I am now well into my sixties, so a recent news story caught my eye. The personal experience of the 64-year-old writer who had trained and run for years and thought he was fit enough to run a marathon and did so but collapsed and was unable to get up.

The emergency doctor at the race diagnosed a potentially serious but common cardiac condition the runner had never heard of, atrial fibrillation or Afib.

A doctor who sees older men with the condition described Afib as “the heart’s upper chambers or atria “are quivering like a bag of worms”.

The Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute estimate that 500,000 Australians experience Afib. 

Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of irregular heartbeat. It causes the heart to work inefficiently, so it can reduce the person’s ability to exercise and may lead to heart failure. Atrial fibrillation makes the blood flow inside the heart somewhat irregular, which can cause blood clots to form. Consequently, atrial fibrillation carries a risk of stroke.

The Institute says the prevalence of atrial fibrillation is rising due to diabesity.

Also, the size of the problem has likely been underestimated because one type of atrial fibrillation, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, is difficult to identify.

The article’s writer, Christopher Zinn, says it’s not just a “curse” for the unfit.

“Afib also can curse the more senior participants in endurance sports, especially men. Cardiologists are currently debating whether over-60s and marathon runners could be exercising too hard and elevating their risk of Afib and other cardiac conditions. 

You are at a high risk of Atrial Fibrillation if you:  

• are aged over 65  

• have high blood pressure  

• have underlying heart disease.  

For more risk factors, visit the American Heart Association. 

Certainly not. Understand your health conditions and visit your general practitioner if needed. Baker Institute’s Associate Professor, Andre La Gerche, said that sport and exercise at all levels help you live longer. It also lowers the rate of heart attacks, strokes and cancer.

“But there is the little sting in the tail,” Dr La Gerche said. “Which is atrial fibrillation. “It’s probably related partly to genetic predisposition, and that’s brought out by exercise, and partly the fact that exercise makes the heart bigger.”

British Cardiovascular Society research found endurance sports could stiffen men’s arteries and increase their vascular age. For reasons that are not clear, women benefited, and their heart systems were up to six years younger than their actual age.

“Atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk of stroke but doesn't cause heart attacks or cardiac arrest,” Dr La Gerche told Zinn.

To back this up, Christopher Zinn tells the story of Kieron Blackmore - a 66-year-old who took up running seriously in his 50s.

He was treated successfully. Just before the pandemic, he ran 13 marathons in one year. After an undiagnosed hole-in-the-heart condition caused a ministroke, Blackmore sees a cardiologist for a yearly stress test. Blackmore says he will keep on with ultra-marathons if he gets the medical OK.

“If marathons do age us, it’s the type of ageing I like,” Blackmore is quoted. “I have many friends in their 60s and even older who run plenty. There are lots of us old buggers around. My advice is to run within your limits and don’t try to beat the 25-year-olds.”

Bondi doctor Gillian Deakin says the most significant problem GPs face is patients who don’t move enough.

"There’s a small minority, far more men than women, who push their athleticism too hard in later years and suffer consequences such as Afib." 

More information is available here.

For further reading: Baker and Health direct