Hi Folks,

I know there has been a few threads on this recently, so looking for a bit of guidance I can pass on to my mate Neil.

He had AF issues in the past, very minor, and they went away. However, signs started comning back, including what we thought was a HR monitor failure halfway round PPdS as it was saying his HR was all over the place. Turns out this was the start of it coming back.

Late last year, he has now been into Hospital and had an ablation, and is looking at different drug options. 3 months signed off work, which is not good as just joined a new company.

Basically, he is scared (4 kids – 15-9yrs old, wife), annoyed, depressed. He is a very fit 47 yr old triathlete, who I got into “proper” mtbing a few years ago and he loves it.

Just registered him and his missus for PPdS this year, but of course it looks unlikely that he can do it.

Advice, guidance, experiences, tips, dos and dont’s all greatly appreciated.

Yours,
Kev (on right, Neil on left)

What’s AF ?

Atrial fibrillation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrial_fibrillation

MIL has had it for about 6 years she’s on a cocktail of meds and has had a couple of cardioversions. The first stabilised it for 12 months, the second didn’t work – quite common apparently.

Whilst she’s never going to run a marathon again, her normal quality of life has improved significantly over the period – she’s not so out of breath as often.

Ton is the man for this IIRC

Good luck

Ha, oops, thanks geoff and weeksy, prob should have made that a bit clearer.

I have occasional AF and race DH. I avoid too much alcohol and getting really tired but otherwise just get on with it with a ‘pill in my pocket’ just in case. (but maybe your mate has a more severe case)

From a discussion with my Cardiologist whose theory is that being “very fit” may have been a factor – if there’s a low resting heart beat then the gaps between beats are longer and there’s more time for things to go “wrong”.

Kev, sorry to hear about your mate.
it is a proper barsteward when AF gets you, moreso i reckon when you are a active sportsman.

i can only tell you about my own problem, which is permenant AF, with now no chance of the doctors getting me out of it.
i was taking warfarin and bisoprolol for the 1st 2 years, the warfarin thins the blood and keeps it going thru the veins, the bisoprolol stops the heart from beating too fast, this is the problem one.
when i tried to exercise i got to the stage where i was passing out.
because i could not exercise i got extremely depressed and down. my weight went up by 4 stone, and i reckon i was more horrible than usual to live with.
in the 2yrs i had 2 cardioversions, where they try to shock the heart back to it’s correct rythm, both failed.
i then had 2 cardiac ablations, where they burn away inside the heart, to try to create a new circuit.
neither of these worked.

but, if you persevere, and take things slowly, and work hard to lose weight, and vow to never give up trying, well then i reckon you can be ok.
hills are slow, headwinds kill you, the cold gets inside you and freezes you inside out.
but look where you live, tell him to buy the biggest dh bike availabe, cablecars galore in the alps i have been told.
and pootleing galore on the riverside paths.

you just have to keep on keeping on……. 8)

also, i had my meds changed to asprin rather than warfarin, and tildium rather than bisoprolol.
these have allowed me to exercise more……..that and the 5 stone weight loss…. 😆

with age come changes.. rolling with them is the challenge. clarity and stabilisng of the treatment/s has to be the no.1 priority.
once that is secure then an exploration of what is and isnt achievable are the next steps..

having an artificial heart valve, two heart attacks and a stroke mean i had to change direction several times but these things are not insurmountable if your open minded about your goals and or where they might now lie.

Cheers Ton, Wheelee and totalshell, all great comments, many thanks.

Wheelee, DH might just be something that he would enjoy, always a bit of “challenge” junky is our Neil. Ton, yes, you are right, lots of cablecars!

Totalshell, that might well be the best support i can offer. I think I am possibly not helping and pushing too hard. Your guidance is sound.

Is there any support group or information sources you would recommend beyond what I can google?

Cheers all,
Kev

If you havent already found it , there’s good info on the BHF site : http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/atrial-fibrillation.aspx