katiekateny and windyshores,
I am a heart failure patient at Mayo Jacksonville. I was diagnosed in 2000 with HF. I have cardiomyopathy caused heart failure. It is now 2023 and I am 76 years old. I do sprint triathlons (about 10 a year). I do them per cardiologist directions at moderate level but have finished all (about 50). I was a competitive tennis player prior to that but the quick arm movements were bothering my ICD/Pacemaker wires. My cardiologist and EP (both Mayo) recommended stop playing tennis and consider sprint triathlon (I was already swimming, biking, jog/walk).

Been doing them since 2017 and other than a year off getting treated for prostrate cancer have been doing and enjoying them. I do them at moderate level and walk/jog during run portion.

My EF moves between 25-30% for two decades now. By the way EF is subjective. My heart failure doctor (Mayo) tells me not to even look at my EF but base my HF on how I feel. I do have AF (occasionally that rectifies itself). My EP said the serious thing about AF that EPs worry about is strokes because of blood clotting. Thus a lot of blood clotting medications out there.

I am not sure why you were told AF was not treatable. Ablation and medication can really help reduce it symptoms. I have hundreds of thousands of PVCs over the last 2 decades. One ablation done in my RV stop PVCs immediately. I still have PVCs in LV but I take a low dose medication to reduce them.

I am on Entresto and Carvediol for my HF. I do not have any exercise restrictions other that told be stay a moderate level of exercise. However my heart failure doctor (Mayo) does a pulmonary exercise stress test on me every 2 years. So life expectancy and what you can do and not do after a HF diagnosis is a personal thing for each of us. And a statistics are just a number not a predictor for you or your love one specifically.

EF means ejection fraction. It is the amount of blood that moves out of the heart when it pumps. The normal rages in around 60-70%. Mine is 25%-30%. It steadily went down from 2000. However when I was put on Entresto, carvedidol, and got a ICD/Pacemaker it has held steadily for 10 years now around the 25-30%. For your information, a EF is gotten from a echo-cardiogram. If you have not had one you should.