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Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training
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Hi all,
Just wondering if there's anyone on here that has been diagnosed with this.
I was yesterday and I was wondering reference to the effects on riding and general training.
FYI I'm 43 and have been training in some form for the past 20 years.
Thanks in advance for your posts.
IS
Last edited by: iron snorks: May 23, 19 4:18
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [iron snorks] [ In reply to ]
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I had it, was stuck in it. Had an inversion and had ablation 8 weeks later. In 2013. 100% recovery. 4 firsts and 2 2nds in IM’s events since then. I had a great doctor who I trust.

There a few threads on here you can look at. Find a Doctor who understands your lifestyle and do exactly what he says. Physiologist imo, don’ t even deal with anybody but a physiologist.
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [iron snorks] [ In reply to ]
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Hey Iron Snorks,

Right there with ya! Diagnosed earlier this year.

I wrote a blog post on my experience with a-fib & current thoughts on treatment here...

https://www.alancouzens.com/blog/arrhythmias.html

Hope it's helpful.

Alan Couzens, M.Sc. (Sports Science)
Exercise Physiologist/Coach
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alan_Couzens
Web: https://alancouzens.com
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [Alan Couzens] [ In reply to ]
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Very nice write up Alan, as per normal. Your website really is a gold mine for me. Constantly referring to it as I make decisions about my training.
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [iron snorks] [ In reply to ]
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Make sure you read Alan's summary of his episode, and what research that goes along with it. My doc 35 years ago told me what I did was not healthy, as compared to people that just exercise. Back then he had been studying all of this along with a couple colleagues, and they determined that elite endurance athletes were 3 to 4 times more likely to end up with heart anomalies, seems it has been pushed out to 5 now. Like he said, if you live long enough, and keep exercising, you are quite likely to get some anomaly with your heart, just how it is.

Good news is that there is a lot you can do, pre and post. One thing a lot of people overlook, or just fail to mention, is that your mineral balance can be a huge factor, even the trigger in a lot of cases. When you go to the docs for this stuff, make sure you get a full workup on magnesium, sodium, potassium, and note the ranges for your particular tests. You could be right on the low end, and guess what, they tell you are normal. But I guarantee you, one 3 hour hot bike, or hour run, and you are way down in the danger range. I have been around a lot of people with this, and magnesium seems to be the most important, but the others are not far behind.

And often times it is a combination of factors, had a few beers the night before, hard workouts the prior week, shitty sleep, few cups of coffee in the morning to snap out of that funk, spouse or work is causing you added stress, and you have been eating shitty for a few days. Then BAM!!!, you have enough of the stresses and you are in Afib. So now that you know, start to really watch all these things and mitigate them. Dont let them pile up all together, and as others have said, you have to unload every once in awhile to get back to being fresh again...

good luck, a lot of people once they know the triggers, can stay off the ablation surgery for a very long time. And even after, you still have to watch yourself, you are not brand new again. It often will come back in time, if you live long enough that is...(-;
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [iron snorks] [ In reply to ]
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I'm now 58, I was diagnosed a little over 2 years ago when I went into persistent a-fib. For 2 years prior to that, I had been having some issues with shortness of breath, and a noticeable decline in performance (which my primary doctor just wrote off as "you're getting older"). I was put on Eliquis, metoprolol, and flecainide to to try to regulate my heart and prevent clots. The combination of medication and a-fib left me constantly fatigued, and a 1 hour ride at 12mph was a 100% effort that would leave me completely exhausted. I had an ablation a little over a year ago, and even while still on the medication (and having gained a lot of weight due to inactivity) my first bike rides were significantly faster than I had done in a few years. I was briefly taken off the flecainide and metoprolol, but there were few (completely unnoticed by me) minor episodes in my sleep, so I was put back on flecainide. I have a stress echocardiogram scheduled next week, and will probably be taken off the flecainide after that.

I feel much better than I have in about 4 years, and when I get rid of all the weight I gained I expect to be faster than I was in my early 50s...

"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [iron snorks] [ In reply to ]
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Hey snorks - I experienced this out of nowhere at age 42. Long story short - drugs had no effect, had to be cardioverted and put on flec and metro like others. They KILLED my energy level - I could barely function let alone work out (wasn't as active then as I am now). Got off those drugs pretty quickly with the warning of 'it's probably going to come back'. It did come back a few months later, cardioverted again and then ablated. Absolutely zero ill effects from that, and no symptoms since. Quickly ramped up the training after that and last year completed about 12 races up to half distance - in the best shape of my life.

