About 4 years ago at 56, after being rapid afib and suffering a cardiac arrest, my wife meaning well made me buy a big screen TV, to make me be less active. Soon after, my palpitations started again I was flipping back and forth to afib. Frustrated I found your forum, I got the book the "Afib Cure" (by John Day).
First, I changed my diet to a vegetarian, gluten free, butter free, alcohol free, potassium and magnesium rich food. Then I started doing 8,000 steps daily. I started to change my breathing to a slow nasal breathing. Now I walk about 15,000 steps daily and swim daily. I was so confident with my heart that I overindulged on not so good food on Christmas Eve. That night palpitations woke me up, afib returned, I converted back to sinus the next day after a brisk walk.
French cardiologist Francois Carre has many YouTube videos to promote physical activity. Dr Carre explains how important to be active on a regular basis, the effects wear off after 12 hours. He uses the analogy of brushing your teeth, do you only brush your teeth on the weekends? He explains that 50 years ago, we were standing up 50% of the time. Of course, important to do it in a progressive way and we all have different physical capabilities. After my cardiac arrest, I could not lift my electric chainsaw without being short of breath.
In my 20s, I was a paratrooper, after like a 30 miles walk, they asked the tired ones to line up in front of a truck in the hope of getting a seat in the truck, instead they got more load to carry! It took me 40 years to understand they were not cruel but offering a great life lesson...
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Sustainedvtach270
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Great post! I aim for 10,000 steps a day. I don’t always get there and sometimes I do more. I believe that when my cardiology appointments coincide with a good run of meeting that 10,000 steps daily goal my holter and echo test results are always more positive. That’s anecdotal of course but we all know that the research clearly indicates that being active is good for cardiac health. My diet has always been great and loaded with fresh fruit and vege. Add a habit of drinking a minimum of 1.5L of water a day and I’m doing ok.
For those who can't manage 10,000 steps a day, I read recently 2 or 3 short bursts of 10 minute brisk walks were similarly effective. Personally, I always go for a half hour brisk walk with nordic poles as soon as there is daylight and top it up with another short 10 min brisk walk without poles in the afternoon.
I hope you will not mind my citating a part of your Bio, from your profile:
"I had a syncope episode walking in a park. I was then hospitalized for rapid afib. A week later another syncope episode while hospitalized, went into sustained vtach, vfib and cardiac arrest. "
Will try to be short, as much as possible... Nothing influences arrhythmias more than physical activity. We have had, during the time, numerous cases where not exercise, but a single body movement (reaching up, reaching down, ...), has resulted in momentary response in form of arrhythmias. Depending on the momentarily state of the body and the heart, some exercise may shift your condition in one direction, others in different direction. We had the case where the guy regularly reverted from AF in NSR after 10 min bicycle ride, but we also had the case where a guy barely remained conscious after uphill bicycle ride. Unless you know very well what result some exercise will bring, you are risking making a mistake and ending in cardiac arrest (all the cases of young footballers, dying in the playground despite "perfect health"). Not to mention exercising with the heart already in some kind of arrhythmia.
Knowing it, I have ended exercising at the age of 60 (now 72), not willing to risk. I know that you all will fight to death, defending your right to exercise, and it really is your undeniable right. But keep in mind...
Hello Responsible, the young footballers with cardiac arrest usually have a malformation with their heart, and football ⚽️ is a very strenuous exercise that I would not risk at 60... Concerning my cardiac arrest while walking you are right, I was a mouth breather and both time I fell in syncope when I was trying to do deep breathing which made me breathe too hard and hyperventilate. I only breathe through my nose when I exercise except for swimming. Nasal breathing makes you breathe with your diaphragm which helps bring oxygen to the body. If I can no longer breathe through my nose I slow down! At the pool, some people laugh at me because I only do 6 lapses but I go every day unlike most people! Thank you for your smart feedback and happy new year!
The world of sport and/or athletics is littered ( as it is with a wide range of forum members on here over the last 15 years) with casualties of exercise ! There is plenty of anecdotal stuff concerning marathon/olympic grade runners and cyclists even /climbers and mountaineers who die, mysteriously and suddenly. Some it has emerged later, are carrying in their medical records a history of heart arrythmias - and other cardiac issues.
Me, I'm totally unhealthy. Don't exercise barely walk in fact - enough to bore me to death. Yeah my GP, my Cardiac Consultant always tell me to get more exercise ........... why ? I ask ..... given that I can hardly damn well breath in the very first instance. How dumb ass is that? Blind Freddie and the Drovers dog knows full well that lurching into exercise - no matter how slowly is only gonna bring me big trouble.
