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Exercising at high altitude with afib
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: Jun 27, 2022 | Replies (7)Comment receiving replies
(Sorry for accidental duplication. I had intended to direct this only to @riverpark. Site won't let me delete this printing.)
I too have Afib at 76, and was told it was OK to continue with my ~hr/day of aerobic exercise + weight lifting a few times/week.
I haven't had any trouble with the exercising apart from a few times when my pulse rose (to ~ 150 - 160) and didn't drop afterwards as it should.
On that account (rare continuous tachycardia, which eventually went away), I was prescribed Metoprolol to be taken PRN, 12.5 mg (have only taken it three times). I also take daily Xarelto.
I'm nowhere near as active as you (orthopedic problems preclude it) but still I think I exercise enough to keep my heart reasonably fit. (I do HIIT gym exercise almost once/day - that is "high intensity interval training", supposed to be most useful to condition ones heart). Unlike you, I have Afib several times/week for a matter of hours, usually when asleep. No symptoms.
However, my heart tests have been fairly healthy (EF of 65 shown on echocardiogram) and only slight valve regurgitation, normal size heart. The last time I saw my PCP a week ago, my Oximeter read 100% (!) and I don't have high blood pressure.
All this is just to compare the two of us at least as far as the stats you provided allow.
I am astonished, however, that even though your AFib is far more infrequent you haven't prescribed a blood thinner to reduce your stroke risk! I wonder too, how you know when you're in Afib. I have no symptoms - perhaps yours alert you. Do you have a wearable device showing when you're in Afib? (I have an Apple Watch with a cardiac function I can read out on an iPhone - I check my sleeping BPM when I awaken. I intend to get the newest watch when it comes out as it will allow me to keep track of my blood oxygen.)
Of course, none of us can really compare our relative Afib situations online, but I have never heard of anyone avoiding a blood thinner even with a lower Afib frequency. AFAIK the stroke risk is the greatest danger from Afib, apart from the wear and tear it apparently causes the heart especially when accompanied by tachycardia. That to me would be the greatest risk for you.
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Hi @reality test,
Thank you for your reply! It is great to hear from somebody my age so that we can share our symptoms and experiences while we are at the same stage in life. I have always had palpitations since age 19, had several Holter monitors over the years that always diagnosed them as benign. However, last October, my heart went into crazy-wild arrhythmia at a pace of about 120 bpm. It lasted about five hours. After the same thing happened some weeks later for 8 hours (my longest one), I was prescribed 25 mg metoprolol once a day. After it happened again despite the metoprolol, I had a 2-week Holter monitor and the same thing happened just once for two hours while on the monitor. That was the only episode of AFib during those two weeks, although other benign arrhythmias did occur. So I have had just a few of those wild AFib events that ended in late January after I added 50 mg Flecainide twice daily to my meds. Metoprolol and Flecainide are the only meds I take for anything except for finasteride for enlarged prostate. My AFib is definitely not asymptomatic, and I know the instant it begins and ends. After a echocardiogram and treadmill stress test, which revealed no structural or organic heart irregularities, and considering my overall pretty good health with only my age a strike against me for stroke risk, my cardiologist firmly recommended that I do not take an anticoagulant, stating that the risk of that would outweigh my risk of stroke, even though I have no condition that would predispose me to higher than normal risk of bleeding if I did take a blood thinner. My primary care physician agrees with the cardiologist regarding the blood thinner, so go figure. You are definitely not the first to question why I don’t take the anticoagulant, but I am perfectly pleased with not taking it for now, and I don’t feel at a great risk of stroke at present. If I begin having AFib episodes more frequently or have one that lasts, say, 12 hours or more, then I think my docs and I would probably revisit the blood thinner idea. Thanks again for your reply!