I am interested in other people‘s experience with exercise with a fib

Hi Nadanoel,
My background is similar. Almost 82yo.
Diagnosed with AF/tackycardia at 71yo.
Ablation at 79 yo... it failed.
Now on Metoprolol.
Exercise is so important for us "'ol Foggies". I reluctantly gave up jogging at 72. I now do Tai Chi ("the moving meditation") and walk almost daily. HIIT is better for us than steady running/jugging. Because I live in a neighborhood with steep hills, Prescott, AZ, it's perfect for getting my HIIT in ... I just push to go quickly up one hill, then "coast" as I progress down the other side. Keep movin'.

Thanks for your reply. That is shorter. The last person I asked told me 3-4 hours for RFA.

Thank you! I also take metoprolol
What is HIIT?
I love Prescott

High intensity interval training.

Iam 78 now, had syncope issues in the past was put on Attenolol then after a few yr s also added amlodidpine , been on that with out problems, then suddenly amlodipine ,changed to losarton , to keep my BP normal. On that a short time but I did not feel well, on the losarton. So I went back my self to . amlodipine . I feel better but my BP is always a bit high. At one point my Dr put me on Diltiazam I was on for 2 days and I collapsed ,it dropped my BP to low.Anyway Iam always out of breath when walking up the stairs, I feel like a not in my throat. Now going for PFT. Very soon. Just wondering if these meds cause breath problems??

HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training. IOW, break up your high intensity effort with a few minutes of low intensity, relaxed effort.

I was diagnosed with AFib in 2016. It was fairly low occurrence for years (3-6 times per year) then jumped up to 59 episodes in 2024. Exercise was a big trigger for me. I had to keep walking slower and lifting less weight. Finally, got tired of it and had a PF ablation on Feb 20, 2025. I've started back on the treadmill and weights again and hope to be able to slowly build back up some beneficial exercise levels. The ablation was a piece of cake, by the way. No pain of any kind, didn't even feel like I'd had anything done. 72M.

I have had permanent asymptomatic afib for over 20 years. I also have a pacemaker. I am 87 years old and I exercise a lot. Not really intense stuff but I pay no attention to recommendations re exercise and I have no problems. For me, afib is a non issue excet for my annual checkups.

I was diagnosed with afib around 2015. Exercise often took me out of afib, but it worsened in 2016 - under a lot of stress with my dad in his last month in this life. My afib was never set off by exercise and I do a lot of hiking. I've hiked in the Himalayas on 30-day treks and backpackpacked the John Muir Trail (23 days, ~220 miles) with afib, generally controlled with flecanide and diltiazem. I had a successful cryoablation in 2021 and mitral valve repair in 2024. 70 M.

I am a runner, when I first started AFibbing it was at night, so didn’t t have to worry about it, but recently I have had episodes start in the middle of workouts. The first time it happened was in the middle of a race in Berlin. I started feeling like I was pooping out a little faster than I should have been. After the race I was looking at my Garmin metrics and could tell by the heart graph exactly where it started. It probably cost me 3 minutes off my 5K time!

Now, if it starts up in the middle of a workout, I keep an eye on the heart rate, I prefer to NOT go over 200 bpm, and I change to easy/recovery run. If I was planning on a hard run with sprints or race pace, I don’t do it. I’ll also probably turn around and head back to my car. Maybe start walking, depends on feel.

If I am already AFibbing, I’ll skip the workout and just walk a couple miles instead. I will do my strength training workouts anyhow, my hr doesn’t spike much with those, and my trainer may back off on some of the weight depending on how I feel, but it’s usually not an issue.

I want to keep my heart strong, even if it IS misbehaving, I think that is important. If nothing else, keep walking! And listen to your body.