My body and I know exactly what my healthcare issues are and we organise our lives accordingly ... what needs to be controlled is controlled. What doesn't .... neither of us really care. You see, we know exactly what our genes hold for us.
John, I agree with every word. I know that this is a dangerous ground - most of us were/are exercise addicts. I know that the MDs often advise exercising in late age, but what's the gain? If, like most did, people exercise when young and middle aged, they have already done for the heart what was to be done. If not, in the 60ties it is too late to catch up. Not advocating that people shouldn't be active, but the strain should be carefully adjusted to the personal body state and capabilities.
If somebody is driving an old car, as I did (Opel Kadett D, production year 1982 - bought it at 5 yo, with 20K mileage, sold at 31 yo, with the mileage 160k) the regime must be carefully adjusted and maintenance intensified accordingly. In the end, I spent more time underneath, repairing it, than driving it, lol.
The same is valid for elderly human body - learn what your capabilities and limits are, carefully go close to the limits, but with solid reserve. Stay safe, stay sound!
In general, my opinion is that most of us here have structurally sound hearts, which, from time to time, get wrong signals, leading to the uncontrolled behavior of the heart. Despite being very unpleasant and symptomatic in some people, arrhythmias seem not to change the heart structure very quickly. Maybe after decades... So, the heart remains "sound" for long and, when in NSR, there should be no problems when exercising. But when the heart is out of rhythm, in some people permanently, any exercise or even everyday activity (climbing the stairs) should be performed with extreme care. Of course, the largest problem of all is that you can start exercise in NSR, and switch to any arrhythmia during the exercise. My decision, at 60 yo, was to prevent it at any cost.
Indeed. The exercise was never physical …. always mental. It was the mental that keeps me goin’. Always will be. I was a bus driver, plenty of mental stuff there … enough to test a saint ! Look after the mental stuff, the rest looks after itself.
ForensicFairy It's important to stay well hydrated. I have 2.5 L of water a day (min). I have two litre bottles in the fridge alongside a half-litre bottle. Top up with some Robinsons for favour and bingo - theres a measured 2.5 L of cold and nice tasting liquid to consume every day. It's about 7.25 am and a litre has gone already. In fact, I'm going to the fridge after posting this to drink another half a litre.
I try to get my 'liquid fix' earlier in the day. If I did it in the evening I would be up all night peeing!
Good for you! I’m petite and 2.5L is way too much for me. I’d be drowning myself unless I had been perspiring a lot. There’s a calculation you can use to determine your correct fluid intake. I don’t add flavour and I don’t like my water cold normally. I also try to drink it earlier rather than later in the day. It certainly eases the night time wee!
My doctor (gastroenterologist) told me the equation and worked it out for me. He also has a genetic cardiac condition. He said too many people think it’s a set amount and the same for everyone. But it’s obviously not and it depends on how much you perspire, how much you talk (whistle or sing), and your food intake and type. My urine is almost clear with me drinking 1.5L - which is another way to test. Clear is good as you probably know.
Sorry, I don’t have it anymore. He scribbled it on a piece of paper with a recommendation of fibre intake and I’ve thrown it out. I think it was 30ml per kg of body weight with adjustments for activity level, my age and diet. But I don’t know the details on this part. Your medications can also impact apparently - especially any which lower metabolism.
On water, a glass of warm first in the day before anything else is supposed to be good in rinsing out the insides - seems logical to me. Also try and improve the quality of water - we mainly drink filtered (using a Berkey filter recommended by my Naturopath), occasional bottled water sold in glass bottles and also we are lucky enough to be able to get the occasional 10 litres of free Spring water from a Biodynamic Farm shop .......that's what I call hedging your bets 🤣.
Yes, I picked up the tip from a nutrionist I consulted when first diagnosed with AF. She referred to Chinese medicine where they liken the stomach to a cooking pot and to improve digestion you should avoid cold input.
I would like to be able to exercise a lot more than I now am able to. I find 4-5000 steps, quite adequate for me although I am attempting to increase my tolerance however, more than 10,000 wipes me out for days. I stand on average for 10-12 hours daily (so my iWatch tells me) I use a LIV machine for 10 mins and do some resistance work 2/3 times a week. I do a TaiChi class weekly, short yoga routine x2 daily, some Pilates and stretching in small ‘exercise snack bites’ which works for me. My body is very good at telling me when I have done too much (fatigue) or too little (stiff and lethargic).
We had the case where the guy regularly reverted from AF in NSR after 10 min bicycle ride, but we also had the case where a guy barely remained conscious after uphill bicycle ride. Unless you know very well what result some exercise will bring, you are risking making a mistake and ending in cardiac arrest (all the cases of young footballers, dying in the playground despite "perfect health").
