Hi, I'm a 57 year old male swimmer with atrial fibrillation taking rhythmol twice a day. (I'm in sinus rhythm most of the time.) I also do a 2,800 yard workout four times a week and aspire to NQT for the 50 and 100 freestyle.
I can't seem to get straight answers from my cardiologist. He says that it is fine to swim, but deeper questions are beyond him.
For example...
Is it OK to really press myself in my workouts?
(I'm out of breath at the end of some of my sets, but who isn't?)
Should I be thinking of long even swims rather than sprint swims?
(I do mile and two mile open water swims, but they're not very exciting for me.)
I'm fighting for breath sometimes during my sets. Is this just a matter of conditioning, or is there a direct link to the a fib?
I have the low side of normal blood pressure. Is there any relationship between blood pressure and whether people are better constituted to be sprinters vs. distance swimmers?
Any information from M.D.s and/or others who have heart conditions would be appreciated.
See you at nationals!
Parents
Former Member
If you haven't had a stress test, you probably should--to rule out coronary artery disease. Alternatively, you could consider a multislice CT scan. You're in the age group where CAD becomes a concern.
Are you in a. fib when you're feeling short of breath? If not, it might just be the intensity of the set or your level of conditioning.
I don't think anyone can say how hard you should push it. On the one hand, there is no evidence that you're more likely to suffer a heart attack during exercise than at other times. On the other hand, as a Houston trauma surgeon once told me, "Life's a crapshoot."
I do not believe there is any relationship between blood pressure and sprinting ability. It depends on genetic makeup, and the relative proportion of fast twitch and slow twitch fibers.
If you haven't had a stress test, you probably should--to rule out coronary artery disease. Alternatively, you could consider a multislice CT scan. You're in the age group where CAD becomes a concern.
Are you in a. fib when you're feeling short of breath? If not, it might just be the intensity of the set or your level of conditioning.
I don't think anyone can say how hard you should push it. On the one hand, there is no evidence that you're more likely to suffer a heart attack during exercise than at other times. On the other hand, as a Houston trauma surgeon once told me, "Life's a crapshoot."
I do not believe there is any relationship between blood pressure and sprinting ability. It depends on genetic makeup, and the relative proportion of fast twitch and slow twitch fibers.
