Atrial Fibrulation after spike in intense exercise

[Bikenski]

I have experienced AF twice this year during intense exercise.  It generally happens when I am riding my bike at a pretty hard pace and then surge to go up a hill and then slow down at the top.  In both cases it was to wait for slower riders.  The obvious answer to my question will be to not do that- don't hammer and then just stop- and I have been avoiding doing that.  I am a competitive cyclist and I do some team 24 hr mtn bike racing  and ride hard with my buddies.  I want to be able to remain competitive and hammer- I'm fit enough- but I don't want to jeopardize my heart health in the process.  BTW, I called my doctor and he said that I have no indications for heart disease and that it is so infrequent that I shouldn't be too worried.  I wouldn't be, but it has happened twice this year and once last.Does anyone have an answer for this condition?  Is it dangerous to my heart?  If I continue to ride and try to avoid the conditions that seem to cause it, am I doing enough to stay healthy?  Or is this something more serious that needs medical attention.  

[stayer]

Hi,
I've justposted a question very similar to yours.(asymptomatic arrythmia) I'm not a competitive cyclist but try ro ride quite hard. I get almost the same symptoms but much more frequently. Sometimes my HR monitor records >200 sitting in a chair at home, but it will drop to ~80 as soon as i start to ride. I can almost predict when high readings will arise e.g a long time at speed on the flat or virtually immediately up a steep hill. I've concluded that HR monitors are of little use in helping determine how hard one should work, or for how long. My reaction is the same as yours-try to avoid the situations which create the problem, but when it does arise my reaction is to ease off until my HRM shows a sensible reading. I hope that via this forum we may get some idea of what we can or can't do

[lucyluu]

I agree, I would get an event monitor put on for a few days so that you can monitor your rides.  I found out I have PVC's because of some episodes during intense exercise.  I know you dont have these but at this point I have to be very careful when I workout or just go up the stairs because it can cause a string of them and it drops me until my heart goes back to normal.  The even monitor will definately tell if there is an issue or not during these changes in pace during your ride.  My husband used to do the 24 hour rides and loves to bike so I know your passion.  I would get the monitor for peace of mind.  You may have to really push for it though or switch and find a Cardiologist or Internal medicine doc that will let you do it.

[rr2465]

Hi.  I would recommend that you go to a cardiologist and have them check it out - it really depends on what you have and how bad it is.  I would say that I had symptoms like yours about 6 years ago - I would be playing basketball or volleyball or biking and then - wham! - I would get an elevated heart rate.  In some cases it lasted 5 minutes and sometimes 45 minutes.  I would only happen a couple of times a year so it was tough to pinpoint what was going on.  As I've gotten older, they were occurring more frequently to the point that it really was troubling me and I didn't feel like I could "bring the hammer down".  Subconsciously I was afraid to push it because I didn't know what was going on.  If I were you I would monitor your heartrate and try to get an idea of how high it goes when you have AF.  Mine went as high as 250 and it got the doctors pretty worked up.  The more data you can collect the better picture you can give your cardiologist.  I hope you can figure it out.

Good luck.