I know it’s been a while, but if you don’t mind my asking, what kind of medication are you on and how has it been a drawback?
The drug limits my max heart rate - get it high and bang it cuts in . I’ve slowly managed to get my hr up to 155 with a max of 162.
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I’m not on meds having had an ablation. I’ve had 2 episodes of A fib during warmups (usually before a virtual race), so I’ve just got off and not raced, taken one tablet (Flecainide) and rested. It usually goes back to normal within 10-20 mins.
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I’m on no medication. I’ve lowered my risk factors by cutting out as much caffeine as possible and making sure I’m always hydrated. At first I managed my heart rate to make sure it didn’t get too high but these days I just ride.
I don’t know if it makes a difference or not but I’m also a vegan. (Just thought you needed to know. 
)
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Excited to find this thread!
I’ve been dealing with something undiagnosed for about 2 years now, and although it’s been worrying, it’s never something that has stuck around, or hindered my day to day life, I’ll post some screenshots though.
It looks pretty similar to the last thing that @Captain_Doughnutman posted. I’ve noticed that these spikes are more likely to happen when I have poor sleep, or after doing a relatively consistent sustained effort. I can almost feel a weird heartbeat right before I see the HR number climb, and then it usually stays there unless I dial back the effort to stopped or just lightly pedaling. There’s never any discomfort or pain, just the sky high bpm.
This one is more recent, and during workouts I’ve learned to just pause for a moment and it comes back down quickly:
Similar to the one above, I felt it start, and then dialed the power back:
Next one is probably one of the longest I’ve had, before I made the decision to cut the intervals short:
And lastly, in a race where it happened twice, but I was able to just keep continue on:
When I first started seeing it happening, I assumed it was a bad HR strap, but this has happened across multiple different straps and sensors, so I know it’s not an equipment issue.
Is that post-ablation?
Is that a side-effect or is it specifically to keep your HR from going above a certain point? I’m on verapamil and from what little I’ve read, while it limits max HR, it doesn’t have a detrimental effect on performance.
yes unfortunately!! Went back to see consultant and he said occasional episodes are to be expected/not unheard of.
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I’ve had one ablation procedure done, but am back on meds. Post ablation I experienced more instances of afib than I ever did before. The only bright spot is that before the ablation I could not successfully be put into sinus rhythm without a cardioversion. Since the ablation anytime I’ve been in afib I’ve been able to take a pill and be back in sinus w/i a couple of hours. After multiple instances of afib my doctor and I decided to try going back on the meds full time and I’ve not had an issue since. (knock on wood)
He prescribed Flecainide for me. I’ve been on several others over the years. Most of them kept my heart rate very low. Since being prescribed flecainide my heart rate is higher, and I am racing and training at a higher power output too.
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Illuminating thread, thanks for all the contributors. I’m going to do a routine checkup on Monday. Just to make sure everything is ok before I introduce intensity. The only “anomaly” I ever felt happened twice, coincidentally is the same climb. So, a 25-30min max effort with HR about 95% of max for the whole time, leaves me for 2-3 days with a sensation of very very very mild soreness in the left side of the chest, I imagine is the heart. It could also be described as a vibration. There are no anomalies in the HR data.
I’ve had several bouts of heart flutters/racing heart while on the bike over the years (I’m 47 by the way). Never been able to get an official diagnosis but all signs point to SVT (including and EKG where the machine said I had SVT but the doctor didn’t see it on the graph so they would give an official diagnosis). Over many years and much experimentation, here are some things I’ve discovered and what has/hasn’t worked for me (hope this is helpful):
- Fasted rides - I just can’t do anything above 70-75% for long periods if I’m fasted. Below sweet spot, I’m ok. At sweet spot, I might get through the workout without an episode, I might not. Above sweet spot, yeah, I’ll be cutting that ride short when my heart rate spikes 15 minutes into the workout. So anything above recovery and I always make sure I have something in my stomach, even if it’s small.
- Caffeine - I’ve been a caffeine addict for as long as I can remember and have been trying to cut back but haven’t give it up all together. For me, what I’ve found is with one cup of coffee, I’ll probably be ok. Two cups of coffee, I’m playing with fire a bit. Three cups of coffee, it’s not a matter of if I’ll have an episode, but how soon into the workout. So I try to limit myself to one cup pre-workout.
- Alcohol - Drinking the night before a morning workout is almost always going to trigger the SVT. And drinking in the evening after coffee in the morning (pretty much my first 6 months of the pandemic), I was having 3-4 episodes per week.
- Some other things I’ve found that help…adding an electrolyte tab to my water seems to do better for me than just plain water. For some reason, going out with just water has resulted in more heart episodes than when I add an electrolyte. Rest…I have kids that until recently, never slept through the night. So I’m was going on 7 years of horrible sleep. Now that they’re sleeping, and I’m sleeping, I seem to have fewer bouts of the SVT.
