AFIB and Running

What was the unsatisfactory answer?

The only answer I got was from the nurse and she said she did not know

Well, I'm an older runner who has had afib in the past (not now.) Is the afib under control? Obviously you do not want to run if having an afib episode.

Couldn't your cardiologist give you a stress test to see how you react on the treadmill? I'd demand one if I were you. No answer is not satisfactory.

He did an echocardiogram he never got back to me so I looked at it on my chart and it looked ok to me. Then he wanted to do a Lexi scan he did not say why he wanted to do it so I emailed back and told him that I had 2 scans with radiation in the last 9 months and could I do a treadmill stress test instead. In response he council the Lexi scan. He did not give me a reason why I needed the Lexi scan or why I could not do the treadmill or why he canceled the scan

Honestly, it sounds like you need a more responsive cardiologist. Mine likes to do different tests because, in his words, "we like to have as many data points as possible." I've been on a statin for almost a year, but he still would like to do a stress test. Also, he explains things.

My cardiologist pointed out to me that I entered SVT when my heart rate was near its theoretical maximum for my age. He was able to show me on the readout for a nuclear stress test on a treadmill (known widely as a MIBI test in Canada). I was advised to not let my HR rise above 120 BPM during any activity.
That was prior to a catheter ablation which fixed my AF....or rather, blocked it from happening (which is all ablation does. It does not 'cure' AF, no matter who tells you that, pro or not). Now, I routinely go on aggressive walks with some running to keep my HR elevated a bit, say in the 130 range. However, part of my walk includes a rising path on an oceanside bluff with over 300 regular risers, steps....as in 'stairs'. By the time I get to the 'Goose Spit' steps, which are on a spit of sand in the local ocean, I have been walk/running for approximately 4 km, or 2.8 miles. Then, when I take my HR about halfway up the first of two flights of steps, it shows between 140-144. I maintain this for the next five minutes until I top out at the level again. I am 73, so that HR is right at my max. I never have so much as a blip all that time. In fact, I am more likely to have a short triplet of tachycardia seated at my computer on any one day, exercise or not. But I can crest that long rise, as steep as it is (13-22% grade) and only be breathing heavily. I don't need to pause, there is no pain, no apparent ectopy, just a pounding heart, which is all I ever had in my running 'career' over four decades, including footraces.
Further, when I complained to my cardiologist, about six months after being diagnosed with AF and about five months into taking metoprolol and 20 mg of atorvastatin, plus of course the Eliquis, he replied that nothing I was taking should have affected my level of energy, and he added that he would rather I not lose my level of fitness. So, to keep running.
If you'd like to hear some advice, apart from doing as your cardiologist suggests or prescribes, it would be to play at running as you would like and see how it works. Your heart will squawk if it doesn't like it. Also, monitor your chest sensations, be in tune with your heart, and take several ECGs via a Kardia or smart watch each day. I think you may find that, unless running IS the problem that makes your heart cranky, there's something else going on. It might be mitral valve prolapse, age-related deposits of collagen and fibrosis in the atrial substrate (pretty much everyone gets at least some of this), poor ejection fraction....cardiomyopathy of some kind....I'm just saying that running may not be it. It could even be sleep apnea. That is what set me off, to my great surprise. Severe obstructive sleep apnea, found only during an over night stay in a sleep lab. It was the very last test my cardiologist prescribed for me after all the other tests, including the treadmill test with contrast dye and CT scan.

Wow, great stuff.
I’m 66 years old still weight training bench press 50 to 80 dumbbells reps of 8 to 10 what got my a fib started though was my love of coffee and sleep apnea my sleep test was cut short because at 2 AM so severe that he had to stop the test and issue a CPAP mask since then I got an ablation and now three months later I notice when sleeping early in the morning, my watch and my sweaty T-shirt let me know that I had two episodes of Afib for a very short period of time. Give or take an hour each timeI don’t know if this should be concerning. since it’s too short episodes. about three episodes per month your thoughts 💪🏼

I took it as concerning when I first got my diagnosis, as you would appreciate. I, too, am a life long athlete, outdoorsy, etc. And physical. But I read a ton and learned that AF is not a lethal disorder. It won't kill you. It can, and often does, lead to other problems, opportunistic conditions, that take place if AF is left unmanaged and runs on into permanent AF. So the idea is that you should control it and keep it at a distance as much as you can. It might be a good idea to rely on medicine for now, or it might be better to consider the gold standard of care known as a catheter ablation. I have had two of those (the failure rate for a first ever, or 'index', ablation is about 25%, which means the electrophysiologist has missed an area and the signal is still getting through to the atrium and causing it to beat chaotically).
AF is 90% probably found around and just inside the mouths of the pulmonary veins. When first diagnosed with paroxysmal AF, which is what you have (comes and goes on its own, no intervention needed just yet), it is most likely around the pulmonary veins. If you elect to get the ablation, and an EP agrees to try it on you, the chances of success are considerably higher than if you are in persistent, long-standing persistent, or in permanent AF, the next three stages in order of their appearance and diagnosis.
Lifestyle alterations can help. Losing weight, improving sleep, beating stress into submission, changing diet and other habits that might not mean weight gain or loss, but improve nutrition, getting more magnesium in the diet, sometimes ingesting less calcium helps for some...it's really quite involved once you start your own reading and figuring out where you'd like to go from here. I did lose about 20 pounds, but it didn't slow the progression of my disorder. I am not a big user of alcohol, maybe one or two drinks each week. Never two drinks of any kind, beer, wine, or scotch, in a row.
So, the upshot, for you, is that you are early in the 'game'. You're paroxysmal, and this is the early stage when generally there are more options and they tend to work more readily. You don't want to be in AF long at any one time, never for more than 24 hours with an HR above 100 (this signals RVR, or 'rapid ventricular response', which you can google). If you can honestly say you live well, low stress, decent sleep and diet (corrected as needed, especially with the CPAP), and you feel you're losing ground, get into the books of a good electrophysiologist (EP) and see whether he/she agrees that it's time to take a considered look at your case and whether an ablation is indicated.

I am a 71 year old female, and I have multiple heart issues - AFib, diastolic heart failure, ascending aortic aneurysm, tricuspid valve regurgitation, and pulmonary hypertension. I referred myself to Mayo Cardiology 3 years ago and I went into AFib on the VO2 Max test on the treadmill.

I have not had an AFib episode in over two years. I am not on any heart medications except for a statin. I jog indoors 4-6 miles 5-6 days a week and I wear an Apple Watch all the time. I do not push my heart rate above 120 because I start seeing arrhythmias. I initially monitored my oxygen level with an oximeter to make sure my heart was receiving enough oxygen while jogging. Now, I have settled into a routine of jogging indoors 4-6 miles on a flat service, no hills, five days a week (see attachment). My blood pressure averages 106/66 and I eat an healthy, organic diet without caffeine.

I feel well, but I can't hike or do strenuous exercise like I did when I was younger. Preserving my heart function is important to me. All my heart conditions are stable. I carry Flecainide and Eliquis with me, but I have not needed to use them.

I have had three non cardiac surgeries over the past two years at Mayo and my heart function was normal throughout my hospital stay. I was up walking on the hospital unit a few hours after each surgery, and I recovered quickly.
I flew home just 2 days after each surgery feeling well.

I am very grateful to the awesome medical and surgical teams at Mayo for their excellent care.

Get an electrophysiologist. I would do it soon.