consultation with the cardiologist. I plan to ask him about it now but thought I’d carry out this research first.
I saw an ablation specialist recently (but before the exercise related episodes started) he advised me not to have an ablation as the inconvenience of (almost) asymptomatic AF episodes was so minor.
If you want the episodes to be taken seriously you need to capture them on an EKG with your watch and document them by time and date and duration. And if you don't feel comfortable with your treatment, or lack thereof, you can always get a second opinion.
I outlined how I record my AF episodes on another thread - my degree was in Statistics so I am good at recording data and analysing it. I record not only the factual data of dates, times etc (including watch and Kardia ECG’s) but also general background thoughts (eg re stress levels).
When all of my episodes were alcohol driven I produced a series of graphs of units of alcohol consumption over 1, 3, 7 and 10 day periods cross referenced to AF episodes.
I did this after a 6 month period of keeping within the cardiologist advised limits of 2 units per day and 7 units per week during which I went 5 months without an episode.
With the agreement of my cardiologist I gradually increased alcohol consumption which pretty quickly produced clear evidence that, in my case and at that time, AF episodes were directly linked to alcohol consumption. Since then I have stuck to the advised limits other than one or two special occasions where I marginally exceed the one day limit (eg 3 units rather than 2).
I have no concerns whatsoever about the advice I’ve received from either of the cardiologists who I’ve seen.
However I do find it interesting and useful to use this forum to learn about the experiences of others.
that's fascinating research about the effects of alcohol, so if you stick to 7 units per week and max of 2 units on any one day it doesn't trigger an episode? Did you do the tracking in a spreadsheet? I'd like to try something similar I think!
Yes in my case restricting alcohol consumption strictly to the advised limits worked. When I started to gradually increase alcohol consumption I recorded daily alcohol units in the Notes section of my iPhone and then transferred it into an Excel spreadsheet and used the graph function to create graphs. It became clear that an increase in alcohol consumption triggered my AF episodes (unfortunately!).
I still record daily units (usually 2 days per week), but have stopped producing graphs as it won’t tell me anything I don’t already know.
Also, alcohol induced AF has now been overtaken by stress and exercise.
thanks! have you graphed the exercise yet? I've a simple diary with days in between episodes and notes on the exercise/what I did that day before the episode but not graphed anything yet!! Would you be able to share a screenshot of the graph? I'm keen to try and replicate it so would make sense to re-use what worked vs starting from scratch!!
I don’t know if/how screenshots can be posted on this forum.
I wish I could help you by sending you a simple Excel spreadsheet for you to enter your data onto - but I think anonymity is important on Forums like this.
If you have a friend (or perhaps a young relative who is good at maths) with reasonable Excel competence it’s very easy for them to set you up a graph generating spreadsheet.
i have flutter provoked by exercise. It starts either when I exercise up to 145 or so HR then it switches to flutter locked at 150 and I feel tired. Or, weirdly, when I get past 140 but then stop eg to drink water. My pulse then rise: (not falls) and I go into flutter. Alleviated by lying flat on my back it will revert in a minute or three. Continuing mild exercise like walking it will stay in flutter for longer. maybe 5 or more minutes. I know flutter isnt afib but certainly exercise induced afib or flutter is a thing. It sucks because sometimes exertion into the trigger zone is just unavoidable. (depending on the sport). For instance, I like to jog. Thats fine but a steep hill can send me into it.
I had exactly the same experience with flutter. However, after only triggering with strenuous exercise, flutter was triggered with less and less strenuous endeavours. Finally triggering for no apparent reason though controllable with concentrated deep breathing. It finally became persistent, this whole process taking about 2 years. A cardio version put me back in normal rhythm and after 4 years that remains to be the case albeit with a low resting heart rate of 46 bpm, diagnosed as level 1 heart block. During all of this time I had no symptoms whatsoever and that remains the case today.
wow well I did not know a cardio version can make changes that stop episodes, I assumed it was just to revert an episode I thought ablation was the only solution for recurrent things like afib and flutter.
Yes - if you check out my previous posts this this is the only time I get AF. I’m now 3.5 months post ablation and no issues - I don’t intend to go flat out but have got it briefly to 170 without issue.
Sure - it can be controlled with lower intensity and in my case a beta blocker to lower a bit more, but that doesn’t work for sports where you need to push hard and risk going into AF.
I also made this choice as I’m 49, so have many years of cycling left.
Football is what caused my problems. Had two private ablations but didn’t solve it. I decided I would do walking and resistance exercises instead. That was 4 years ago roughly. Touch wood no AF since.