Sorry for this being so wordy but these are all things I’ve noticed over the year and what I’ve done to keep my SVT in check and keep myself riding. I’ve made peace with the fact that it’s going to happen sometimes and when it does, I try not to get too upset about it and remind myself that it’s better to cut my ride short today and try again tomorrow.
Hope some of this is helpful. Happy riding!!
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Hey, this is great. Still digesting it, but I really appreciate the deep dive. I pretty much gave up alcohol–maybe 1 or 1.5 beers a couple of times a month. On the other hand, I drink black coffee like water at work. I’ve cut back a bit, but I’ve cut out caffeine altogether in the past–for six months or so–and it never seemed to help curtail afib episodes.
I’m really am hoping the verapamil maintains its effectiveness over time because it’s kind of been a bit of a miracle drug for me: my blood pressure has been marginally high for a while, so it’s killed two birds with one stone.
Since you have the data, might be worth talking to a PCP or get a cardiology consult if you are under a PPO? The HR tracing might be enough to warrant setting you up with a zio patch (ambulatory ekg).
I haven’t read through many of the posts here but it’s probably a good thing if you find out what is happening here.
Afib is fairly common in older adults. Some people stay in it, others have intermittent/paroxysmal disease. The heart rate is simply irregularly irregular. Try to feel your radial or carotid pulse if you know when it is happening. If diagnosed, there’s a conversation about starting an anticoagulant as there is increased risk of stroke. Oral meds are usually aimed at rate or rhythm control, either just slow the heart or encourage normal sinus rhythm or both.
The problem is when you go into afib with rapid ventricular response. The heart rate is not only high but the heart is not relaxing/contracting in the appropriate coordinated fashion, resulting in poor forward flow. You could pass out. On a bike, that’s not great? In more fragile individuals, even worse.
There is a list of tachyarrhythmias, afib is just one. If it’s not a faulty HRM, I’d want to know why my heart was suddenly spiking to 200bpm for periods of time.
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Hi all, some really interesting posts, thanks all for sharing.
I’ve had palpitations on and off and I created a thread on it on here. I suspect I have some form of VT or AT but I’m waiting for the results from tests which I hope to have in the next few weeks. My Garmin 945 doesn’t pick up the palpitations but they are visible when I use EliteHRV in the mornings.
I have to also recommend a fantastic book called The Haywire Heart by Lennard Zinn and others. It’s sciency but not overly so and I found it very easy to read. In fact I read books slowly usually and I finished THH in 2 days.
It should be on everyone’s bookshelf if you have AFib.
Good luck all.
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This entire thread is ridiculous and really should be taken down. People with no medical training who do not know the specifics of this individuals condition are giving anecdotal data points and some are even giving advice…yikes. There is only ONE answer to this OP question. “ASK YOUR CARDIOLOGIST”.
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I disagree. Should people “talk to their doctor”? Obviously. Is it appropriate to share and compare experiences to know what others have and are experiencing? I’d say also obviously yes.
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The longer I read this thread the luckier I feel.
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I just wanted to respond to this a bit further. I’ve spent the last ten years or so with a diagnosis of “benign palpitations.” I’ve been to several cardiologists and no one raised the possibility of an alternative diagnosis. Even though I was getting an increasing number and duration of “afib-like” episodes, the timing was never right to capture one on an ekg or Holter monitor.
It’s only because of hearing other folks’ stories in forums like this that I came to realize that that was probably incorrect. And that the standing diagnosis was likely “masking” something worse.
One thing I’ve learned throughout this process is that it’s not enough to “see your cardiologist.” You have to be your own advocate—possibly for a long, sustained time, and with a lot of information in hand. Modern medicine is amazing but sometimes it requires an informed patient.
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This is one of the challenges of aFib…unless you are experiencing an episode, it can be very difficult to diagnose. I’ve had these discussions internally within our own company when discussing the benefits of our aFib detection technology for our BP monitors.
While it can be a great advantage in helping detect aFib in those who have not been diagnosed, unless you are in aFib at the moment you decide to take your BP, it won’t indicate that you have it. I am continually pushing for us to use the technology in different devices that could be worn for longer periods of time to help capture those periods when an individual is in aFib.
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Yeah, I bought one of those little Kardia devices about a year and a half ago, and was able to capture some pretty egregious episodes. But even that wasn’t sufficient to get a diagnosis. The Kardia app has an option to send the reading to a clinician for analysis, but it was always returned as inconclusive with too much “noise.” (And as a layman, I’m looking at the readout thinking, “That’s not ‘noise’; my heart’s just flopping around like a fish!”)
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