Atrial Fibrillation

[Herr-B]

So, my intended 60 miler on Saturday ended up only being a 40-something ride.

After 30 miles I started to get palpitations in my chest, I stopped, started, stopped, started, stopped and ate some food, started again. Between 30-40 miles I must've stopped about a dozen times. I phoned the wife to pick me up once I'd crossed back over the Humber Bridge (didn't want her to be interrupted and have to pay to cross it twice!). She came out and insisted I call NHS Direct, who said it was probably nothing and they weren't concerened - but they still passed my details to my local GP Unit, who said I should go straight to A&E, but not to the GPU as there was a 3 hour wait. Like there wasn't just down the corridor in A&E.

Anyway, got seen and plugged up to a 12-lead ECG and left for a couple of hours. The doctor mentioned something about atrial fibrillation and an irregular heartbeat, turns out to be roughly the same thing and a potential clot building on a valve maybe causing it. Thank you Google. He wanted me to be admitted, I didn't, and after he'd discussed it with a specialist I got sent home and told to see my GP for a referral to cardiology. Also no strenuous exercise - so today's commute was the straight 5 miles rather than my usual 20-ish. (He also said no stress but for the whole 20 minute journey home I just received abuse after abuse from the wife about my diet!)

My GP wanted the letter A&E should've given me, but didn't. So now I have to wait for him to confirm it before I get the referral. Tick tock.

So my point in all this? Anybody here had it, causes, solutions? I know I can Google like the best of them but if anyone here has first-hand experience then I'll take that over any other.

Thanks in advance.

 

[RWright]

I have it. I went in to the Dr. for suspected high blood pressure, which I had. They found I had Atrial fibrillation with an EKG or Ultrasound or something, I am not sure which. My father had it also. From my understanding a lot of people do have it but my biggest fear of it is the increased risk of stroke. My father had a very serious stroke about 10 years before he died this past July (at 80). The stroke had a big effect on the last 10 years of his life. The irregular heartbeat itself never did, that I am aware of, unless of course you consider the stroke a result of it. I don't recall exactly what but I think my Dad had his treated before he had his stroke, how I don't recall. After his stroke I know he never got any exercise again and his Emphysema progressively got worse. I also thought his diet could have been more selective. His diet was not terrible, just not as healthy as I would have liked it to be.

I am on a few medications now for high blood pressure and I think one may be related to helping the Atrial fibrillation but I am not positive. I was lucky I am able to take aspirin as a blood thinner, rather than some of the other prescription medications. My Dr. gave me some stats about my percentages of living longer on Coumadin vs. Aspirin, which were a small percentage higher but then I asked him what are my chances of bleeding to death from it and he told me that as well and it was also higher, so I decided to go with the aspirin and my Dr. was ok with that decision. I hope to be active so the bleeding part put me off. I would listen carefully to what the Dr. tells you to do. I don't think the condition in itself normally is terribly lethal but things it can lead to are very lethal. That said, there are always different circumstances for each individual, be careful with it.

 

[Herr-B]

Thank you RWight.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

If you pm me i can send on a recent journal of atrial fibrillation in athletes paper. Heavy going but very relevant.

 

[ColinJ]

I developed it (or something very like it) when I got a DVT last summer which then spewed clots up into my chest. I sympathise with you - it's not nice having your heart playing silly buggers, and knowing that further clotting can result!

I found a support forum which has some interesting discussions about heart rhythm disorders - take a look at the Heart Palpitations Forum.

I find that drinking too much coffee can make my heart rhythm go a bit irregular again so I am trying to limit myself to 2 cups a day.

My problem has settled down a lot as I continue my recovery. I've gone from lengthy periods of irregular hearth rhythm every day to a little hint of it once every few weeks. Good luck with your problem!

 

[numbnuts]

No advice, but I hope you get it sorted take care

 

[Andrew_P]

Good luck, on a scale of 1 to 10 - 10 being super fit where would you rate yourself? As Brompton suggests people who are aerobically fit might display irregular hearbeating on an ECG the rytthum will change when you breath. Not suggesting you do not follow it up just suggesting you should tell the Dr who evalutes your ECG telling him the sort of weekly miles you do and how long you have been cycling

 

[Falwheeler]

My wife suffers from AF, took her to AandE once with a heartbeat of over 200bm. This lasted for nearly two hours, she's now waiting for an operation to correct it

 

[ColinJ]

I'm not suggesting this as an alternative to seeing your doctor and getting to the bottom of the problem, but in the mean time ...

I mentioned my heart rhythm problems to an old friend and he said that he'd had them for nearly 40 years. Somebody had showed him a technique for settling the rhythm down. I tried it during one of my attacks and it worked!

Take a deep breath, pinch your nose, and blow as hard as you can into your mouth with your mouth closed, imagining that you are trying to inflate a tyre (whatever).

Apparently it causes the lungs to expand and squeeze a nerve on the heart which is often to blame for the misfiring. Search for 'vagal manouevres'.

 

[Herr-B]

Thanks folks. I'm by no means athletic, I started with my road bike about 10 months ago and do one off rides of about 40 miles a couple of times a month and a few 20 mile commutes every couple or three weeks. Aside from that and the odd stroll around the village I do little else.

Thanks for the offer but I doubt that paper has got me in mind. And thanks Colin for the advice, I've followed your GWS thread - scary stuff, glad you're getting better, however slowly.

 

[Albert]

I have had a heart attack and am on lifelong medication. I can ride as much as I want with no ill effects. Get to a good* cardiologist and take onboard all the advice you get and follow it to the letter.

*checking outcomes at a particular unit is the way to find out if you are in good hands. In my experience, most Specialists are at the very least highly competent and serious people.

 

[Herr-B]

Well I went to see the cardiologist about a month ago, everything seemed fine but he wanted me to have a 24 hr ECG and an echo. The 24 hour echo thing was a waste of time, I think, as I was at work sat at my desk for the most part and not on my bike 30 miles from home! And Sod's law said I didn't get any palpitations, shortness of breath going up and down the stairs at work like I sometimes do. The echo I've just had this morning and the sonographer thinks my heart is looking fine - awaiting confirmation from the doc.

He's obviously not going to be in a rush to contact me, although I do have a follow-up appointment for December, so I'll be heading for the hills again real soon.

 

[ColinJ]

Good luck in those hills, but be vigilant - my clotting problem came back and I was in denial for 3 weeks before going back to A&E. If you feel unwell, rather than just knackered, STOP what you are doing and get yourself checked out again ASAP!

 

[Herr-B]

Hadn't thought about that. I was just so please they didn't find anything, I didn't stop to think about it could've been something temporary(ish)!

A friend has just bought a Triban 3 (or 3a?) so I'll not be cycling on my own much for the longer rides. If it happens again I'll definitely stop - it was hard to continue last time.

Thanks, Colin. You should write a book on this . . .

 

[ColinJ]

Thanks, Colin. You should write a book on this . . .

I have already started ... coming to a Kindle or Kindle app near you soon!

I am going to try to get hold of copies of my scans so I can include some scary pictures. (No doubt I could find copies of other people's scans, but I like the personal touch! )