That was my experience. Unfortunately my wife also had an ablation for a different arrythmia (after mine), doctor killed her AV node and she now has a pacemaker. So ablations are not without risk, keep that in mind. But for me, working in consulting, there was no way I could operate while on those heart drugs.

Flip side is that lots of people function for a long time not even knowing they have afib. So your mileage may vary.
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [Alan Couzens] [ In reply to ]
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Balanced, informative and succinct. Thanks Alan. Did you get into the habit of recognising AF by feeling your pulse?

Cheers,
Mark57
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [iron snorks] [ In reply to ]
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Not new to this, had it a few times within the last 8 yrs. once it went away by itself after 2 days.
2 times I had to be cardioverted (electrodes), 3 weeks ago it went away with „pill in the pocket“ (flac), which comes, like Monty said, with some magnesium and Kalium to kick in better.
Most important is to know what’s going on and not just training or racing with it while having an episode. I’m on daily pills for years (blood thinner,blood pressure,heart rate you name it) which doesn’t have any negative effect as far as I can tell.

-shoki
Last edited by: shoki: May 23, 19 13:46
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [iron snorks] [ In reply to ]
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I had an ablation in 2010, 9 years after being diagnosed with a-fib. Riding and training when you never know if it will strike (go into a-fib) is a mental nightmare. When it does go into a-fib, you lose aobut 30% of blood flow and your training stops on a dime. Even low speed riding is miserable with a-fib. Generally speaking, a-fib gets worse over time. So it's better to address it sooner than later. I'm convinced the ablation is the answer. The techniques and procedures are better today than they were in 2010, so there is no reason to wait, imho. Once you have recovered, which is about 3 or 4 months, there will not be any restrictions on your activity level, assuming you have no other diagnosed heart anomalies. So you can go wide open.
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [DBF] [ In reply to ]
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DBF wrote:
I had it, was stuck in it. Had an inversion and had ablation 8 weeks later. In 2013. 100% recovery. 4 firsts and 2 2nds in IM’s events since then. I had a great doctor who I trust.

There a few threads on here you can look at. Find a Doctor who understands your lifestyle and do exactly what he says. Physiologist imo, don’ t even deal with anybody but a physiologist.

Wow. So even after AF and ablation, the doc gave you the go ahead on IM races?

I'm 28, about to race my 16th IM, and the AF threads worry me a bit.
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [TravelingTri] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks Aaron! Truly appreciate the kind words.

Alan Couzens, M.Sc. (Sports Science)
Exercise Physiologist/Coach
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alan_Couzens
Web: https://alancouzens.com
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [Mark57] [ In reply to ]
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Mark57 wrote:
Balanced, informative and succinct. Thanks Alan. Did you get into the habit of recognising AF by feeling your pulse?

Cheers,
Mark57


Thanks Mark!

Honestly, when resting, most of the times I can feel episodes of a-fib directly in my chest. A pretty pronounced 'fluttering'. But yeah, if I take my pulse it's not regular. Generally not super fast (tachycardic) just out of rhythm. Like a bah-bump then a long pause then a bah-bah-bump - that sort of thing.

When exercising, I don't feel the direct effects (palpitations) as much during an episode but it manifests as feeling like the effort is 'a zone up' on what's normal for me & I see that in the HRM. A hill that's normally 140bpm will all of a sudden be 160bpm with the accompaning feelings of a strong effort - heavy breathing etc at a pretty easy pace. I'll generally walk at that point and it eventually resolves.

Best,

Alan Couzens, M.Sc. (Sports Science)
Exercise Physiologist/Coach
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alan_Couzens
Web: https://alancouzens.com
Last edited by: Alan Couzens: May 23, 19 14:27
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [monty] [ In reply to ]
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monty wrote:
Make sure you read Alan's summary of his episode, and what research that goes along with it. My doc 35 years ago told me what I did was not healthy, as compared to people that just exercise. Back then he had been studying all of this along with a couple colleagues, and they determined that elite endurance athletes were 3 to 4 times more likely to end up with heart anomalies, seems it has been pushed out to 5 now. Like he said, if you live long enough, and keep exercising, you are quite likely to get some anomaly with your heart, just how it is.

