Re: Aerobic Exercise

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Posted by L. Paul Teague on October 25, 2002 at 20:26:16:

In Reply to: Re: Aerobic Exercise posted by Steve Giddings on October 24, 2002 at 07:33:18:

The following is from a posting I made on April 2, 2002. There is no definitive proof that long term steady state exercises can cause lone AF. There are some indictions, as I and others have pointed out, that long term steady state exercise may be a factor. Positive proof of this thesis [that would qualify for peer reviewed publication] could only come from a double blind study lasting for decades -- which unfortunately is not practicable.

Apparently lone atrial fibrillation occurs more frequently in those who have been long term steady state exercisers [e.g., runners, tri-athletes, etc.]than in the the general population. Dr. Ken Cooper [who made Aerobic exercise popular] has found that more of his patients have lone AF than would be expected in otherwise healthy patients. Several who post on this site were long term steady state exercisers who developed AF -- and then had sucessfull maze surgery. Dr. Cox remarked that many of his maze surgeries were on AF patients who had been long term steady state exercisers. I developed lone AF after 25 years of running.

Until recently, I had not heard a reasonable explanation of why so many of us runners have AF. None of my many EP doctors had any answers. Dr. Cooper said free radicals that occur during aerobic exercise may be causing the lone AF. He suggested that anti-oxidant supplements [Vitamin E, beta carotene and Vitamins C] might prevent the adverse affects caused by the free radicals. In my case this did not appear to be a reasonable explanation. I took large doses of anti-oxidants during the many years of my heavy running that proceeded my AF.

In the April 2002 issue of the Harvard Heart Letter, Thomas H. Lee, M.D. states that increased pressure in the heart's chambers "stretches the upper chambers of the heart, the same way that blowing into a balloon makes it exand. As the heart muscles stretches, fibers that conduct electrical impulses may fray of break, setting the stage for the electrical chaos known as atrial fibrillation." Steady state exercise causes the heart to expand, so this may explain the unusual frequency of lone AF in aerobic exercisers.

The fraying or breaking of muscle fibers in the atria may be a permanent conditon. This would explain why the lone AF many of us have is refractory to medical treatment. Our lone AF may be a purely mechanical problem that medications cannot repair. This would explain why aerobic exercisers with lone AF are ideal candidates for the maze procedure which mechanically corrects the problem.

If this explanation is correct, it supports the maze procedure as a cure for lone AF. It is the most reasonable explanation for lone AF in some otherwise healthy persons that I have seen. I am almost 4 years post maze surgery [MI by Dr. Cox]. I am totally cured of my chronic lone AF. And I am not on any medications. The decision to have maze surgery [after much research] is the best health decision I ever made.



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