I’ve been looking for links between my AFib and things I’ve done - I started with it in May23 after a covid jab but it also followed severe stress - it continued (tracked by Apple Watch) until Nov 23 then I’ve been AFib free until October this year - I swim (front crawl 30-50 lengths three times a week in the fast lane) but following a bout of Covid early October followed by a covid jab I’d not swam and when I did my first session back AFib started again - since then so far so good apart from the odd flutter - my GP sent me to the cardio unit at our local hospital who weren’t interested in my Afib so I’m getting no support and I do worry about swimming- my resting heart rate is around 50 (I’m 69 years old) always had a low heart rate and apart from being a bit overweight/creaky im doing ok but the AFib worries me
Libluce, your experience looks similar to my early experiences with Afib. I was generally ignored for a decade because of my fitness levels and low resting heart beat. It was probably not the best thing to say early on to the medics that the main effect appeared to be on my 10k run times!
Eventually, after probably 10 years of things getting worse and me seeing a new young GP at my practice, I was referred to Cardiology. The cardiologist I saw put my symptoms down to lack of general fitness despite a resting HR of 52 and sent me packing.
Thank goodness someone saw it fit to review my case (maybe the person I saw was showing a bad track record) and a few months after my initial consultation I got a call out of the blue from cardiology and after a discussion was put on Flecainide.
For a year or so and I was back to my old self but it became less and less effective. Again, because all other factors looked fine I wasn't put on a DOAC. After a really stressful period which precipitated a long on/off period of Afib I succumbed to, what I think was the inevitable, TIA.
My Flecainide dose was upped, I was put on Edoxaban and also beta blockers to stop any flutter caused by the Flecainide transferring to my ventricles and causing tachycardia during exercise. (I have a whole other story on that, if anyone is interested)
But things kept getting worse at an accelerating pace and exercise became a full on trigger. I was beginning to find it really hard to stay positive about my condition so I started banging on doors to get an ablation. After a year's wait the ablation happened and it took nearly a year for it to fully work with episodes gradually reducing.
I'm now swimming (fast lane 1500 metres <30 mins), cycling (30 to 50 miles 16mph) and even jogging again (don't tell my knee surgeon).
My message is to bang on doors to get medicated but also seriously consider an ablation. Opinion seems to be that the sooner the ablation the better the result.
Thank you for sharing - I find it rather frustrating with my GP but do need to keep pestering him - with other stuff going off (daughter has cancer and dad in heart/kidney failure) I keep getting told it’s stress but I’m a retired psychotherapist and a Doctor so I’m not stupid and know more going on
Stress was a big trigger for me and I'm certain lead the the prolonged Afib that precipitated my TIA. So yes, stress might be a factor but it shouldn't mean that you have to live with the resultant Afib. And how's you stress going to be if you can get your lengths in?
Maybe worth considering a private consultation, I'm sure people here will be able to recommend a sympathetic cardiac EP / Cardiologist in your area who will get you on the correct treatment pathway.
I am sorry to hear your experience. There is NICE Guidance called Atrial Fibrillation: Diagnosis and management. It includes assessment (ambulatory ECG), stroke prevention and other steps. Perhaps go along with this.
yes most of my episodes were after exercise but here’s the caveat I had always consumed coffee before hand or alcohol the night before. When I worked out the association I didn’t drink night before a football game or had any coffee day of game or exercise. Think carefully what did you have before the football. Energy, drink, coffee Gatorade all can precipitate AF. The Gatorade is full of sugar and not needed for football unless we’re in the premier league, water is fine
hi. Yes my trigger is exercise, strangely I’m ok cycling and swimming. But I have had to stop running. It started during a half marathon, and got to the point when a 5 k would trigger. My consultant told me that exercise often triggers.
My afib started about over 20 years ago when it kicked in during a cycle ride, evident by my heart reading from chest strap and papitation feeling in my chest.
Over the years it became more common and would only trigger on a hard part of a ride (although not at max. effort) uphill etc. and sometimes reach 180+ hr, dropping to 140-150 on the flat, where my normal easy pace would be under 120 hr.
It would often terminate during the ride within 1/2 hr but sometimes only terminate after the ride in an hour or so.
The only effect of it was a slight lack of power on the climb but I could still push hard.
I saw the GP and had an echo but no heart abnormalities found, I declined medication for
a condition which only happened occasionally and didn't want daily drugs.