Good news is that there is a lot you can do, pre and post. One thing a lot of people overlook, or just fail to mention, is that your mineral balance can be a huge factor, even the trigger in a lot of cases. When you go to the docs for this stuff, make sure you get a full workup on magnesium, sodium, potassium, and note the ranges for your particular tests. You could be right on the low end, and guess what, they tell you are normal. But I guarantee you, one 3 hour hot bike, or hour run, and you are way down in the danger range. I have been around a lot of people with this, and magnesium seems to be the most important, but the others are not far behind.

And often times it is a combination of factors, had a few beers the night before, hard workouts the prior week, shitty sleep, few cups of coffee in the morning to snap out of that funk, spouse or work is causing you added stress, and you have been eating shitty for a few days. Then BAM!!!, you have enough of the stresses and you are in Afib. So now that you know, start to really watch all these things and mitigate them. Dont let them pile up all together, and as others have said, you have to unload every once in awhile to get back to being fresh again...

good luck, a lot of people once they know the triggers, can stay off the ablation surgery for a very long time. And even after, you still have to watch yourself, you are not brand new again. It often will come back in time, if you live long enough that is...(-;

I'd echo Monty's point on the importance of triggers too. I don't see "you have a-fib" as a binary deal. I'd agree, based on my experience to date, that you can do a lot to impact the incidence (for better or worse).

When I dialed my caffeine way down and my sleep way up, the incidence of the episodes definitely decreased. I also avoid ibuprofen & I try not to do any high intensity sessions late in the day. I also watch my HRV and back off without any hesitation on day/s that might be iffy. Another thing that I've tried based on some studies is dialing my antioxidants way up (I'd previously avoided antioxidant supps because of the research on antioxidants messing with training response but I figure, at this point, this is more important Smile)

For the most part avoiding doing the things that my dumb younger self did on a regular basis - not listening to my body, taking huge amounts of caffeine, ridiculously early morning starts/late night finishes to get the training in, 'Vitamin I' to quiet down all the aches and pains etc Smile

The episodes are still present but I'd say the above changes have definitely impacted the frequency for the better.

Alan Couzens, M.Sc. (Sports Science)
Exercise Physiologist/Coach
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alan_Couzens
Web: https://alancouzens.com
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [Alan Couzens] [ In reply to ]
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A better description as experienced "in the field" would be hard to come by Alan, thanks again.
The pulse of AF is descibed in medicine as "irreguarly irregular". I'm not chanelling Donald Rumsfield here but the "bump" as you describe is the powerful contraction of the ventricle when it is full of blood. The atria are wobbling away so it is only after a relatively long delay following the previous ventricular contraction that the ventricle is full enough to produce a more powerful surge of blood. You feel that as a stronger "bump". That is a very noticeable irregularity. The "bah, bah" is the feeling of a ventricle that is not full. Because the ventricles fire at a completely random time (as demonstrated by the GIF) the stronger surging "bump" irregularity happens at an irregular time. Hence irregulary irregular! It is the random timing of the "bump" that can help distinguish AF from other types of arrhthmias.

Cheers,
Mark57

PS I hate to be a pedant but "fluttering" is a term used when the atria are firing rapidly but REGULARLY. It would be difficult to feel anything at the pulse (or the heart as you do) if you had atrial flutter. It probably would be associated with other symptoms if the ventricles were firing too rapidly to fill properly, ie shortness of breath or going up a zone as you beautifully described!
PPS As you know AF does not have to be fast. Heart rate control as well as stroke prevention are the treatment aims if AF cannot be converted to a normal sinus rhythm.
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [Mark57] [ In reply to ]
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Mark57 wrote:


PS I hate to be a pedant but "fluttering" is a term used when the atria are firing rapidly but REGULARLY. It would be difficult to feel anything at the pulse (or the heart as you do) if you had atrial flutter. It probably would be associated with other symptoms if the ventricles were firing too rapidly to fill properly, ie shortness of breath or going up a zone as you beautifully described!
PPS As you know AF does not have to be fast. Heart rate control as well as stroke prevention are the treatment aims if AF cannot be converted to a normal sinus rhythm.


Thanks Mark,

That's a really good (& I think, important) point. During the early stages, I was under the misconception that a-fib was associated with a rapid heart beat and while Googling around, the term 'atrial flutter' seemed to sum up what I was feeling in my chest. But, as you importantly pointed out, a-fib doesn't have to be fast. When I learned that fact, everything made a lot more sense.

