Running with afib

@jimhealthy It 'might.' That's it...it might. Or not. It depends on your heart's overall condition, why it developed AF in the first place, how calm and back-to-normal it has returned if you have reduced whatever the stress was at the time, and how resistant it now is to whatever you propose to subject it to. In my case, I was able to run/walk for 20 km at a time until I began to slip into a higher burden and my EP agreed that it was time to nip it before it became persistent or worse. So, post diagnosis for me, and while still in the paroxysmal stage, I was able to almost do the normal stuff. However, I did notice that the metoprolol seemed, with nothing else to blame it on, the culprit in reducing my output. I just couldn't seem to return to the same speed and endurance. I told this to my cardio, but he insisted the metropolol could not be blamed. He added quickly that he very much encouraged his cardiac patients to not lose fitness...so to keep up what they had been doing if they were fitness freaks.

One other thought: if you have had a successful cardioversion and if it seems to have 'caught', meaning it is durable (many like myself have cardioversions that only work for hours!!), and you know for a fact that you don't have valvular problems, atrial or ventricular enlargement, and no other visible morphology changes, ......AND.........no blockages or ischemia, then I don't see why you shouldn't make a graduated attempt to restore your former athletic self. Just do, please, do this sensibly, patiently, methodically, and don't go out for a wall-to-wall blast the first time out because it feels great. You're still a heart patient.

Finally, your cardiologist is the first person whom you should ask about this.

@zacklucy I was not aware. Since retiring 21 years ago while still only 52, I somehow became apneic. My wife said I snored, but I had no other symptoms until that first bout of AF.

Once we fall asleep, both our brain and our partner's brain seem to shut out the ambient sounds that are repetitive....even a jackhammer....eventually. It is the lone, loud, or unique sound that will awaken us. So, my wife and I got used to each other (she's waaaaaayyyy worse than I was, but she has no other symptoms).

What has been your normal HR running at your normal pace? I know others have said that is high, but it really isn’t. HR is like HRV, it’s not the same for everyone. When I race a half marathon my HR is 173 for the first hour, then it starts creeping up until the end. Usually my max is 186 or so.

I went to Berlin with friends running the marathon, I just ran the 5K the day before, and felt like I was pooping out faster than I should. When I finished I was looking at my metrics, and had clearly started AFibbing mid race. My experience is that it just slows you down a bit. Not a lot, I still placed 5th in my age group (65-69). But many people are very confused about max HR and don’t get that the generic rule does not apply to long time runners. If your HR is high, you won’t spontaneously combust. If your heart is healthy you won’t have a heart attack, if it gets too high you will just poop out and slow down. That’s your bodies defenses kicking in.

I would not back off your running unless you don’t feel well. Running keeps your heart strong. I am finally considering ablation as the AFib is affecting me in races and that is irksome. I haven’t found a sports cardiologist to discuss any of this with, and “regular” cardiologists are appallingly ignorant of running and its effect on HR, what max HR is/should be. You can get some real arguments going on those subjects. But more than ever, it’s important to listen to your body. If you feel fine running, keep running.

At a heatheat of 175 was not out of breath or breathing hard and I could talk with no problems. I emailed my ep team I was hoping they would do a treadmill stress test so I could figure out my max heart rate. But they are going to hang a heart monitor on me to see if I am getting afib while running which I already know I don’t.