Excercising with AF

[Skisailpluck]

I appear to have permanent AF and would like to excercise. The guidance would appear to be that I can do so as long as I keep my heart rate under control, the issue being that my heart rate is not under control. Any clear advice would be appreciated

[BeeJayAitch]

I have atrial fibrillation too which originally was only a problem when I exercised hard - such as cycling up a hill rather than cycling on the flat. I had two cardioversions which seemed to cure it but I blew it again when I overdid it (on a steep hill). Otherwise as long as I had kept it steady then it had been OK. By all means exercise to keep mobile and flexible but don't ever try to "go for the burn" or try high intensity interval training as that's when the trouble will start. The next stage for me was an ablation, and after two interventions (it can take up to three to be absolutely sure) everything seemed to be OK.

The trouble with AF is that it causes the blood to eddy within the heart rather than flow freely, eddies mean there are little pools of blood that don't flow, blood not flowing can tend to clot, and clots increase the liklihood of stroke. I was put on apixaban to thin the blood to reduce the risk of clotting.

Another problem with AF is that if it is severe it can result in ventricular fibrillation (VF) and that causes cardiac arrest. That happened to me too a few years later and it came completely out of the blue, but I'm one of the lucky 8% who survived because a bystander did CPR. Now I've got an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) and another blood thinner (clopidogrel) and the clinicians at my regular checkups advise me that the ICD is still regularly correcting bursts of AF that I'm completely unaware of - but at least the ICD has prevented anything more serious happening even if I participate in HIIT.

Check it with your cardiologist, but I'd suggest you don't try to exercise too hard (to the point of heavy breathing) and find out whether an ICD might be an option at some point in the future. The BHF have a marvellous selection of information booklets covering these different issues. Stay strong

[Hidden]

Dear Skisailpluck

A warm welcome to you and the first post of what we hope will be many,

we hope that you find us supportive and with enough information to guide you to your answers.

You have a lot going on with yourself at the moment, you are newly retired and have AF { there is an amazing forum here just covering AF that might be of help to you }

I am not medically trained but on this sort of matter I can only advise you to follow the guidance of your heart/Dr team before you step up any form of exercise.

BeeJayAitch has given you a great in site to someone else with AF and the pit falls { as well as the benefits } to exercise.

Welcome once again

Take care