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
Originally posted by geochuck
I had a stress test arranged by my doctor but the guy before me passed on during the test and I decided I was not going to take any chances.
If he died during the stress test, then apparently he had significant heart disease. Statistically the risk of death with stress testing is 1 in 10,000. By comparison, the risk of death if you suffer a heart attack is roughly 10%. The key to survival is early detection of coronary artery disease and aggressive risk factor modification (lowering cholesterol, not smoking, control of hypertension and diabetes, diet, exercise, weight loss).
Originally posted by geochuck
I had a stress test arranged by my doctor but the guy before me passed on during the test and I decided I was not going to take any chances.
If he died during the stress test, then apparently he had significant heart disease. Statistically the risk of death with stress testing is 1 in 10,000. By comparison, the risk of death if you suffer a heart attack is roughly 10%. The key to survival is early detection of coronary artery disease and aggressive risk factor modification (lowering cholesterol, not smoking, control of hypertension and diabetes, diet, exercise, weight loss).
