Looking for advice about exercise post-ablation

Hi everyone,

I know there are a lot of fairly athletic people on this board and I’m hoping they have some advice. I had a Bordeaux ablation 4 1/2 years ago and things have been fairly good to this point. I’ve had a couple times here and there where I get PAC’s for a little while but then they tend to go away. Usually related to stress or bad diet choices.

Lately I’ve been really trying to lose some weight and get back into shape. I’m up about 40 pounds since my ablation. I was riding my bike quite a bit last summer and that was working really well for me. I did a 5K heart and stroke fun run in September and trained a little for that. I’m finding whenever I run or jog I get random PACs which is weird. I never used to get ectopics from exercise. I might sometimes get them in the cooling down period afterwards which was consistent with my vagal afib. As you can imagine, whenever something causes palpitations I typically avoid it like the plague. Thing is I really want to start jogging again. Nothing crazy just 5K at a time.

So I’ve been riding the stationary bike and working out on weights and that seems to be fine. Has anyone else experienced palpitations or Afib only from running? Anyone have any advice?

Monty

I jog all the time and I’ll get PACs sometimes. I just ignore them. If I were you I’d do whatever I wanted. Jog. It won’t hurt you.

I agree with wolfpack. Just do it. It won't hurt you. If it causes problems, back off and reassess what you need to do.

You're probably deconditioned if you've avoided exercise for a while, so start off slow and build up to where you used to be. I had to do that in 2018 after almost a year of inactivity and it took longer than I expected. Still working on it.

Not that long ago (~ 5 yrs back) I routinely pushed aerobic limits with [semi] pro level com-padres (Mountain bike, road racing, mountaineering, etc) and typically felt exhilarated by the effort. Slowly Afib took hold (imperceptibly: I am entirely asymptomatic), finally I was struggling to keep up on only routine level workouts, which I had been pursuing without fail, out of habit. Wrote it off as getting on! But then Afib was diagnosed, ultimately persistent! Local Docs. recommended being resigned: "just live with it, no problem!". So I took Metoprolol and kept striving for past run, bike performance levels (sans Metoprolol my HR would go over 200 bpm !). No good: felt like S*****t. Against local Cardio advice went for the Natalie ablation last Spring, all the while, pre/post, continuing aerobic routines. While never loosing NSR since my ablation, my endurance, fitness & general well being (e.g,. not needing midday "rest", aka nap) steadily build. By now just about back to pre-Afib era level. I immediately (post ablation) felt, performed, better. However it has (as had been predicted) taken 5-6 Months of "recovery" and still noticeably progressing!

So, one piece of advice (experiential !); Keep up a regular regimen of [high level] exercise. This allows you to "benchmark" how Afib, as well as any trial remedies/medications pursuant to it are affecting you, without any question of being in/out of condition confusing the issue.

Of course, nothing is perfect! One consequence of my ablation is, it seems, that I am likely to be committed to taking Xeralto/Equilis daily for the
rest of my life. But then, no more Metoprolol!

I lived with recurring afib episodes for 10 years before it became persistent in 2009. Following my ablation the same year I returned to spinning class 4 months later and full on cycling shortly after that. My first ride was a century ride with some friends. It took about half the summer to get back to where I felt really good on the bike and was back to my prior fitness by the end of summer. On difference was the reactivity of my heart as it took longer to get my rate up.

About 5 years in I started having occasional runs of afib that would convert on their own for the most part or with a PIP. the next five years the afib became more frequent at times. It was always worse in the winter time when I was less active. In January of 2018 my afib became persistent again and I had my second ablation and was back on the indoor trainer about a month later. At 3 months post ablation I was out of rhythm more than I was in.

Had 3rd ablation in July 2018 and laid low due to severe back issues. But was back on the trainer in December and back on the bike in early spring of this year. At this point I decided to take it a bit easier and keep my heart rate in check. For me that meant nose breathing and riding alone. I was happy to be riding again, and though I had had a couple afib breakthroughs I never had issues while cycling. Had 4th ablation this past July and haven't done too much cycling since. I have done a few 40 milers but that is it. I was really having a hard time finding my ambition to exercise. I've since gotten that all sorted but now winter is here so I'll start getting back on the trainer here shortly.

I have personally made a decision that I wont be out hammering the miles like I used to. At least not with the intensity that I did before.