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 gull80
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).
When the ambulance took him out I left quicklyI know the odds of it happening are great, The odds did not effect the way I felt.
My Brother was in London during the blitz. He was on leave and was walking down the street and saw a bomb drop into an anti aircraft gun implacement. He ran over over to see if he could assist. When he was there another bomb dropped into the same spot (I believe the odds to be over 1,000,000 to 1) But he was luckier than the others he survived. Me the coward that I am would have probably gone the other way.
George
Originally posted by gull80
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).
When the ambulance took him out I left quicklyI know the odds of it happening are great, The odds did not effect the way I felt.
My Brother was in London during the blitz. He was on leave and was walking down the street and saw a bomb drop into an anti aircraft gun implacement. He ran over over to see if he could assist. When he was there another bomb dropped into the same spot (I believe the odds to be over 1,000,000 to 1) But he was luckier than the others he survived. Me the coward that I am would have probably gone the other way.
George
