Hi,
Same problem with me. Around 10 years ago I noticed the odd heart rythmn. Doctor said it was nothing unusual, just palpitations and everybody gets them. Then, I started freediving 5 years ago and became more aware of my body. I was aware that ocasionally the heart would not just miss out part of a beat every few beats, but it would also beat very eratically with no repeating rythmn (major arrythmia). A bit like a drunken bongo drum, very fast, hard and soft, stop and start. Lasting around an hour and sometimes all day, every week or two. I went to the doctor about 10 times in two years insisting on an ECG, saying "listen its doing it right now" only for the ECG to be clear and the problem to magically go away. One day around 18 months ago (just after the last Cyprus), my heart again went strange, it lasted all evening and through the night, no pain, just the fantastic rythmn and racing pace. 144 bpm at rest. Doctor caught it red handed and I was sent straight to hospital. Where it took 5 days to settle with drugs. Eight months later, my heart (eased by drugs) continued with the faulty rate and rythmn throughout. After the usual waiting list, I was on the operating table but the heart was misbehaving too much and the procedure was abandoned. Two months ago, a repeat operation....so far a great success. The fault was caused by the growth of the electrical pathways which cause the beat, to reach parts of the heart which they shouldnt reach, these parts would then receive an electrical impulse and beat in the wrong order. Effectively fibrillating, with arrythmia and unusual flutter. Each cycle of beats is inefficient so the brain gets lousy O2 and you feel constantly short of breath. No freediving or apnea is possible in any competitive way. So I gave up getting wet, vegetated in front of the telly and put on 20 kilos of blubber.
Immediatly after the operation, I started training again and finding rapid fitness, weight loss and am now approaching reasonable training performance and may soon start a more serious regime. No maximums yet of course and no statics, just finning and easy 50s dynamic with plenty of recovery between. Sometimes my heart reverts back to mis behaving but these episodes are short lived, brought on through stress but relieved through exercise.
Now, these problems had been apparent during competitions over the past few years, where I would be unable to settle during the few days before and particularly the last 45 minutes before a dynamic, knowing my heart was going mad, and wrongly putting it down to pre competition nerves or adrenalin. Half my comp statics were a problem trying them in such a state, but I struggled through them, hating them all. I would abort the dynamic at 50 meters knowing the problem was occuring and so there was no point in trying to improve my record. The problem never occured during the constant dives as these never stressed me. However, I dont know how fair it is to dive deep again. I have done a few 20m dives and will start to dive again in the Spring and just start from scratch. I will take a view on it when I start to look for 50m again (assuming I can get the Doc to sign my medical when he sees me again in 3 months) and I have the understanding of my safety team. For now, I am getting wet a few times a week, and its great.
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