Atrial Fibrillation surprise

Concur.
I'm glad you're on the mend Bob.

 

Bob,

I second that you are getting better.

Exercise can make a big difference, but I don't recommend going as far as this lady > Joy Johnson, oldest woman to run New York City Marathon, dies at 86 - NY Daily News

 

Glad it seems to be working out, Bob.

 

I would. Her quality of life was probably great...and it was great till her very last day.

 

^ I've run 9 marathons - two up Pikes Peak, plus one 50km ultramarathon. So I support doing long-distance running. Cooper's Aerobic Center in Dallas estimates running on a regular basis may add 7-10 years to life expectancy.

Athletes don't want to quit - RGIII got re-injured last year with career implications. I'm just wishing Joy Johnson went to the hospital right after she fell at Mile 20 - ironically that is the point commonly known as "hitting the wall."

 

Bob,

15-18 miles was a good run without building up to it - I could not do that again unless I started to run again for about six months. Like weight training, it's necessary to make short runs almost daily, with 1-2 long runs during the week to go farther.

 

While it does seem a shame that her demise was 'unnecessarily early' from an untreated injury, the fact remains that the current state of medical technology still requires all of us to go.

She squeezed out a significantly more years than average, was very functional and had a fully active day doing what she wanted the day before she died, and went quietly and peacefully in her sleep. That is much better exit than most of us will get.

 

The running technique of doing the first half slow and second half faster is called a Negative Split

I trained for a 5K a few years ago and was fortunate enough to have a young lady as my trainer. She was a lawyer by occupation and ran track in HS and college. She helped me and others gratis.

We are still in touch.

She is a knock out in person and looks great must be all that training. She says one of the e benefits of running is she doesn't count calories and clothes look great on her. Than again she is in her 30 's

For most people who are older power walking a 5K is very good for the heart and helps with weight control. I do one a week now just to get some fresh air

Many marathon runners are like that, they have pain and ignore and and stop at nothing. Case in point the last Boston Marathon with the bomb blast that knocked the older runner flat on his face from the shock wave got up was dizzy and continued to finish the race. His focus was finish regardless of what is occurring around you or to you.

Unfortunately this women if she got medical help may have survived. Natasha Richardson refused medical care after a head bump. Her brain swollen in her head she was dead in a day .

 

I was no good at sports when I was a kid. Lousy coordination. I was the one nobody wanted on their team, and the refrain I heard over and over was "We lost because of you!" Not surprisingly, I avoided sports and physical activity like the plague.

I was 30 when I started riding a bike for exercise, and 35 when I started jogging. I wanted very much to run a marathon and kept hearing "Anybody can run a marathon." I tried to follow the training regimen in the running magazines, but my knees and feet could not take it, and I kept injuring myself. I finally quit trying, and quit entering the 10K fun runs, and stuck to 3 miles, a distance I could do (between 27 and 28 1/2 minutes) and was fine.

Six years ago, at the age of 59, it began to be more difficult and I slowed down rather suddenly. Then for a few years, until my operation, the atrial fibrillation made running almost impossible. These days it's a good day when I can run 3 miles. Sometimes I run 2 1/2 miles. Some days I ride the exercise bike 45 minutes or an hour. Since my knee injury this summer I have not run, and the cataract surgery requires a month from the second eye of nothing jarring. I.e 6 weeks total. But overall, exercise cured me of chronic depression and difficulty sleeping, both of which I suffered with before.

I hope to resume jogging after my knee, my eyes, and my prostate are all healed.

 

Hi Bob, glad that you are in good shape now. Is this the sort of situation that might lead to implanting some sort of pacemaker later?

 

Daniel you should have your Dr. clear you for exercise. Just walking a Mile a day with a friend or your iPod will be in many cases adequate exercise. 20 Minutes to a half hour of brisk walking is all you need to keep a healthy heart. A few walking Clubs are available thus you can walk with others which makes it more fun and you tend to keep up with the program longer.

I need to start my program up again beyond the one day a week I do and sometimes miss also. I was doing a 5K 3 times a week walking and one day was my push day usually a Sunday.

Work in so intense now a days that I side lined the walk program. I guess I have to start it up again.

Map My Run is a few dollars and works with the iPhone. They have a free version also. It is a pedometer and provides stats on your walking speed, distance and elevation. It keeps a history. It also coaches you and you can tweet or facebook post your activity if you want. It is set up for walking, jogging, running or bicycle.

Nike has a similar application.