Alan Couzens, M.Sc. (Sports Science)
Exercise Physiologist/Coach
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alan_Couzens
Web: https://alancouzens.com
Last edited by: Alan Couzens: May 23, 19 17:16
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [Alan Couzens] [ In reply to ]
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Alan Couzens wrote:
Mark57 wrote:
Balanced, informative and succinct. Thanks Alan. Did you get into the habit of recognising AF by feeling your pulse?

Cheers,
Mark57


Thanks Mark!

Honestly, when resting, most of the times I can feel episodes of a-fib directly in my chest. A pretty pronounced 'fluttering'. But yeah, if I take my pulse it's not regular. Generally not super fast (tachycardic) just out of rhythm. Like a bah-bump then a long pause then a bah-bah-bump - that sort of thing.

When exercising, I don't feel the direct effects (palpitations) as much during an episode but it manifests as feeling like the effort is 'a zone up' on what's normal for me & I see that in the HRM. A hill that's normally 140bpm will all of a sudden be 160bpm with the accompaning feelings of a strong effort - heavy breathing etc at a pretty easy pace. I'll generally walk at that point and it eventually resolves.

Best,

when you are feeling an 'irregularity' to your pulse, you may or may not be having a-fib--
when there are lots of ectopic beats (pac's or pvc's-early extra beats from the top or bottom heart chambers), that can feel very similar to AF but it is NOT the same in terms of risk

and people may or may not be symptomatic-which is why rhythm control may not be needed or desired, but AC (anticoagulation), when indicated, will certainly lower the stroke risk-and an aspirin, although not a 'blood thinner' since it works on the platelets and makes the blood 'slippery', does work to somewhat lower the risk

the new apple phones are really terrific for seeing the rhythm-in addition to the many monitors that we use in cardiology
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [Alan Couzens] [ In reply to ]
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Alan Couzens wrote:
Mark57 wrote:
Balanced, informative and succinct. Thanks Alan. Did you get into the habit of recognising AF by feeling your pulse?

Cheers,
Mark57


Thanks Mark!

Honestly, when resting, most of the times I can feel episodes of a-fib directly in my chest. A pretty pronounced 'fluttering'. But yeah, if I take my pulse it's not regular. Generally not super fast (tachycardic) just out of rhythm. Like a bah-bump then a long pause then a bah-bah-bump - that sort of thing.

When exercising, I don't feel the direct effects (palpitations) as much during an episode but it manifests as feeling like the effort is 'a zone up' on what's normal for me & I see that in the HRM. A hill that's normally 140bpm will all of a sudden be 160bpm with the accompaning feelings of a strong effort - heavy breathing etc at a pretty easy pace. I'll generally walk at that point and it eventually resolves.

Best,


I used to have a stat back in my pacemaker rep days about how often medical personnel got their patients heart rhythms wrong by taking a pulse from a wrist, sooo I hesitate to suggest relying just on a pulse taken by feel. And A-fib can come in different forms especially if you include A-flutter which is distinctively different than A-Fib and can be text book regular. And you could have A-Fib and still have a pretty regular rate too. I myself have always had sinus arrhythmia (heart rate increases and decrease significantly with each breath) that is very distinct and prominent. But anyway, given that I am pretty geeky, I picked up an AliveCor Kardi so I can see the electrical interruption of my heart. I use it to assess my heart rate in the morning with something I can absolutely trust because I can read what it is reading electrically. The devices are made for a-fib but it is the perfect tool for the geek to get a solid electrical interpretation of their heart. Highly recommend for the typical older ST crowd who want to stay in tune with their bodies and be better able to communicate and understand with doctors down the road.

Super boring read, but Rapid Interpretation of EKG is a great book for understanding all of rhythms the heart can have. Definitely overkill but I thought someone out there might like it.


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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [dtoce] [ In reply to ]
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dtoce wrote:


when you are feeling an 'irregularity' to your pulse, you may or may not be having a-fib--
when there are lots of ectopic beats (pac's or pvc's-early extra beats from the top or bottom heart chambers), that can feel very similar to AF but it is NOT the same in terms of risk


Agree. I hope you would also agree with me that both would warrant a check up.

dtoce wrote:


and people may or may not be symptomatic-which is why rhythm control may not be needed or desired, but AC (anticoagulation), when indicated, will certainly lower the stroke risk-and an aspirin, although not a 'blood thinner' since it works on the platelets and makes the blood 'slippery', does work to somewhat lower the risk


Also agree but I did say "rate" control. I guess I was being more generic in my answer of controlling the rate of AF if it is too rapid...the setting in which I see it the most. Apologies to all if I've added to any confusion.

