Exercising - Heart Flutter - Atrial Fibrulation

Hi There,

So glad to find this website. Feels like a weight off my shoulders reading everyone's stories.

I have had my pacemaker since march 2010 and have had issues exercising ever since. My heart seems to flutter and become irregular when pushing hard on a run or cycle (mostly up hills). This leads to slight dizziness and a tight chest/lack of breath and a clear feeling of a flutter in my heart.

I've kept a diary for the last 6 months noting when it happens. The Cardiologist has put me on a low dose of beta blocker to see how i cope but have just experienced the same problem on this mornings run.

Ive seeked medical help but its taking a while to get 100% evidence to back up a minor operation or to carry on with beta blockers.

Has anyone else experienced the same problem? Would be great to hear from people in a similar boat. Do other people experience dizziness when walking up stairs or running/cycling up a gradient?

Many thanks

Olly

4 Comments

Atriel fib

by ILoominatedEKG - 2012-09-22 01:09:12

Sometimes atrial fib is hard to get rid of. It depends on YOUR heart. No two cases are exactly alike. Tracey's advice is based on experience and is really solid. Just be prepared mentally if they can't get rid of the afib entirely. Every drug they administer and procedure they do will have consequences too.

I still have some afib just out of the blue. It makes me feel kinda crappy for a few minutes and goes away. Personally, I would rather tolerate that then have a doctor start burning out part of my heart's nerves (ablation). But I'm old (LOL).

Best of luck. Update us as you go.

Dave

exercise

by Tracey_E - 2012-09-22 10:09:27

Yes, been there, done that. Between beta blockers and setting changes I can do just about anything I want now.

Have they tweaked your settings? Often the settings they start with aren't enough to support exercise. A beta blocker will keep your rate from getting too high. If it's not too high but just irregular, it seems to me they should be able to fix that with your settings.

It takes 4-6 weeks to get the full effect of the beta blockers. Your body needs time to get used to them.

A great tool to see what's going on when you exercise is get on the treadmill while hooked up to the pm computer. That has helped them fine tune my settings several times over the years.

Treadmill

by oliverpiepereit - 2012-09-23 05:09:29

Hi Guys

Thanks for the response.

Tracey -

I have been wired up to a treadmill and they didn't find anything out of the ordinary within a 25 minute run. (typical).

I will ask the technician again about my settings but they feel they should be sufficient enough for me to do high performance exercise. Did you test different settings?

I will give the beta blockers time to kick in and see whether i have any luck though the thought of taking them for a prolonged period doesnt sound great.

Dave -

My cardiologist talked about the possibility of ablation which i may be in favour of, but i want full clarification that i have atrial afib and im sure they will need too.

Speak soon and thanks again.

Olly

treadmill

by Tracey_E - 2012-09-23 09:09:29

Yes, we tried different settings but mostly they watched to see what happened when I exerted, if I was hitting the upper limit,etc. Sometimes my atria gets faster than the ventricles can pace, sometimes my atria takes a nosedive. The first was fixed with the beta blockers, the second with rate drop response.

I also hate being on drugs indefinitely, but they really do help. It's the difference between working out for an hour, or hitting a wall ten minutes in. The side effects got better after the first few months.

You know you're wired when...

You participate in the Pacer Olympics.

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I'm 44, active and have had my device for two years. I love it as I can run again and enjoy working out without feeling like I'm an old man.