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!
My atrial fib started in 1998 and has been a real problem with training and racing. When it was under control, I could swim as usual, but if it "popped out" of rhythm, I couldn't train or race. I went through numerous medications and finally had an ablation (catherization where they identify the spot or spots causing the problem and cauterized them). I was off all medicaiton for awhile but have since gone back on one medication. I am finally back at the level that I was swimming prior to all of this. The biggest problem was when I went off all medication, I had to retrain my heart to tolerate the intensity of training/racing. The medicaiton had supressed the heartbeat for so long, it was a real surprise when my heartrate could rise, but didn't fall quickly. One of the most important things is to convince your cardiologist that you train seriously and do not want to change your physical activities. As a 56 year old women when it started, it was real education process to make my doctor understand what was important to me. He is now very supportive. One of my teammates just had an ablation in February and has had no further incidences of atrial fib.
Betsy Durrant
My atrial fib started in 1998 and has been a real problem with training and racing. When it was under control, I could swim as usual, but if it "popped out" of rhythm, I couldn't train or race. I went through numerous medications and finally had an ablation (catherization where they identify the spot or spots causing the problem and cauterized them). I was off all medicaiton for awhile but have since gone back on one medication. I am finally back at the level that I was swimming prior to all of this. The biggest problem was when I went off all medication, I had to retrain my heart to tolerate the intensity of training/racing. The medicaiton had supressed the heartbeat for so long, it was a real surprise when my heartrate could rise, but didn't fall quickly. One of the most important things is to convince your cardiologist that you train seriously and do not want to change your physical activities. As a 56 year old women when it started, it was real education process to make my doctor understand what was important to me. He is now very supportive. One of my teammates just had an ablation in February and has had no further incidences of atrial fib.
Betsy Durrant