Unfortunately I fall into the latter category, cardiac exercise does not help and can often put me into fast AF. That doesn’t mean I do nothing! Swimming is the best form of exercise for me but unfortunately I find access difficult now. Still my Vo2 is considered above average for my age.
Inactivity is not desirable for sure but we need to find a level of activity for ourselves that is sustainable and helpful to our physiology. The only person I know who died of AF was an ex-marine who refused to be treated and insisted on ‘pushing through’.
Being active does not have to mean running, cycling, swimming or long walks, any and all activity that you can do is good. My husband has slowed down a lot now but at 91 still does 30 mins of strength and stretching in the mornings but sadly now struggles with walking for more than 2-3000 steps. Exercise and sport were always a part of his life.
I agree that the slow nasal breathing is outstandingly helpful, if you haven’t already and my guess is you already have - Breath - James Nestor. My version I call LSD - Long, Slow, Deep.
Hello C-Dreamer, thank you for your reply. Slow nasal breathing I think is the key, for me it has been difficult to implement. I was a mouth breather and I also had apnea during the day, James Nestor book is great, I have read it a few times... I do not advise to act just like a Marine and forget your meds. Keep taking your meds! The level of activity needs to be sustainable. Congratulations on your husband for still being active at 91! You are right being active is not necessarely running a marathon, I am a man who enjoys cooking. I think women outlive the men because they are more active in the house... Happy new year!
With my mobility problems from childhood polio now putting a block for me on all health advice about the benefits of walking and more exercise, I am very pleased to learn that tai chi is as good or better than walking for cardio health. Not only that, but recent research has it that working at standing desks causes it's own negative cardio issues. Like food, so with activity, small amounts from multiple sources, and nothing in excess.
Your example is an inspiration. Keep up the good work.
I have always hated all formal exercise other than dancing. In my twenties I did ballet for adults classes and at 36 discovered Bharatanatyam which I pursued for 24 years both performing and teaching. Every other exercise class I have done except yoga I have spent watching the clock longing for it to be over . I also walked a reasonable amount when I was younger and lived in urban areas. My one remaining active passion is my garden. When I had to give up Bharatanatyam due to the toll it was taking on my joints I was worried about not exercising and asked my doctor if working in the garden 2/3 hours a day which I had always done alongside dancing and catching up with the housework on rainy days was enough. He said yes. Most mornings now I walk for 10 minutes after breakfast round and round my kitchen island unit listening to the news. I started this when on sticks after my first hip op . Yesterday I decided as a New Year resolution to do 10 mins in the evening whilst cooking dinner as well. Feeling pleased with myself I ate my dinner and while still sitting at the table reading went into afib!
I agree with a lot of what CD has written. I was delighted to get rid of my breathlessness ,dizziness and fatigue after my ablation in 2022.However I now have a diagnosis of spinal stenosis and degeneration of the 5 lumbar vertebrae, plus a hip problem. As I'm.sure we all know, the best treatment is NSAIDs which can't take. Pain relief is limited too.
I have just been told I have osteoporosis which came with advice to do weight bearing/ impact exercise, but also was told that's the erst thing for the osteoarthritis! Catch22.
I've only had the diagnosis a few months but obviously the symptoms were building up. I put the pain down to the ablation proceedure at the time,as lying on the table I felt might have triggered it.
I also found out recently I have osteoporosis .
I eat very healthily and try to keep as active as possible but many of the activities I would like to do are impossible. I can only walk about 50metres without having to sit for a few minutes,standing upright for more than 20 minutes is the same.
Hello Wilsond, sorry to hear about your pain. I highly recommend swimming 🏊♂️. I swim snow or shine and here the winters are really miserable but when it's minus 10 celcius/14 farenheit, the only other guy at the pool, is a car accident survivor, he was run over by a car, the only thing that gives him pain relief is swimming 🏊♂️. I could also add that swimming besides giving me a boost of energy after a long day at work, warms me up, I tend to get my fingers numb with my beta blockers(if I don't exercise enough). Happy new year and get well!
Too true! I have a collapsed disc and standing up for prolonged periods - eg vaccuuming, cooking and washing up makes my lower back and over the left hip ache horribly. The doc says the pain in the hip is referred from the back. I can garden for between 2and3 hours before pain sets in because that involves different positions and a fair amount of bending and stretching which I think helps. I also have band of metal round my left femur which gives me pain with certain movements. I think there is too much nonsense about exercise these days with all these prescriptions of so many minutes per week. My mother and grandmothers never "exercised" . They did not drive so walked to the shops and carried heavy bags back . They spent large parts of the day doing housework . My granny never had a washing machine but washed everything by hand and used a mangle . She lived to 98.