I cycled 3 - 4 times/wk, up to 6000 miles/year, club rides/100 mile events etc and experienced afib up to 10 times in one year, so not very often.
From 12 years ago the competitive club rides gradually stopped and also no more 2/wk 50 mile work commutes (retired), but still experienced the occasional ride afib, and sometimes during a pool swim.
I had 4 years of no afib up to 2 years ago and was optimistic that I had got over it but it started again last year, becoming much more frequent several times/month, even sometimes without exercise, when it came to a head in December at the end of an hour's row in my home gym where it carried on for 5 days at which point I saw the GP and had to accept that medication was necessary,
Fast forward to this year, not wanting afib to became set in it's ways, I did some research, saw a surgeon privately in January where he agreed I was a good candidate for an ablation and had it done 2 wks later, luckily due to a cancellation.
Had several brief episodes of AF after medication was stopped, terminated within a few hours by one dose of 100mg Flecainide + 2.5mg Bisoprolol - twice upon waking, twice while swimming and once during weight training, but not at all while cycling or rowing.Maybe an ablation touch up in the future will be needed, see what my consultant (now on his NHS list) will say later this month.
I’m a fit, regular cyclist and eventually chose to take flecanide/bisoprolol in minimum dose so that I could continue to enjoy bike trips without the tedium of finishing a ride, slower, in AF after it kicked in. I now have far fewer and briefer attacks, mainly at night and never yet exercising. I don’t push quite as hard, rarely cycle with people much fitter than me but still do 100km+ easily. Keep staying fit!
Oh yes! Infact I was advised that my AF was probably as a result of my long involvement in endurance sports. My very first episode occurred whilst pushing hard during a cycling event.
However AF is nothing if not confusing and I did sometimes revert to NSR from AF whilst exercising! Every day is a school day with AF….
I have exactly the same experience and am the same age as you. After diagnosis I took bisoprolol for a few months but it didn’t limit the frequency of PAF. I discovered that my episodes in the gym occurred during recovery from aerobic exercise. I now take no biso but limit my aerobic exercise to a max rate of 150bpm, which successfully avoids triggering PAF.
l am a female and don’t play football, but l do provoke an AF attack if l overdue the excercise. Personally, l would be seriously looking at this, especially if you feel light headed. There seems a risk to me, with your pulse going so high, that it could cause strain and stress to your heart. We are told everything in moderation and although personal fitness plays its part, it is no guarantee that it will not cause problems in the future. We all know AF can be progressive and l wouldn’t want to hasten that fact. I am not a medic, just giving my opinion and concern.
Ive been trying to pin down my triggers. In the latter half of last year I was persistent af though asymptomatic. Since July it has become more sporadic so I am keeping notes. In my case my triggers: heavy meal, stress, hard swimming, wine.
I'd just like to add on my previous reply. My persistent af became more sporadic within a couple of weeks of starting 1g l-arginine and 1g taurine so not sure if they are helping but they are within the dosage range.
My AF is also now triggered by hard exercise which was never the case in the last 4 years. Awaiting an ablation and trying to moderate what I do while waiting. Already back on flecainide but it no longer prevents episodes. Hope you can get yours sorted.
I've only ever had AF due to exercise: it started for me about 12 years ago, when I was in my late thirties. Running provoked an attack every few months, so I moved to cycling. I did a lot of cycling for about ten years (I've pretty much stopped now) and my AF burden reduced greatly: I'd basically have an attack every year or two. Since stopping cycling I've had just one more sustained AF episode, when I was coming out of a set of rather testing squats a couple of years ago; I also had a very brief episode (a minute or two), I think, following a 50 mile ride about a year ago. I've been quite lucky up to now, in that I sometimes go for a few years without any AF; and it's never been provoked by alcohol for me (although other bits of my health might benefit from a link to boozing!) I'm just on 2.5mg bisoprolol, with PiP Flecainide.
I find everything I read here very interesting. I seem to have a strange case of Afib. If I get an Afib episode, I can usually stop it with exercise! I have never had the opposite. I also do not seem to have any of the usual triggers. I can drink strong coffee with nothing. I can eat chocolate with nothing. I rarely have episodes, the only one in six years happening when I tried stopping my flecainide ( on Dr's suggestion ) and tried the pill in the pocket method. I do get an occasional ectopic beat when I am stressed or extremely emotional, but that is it. I do have Sleep Apnea so maybe it is totally related to that, and nothing else. I sleep with a CPAP machine. My Apnea is Central Apnea and not obstructive apnea.
