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Delayed Afib when hiking
Longer story but I was diagnosed with afib (95% of the time) a few months ago after a total ankle replacement in Dec '24. I am taking Metoprolol succinate (25 mg) once a day and Pradaxa (150 mg) twice a day. A 24 hour Holter showed no afib after starting the meds. I started hiking again with no difficulty for hikes of 8 miles with 1500 feet of climbing but had to back off because of a reverse shoulder replacement. 3 months after that I started hiking again.
I have had a couple of incidents of dizziness and lightheadedness when hiking. Last weekend I had the second incident of low energy and very difficult hiking at Pt Reyes National Seashore on Tomales Point on Sunday 9/20. We did a 9.5 mile hike of moderate difficulty with ~ 1400 ft of climbing. This was similar to the hike in July when I had a similar problem. I was fine for the first half but just before and after the turn around I experienced very low energy and had to repeatedly stop and rest. It was like a button had been pushed. We were drinking and had a couple of bars at the turn. Time to the turn around was ~ 2 hours and time back was ~ 4 hours. After the hike I felt OK and drove 2 hours to home. Slept well last night and feel fine this morning.
When we were sitting and resting a couple stopped to ask if we were OK. We were at 7 miles out of 9.5 miles. The man stated that he was a retired doctor. I talked to him awhile about my afib history. He took my pulse and stated that I was in afib at that moment. I was able to slowly make it back to the car with several rest stops included.
After the first incident and prior to this second incident I had a month long Holter showed no afib. I did a lot of walking – average 5 miles per day with long of 10 miles but all on flat. I didn’t do any hiking because it was very hot and I was apprehensive.
I would very much like to continue hiking and backpacking. My doctor is hesitant to make any conclusions from this hike but I will be starting another month long Holter test next week. I will be doing a lot of hiking and will attempt to duplicate conditions so that data will be available during any periods of low energy, lightheadedness, and dizziness.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Again the transition from feeling great to basically having zero energy is very rapid. I of course want to continue hiking and backpacking safely. I am a 76 year old male.
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions. Also wondering if anyone else has experienced this.
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Happened to me near the end of a 10km maintenance run. I was 65 at the time. Diagnosed at the ER as paroxysmal AF, which is what you have. Mine wasn't caused by running; it was finally shown to be from heretofore undiagnosed 'severe' obstructive sleep apnea. I endured the occasional AF until it began to increase in frequency. I saw an electrophysiologist (EP) who agreed to try a catheter ablation. Took two attempt seven months apart, but he nailed it the second go. I'm now 30 months free of AF.
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1 Reaction73 and diagnosed last year with “mild” AFIB. At Gulf Coast and 85 degree hot Sun and can’t walk 100 yards from beach to condo without total exhaustion and congested lung feeling. Also have LBBB which is probably a contributor. Cardiologist appt next month and I’m asking for ablation, pacemaker or something start feeling well again.
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1 ReactionThanks for the reply and it’s great that the problem has been solved. How long was the diagnosis phase? Were you taking any medications when this happened? The Metoprolol seemed to be working very well until these 2 incidents occurred. Did you go from feeling fine to almost instantaneous extreme fatigue and dizziness. Thanks again for taking the time.
I have experienced it. It's like hitting a wall. I have no helpful information to impart...just good wishes for you to find an answer. I am 81 and only do the flat 2 - 3 milers on the desert. Keep moving though. I believe it is the answer to quality of life.
Good luck
Dana Bowen
I have experienced it. It's like hitting a wall. I have no helpful information to impart...just good wishes for you to find an answer. I am 81 and only do the flat 2 - 3 milers on the desert. Keep moving though. I believe it is the answer to quality of life. Working on my sleep apnea as well. Experience this with less frequency.
Good luck
Dana Bowen
Hi afm;
Sorry you’re going through this.
I don’t have Afib but I know how it feels to have your hiking disrupted. I was off trail the whole year of 2018 while they investigated and treated the vtach I developed from scar tissue after mitral replacement surgery.
My nsvt is controlled by a low dose of metoprolol and two ablations The second and more successful one was done at MAYO in Rochester.
Two things jumped out at me when I read your post. One, could your electrolytes have been off and that triggered the AFIB?
The other thing-did both of these episodes occur after the two joint replacements? I have no idea how this could be connected but I wondered.
Surgery is an invasive thing, and could it have upset the heart somehow? Not that you had a choice, but it occurred to me.
Hope you’re feeling better and back on trail soon.
@4aces4me
Good luck with all that.
@dalebout123
Thanks. Hopefully the next 30 day Holter will capture the issue and lead to a treatment plan. It looked like the Metoprolol had solved the afib problem but the increased challenge of longer hikes with more climbing is triggering afib (or something like it) for some reason.
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1 ReactionI have had paroxysmal AF for three years and was placed on eliquis without problems. It’s now been over one year without any incident of AFib and do understand that it is rare for that to go away. I will ask my cardiologist if I can stop this blood thinner as I have observed incidents in my wife who was on a blood thinner had to be hospitalized for subdural hematoma (brain bleed) and GI bleeding . Has anyone of this group successfully stopped Eliquis?
@kudzu
Thanks for your concern and reply.
My history is that the afib diagnosis was in 9/24 after a Holter monitor. I went on Metoprolol and Pradaxa at that time. Ankle replacement was 12/24 and shoulder replacement was 5/25. I was hiking 7 miles with 1000 ft of climbing and walking up to 8 miles on flats after the ankle replacement. After the shoulder I again was walking well on the flats but then attempted a 9 mile hike with 1200 ft of climbing but had trouble with extreme fatigue after 4 miles. A 30 day Holter showed no problems with walking on the flats for 5 miles per day average and 10 miles maximum. Then the hike last weekend where again I felt extreme fatigue after 5 miles. It's like a fatigue button is pushed or hitting a wall.
We had water with Nunn electrolytes powder and drank regularly. It was a cool day by the ocean so heat was not a factor. So I think that wasn't a factor but good question.
Thanks again for your concern - yes, we have some "big" plans for next year and hope to be able to do them. The irony is that both titanium & plastic joints are working great but it appears that my pump is malfunctioning. Hopefully the next Holter test will show something. I will be challenging my heart to see what triggers this afib like phenomena.