The point of my post was twofold.
1. To thank AC for a well thought out summary on AF (I forgot to thank him for emphasising reducing the risks for those prone to AF)
2. To get people to check their own pulses. It is not diagnostic as you and Thomas point out but it helps! At the very least it will confirm or deny your HRM and it will help your doc when you see him or her because by then the AF may be gone and your pulse is back to normal.

("First, check your own pulse", Samuel Shem "House of God"!).
Last edited by: Mark57: May 24, 19 1:05
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [Alan Couzens] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for your thoughts Alan. One thing my doctor told me, and I try not to do more research outside of him, is that caffeine in normal amounts is not a trigger at all, as in zero. But he advised giving up alcohol almost entirely. Most of what else he advised has been said on this thread. At least a week off after IM races, and one day off a week.
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [DBF] [ In reply to ]
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DBF wrote:
Thanks for your thoughts Alan. One thing my doctor told me, and I try not to do more research outside of him, is that caffeine in normal amounts is not a trigger at all, as in zero. But he advised giving up alcohol almost entirely. Most of what else he advised has been said on this thread. At least a week off after IM races, and one day off a week.



No disrespect intended (*but one thing that drives me batshit crazy is misinformation) but that statement is simply untrue. Although caffeine has not been shown to actually provoke arrhythmia in large studies, it is incorrect to say it is never a trigger. It actually can be a trigger in some patients who are sensitive to it. And in my practice (*clinical cardiology over 30 years), there are more than a few patients who have increased palpitations from caffeine. It can cause ectopic beats as well as psvt and paf. I am just one practitioner and I have not one or two, but dozens of patients with documented monitors showing cause and effect of various triggers-including caffeine.

The large studies did show that most people don't seem to have an issue, but that is not all people. So to say it is never a trigger, as in zero, is just wrong. Every patient must find their own individual triggers and avoid them. Some people have to give up alcohol and some don't.




From Up to Date:

Arrhythmias — Despite the theoretical relationship between caffeine and arrhythmogenesis, the available clinical evidence suggests that caffeine in doses typically consumed (ie, up to about 400 mg per day, which is roughly equivalent to up to five cups of coffee) (table 1) does not provoke arrhythmias [19-25]. Nevertheless, there are patients who may be more sensitive to caffeine and note a relationship of palpitations to caffeine intake. In addition, there are case reports of arrhythmia in patients with underlying cardiac disease who have ingested excessive amounts of caffeine [26-30]. Thus, patients susceptible to cardiac arrhythmias should avoid consuming large quantities of caffeine, although modest amounts appear to be safe.

Based on data from large cohort and case-control studies, regular caffeine consumption does not appear to correlate with an increased arrhythmia risk [22,24,25,31,32]. In a meta-analysis of seven observational studies with >100,000 individuals, caffeine exposure was not associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (odds ratio [OR] 0.92; 95% CI 0.82-1.04) [24]. In an observational study of 130,054 patients enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, those who reported modest coffee intake (ie, one to three cups per day) did not have an increased likelihood of hospitalization for arrhythmia compared with coffee abstainers (hazard ratio

0.93; 95% CI 0.84-1.02), and those who reported heavier coffee intake (ie, ≥4 cups per day) had a lower risk of hospitalization for arrhythmia compared with coffee abstainers (HR 0.82; 95% CI 0.73-0.93) [25].

In the prospective Cardiovascular Health Study, 1416 participants aged ≥65 years completed a dietary assessment (including frequency of consumption of caffeinated products) and underwent 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography (Holter) monitoring [31]. There were no differences in the number of supraventricular or ventricular premature beats across different levels of caffeine intake. After adjustment for potential confounders, more frequent consumption of caffeinated products was not associated with ectopy

Quote:
And you could have A-Fib and still have a pretty regular rate too. I myself have always had sinus arrhythmia (heart rate increases and decrease significantly with each breath) that is very distinct and prominent. But anyway, given that I am pretty geeky, I picked up an AliveCor Kardi so I can see the electrical interruption of my heart. I use it to assess my heart rate in the morning with something I can absolutely trust because I can read what it is reading electrically. The devices are made for a-fib but it is the perfect tool for the geek to get a solid electrical interpretation of their heart. Highly recommend for the typical older ST crowd who want to stay in tune with their bodies and be better able to communicate and understand with doctors down the road.

