Some of the people who comment on this blog seem astounded that I can still run and bike while in atrial fibrillation. This surprises me because, at this point, I feel fine. Frankly just being on a relatively high dosage of a beta blocker (Carvedilol) is much more of a hindrance to my running than being in atrial fibrillation is.
But the big difference is that I am in permanent (constant) a fib. I’m used to it. And since I started taking the beta blocker I barely even notice the irregular beat. I’m slow now, and I get light-headed when I get up, but that’s it.
But recently I read a thread on a Facebook group, Atrial Fibrillation Information Exchange, and it was a real eye opener. I have forgotten how much other people suffer with atrial fibrillation. Here is a sample of comments (with spelling corrections) left in response to thread that asked:
Wondering what symptoms you get when in afib? What others feel and deal with?
-Rapid heart rate (220+), chest pressure/pain, dizzy, irregular heart beat, feel like I am going to lose consciousness.
-First my face feels warm,then the heart starts jumping erratically, can’t take an accurate pulse-then I know!
-I get a breathlessness, my rate stays low though but the overall feeling is like anxiety or the way one would feel before giving a speech or before competing in an athletic event etc.
-Mine is rapid heart rate,palpitations and anxiety
-All of the above plus hot and cold and violent vomiting. Also, if I’m sick, vomiting can bring it on
-Feels like there is a fish swimming in my chest, also weak and dizzy.
-Sweated and like your going to pass out , irregular and rapid heart beat , drinking cold water will help me convert, after I’m exhausted even will fall asleep haven’t had one in a few years now
-Like a squirrel doing back flips in my chest
-Felt like an anxiety attack plus tight feeling in throat( like it was dry and closing up) made me cough. Light headed/ dizzy, tired.
-I’ve had 8 AFib episodes since June of 2011. It always happens when I come out of a state of rest and stand up and start to walk. Except last month all I did was hiccup and cough at the same time and it triggered my AFib. Went to the ER and had cardioversion. I’ve never felt sick, dizzy, sweaty, breathless, nothing. Just racing heartbeat with strong palpitations.
-Mine was accidentally diagnosed initially on a routine office EKG.
-I get a “sinking” feeling in my chest.
-Flopping in my chest, weak, nausea, panic, sweaty, very very uncomfortable.
-I never come out of AFib. I had a stroke 5 years ago that affected my left side. I developed central pain syndrome in my left arm. So my heart sort of hurts and I have pain in my left arm.
-Weak breathless chest tight
-I had no symptoms other than lack of sleep and then the symptoms that go along with that. And symptoms from the meds. Oh, and the stroke.
-Sometimes it’s real quick flutters, or a skipped beat, I feel weak, sluggish, my chest hurts a little, and sometimes I get flushed and feel real anxious and nervous for awhile.
-Anxious & funny feeling in chest
-It’s almost like it’s gonna be an anxiety attack, but never goes to one thank goodness
-I have had episodes so bad I thought I would die. Then while in a fib, having to urinate every five minutes. It was like my body was in total rebellion. Sudden movements can trigger. Stress is a biggee.
I need to consider myself fortunate that I am so stable and feel so normal in permanent atrial fibrillation. I can recall what it was like when I was in sinus rhythm and would go into atrial fibrillation, usually during a long run, or even during a marathon – this is how I felt: I felt like crap – weak, mild malaise, light-headed, with vague chest and shoulder pain with exertion. Not pleasant by any means.
I’m curious – how do other fib runners feel while in atrial fibrillation? Please feel free to comment below.
A Fib Runner - Distance Running and Mountain Biking With Atrial Fibrillation 
Mine has been diagnosed as SVTs (via an EP study), not AFib, so it doesn’t directly answer your question. BUT: Since I wear an HR Monitor I always know my HR. When it goes up it does so precipitously (like from 160-225 almost instantaneously). Sometimes it doesn’t feel like anything except very fast heartbeat. Other times my hands tingle and I feel light headed. I have been taking a beta blocker before running (the only time mine shows up) for almost a month now and (knocking on wood) I have not have any incidents while doing 4-mile runs and pushing myself hard. Thank you for your blog; I find it really helpful.
I used to have episodes of SVT long before the a fib started. I could end them by putting ice cubes (or snow!) on my face. I thought it was an odd recommendation but it really worked.
Hmmm…..that’s interesting. And it could be that is the direction mine would eventually go. I am glad I did the EP study even though they didn’t do the ablation. It gave them a good baseline of my heart electrical activity and I would have ALWAYS wondered what was going on (and probably erroneously called it AFib when it wasn’t) had I not done the EP study.
I suffered from AF. I had done a lot of endurance training and had still trained during AF episodes . I never knew what would trigger it . Tried giving up all sorts of stimulants – coffee/ alcohol/stress . But it would still continue. My few overnight stays in hospital hooked up to a moniter would give heart rates from 22 bpm to 180 bpm. Eventually the pauses between beats got to 5 sec and the cardiologist decided it was time for action . Until then I had been on blood thinners only.