Map MyRun has a device that you put in your pocket and walk around all day at work, home etc. and it syncs with your iPhone application and lets you know how many steps or miles you traveled all day. The goal is to get to 10,000 steps a day and heart disease will not be your problem.

Fitbit is another it is a bracelet and it's sold at Sports Authority. Nike has one also.

I have used Map my Run for many years. It has is much better and accurate than the old days.

Although these tools are targeting runners they are used by walkers every day to keep accurate information.

Running, Running Maps and Running Routes, Runners Community | MapMyRun

Official Store

Nike+

 

Good article

Dog ownership tied to better heart health - Encore - MarketWatch

 

Glad you survived Bob! Not a very pleasant experience.

I have a left bundle branch blockage caused by a viral infection. I get a range of symptoms including tachycardia. bradycardia, (not sure that's spelt correctly) and ectopic beats. On a couple occasions I have had AFs and lost consciousness briefly. Recently I was diagnosed with low ferritin levels and had an iron infusion. Since then the effects of my symptoms have reduced considerably and I am more able to perform physical exercise. Interesting how sufficient oxygen can make you feel so much better.

 

I'm an exercise addict. As mentioned above, jogging resolved my childhood and young adult depression and my difficulty sleeping. I just plain feel good when I'm exercising regularly (even though I do not enjoy the actual exercise). Exercise is also necessary for me to control my eating, and therefore to keep my weight down for the activity I really love, which is hiking in the mountains. So motivating myself to exercise is not an issue, and I don't need a pedometer or smartphone app to track my exercise (and I don't have a smartphone anyway).

Of course I always ask the doctor if it's okay to exercise, or what type of exercise is permitted, any time I have a medical issue, such as the knee injury, the eye surgery, or now the apparent prostate problem. In general (when I'm not suffering from medical problems) both my primary physician and my cardiologist tell me I can exercise as much as I like. Over the years I've learned my limits: how much I can exercise without injuring myself, and how much I can exercise without tiring myself so much that I need to take additional days off. I have to take days off. My goal is to maximize the number of days per week and/or minutes per week that I can exercise.

I know that for people who are not in shape, even a few minutes of walking is good. For me, I only count aerobic exercise and weight-lifting in my exercise log. But I'd always rather walk than drive, and unless it's raining I park well away from the store entrance.

On my summer hiking trips in Canada, I burn far more calories every day than in my 45-minute to one-hour exercise sessions at home, but when I return home, it takes a while to build back up to those sessions. Different kinds of exercise affect the body differently and do not translate one to the other. Likewise, when I get to Canada, it takes me a few days to build up to the long hikes I love most. I guess cross-training is the best plan, but at my age I'm limited in what I can do, and spending 6 or 7 hours walking around the city just is not the same as spending the same length of time walking up and down the mountainsides.

If my upcoming snowshoeing trip works out (i.e., if I don't get too cold; i.e., if my new gear is adequate) it could double the amount of time I could spend in the mountains of British Columbia every year.

 

I get this mental image of Bob.....with a piece of hardware in his chest that he can't (????) tinker with.....

Naaaah.
I'm just not seeing it.
We'll just have to hope that the AF can be treated without a pacemaker.

 

I truly hope Bob gets well and lives a long and happy life as we can see by his posts that he is a man that likes to help others and cares about the things he's involved in. The mention of a pacemaker made me want to bring up the owners manual warning about the use of one in or around the Prius. I showed this warning to a friend of mine that has a pacemaker and a defibrillator in his chest and now he refuses to ride in or get near any vehicle that has a smart key operation. Is this a really valid concern?
Bob, I have type 2 diabetes. Since I went on a weight loss regime, focused on healthier eating habits, I've lost over 70 pounds and my A1C went from >8 to 5.8. I still take my meds and see the doctor every 3 months but the quality of my life has turned around tremendously. I can use stairs without being out of breath, wear a belt instead of suspenders, see certain body parts that I haven't seen in years...lol. Get and stay well as we all need you here badly!

 

Agreed on those points - esp. don't start out too fast....think of it like running your battery pack too hard on your hybrid, then towards the end you pay for the great fuel economy when you recal - have forced recharging.

In general, any able-bodied adult can run a marathon if they prepare over months. The pace for some might be a slow jog - some finishers at that pace need to do more of it as they visibly do not look in shape. Other caveats, include joint problems, stuff Daniel mentioned - cycling or swimming might be a better alternative.

You burn the same amount of calories either walking or running a mile, but with running you get the added benefit of aerobic activity and strengthening the heart and lungs.

Just do what you are capable and see a doctor if necessary.