AF and exercise.

Posted , 6 users are following.

In yesterdays Daily Mail a reader asked if it is safe to exercise with AF.

This was the doctors reply.

Your condition - atrial fibrillation - is the most common abnormality of heart rhythm, affecting up to 800,000 people in the UK and one in ten of the over-75s. It creates an irregular or fast heart rate and is caused by a malfunction in the natural pacemaker of the heart.  This malfunction has a wide range of potential triggers, though high blood pressure and furred-up arteries are thought to be the most common.  The irregular heartbeat may or may not cause symptoms, but when they do occur, they are usually palpitations, fatigue, light-headedness, breathlessness and perhaps a reduced capacity for exercise.  The biggest risk of the condition is not, as many would assume, a cardiac event such as a heart attack, but a stroke.   Atrial fibrillation increases the risk of stroke by four or five times because the irregular or fast rhythm can lead to blood pooling in the chambers of the heart. It can then form a clot, and this clot can then be pumped up to the brain, blocking blood supply and causing a stroke. When you were first diagnosed, your cardiologist will have made a decision about whether to attempt to convert your heart back to a regular rhythm. This is achieved most efficiently by an electric shock applied to the chest. This sounds alarming, but it is safe, quick and performed under general anaesthetic. 

If this cannot be achieved, or the improvement is only temporary, then medication such as beta blockers may be given to control the heart rhythm.  Drugs must also be given to protect you from stroke. One of the drugs you are taking, rivaroxaban, does exactly this by thinning the blood and making a clot less likely.   Your heart output may not be as good as it would be in a regular rhythm, but it will be adequate for most normal activities and for the pursuits you enjoy.  So when it comes to exercise, I am entirely happy that you should attend an exercise class, do any amount of gardening (wear gloves when pruning - even small injuries from thorns will bleed profusely due to the blood-thinner you are taking) or go hiking or cycling.   None of these activities can make your heart rhythm any worse, trigger a stroke, or lead to a heart attack. Most of us would agree that, if anything, a regular regimen of exercise such as you describe can only be helpful to your health, rather than the reverse.

 

2 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi interesting and interesting variation on a theme, i have intermittant AF that resulted from being and leite level athlete, now my heart has reduced demand it sometimes gets confused and goes off on one... I have flecanide to take and often when combined with exercise is enough to restore control I have ot exercise to help my heart. Sadly i also have vasospasm macro and micro and ME which sometimes upsets the whole situation and i end up in A&E being cardioverted... but for me exercise is part of my heart control. my GP is well aware of this and is an encouraging support.
    • Posted

      You get cardiovertedi in A&E in the UK? The second time I went into AF I went to A&E that evening after having phoned 111 who said to first see the out of hours GP who has an office at the hospital.

      He confirmed from my pulse that I was in AF. He suggested that I see my GP in the morning for an ECG. Saying that I went to A&E I would sit there all night for an ECG and they would then put me on a waiting list. 

      After getting an ECG at the doctors I tried to speed things up by phoning the cardiology secretary to get a future appointment brought forward. I saw the crdiologist on day 3 He said that I had to be on warfarin for eight weeks before getting a cardioversion despite my having read that if it is done in the first three days you need not have been on warfarin

  • Posted

    yup oddly in view of my other grumbles but yes usually within  or at 8 hours being monitored but then i usually have over 200bpm... AF last time i think was quite quick, done within 5 hours but only because the duty doc in charge was the chief aneathatist (?) and he was going home for a rest before afternoon shift (it was 1/2 8 in morning i had been in since 4 and he didnt want me to be kept waiting while new team made decisions etc 

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