Riding with Atrial fibrillation or Afib

drrod

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A riding friend (late 60's) has just been diagnosed with Afib. He is very fit and active. He is (was) planning on joining us in September for a ride in the Alps but is having some misgivings about that. The risk of bleeding out as the result of an accident being his primary one I think. Anyone here ride with this condition and what, if any, precautions do you take?

Thanks

Rod
 

Uncle Phil

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Is the concern that he will be/is placed on blood thinners (Warfarin, Plavix, Xarelto, etc.) and that will cause the problem? I'm not aware that AFIB of itself causes bleeding but usually they put you on thinners if you have it because it tends to cause blood clots. If 'thinners' is the question, then yes I ride while on blood thinners and several other folks on here do also. I recently had an arterial blood clot in my left leg removed (apparent result of an aneurysm surgery) and they checked for all sorts of stuff (but AFIB did not show up for me). I'm on thinners now (Xarelto) as a result of the removal surgery and damage to the artery. I don't think anything about it (recently did 6,700+ mile ride across the USA) because if I crash, I figure there will be other issues to deal with. ;-) Thinners don't mean you don't clot, it just takes a lot longer. And with some like Warfarin, they have 'instant' fixes like a megadose of vitamin K. I would definitely include the information in his ICE information. Hope that gives your friend some helpful information.
 
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Erdoc48

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^^ I agree with UP...if your friend is on anticoagulants it doesn't mean they stop clotting, but it does prolong the clotting time and prevents dangerous intravascular clots from forming (preventing strokes, heart attacks, and DVT/pulmonary emboli depending on the individual). That said, if I was on them (I'm not), I would not stop riding, but would take appropriate precautions (ATGATT). A fib doesn't thin the blood but as the atria aren't working (are basically quivering and not contributing to overall cardiac output), clots can form in the atria and can result in stroke (clot can be released from the previously non functional atrium and travel to the brain's vascular supply) if one converts cardiac rhythm from atrial fibrillation to normal sinus rhythm...that's the reason for the anticoagulant.
 
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drrod

drrod

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Thanks for the responses. I have forwarded your thoughts on to my friend. I think that he just needs some reassurance that life can go on pretty much as before with just some cautions added.
 

ST Gui

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I think that he just needs some reassurance that life can go on pretty much as before with just some cautions added.
And probably not many more cautions than we should all be observing.
 

richpeabody

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I take Warfarin (pretty fair dose, according to the VA).
I carry BloodSTOP bandages as well as the powder. And a couple large gauze dressings, along with the first aid stuff I carried before I was diagnosed.
So far I haven't needed any, but it's nice to know it's there.
I have always carried first aid stuff, including real Band Aides...
Ride Safe
 

MajorTom

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I had my encounter with atrial fibrillation last summer when I was on a ride and 3500 km from home. I was given a cardioversion treatment to restore normal rhythm, told to take a day off riding to get past the anesthetic and to stay on the low dosage ASA that had been recommended by my pharmacist for the trip because in her words, "riding a motorcycle involves long periods of relative inactivity while sitting". The cardioversion didn't stick and I was back in afib a couple of days later. Despite that I completed my ride home with no issues.

My take is if there's no physical symptoms from the afib, like dizziness or fainting, then you should be able to live your life pretty much the way you did before your diagnosis, with the exception of the lifestyle changes likely recommended by your doctor, like cutting caffeine and alcohol consumption.
 

ReSTored

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If I understand the question properly your friend is probably on some type of blood thinner and is concerned about an accident where the blood's reduced ability to clot may mean the difference between surviving the accident or not. I think there are just too many potential variables here to provide a definitive yes or no type of response. There's no doubt that a person bleeding will lose more blood than one not on thinners, but whether this incremental volume of lost blood might result in death is just impossible to predict I think.
 

ST_Jim

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They also have a couple different INR theraputic ranges they adjust the Warfarin dose for, depending on your ailment.

DVT/PE (my issue) - INR: 2.0-3.0 (2.5 nominal)
Artificial Valves - INR: 3.0-4.0 (I suspect a-fib is in this category)

I've had specific conversations with my Docs specifically about motorcycle riding with it's inherent accident risk, and they don't seem too concerned. I suspect that the set of circumstances where warfarin has an impact are pretty narrow - i.e. an accident with a particular range of injury. Real trauma they need to get to you and transfuse anyway, or at least monitor for head injury. Lesser injuries not as likely to be an issue. Then again maybe they figure motorcycles help to get me out and off my duff - I don't know... ;-)

I agree that long periods sitting on the bike with my knees bent at a certain angle are bad. Now I do tend to make pretty frequent stops, and at least walk around a little. And no mega-mileage days anymore.
 
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This will pretty much take care of any doubts there may be about my intelligence quotient but I road for two years taking anticoagulants and never gave it a thought. [emoji51]


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