I am also 71 and I run for excercise. This fall I started having episodes of a-fib that I could feel when I would stop my run. I have a Kardia monitor that documented it. My cardiologist said it was good to keep on with my running, but the episodes are getting more frequent and sometimes I feel like I could faint. I had the same symptoms last summer and wore a week long monitor which showed supraventricular tachycardia. I take metoprolol for that which eliminated it.
I have just completed wearing a week long monitor again and will see my electrophysiologist next week to get a better picture of what is going on. I am sure the doctor will be changing my meds.
Mine too started with alcohol and then moved on to include intense exercise and I'm 70 in March. Often the exercise would bring on an attack where I'd consumed alcohol in the previous 2 or 3 days, but maybe not enough to trigger an attack on its own. Sometimes though it brings one on even without alcohol, if the activity is intense enough. Full marks by the way for still playing footie at our age. I would, but both my knees and calves stop me from doing so. Have you cut out alcohol completely yet?
Hi Cabinessence - this thread has become quite complicated so I’ not sure if your question about alcohol was to me!
However my answer is that I limit my alcohol consumption to the advised limits most of the time. I occasionally exceed the limits by a small amount eg when I’m on holiday and eating out most nights.
I drink non alcoholic beers (some of which are as good as the “proper” version) and have a single glass of wine with my meal.
I only mentioned alcohol because you said that's how your AFib started and so did mine? As a matter of interest which low alcohol beers do you recommend?
I have found that NA beers are very much a matter of personal taste - which is why it’s really annoying when a restaurant/ bar has 20 varieties of alcoholic beer and 1 type of NA beer!
My favourites are Beavertown Lazer Crush, Corona Zero, and Brooklyn Brewery Hoppy Lager.
I have PAF. My first experience with AF was while running on a hot day. I actually went to the emergency room because it scared the crap out of me. Now I go into AF for all kind of random reasons. My doctor once had me on a stress test and I went into AF. So it's a funny thing which we try to control with a cocktail of meds but it seems to have a mind of it's own. I have an appointment in Houston with Dr Wolf for a mini maze procedure this coming April. Hopefully that knocks it out. Stay fit partner!
Can't recall if I experienced dizzyness but I also have suspected high HR over time has caused my AFib (I'm told I have it). Now 79yo.I did fast running and intense cycling in my 40-60 age range. Reaching 185bpm regularly (while running).
When I discovered a heart problem requiring 2 stents, my cardiologist was extremely annoyed I regularly ran at that level (until stents in late 60s).
I was always in excellent health and wondered if the high HR cause the AFib to develop.
Everyone's triggers are different. For me, I actually use exercise to get OUT of AF. A quick 5 or 10 minute jog would get me out of AF almost 100% of the time. The only time exercise has caused me to go into AF is if I drink water or something cold before giving time for my heart rate to drop a bit after vigorous exercise.
I was going to post this recent experience anyway so replying to your post seems appropriate. I was diagnosed with AF in May 2022 after a brief blackout. Although the cardiologist mentioned cardioversion and ablation he didn't stress that I should have the former asap. During a recent appointment, I was told that I could have cardioversion as there were very few people on the waiting list. Last Friday 08/11/2024, I had the procedure, which went well and after just one shock I went into NSR. I was monitored for a few hours, my heart rate was in the 40's-50's range, and according to the doctor my last ECG was 'lovely', and she also announced 'you can stop taking Bisoprolol immediately'. [I also take Ramipril 20mg, Edoxaban 60mg, and Lercanidipine 10mg].
After walking home - about 1.5 miles - I checked my heart with a Kardia which variously said 'unclassified', 'possible AF' and 'normal sinus rhythm'. It then repeatedly reported NSR for a day or so. I had recently bought an exercise bike, so took the chance and did 30 mins fairly fast pedalling. Before I finished I knew something was wrong, because I could feel a fluttering in my chest and my pulse was obviously fast and erratic. When I stopped and checked the Kardia said 'possible AF' and 188bpm, then 176bpm a few minutes later, and even about 10 mins later it was still 158bpm. I normally use a rowing machine and don't get to even the lowest of those figures. I therefore started taking the Bisoprolol again. The cardioversion had lasted about 48hrs. When I saw my GP two days ago, to request a referral for a repeat cardioversion, his first instruction was 'go back on the Bisoprolol' [5mg twice a day]. I had an ECG today and the Dr has sent that to the cardiologist. Next time I may just restrict exercise to walking.
