Posted by Ed Wehan on August 13, 2001 at 14:27:39:
In Reply to: Re: 8 weeks post maze,palpitations en anticoagulant. posted by hans koster on August 12, 2001 at 08:19:09:
I hope Anders and Steve jump into this discussion as they have more years of experience than I. First of all, you are still at 8 weeks so the heart is certainly not back to normal. I found and still find that when I run I have to warm up for a couple of minutes to loosen up the heart muscle. It seems stiff at first but once it's been beating somewhat vigorously for awhile, it becomes easier. I don't monitor my heart rate close enough to notice that it drops but this could be very possible. Again, however, after several minutes everything feels normal.
I believe that both Anders and Steve have said that it takes a year or more for the heart to "permanently" become its old self and have the flexibility for normal running. I believe this to be very true. I can tell you this that at seven months now, I have endurance but very little speed. I am a long way from being anywhere close to my old running times but I also have 14 years of additional age with AFib going against me there. I will get some of this speed back but I just need more time.
I hope this helps. Enjoy the running. Give yourself time to heal but use what you have. Sometimes, I just can't believe that I can walk out the door and head out for these runs without my heart straining and jumping all over. We are pretty fortunate to be able to enjoy all of this all over again.
- Re: 8 weeks post maze,palpitations en anticoagulant. Steve Giddings 14:47:08 8/13/2001 (0)