Absolutely great post and I 100% concur. I have SVT and palpitations and I have happily given up alcohol, ultra processed foods and caffeine. I exercise with power walking of 9-10km 3-4 times a week which is circa 320 minutes of exercise and feel SO MUCH better for it.
If allowed by your doctor, I say active is better than inactive. I am 58 and very active. I had an ablation for AF in 2018 and it has been quiet so far. I currently suffer from SVT and take diltiazem 30 mg when it comes around. I walk, elliptical, bike and lift weights. I never went into AF or SVT during or right after exercise; of course we are all different. I say go with what works for you. Happy New Year!
so true I was AF free from January and daily exercise morning and afternoon then volunteered as road crew for a 5 day walk…. I didn’t exercise during that period and on the last day popped into AF again on 1 December as I was a bit dehydrated. I got back in Sinus after I got on my indoor bike and did some 15 sec bursts in between 5 minute steady cycling.
I’m 75, with paroxysmal AF, had a heart attack and I am very active: static bike, powertraining, squats, jumping jacks. I do the cardiology stress test every other day on my static bike, pushing my HR to 90 % of its maximum .
My mother had paroxysmal AF too. She did no exercise at all, moved barely and drank a Guinness (or two) a day. She hated to walk. She lived to be 94 on that regimen.
I ask myself daily: which was one of us (my mother or I) was/is the smartest?
Hi Sustainedvtach270. Can I ask what your current medications are? I am on Xarelto 20mgs., Bisoprolol 5 mgs., and Furosemide 40 mgs., I was always active until a few years ago, when covid hit. I trained with weights about 6 days a week, and walked a lot. After getting covid from my local gym, I just stopped everything cold turkey, and now looking back I don't think it was a good idea to do that. I didn't do much of any exercise except walking and always using the stairs when I could along with cutting the lawn in summer and shoveling in winter. So, I was basically inactive from my gym for about 3 years, then I developed afib along with some swelling in my left foot and calf which turned out to be from heart failure caused by the afib. The medications help a bit so I am thinking about going back to the gym again but really going easy with everything. I'll just have to try it to see if it helps me or not. This afib stuff can really be frustrating at times, seems like a wrong move here, or a wrong stretch there starts an episode with certain people which can scare them but I'm willing to take the leap and just find out at the gym. As a side note I was on a year long plan with the Xarelto, which ran out a few months ago where I got it really cheap. Upon learning of the actual retail price I was given the option of Warfarin, or a generic version of Xarelto-Rpigat, rivaroxaban from a pharmacy in Florida, the pills are manufactured in India. I chose the generic of Xarelto, cost is less than 25% of original.
Hello Gbn. I also am on Xeralto 20 mg and Sotalol 80 mg twice a day. For Xeralto, I am getting the great discount since I still have a private health insurance through my work. To get back in physical activity, you might want to work on your slow nasal breathing. Patrick Mc Keown has some great youtube and Anders Olsson on carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide helps get the oxygen to the body. I would advise Anders Olsson book "Conscious Breathing".
Well done, you!! The worse thing one can do as we age is slowdown just coz we are older. Cardio exercise, resistance training and stretching will help maintain our capacity as long as possible as well as being good for our mental health. I work advising injured, ill and older clients on exercise and well meaning relatives are a real issue 😂😀
Hello Jaja, you are doing some great work! We should all be aware of well meaning children or spouse who want us to take it easy and slow down, maybe they are thinking at the inheritance...
I used to go to the gym till Covid closed it and then I bought some resistance bands, weights, a gym ball and foot peddle machine and a rowing machine and I go up and downstairs 12 times and do 45 step-ups for the cardio exercises. I have 2 routines for the resistance exercises. I try and do it every other day. I have saved well over £300 a year by not belonging to a gym now. I found there wasn’t many older women going to the gym, so would probably given it up anyway. Going up and down the stairs is very good cardio exercise and anyone who lives in a 2 or more storey house can do it without any cost to them.
Hello Sixtychick, going up and down the stairs, is probably one of the best exercise! Dr Carré strongly advises it and explains that how fast you can climb those stairs is a great indicator of your health. Of course, we should do it with moderation!