I had a procedure called ablation . It’s where they go up inside your femural artery and in to the pulmonary ventricle and perform a type of burning of the tissue. Somehow this seems to allow the electrical impulses that regulate your heart rate to go back to normal . In its simplest description it’s like the doctor puts the spark plug leads back on and in the right order. It’s been 12 months now and no episodes . Touch wood . It’s not always successful and can be done again in the hope that it works. If not next level is a pacemaker . Which wouldn’t botherme anyway . Least I know it’s going to beat in a regular manner and would allow me to sleep . And I hear you can modify the beat to allow for training .!! Just imagine running or swimming at a cool 100 bpm for an hour.
To all sufferers out there stay positive and keep the beat.
That is AWESOME that an ablation worked for you! I had an EP study but they decided not to ablate. Probably too long to go into here but I explain in my blog if you’re interested. 🙂 http://biggreenpen.com/2015/04/12/ep-studies/
Cool blog – highly recommended.
I am a proximal afib victim. Most times I don’t know if I’m in afib. If I go into afib while running I notice a drop in performance. My pace slows and if I try to pick it up I am out of breath. My Warfarin is supposed prevent clots from forming.
I was recently diagnosed with atrial flutter. I do not feel it when running, but have recently just not had the endurance I used to have. I feel it most often at night, after dinner. I am caffeine sensitive and have had to cut back on coffee and chocolate, two foods I love. I use a Garmin watch but have not used the heart monitoring capabilities. I think I’ll buy a strap and start watching my rate to see if I can find any correlation to how weak I feel at times. Thankfully, I guess, I’m not in full fibrillation. When the flutter happens I feel it in my chest as an irregular movement that comes and goes for a few seconds at a time. This may go on for 30-45 minutes. My resting heart rate is about 50 so occasionally I am dizzy upon standing, particularly at night.
I had an ablation for A-flutter in 2008 and a second for A-fib in 2009. I was trying to run a Boston Qualifier in October 2008 when A-fib kicked back in. I would start to get light headed then my legs would turn to lead weights. It was like no fresh blood was getting to my legs. I could jog but not run. I always wondered if my heart would heal 100% and I could try to qualify for Boston Marathon again. I don’t know if it’s because I’m just older, or because my heart never got back to 100% of what it was, but I’m pretty sure I couldn’t get a BQ time even under the old standards. Boston was just a bucket list item. I’m just happy I can get out and run without A-fib.
Thanks for your kind comment. I’m happy to hear you are still running, even if not at Boston level. I always knew I’d never qualify for Boston, even before a fib. Really slow! I would’ve had to take a full hour off my best time.
I am currently experiencing a breathless attack while running which occurs sometime between 5 minutes into a run and most frequently 13-15 minutes into a run. I have been diagnosed as having asthma/COPD (June 2016) and am taking 2 strong meds to keep my breathing open. This seemed to help a lot for 2 months this summer but then I relapsed to where I was prior to treatment. The pulmonary dr says that his job is done as spiro. tests indicate I am fine…. During an attack I get a tightness pressure in my chest and afterwards during the day I feel my heart fluttering often and feel tired. When I have an attack during a run I walk and within a couple minutes feel recovered but when I try to regain my running pace I have another attack of breathlessness and symptoms as described with the first episode. I am not on a beta blocker but feel like my pace has fallen at least a minute per mile slower but feel like I am working hard. All my medical tests are great and I just had a heart cath. which was great. I have seen a cardio dr. but no mention was made of a possible afib. I feel like I need to pursue the afib path with my PC and I wonder if any of my symptoms sound familiar to your experience
I can’t give you medical advice but I can say I’d be suspicious of a fib. My experience – several years ago I would have intermittent episodes of low blood pressure, fatigue, lightheaded-ness , etc and was worked up rather extensively by my cardiologist including nuclear med scans and stress test. It never would have the arrhythmia while they were watching. In retrospect I was clearly having episodes of a fib. You might ask to have a Holter monitor and go out and see if you can make it happen. Good luck!
Hello,
I am having the same issues. My asthma meds aren’t working and my pace has slowed drastically. I feel like I have no energy! What came of your results? I have an appt with a cardiologist next month. Thanks!
Hope to hear from you
When that happened a few years ago they found nothing. The then intermittent a fib refused to show up while anybody was watching. Now, of course, I’m in a fib all the time so the cat is out of the bag!
Initially my only symptom was that I found it difficulty to cycle up steep hills; my HR would soar, and I would slow almost to a stop. I think the reason why my symptoms were not so worrying is that I was used to a HR of 180, whereas non-athletes would certainly notice it as unusual and perhaps frightening.
After a while I started to feel generally short of energy, I had no idea what the problem was and people would tell me that I was getting old; after I still appeared to be very fit.
Eventually my AF bouts started to last more than a few seconds, but my diagnosis wasn’t completed until I went into permanent AF.
Two years and a hybrid ablation later, I am just starting to return to normal. My history can be seen on https://afibandcycling.wordpress.com/
Thanks for your kind words and for your comment. Your story sounds familiar to me! Oh, and thanks for the link. I will certainly reciprocate.
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