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fat buddha
Joined: 13 Jul 2004
Posts: 2520
Location: rural Zuzzex
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 Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 5:15 pm Post subject: Atrial fibrillation |
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well, it turns out I have AF which will explain why my running and biking has been pants this year - I was putting this down to age and loss of mojo, but it seems there was more to this than I realised at the time. 
this all culminated in me having a minor stroke on the 24th November and I'm on the mend and have nearly 100% movement back in my left arm and leg (no speech or facial problems thankfully). for the mo, I'm on anticoagulant and beta-blocker therapy, can't drive for a month, and now waiting to see a cardiologist to discuss treatment of the AF - probably cardioversion or ablation.
but I want to get back to some form of CV exercise while I wait for this (I might go privately if the wait is long) and wondered if anyone out there who's had/has AF has any tips they'd like to share or help me with.
cheers
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And the lord said unto John; "come forth and receive eternal life." But John came fifth and won a toaster.
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explorerJC
Joined: 20 Oct 2005
Posts: 15881
Location: Farthingstone
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| Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 8:06 pm Post subject: |
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Very sorry to hear that FB.
On the AF, I have friends who have suffered and recovered although one (multiple ETU/ITU champ) never got completely back to speed.
As for recovery from a stroke, I had one in 2001 (in fact, I probably had more than one) and it took a couple of years to really make progress and start to recover my fitness properly..I think I was back in the GB AG team by 2004 or 2005
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Roscoemck
Joined: 10 Aug 2016
Posts: 453
Location: Glasgow
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| Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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FB, sorry to hear that.
Can't offer any advice, just want to let you know I'm thinking about you. Take it easy.
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fat buddha
Joined: 13 Jul 2004
Posts: 2520
Location: rural Zuzzex
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| Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 9:47 am Post subject: |
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thanks for the comments guys.
having the stroke came as a bit of a shock but thankfully, and compared to many others, I have come out of this very lightly and am expected to have a full recovery. from what I have found, exercising with permanent AF (which is what I have, not the transient variety) is OK provided I put a lid on matters and don't try and go eyeballs out - just take it calmly.
swimming and using the turbo/rower seems to be best at the mo so I'll start with that and see how the body reacts. might hang back from running until I feel fully confident that my left leg knows what it's doing - it seems OK walking but running might challenge it a bit more, so leave that a few more weeks.
the big pisser is not being able to drive as I am now dependent on Mrs FB and what little public transport we have around here. hey ho - only a month and not a year!
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ed_m
Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 8171
Location: coventry
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| Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 10:11 am Post subject: |
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| fat buddha wrote: |
the big pisser is not being able to drive as I am now dependent on Mrs FB and what little public transport we have around here. hey ho - only a month and not a year! |
A chance to make use of your free bus pass no ?
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fat buddha
Joined: 13 Jul 2004
Posts: 2520
Location: rural Zuzzex
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| Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 10:19 am Post subject: |
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| ed_m wrote: | | fat buddha wrote: |
the big pisser is not being able to drive as I am now dependent on Mrs FB and what little public transport we have around here. hey ho - only a month and not a year! |
A chance to make use of your free bus pass no ? |
already being used Ed - had a couple of "grand tours" of crap Sussex housing estates so far.... 
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Banana Boy
Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 6
Location: Surbiton
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| Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 11:44 am Post subject: |
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FB, I'm a very occasional poster on Tritalk but I have AF.
I had a pacemaker fitted in 1997 for irregular heart beat and have taken warfarin ever since, developed permanent AF in 2002 after a virus.
Started triathlon in 2001, have raced sprint to IM so it hasn't stopped me in that way. Much as I'd like to cite it as a reason for lack of pereformance I'm not sure it's had any major impact in that way.
The main impact based on my (non scientific) observation is that the warm up for any activity is harder. I'm nearly always breathless for the first 5-10 mins of any session (particularly running) no matter what pace. If I then stop for a minute or so I feel much better and, in general, my performance improves as the session goes on. In a race situation if I don't warm up (which I don't) then I tend to underperform on the swim.