Great to be as active as possible, I'm bedridden most of the time but can still exercise. Worth noting a vegetarian diet isn't a healthy diet. A balanced diet contains meat. Grass fed beaf, chicken . Ostrich is wonderful meat as is dear. It all comes down to quality, and of course session. Britain is/ was pretty good on restricting how vegetables and fruits where preserved. Some of the horror stories about what is done to food in America is rather disturbing. No wonder so many people are constantly ill.
Butter is better, and don't cook or eat any kind of vegetable oils. Spending a few million on advertising doesn't make a toxic product healthy.
Coconut oil is okay if you really want to avoid lard, Butter or gee ( as long as its genuine gee, not contaminated with vegetable oil)
Of course as a dressing a quality olive oil. One that can be traced to he district it's grown in. Unfortunately olive oil is one of the most faked foods profit before people.
Listen to your body, resurtch what you are eating and as you say exercise and fresh air.
I still can't get my head around keto diet, but in the uk it's being used to not only treat but cure people with diabetes. I've seen some incredible results weight loss and health gains. So much of what we've been told about fat being bad for us is just untrue.
Just ask Eskimos about their diet and how healthy they are.
I am nearly 81 and haven’t had milk since I breasted my children and realised cows’ milk was for their children! Haven’t eaten meat for almost as long. We keep chickens and eat the eggs they lay except if they go broody when they sit on and hatch the eggs. When they die they are buried! A doctor told me that coconut oil is as bad as butter, cholesterol wise but olive oil is great as a salad dressing.
Hello Tourk, I use olive oil and avocado oil. I stay away from sugar and that probably saved my life, 10 years ago, I survived a stage 3 colon rectal cancer.
What I see happening here is a little bit of competition creeping in and while your post is probably very helpful to a lot of people it should be noted that the age difference in respondants is quite large. While your fitness regime may well work for you it would almost certainly be dangerous for a lot of people on this forum. To all you hearties I would like to remind you that exercise is a great thing for your body but bear in mind that most of us are now limited to what we can do so please do not try and copy other people and listen to what your body is telling you. Exercise within your comfort zone is great for you but do not push yourself too hard as we all have underlying issues with our hearts that we do not want to aggrevate. Most of all a happy new year to you all.
I have a healthy diet and was fairly active for my age until around five years ago when the paroxysmal AF arrived along with chronic fatigue after a virus when I wasn’t able to get an appointment at our surgery when an antiviral might have prevented both! However I am 80 and not far off 81 and my brain still works!
Yes, however bad our experiences are with the intermittent electrical fault in our hearts, we are able to understand and share experiences because our brains are still functioning.
I could do with being more active lately to be honest.! I need to pull my finger out and get my cycle out again. This last 12 months of afib episodes seems to have mentally put me off exercising unfortunately.!
Good post jumper! I was also a paratrooper in my early 20’s lol…fun fun fun!
I have stayed fit my entire life, yet it did not manage to keep AFIB at bay. I also played league footie for 45 years, squash, tennis, cycling etc. I just turned 70, and not slowing down as much as I should, but still having fun…even managed to get a bit of beach soccer/volleyball in while on vacation a few weeks ago…glad my heart didn’t explode lol
Anyway, I have to slow down eventually, so my cycling distances have tapered off to 30k a day with 2 days off, light resistance training 3 times a week, and my morning dog hikes, but alas the lab is getting older as well, and she is ready to head home after 2-3k.
What I DID discover, is that new research shows that you don’t need to walk or aim for the “magic” 10,000 steps per day, was admittedly random number made up by the guy who invented the first consumer step counter to sell more watches lol.
Just get out and do ANY thing you can. Studies now show that as little as 2km a day will provide a better result than doing nothing.
The bottom line is always portion moderation and quality in what you put in your mouth.
Calories out should always balance or exceed calories in. Many people including me, find it hard to monitor or track which food is what, is it bad, how much to have and when, how many calories etc. I have no affiliation with any company, so I recommend “My Fitness Pal” It is free for the basic version, easy to figure out, and lets you know exactly how you are doing…whether your goal is to feel better, get fit, get your bloodwork sorted, lose or maintain weight, it just works.
Happy New Year paratrooper Beach_Bum! I am glad you are so active at 70. You are right, it is just important to be active, it doesn't matter what you do. We all have heard about people having their health going downhill after retiring!
You’re welcome. Good luck. Let me know if it helps. Check with your doc first. It works for me to stop my pvcs but i didn’t have afib. I just had palpitations. It’sa natural amino acid so it’s a generally safe thing. I take 1 mg morning and night on a empty stomach
Thank you for all your replies. Happy New and Active Year to all! I just spent half an hour looking at my phone, time to be active in the kitchen to prepare lunch before hitting the ski 🎿 slopes with my son!
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