Over-exertion a definite trigger for me too. All bar one of my five AF episodes have come after a short, sharp burst of exercise - running for the train or after my then toddler son. Seems I can build up OK (Unusually swimming, light jogging or walking are my go-tos, my football days are long gone!).
Had an ablation nearly 6 years ago and all good since. Still get the odd flutter, and stress and alcohol definitely make those worse but no full episodes (touch wood).
thanks Ronnieboy - I find it a bit weird that I can keep up with the younger players in terms of speed and energy but the “Joe Biden” factor means I can’t think as quickly as I used to do and get caught in possession more!
Since Trump was elected, my baseline stress level is up, (so very sorry for inflicting that scoundrel on the world) which makes me more prone to AF episodes. Anyway, I over-exercised yesterday, had a stressful day, and had an episode in bed last night. In this case I did some deep breathing and mental breathing into stressed areas and breath holding, sipped water while holding my breath and it stopped in less than an hour. Still...
I agree with the comments here about alcohol lowering the threshold when exercising. I reckon my triggers in the early days were always a few too many drinks (red wine especially) followed by exercise the following day.
Post ablation I’ve made a conscious effort not to exercise if I’ve had more than two drinks and my overall consumption of wine has dropped to maybe a couple of small glasses per week. Still enjoy beer - but again I switch to NA after two beers.
I was a competitive sculler/rower in my 20s and continued vigorous training on and off the water for the ensuing 50 years. For as long as there have been accurate and affordable heart rate monitors (HRMs) I have used them while training to "stay in the zone". My lone paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (LPAF) cropped up about four years ago when I was doing an "hour of power" workout on my Concept-2 rowing erg. About 20 minutes into the workout my HRM showed my heart rate suddenly jumping from about 140 bpm to 240 bpm. Stupidly, I assumed the problem was with the monitor rather than my heart. I finished the remaining 40 minutes and felt dreadful. This began my research into LPAF and its relationship to lifelong endurance training (that's another story). After the workout I started trying for figure out what happened and ordered a Kardia online. Two days later, during an intense 60-minute aerobics session my monitor again showed that my heart had jumped to about 240 bpm. Fortuitously, the Kardia arrived by mail later that day. I tried it out and it indicated that I had atrial fibrillation. The AF episodes continued, apparently triggered by exercise and alcohol. A visit to the doctor led to a referral to a cardiologist who performed an echocardiogram and exercise stress test. About six minutes into the stress test my heart went into fibrillation. The cardiologist confirmed my self-diagnosis and the results from the Kardia. He prescribed a beta blocker (bisoprolol) and an anti-coagulant (apixaban). The beta blocker did little to reduce the increasing frequency of my AF episodes. It also made me feel terribly lethargic. I stopped training and began feeling very depressed. After a couple of months the cardiologist, at my urging, took me off the beta blocker and switched me to an anti-arrhythmic (flecainide). Later I also started taking a statin (rosuvastatin). The flecainide had profound results. The AF stopped almost immediately and I had none of the debilitating side effects experienced on the beta blocker. I slowly went back to training, upping my exercise intensity and frequency so that I was nearly at my post-AF level. One curious side-effect of flecainide was that it capped my maximum heart rate at a level about 20 bpm below my age-adjusted max of 150. So I couldn't be competitive in my single scull over 1 kilometer masters races. But I was able to complete steady 1-4 hour state workouts of 15-45 km keeping my heartrate in 100-120 range, and no AF. Gradually I came to understand my new limits. However, the cardiologist again began urging that I take a beta blocker. This is because it is common practice to prescribe a beta blocker alongside flecainide, the rationale being that one controls the AF and the other prevents breakout of atrial flutter. Having experience negative side-effects from bisoprolol, I began lobbying for a referral to an electrophysiologist (EP) for an ablation. After much further testing over the course of a year I was eventually referred to an EP who concurred that an ablation would be the best approach for me. Two weeks ago I received a pulsed field ablation involving pulmonary vein isolation. In two months I'll come off the flecainide and we'll see if the procedure has worked. About 70% of patients who undergo this procedure are effectively "cured". Of the 30% who aren't, 99% are "cured" after a second ablation. I was on my feet an hour after the procedure and two weeks later am now working my way back to exercise on the Concept 2 erg in my basement, where this whole journey began. Hopefully my story may be of some use to you.
Hi, I'd exercised all my life so surprised when I got AF. Asked Consultant about exercise and he said strenuous execise would not help AF and could trigger it and make it worse, so walking and light swimming ok but not strenuous cardio. That was about 7yrs ago, also you can do walking footie.
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