The other issue for me is that I'm very conscious of not crashing on the bike as any bleeding takes ages to stop (and scars take ages to heal) so I'll avoid risks on downhill.
Good luck with your training!
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fat buddha
Joined: 13 Jul 2004
Posts: 2520
Location: rural Zuzzex
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| Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 11:57 am Post subject: |
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thanks for the input BB - very useful
| Quote: | | The other issue for me is that I'm very conscious of not crashing on the bike as any bleeding takes ages to stop (and scars take ages to heal) so I'll avoid risks on downhill. |
in some ways you're luckier in that warfarin can be counteracted in the case of heavy bleeding with a shot of Vit K - I've been put on Atrixaban, one of the newer anticoags, to which there is no antidote so if I have a heavy bleed, then it could be a major problem!  I've bought a medical alert dogtag that sits on me all the time which will alert any paramedic. the upside of atrixaban is that I don't need blood levels monitoring which you do on warfarin.
as someone who has been a downhill nutter on a bike (road or MTB) and a dedicated off-piste skier with a few crashes under the belt, I guess I'm going to have to become a bit more risk averse! and a bit more careful with power tools......
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JeffB
Joined: 04 May 2008
Posts: 1293
Location: Middlesbrough
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| Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry to hear about it FB, hope you recover quickly.
I know someone who has a heart issue that it starts racing from time to time and has to get the electric shock to get it back into rhythm, which I'm guessing is AF. He was a very good athlete in his younger days and although he doesn't really race much now when he trains he is still good for his age, I'd guess in his younger days he'd have been around 2:05 for an Olympic tri, maybe quicker.
Also know (of) several people that have had strokes generally in their late 40's, at least 3 are still very good runners, 18:xx 5k times for V50 cat, as it turned out at least two had undiagnosed holes in their hearts which was the cause.
A lad I work with is as fit as a lat, and other than cholesterol being slightly high even one of the top stroke surgeons in the country couldn't really work out why he'd had one. It took him a while to get over it but as I mentioned he can still run well but has never really been interested in anything longer than about 10k.
The two I know best do have to manage their fatigue and cut back or not train if they are tired.
Do they think the AF has led to the stroke or some other reason?
EJC, having seen what I'm guessing is you, you don't look like an obvious candidate for a stroke either, and would have appeared to have got back to a good level of fitness.
Jeff
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explorerJC
Joined: 20 Oct 2005
Posts: 15881
Location: Farthingstone
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| Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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| JeffB wrote: |
Also know (of) several people that have had strokes generally in their late 40's, at least 3 are still very good runners, 18:xx 5k times for V50 cat, as it turned out at least two had undiagnosed holes in their hearts which was the cause
The two I know best do have to manage their fatigue and cut back or not train if they are tired.
EJC, having seen what I'm guessing is you, you don't look like an obvious candidate for a stroke either, and would have appeared to have got back to a good level of fitness.
Jeff |
Patience is the key to recovery. Fortunately I was with a good employer (joined 6 weeks before) and they paid me whilst I recovered and funded rehab and occupational health. Mind you, they got shot of me as soon as they could after I was back full time about 2 years later!
Managing fatigue levels was hard for a long time and gaining mobility a challenge. I just dug in and focussed on being able get to the next level. It took about3 - 4 years to get back into it and 6 or so become competitive...
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fat buddha
Joined: 13 Jul 2004
Posts: 2520
Location: rural Zuzzex
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| Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:19 am Post subject: |
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JeffB - thanks for the input - very illuminating!
| Quote: | | Do they think the AF has led to the stroke or some other reason? |
convinced AF is the cause - it's one of the most common causes (5x higher risk of stroke in AF patients) and I don't have other risk factors associated with stroke bar a consumption of alcohol well over recommended guidelines which itself may have been a cause of the AF, although that is by no way clear (the underlying cause of AF is actually poorly understood despite it being pretty common)
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doubletriple
Joined: 25 Feb 2009
Posts: 309
Location: Bristol
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2017 1:30 pm Post subject: |
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Hi...had AF on and off for @ 15 years....been clear for @5 now.
