Just when I thought it was going great after a TIA 2 years ago, boom, now diagnosed with arrhythmia, (aka atrial fibrillation). Which came out of nowhere. For context, I'm 57 and was reasonably healthy.

Found this out on a trip to the weekly mandatory attendance at clients office, only to find that when I walked up the steps at Birmingham New Street, I was, out of breath, heart racing, feeling very fatigued etc. Quick call to GP said to attend A&E straight away which I did. 15 hours later sat on the most uncomfortable hard plastic chairs, known to man, I have more additions to the junkie routine of apixaban and dilitiazen with a 6 week review, likely to result in a cardioversion to correct the irregular heartbeat, which should put things back to normal.....hopefully.

So in the meantime, still WFH, but not able to do much of anything which is very frustrating to say the least. The cardiologist at the hospital said that exercising is encouraged but not at a high or consistent intensity, gentle zone 1 into 2 maybe. So have managed a couple of 30 min Zwift sessions which have been fine but quite tiring.

So I'm curious has anyone else on here have had the same and what you have done to manage this and go forward?

FWIW, the NHS staff at the hospital were great, working under pressure with limited resources etc, (you get the picture) but is a real trial of patience listening to scum bags moaning, so that everyone else can hear about how long they've been there, that person has been seen in front of me, how sh1t the NHS is, I'm entitled to....etc etc.

Thanks for reading.

I'm really sorry to hear this and have no advice to offer. I just wanted to say that it seems to be increasingly common based on a sample of my friends. I know 3 others with this diagnosis. Two of them are keen cyclists and one a rower. All three continue to do their thing but in a managed way now they are aware of it. I hope this gives some positivity.

I don't know if this adds anything but I've been restricted to riding lower intensity and shorter duration since July by a random blood clot issue, it's been frustrating but not a lot I can do - I know some of how you feel. I've just kept on at a level I feel ok at and remembered that you can't have too much rest at this stage but you caan very easily do too much. Not doing much has cost some fitness of course but I still have the abilty to ride so putting things in perspective, all's ok. Fitness will come back if the rest is sufficient for recovery.

Dave Barter wrote: ↑Tue Dec 17, 2024 9:50 am I'm really sorry to hear this and have no advice to offer. I just wanted to say that it seems to be increasingly common based on a sample of my friends. I know 3 others with this diagnosis. Two of them are keen cyclists and one a rower. All three continue to do their thing but in a managed way now they are aware of it. I hope this gives some positivity.

Thanks Dave, appreciate the note.

I've spent some time reading about this online and it is a lot more common that you would otherwise think, whilst there is a lot of info about cause and effect and management methods (medication) etc, the subject is fairly light on detail on longer term outlook etc.

Same with James's note^, it is frustrating to say the least in not being able to do what I've taken granted for previously and need to be more aware of the need to take it easy and moderate my expectations about what is achievable.

Looks like the ebike is going to get more use!!

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis Errol. I've had permanent AF (as opposed to paroxysmal i.e. suffering from occasional bouts of AF) since 2017, at the age of 61. In the 18 months or so after my diagnosis I had two cardioversions (both worked only temporarily, 10 days and 7 days respectively). I also had two ablation procedures, the first worked for about 48 hours and the second was abandoned because the (very experienced) electrophysiologist carrying out the procedure couldn't ascertain exactly where the rogue electrical impulses were emanating from. To put it in layman's terms, the AF issue is not a 'plumbing' one i.e. related to your arteries/veins but rather an 'electrical' one. He recommended that since I still had a good quality of life and the condition wasn't impacting me seriously on a daily basis *, he should stop the procedure, allow me to recover fully then carry on with cycling. So there you have it - I'm proof that even permanent AF needn't mean the end to getting out on the bike regularly, albeit at a lower intensity.

* Other than climbing stairs more slowly than I used to , I'm not actually aware of my erratic heartbeat unless I take my pulse.

I'm going out shortly but can post more on the above this evening. In the meantime, I can strongly recommend getting hold of a copy of The Haywire Heart, a great insight into the potential risks in undertaking endurance sports long-term. I knew nothing about AF before my diagnosis but, thanks to this book and other research I've done, I now know a great deal I wish I’d known earlier!

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/ ... 1937715885

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Haywire-Heart- ... 1937715671

i will keep this quick....... hopefully.

went into AF in 2010. permanent AF.
2 x cardioversions. both worked for a week or so. 2 x cardiac ablations. 1st worked for a few days. second one failed. was told that was it by cardiologist at LGI.
was on warfarin all the time. bisoprolol made me dizzy and pass out. was put in tildiem, which worked ok for cycling.

2014 after doing my homework on the internet via a good US website i contacted a cardiothoracic surgeon in sheffield. went to see him. told me he would have a look. he told me he would do a surgical ablation via key hole surgery. and whilst inside would remove my left atrial apendage. to reduce my risk of a stroke. so i signed the paper work and off to theatre i went.
once he was inside, he found a hole in one of my valves so he had to open me up proper and perform open heart surgery to repair the damage. turns out the ablations would never have worked. kind of like a sticking plaster on a puncture innertube.
when he had done, i was cardio verted again and it worked until may 2022.
now i am back in perm AF but only taking the tildium. it is more like a irregular heart beat now, and i am ok on the bike, riding up to 150 miles most weeks. nice and slowly though. and stairs kill me.............

Ton, Jimmy,
Thanks for the background, appreciate the heads up. It's refreshing that others are in the same boat as me and have knowledge and experience of the longer term which is my primary concern.

I can live with the medication and adapting things to suit/fit but it's the uncertainty that has me what if-ing.

It's a bit unnerving that you both have reflected on the not so successful cardioversions. I'll keep my fingers crossed for a successful outcome, but I'm realistic that it may not be the silver bullet I'm hoping for.

Glad to have been of some assistance Errol. I've PM'd you with some more info.