Super boring read, but Rapid Interpretation of EKG is a great book for understanding all of rhythms the heart can have. Definitely overkill but I thought someone out there might like it.

OMG! I won't let the medical students rounding with me have this book in my sight. Too simplistic for them but probably reasonable for the general population. Overkill and Dubin will never been in the same sentence out of my mouth-HA!

But...I also love the Kardi device! More cost effective than an iphone 10.


Mark57 wrote:
dtoce wrote:


when you are feeling an 'irregularity' to your pulse, you may or may not be having a-fib--
when there are lots of ectopic beats (pac's or pvc's-early extra beats from the top or bottom heart chambers), that can feel very similar to AF but it is NOT the same in terms of risk


Agree. I hope you would also agree with me that both would warrant a check up.

dtoce wrote:


and people may or may not be symptomatic-which is why rhythm control may not be needed or desired, but AC (anticoagulation), when indicated, will certainly lower the stroke risk-and an aspirin, although not a 'blood thinner' since it works on the platelets and makes the blood 'slippery', does work to somewhat lower the risk


Also agree but I did say "rate" control. I guess I was being more generic in my answer of controlling the rate of AF if it is too rapid...the setting in which I see it the most. Apologies to all if I've added to any confusion.

The point of my post was twofold.
1. To thank AC for a well thought out summary on AF (I forgot to thank him for emphasising reducing the risks for those prone to AF)
2. To get people to check their own pulses. It is not diagnostic as you and Thomas point out but it helps! At the very least it will confirm or deny your HRM and it will help your doc when you see him or her because by then the AF may be gone and your pulse is back to normal.

("First, check your own pulse", Samuel Shem "House of God"!).

Love the House of God reference! The complete quote: "At a cardiac arrest, the first procedure is to take your own pulse". Ah, the 'laws'. Very cool reminder. I must pick that book up again.

Yes, Dr. Mark, I agree with all you've written.
Last edited by: dtoce: May 24, 19 17:53
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [dtoce] [ In reply to ]
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Nevertheless, there are patients who may be more sensitive to caffeine and note a relationship of palpitations to caffeine intake. //

This is absolutely correct, and having been around 100's of people taking caffeine in their breakfast coffee, or for performance enhancing, it became obvious to me that people react quite differently. Some folks can have one weak cup of coffee and they are in the jitters. Others drink 15 cups, and just go about their day. I was amazed to see in Europe all the folks having a coffee or two at 10pm, after their usual late dinners. If I have a cup after noontime, I'm toast for that nights sleep. My father in law was drinking 2 to 3 post a day, right up to bedtime, and slept like a baby. Have gotten him to tone it down, that cannot be good for anyone, at anytime in their lives..


And as I have been told, it is quite normal for us athletes to have 100 to 200 PVC's a day sometimes. IT has not been a cause for alarm, and most people don't even feel them, or hardly any of them. SO once you become hyperaware of your heart rhythms, you begin to feel a lot more of those, and may think oh shit, he comes Afib..And back to my basket of risk factors, they seem to also correlate to the number of PVC's I have too. I know this because I measure every beat of my heart, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Thanks Medtronic...


And it is much appreciated when you and some other athletic Heart doctors get on here and set the record straight. So many misinformed people, many of them doctors. If I was a ltigious person, I would have sued my original heart surgeon to the poor house, about as incompetent as they come, but that is another story..
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [dtoce] [ In reply to ]
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Cheers, M.
And many thanks to Alan Couzens for posting his most sensible summary on AF relevent to triathlon.
Last edited by: Mark57: May 25, 19 2:23
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [monty] [ In reply to ]
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@monty
Do you have any more insight on mineral level?
I just checked my numbers (which are a 3 weeks apart) showed that I have higher numbers (Magnesium,Calcium,potassium) with afib than 3 weeks before during regular check up.
All of em are on the higher side within the recommended range.

-shoki
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Re: Atrial Fibrillation, riding and training [shoki] [ In reply to ]
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Perhaps Dtoce can chime in on that, I'm so used to seeing low numbers, that I hadn't considered what high ones do. Of course there are high ranges for a reason, and I know it is not good to have high potassium for sure, super high levels kill folks.. But good on you for taking some control now, tests can be off a bit just because, but over time you will get a great baseline of what your body is doing..
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