Heart Rhythm Conditions – Welcome to the group

I\ understand the concern. The question is legitimate and both my cardiologist and EP have gone over this with me at my request but feel I am not taking a risk with such momentary peaks. I often swim repeat sets of 50 yd swims with 5-10 reps per set - example -- a set of 8 reps of 50 yds swimming in 40 seconds and repeating on the 60 second mark. We do 3-4 sets of those 8 reps. After the first 2-3 reps , my heart rate at push off starts at 100-110 and goes up to 120-130 by the end of the 50 yards. Later in the set it starts at 120 and goes to 140-150, and at the end of some sets it go as high at 160--168, especially if i am swimming more like 35 seconds per 50 yards for some of the later swims. But all the higher bpm numbers are momentary peaks that quickly drop off to 120 or so as I recover for the next rep. If i am just swimming a longer swim, normally the heart rate is more like 130. In swimming it is easy to go many arm strokes without breathing, especially at the end, and that probably makes some of the difference. I am back to 60-75 bpm in 10 -15 minutes. I cannot ger anywhere close to 150 bpm on a bike. My treadmill stress test was shut off by the techs at 140 bpm (13+ METs) but it was clear that I could have easily put in a burst of speed for 30 seconds that would have raised the results before more full fatigue. . Note that I have cut the swim from 3200 yards per workout to more like 1600 - 2000 -- . . In swimming I have won the US nationals and am currently ranked #3 nationally. I am 81 going on 82, not 90

How I can find out my irregular heartbeats 60-85 are due to heart condition or anxiety ..this fluctuation happened sometimes when I get up in the morning or while sleeping ..I need to
O take petrol .25 mg and amlogyard 2.5 to control it As advised by doctor

Hi, my name Noel, 83 year old male , diagnosed with a fib in 2012
I have a couple of questions
About cutting back on Metropole
Also has any a few patients had a pacemaker installed?

@subhashsabharwal You would need to see a physician and then to wear a monitor on your body with wire leads that sense your heart beat. Or, in a cardiologist's offices, get a proper 12 lead ECG if/when you have the symptoms....which can be hit and miss if it only happens when you rise each morning. So, the monitor worn for two or three days might be best.

Consult a physician.

@nadanoel You can cut back on metoprolol if a formal assessment says you can.....one given by a physician/cardiologist. The metoprolol keeps your heart rate down WHEN you are fibrillating, which might not be all the time. If you know for a fact that you are in the 'long-standing persistent' stage or the 'permanent' stage, then stopping metoprolol is almost certain to be a bad idea....even cutting down on it. Your heart can't beat indefinitely at rates higher than 100 BPM, and metoprolol is meant to stunt it's inclination to rise above that figure. If you are on metoprolol and still having a higher rate than 100 BPM, see a cardiologist right away....yesterday would have been great...or go to your local emergency department.

Pacemakers can't always control for AF. Sometimes they can, often they can't. What the most recent versions do is to control the heart's ventricles to keep them at pace, but it might still mean the atrium is beating chaotically. Sometimes, the physicians tell you that you must have your AV node, the lower of the two in the heart, destroyed, usually by catheter ablation. When it is destroyed, it can't send loop-back signals into the left atrium and the left ventricle, at which your new pacemaker would have to be the sole generator of signal to keep your heart beating. It's permanent, final, and only your pacemaker would keep your heart going.

Note that none of this is my advice or suggestion...I am not a qualified medical practitioner, just an interested patient with AF himself. Controlled via the second of two ablations.

@gloaming

@gloaming
Thank you for your prompt reply. Also, I was told that doing an ablation at my age was a fools errand. Has anybody had experience with the ablations after age 80?

I'm a 73 yr old male on flecainide since 2021. Started with 100MG twice a day and had to go up to 150 at the end of 2022. My afib is well controlled with the flecainide, but I am interested in having an ablation and get off the flecainide. I have an appointment with my EP in a couple of months but I would like input about what smartwatch would be a good choice for health and sleep monitoring . Don't need the phone or fitness options, something accurate and not difficult to use.

@henry81 . My Original Question concerned whether my MICRA AV2 pacemaker is adequate current-status protection or treatment for my continuing AFIB. Certainly at the moment physicians see no problem -- I am the healthiest person in the room from the point of view of EPs and all the follow-up testing and monitoring But does the continuing AFIB suggest concern for continuing or future damage or need to additional precautions. e.g., progression to new addition all atrial rhythms? Other things equal, From clinical -historical viewpoint, other things equal, does the fact that I have well responding , asymptomatic AFIB with Pacemeker prolong my life beyond other EP steps that could be anticipated.

@nadanoel Depends on you and your EP.

How you feel. How awful. An EP can't fix an electrical disorder. They can control it...almost always, one way or another, including down to brass tacks....a pacemaker. If you are well and truly miserable when fibrillating, let them know. They do want to help........................but........

What else going on in you makes you a poor risk for an ablation? Any other severe limitations, comorbidities? Is your heart otherwise in good shape? If there are some structural problems, such as mitral valve prolapse or severe atherosclerosis? Chances are good he/she will want those taken care of first....if they can be fixed. In my case, it was sleep apnea, and he was very careful to test me on how well I was dealing with CPAP therapy. Even so, despite my enthusiastic and positive report on that account, he still wanted an MRI and an angiogram to rule out ischemia. Both had good results.

How much you have learned about your condition and what can be done. Tells them you are motivated to succeed.

But the EP, him/herself, has to be sufficiently skilled and experienced to KNOW they can take a good crack at breaking your fibrillation via catheter ablation. So, sometimes who that person is matters a great deal. If you're told no, ask another....one who deals routinely with complex cases.