Are you on any prescription rate control drugs to lower your heart rate ??

Does walking trigger your afib, and/or raise your heart rate abnormally ? Do meds bring it back down ?

I suspect this is among THE most difficult questions to conclusively answer.

That said .....

I'll STILL walk the dog, even when I'm in afib and/or tachycardic. I'll go for 'moderate' hikes, too, even though I'll get way out of rhythm doing that.

Yesterday, a 2nd opinion cardiologist said it might be better, overall, NOT to walk (even if I'm in normal sinus rhythm), but ... since he knows it's an important part of my life ... suggests I slow down, walk for 15min, and then rest for 5min.

I tried it yesterday, but in 10min, was already in afib.

Giving up _everything_ is brutal on the psyche, so I'm not willing to abandon my walks.

The cardiologist said ... even if it takes 3yrs off my life ... you have to HAVE a life, too.

Meaning: I'm challenged with the same thing. I suspect others are, too.

But you can't do _nothing_. The stress of that .... can be much worse for overall wellness than going for walks.

When I get home, I take my beta blocker. I can't take it before my walks because of severe eye issues ... that the beta blocker makes intolerably worse.

I wish you luck with this. I truly understand the quandary.

If I was having a particularly bad episode, I found that sometimes laying down made it even worse. So those times I would just sit in a recliner and try to concentrate on something other than my heart flopping around in my chest like a phone book in a clothes dryer.

Basically what all of my docs have told me is that I can, and should, do whatever I feel comfortable doing. As long as you're mitigating the biggest risk of afib (stroke) with an anticoagulant, the rest is just how well you're able to handle your symptoms.

Dealing with afib is like dealing with any other kind of crisis. You go through stages - shock, fear, and eventually, acceptance.

Thanks, David and duder.

To be honest, I haven't gotten a handle on how serious this is. I'm probably in denial. But I'm also barely

Afib, in and of itself, is not life threatening. It is annoying, anxiety-creating, depressing at times, but not life-threatening. Once that sinks in, and you do some reading (a whole lot of reading) about afib, that anxiety you have will lessen somewhat. Knowledge is power.

DavidNRoc - I don't mean to go off topic, but what does the beta blocker do to your eye condition? I ask this because my mother is on a beta blocker (Metoprolol) and she has macular degeneration. I never associated her eye condition with her beta blocker causing her more eye problems. I know you don't have AMD, but I'm just curious as to why your eyes are affected.

I don't know what happened to the rest of my post up there.

I, too, am interested to know about the effect beta blockers have on one's eyes.

Regarding the Afib and getting on with life, I haven't started the dilitiazem partly because I'm hoping I can manage this without meds. That is probably naive, but I also am at a low risk for stroke. (Is 1% really low when we're talking about stroke?!) So I'm not on anything but aspirin yet, and that is probably useless. I sometimes don't do well on meds.

So, until I get the alternative plan outlined by the naturopath (MAP protocol) in 10 days, and see if I want to go that route, I'm just trying to learn to manage this condition.

Walking doesn't seem to trigger it or help it, not does it raise my HR abnormally any more than sitting on the couch does. Mysterious.

Beta blockers (and ... I understand ... calcium channel blockers) can easily cause dry eyes, blurred vision, and photophobia (light sensitivity).

My eyes were chemically burned. They are already severely dry, really painful, and hugely light sensitive.

So ... if I take my Metoprolol ... I can't go out of the house.

While these ARE known side effects of these meds -- obviously:

1) I'm an extreme case, and

2) Not everybody will experience these side effects.

Unfortunately, I know nothing about the beta blockers used in a patient with AMD

If walking doesn't seem to trigger your afib, then ... I think the conventional wisdom is (still) that moderate exercise is good for you, overall.

I have Paroxysmal Afib. I ride a bike and swim. I also take Tikosyn (antiarrhythmic drug).I am also on an anticoagulant. HR of 120!!!! I wouldn't get out of bed. :-))). I set a limit of a max heart rate when I exercise. I wear a heart monitor. I keep track of my hr on my exertions. I've been fortunate the few time I have gone into afib while exercising it has gone back into rhythm relatively quickly. The one time in didn't it went back in about an hour and a half. I didn't stop living because of this I just adapted and changed.

I have had a-fib episodes on and off for 5 years now. I had a crisis in the beginning of the year when Sotalol stopped working and I was prescribed Ticosyn. I did not really help but my doctor gave me an option to try to live with occasional episodes or go for a AV node ablation. I chose to wait and see how I will can handle it all. I was symptom free for 8 weeks when I was moving to another state. After that it varied from 4 weeks to 10 days and I developed extra heartbeats specially when at rest. Until now, when I have been in a fib 3 times within 6 days, each event lasting 12 hrs, always during the night. Heart rate is around 120 - 130. I feel tired the day after but then I am back to normal like nothing happened. I walk almost daily and do yoga exercises, and my heart rate is normal during and after exercise. Laying down is difficult as I feel and hear my heart thumping. Before I go into a-fib my heart rate may go down to 40's and is heavy, I wonder if there is anything one can do to prevent it.
I cannot help but feel anxiety as this may be another crisis. I appreciate this discussion group and sharing. Marya

Marya, Anxiety has changed the way my episodes go. Hard not to be anxious when afib is out of control, but, I have proved to myself that the more anxious I am, the worse it is.
Also, 2x afib has been worse because of unrelated drugs. Have you taken anything different lately?

Twodrifters, Yes, we all differ in our afib. We share to understand. What helps another might relate to us or give us a new awareness We each have to learn for ourselves what works. It was so stressful in the beginning for me experience afib.

For me, until I take a Metoprolol, my heart is beating to much for me to lay down. Once it kicks in, I vary what I do as to how I feel.

I convert within 3 hrs to 3 days. Sometimes I take a Rhythmol and convert 3 hrs. sometimes I work up a mini sweat and convert, sometimes just time does it. I have gone as soon as every other day and as long as a few days shy of 4 mos. between episodes.

Hoping we All have a Good Day!!!!!!

Digitalis,

Are you serious? after a few episodes of afib in the course of 5 years and paroxysmal on top of it; your doctor said "try to live with occasional episodes or go for a AV node ablation"?

WOW!!! here is my advice to you. Go seek an second opinion.

Scooby