I had paroxysmal AF as in no obvious underlying cause. in the majority of these cases it usually comes down to lifestyle.
Drugs, stress , Alcohol etc.
Have had cardioversion....chemical and physical , and ablation. Each in turn reverted eventually back to AF episodes.
I have altered my lifestyle choices hugely , and have been AF free for some years.
In my opionion , lifestyle factors are uaually the trigger.
Good luck.
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tin pot
Joined: 08 Jul 2013
Posts: 2592
Location: Bromley
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| Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 7:59 am Post subject: |
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| JeffB wrote: | Sorry to hear about it FB, hope you recover quickly.
I know someone who has a heart issue that it starts racing from time to time and has to get the electric shock to get it back into rhythm, which I'm guessing is AF. He was a very good athlete in his younger days and although he doesn't really race much now when he trains he is still good for his age, I'd guess in his younger days he'd have been around 2:05 for an Olympic tri, maybe quicker.
Also know (of) several people that have had strokes generally in their late 40's, at least 3 are still very good runners, 18:xx 5k times for V50 cat, as it turned out at least two had undiagnosed holes in their hearts which was the cause.
A lad I work with is as fit as a lat, and other than cholesterol being slightly high even one of the top stroke surgeons in the country couldn't really work out why he'd had one. It took him a while to get over it but as I mentioned he can still run well but has never really been interested in anything longer than about 10k.
The two I know best do have to manage their fatigue and cut back or not train if they are tired.
Do they think the AF has led to the stroke or some other reason?
EJC, having seen what I'm guessing is you, you don't look like an obvious candidate for a stroke either, and would have appeared to have got back to a good level of fitness.
Jeff |
I’m not a huge fan of Phil Maffetone but with my recent vascular concerns I was listening to an Endurance Planet podcast yesterday where he was emphasising that heart issues are as common with athletes as with anyone else. And that it’s the underlying risk you need to examine from family medical history primarily.
I’m not sure why we’ve assumed athletes are healthy, I suppose it’s because they usually look so good.
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fat buddha
Joined: 13 Jul 2004
Posts: 2520
Location: rural Zuzzex
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| Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2017 8:59 am Post subject: |
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| Tin Pot wrote: | | JeffB wrote: | Sorry to hear about it FB, hope you recover quickly.
I know someone who has a heart issue that it starts racing from time to time and has to get the electric shock to get it back into rhythm, which I'm guessing is AF. He was a very good athlete in his younger days and although he doesn't really race much now when he trains he is still good for his age, I'd guess in his younger days he'd have been around 2:05 for an Olympic tri, maybe quicker.
Also know (of) several people that have had strokes generally in their late 40's, at least 3 are still very good runners, 18:xx 5k times for V50 cat, as it turned out at least two had undiagnosed holes in their hearts which was the cause.
A lad I work with is as fit as a lat, and other than cholesterol being slightly high even one of the top stroke surgeons in the country couldn't really work out why he'd had one. It took him a while to get over it but as I mentioned he can still run well but has never really been interested in anything longer than about 10k.
The two I know best do have to manage their fatigue and cut back or not train if they are tired.
Do they think the AF has led to the stroke or some other reason?
EJC, having seen what I'm guessing is you, you don't look like an obvious candidate for a stroke either, and would have appeared to have got back to a good level of fitness.
Jeff |
I’m not a huge fan of Phil Maffetone but with my recent vascular concerns I was listening to an Endurance Planet podcast yesterday where he was emphasising that heart issues are as common with athletes as with anyone else. And that it’s the underlying risk you need to examine from family medical history primarily.
I’m not sure why we’ve assumed athletes are healthy, I suppose it’s because they usually look so good. |
from what I have found, quite a few athletic friends seem to have suffered from AF or some other type of arrythmia, yet, after treatment it doesn't seem to have reduced their interest in maintaining fitness, even if they no longer compete or go balls out.
"usually look good". ha - you're talking to an ex-prop here weighing over 100kg and with cauliflower ears..... 
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And the lord said unto John; "come forth and receive eternal life." But John came fifth and won a toaster.
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