First Post Surgery Ride

[ColinJ]

Good luck, @fuzzybuddha (and the rest of you)!

I still get the odd bout of mild AFib if I overexert myself (usually by going up long stretches of 15+% on my bike). It can last off and on for a day or so but eventually stops. So far, it hasn't been so bad that I want to seek further medical intervention.

Some useful publications are available for download from the British Heart Foundation HERE.

 

[fuzzybuddha]

UPDATE: So i went on my first ride yesterday! It seemed to go very well. I only went 7 miles. It felt really good. At this point there does not seem to be any ill-effects. will slowly increase the load over the coming weeks/months. Thank you for all your support!

 

[si_c]

Glad to hear it all went well, now for the payoff

 

[bikingdad90]

I had the same operation 3 years ago. The year after I ran the London marathon and 2 half’s.
Before that if I did any intense exercise my heart rate would go through the roof for a couple of minutes before returning to normal.
cant believe I lived with it for 30 years before getting it fixed. Got a whole new lease of life

How did you know you had a heart defect out of interest? Assume during normal daily life your heart rate and rhythm is normal?

 

[fuzzybuddha]

How did you know you had a heart defect out of interest? Assume during normal daily life your heart rate and rhythm is normal?

I have/had (🤞) paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, it is where your heart beats at an irregular rhythm. The paroxysmal aspect means that it will go in and out of normal rhythm randomly. I could feel my heart go into AFib. It is a ver odd sensation. In addition I got fatigued, short of breath and anxious. When in AFib, your heart rate will jump to around 140bpm or higher. I have had AFib for most of not all of my life, I never knew what it was, just thought it was normal. With it being random, I could never get to a doctor for them to diagnose it. It was not until about 3 years ago that I was able to get to the doctors and get and EKG so it could be caught. That is the only way to be able to have a definitive diagnosis.

 

[DaveM77]

Mine would suddenly jump to 220 bpm when exercising for no reason. Also I found leaning forward could set it off. Quite common the surgeon said. It’s something you’re born with but can develop over time. It’s an extra bit of nerve on the heart which “shorts out” Typical me had 2 bits doing it tho 😬