Heart Issues and Riding

Damn, sorry to hear that Matty. My only advice would be to have him talk with his Doctor as every case may differ from someone else's condition/experience. Heres to a full and quick recovery! 
 

edited for example: woke up from a knee surgery to find out I have a heart condition. They told me don’t let it slow me down. 

Hey Matty! Sent you a PM

check that and holler back at me when you have a few minutes! 😎 👍❗️

After years of searching for an answer to some health nagging problems, I was diagnosed with a heart condition late in 2022. My heart rate would spike almost instantly while riding without warning (stress test measured 226 bpm and they told me my heart was not pumping any blood at that speed...at age 60, that's not good).  After my diagnosis, I decided to take my health more seriously and drastically cut down caffeine, started eating better, and getting more exercise.  My episodes have not shown so far this year so I am lucky.  Cut down/out caffeine, eat better, reduce stress, and exercise more.  Also, be sensible about riding.  I know my brain says I can do it, but reality may not match the thought. So now I pick and choose how hard to push the riding in technical conditions.  If riding is important, he needs to do everything he can to make it as safe as possible.  That includes some difficult choices.  Best of luck to him!

Eric

Best wishes for a speedy recovery for your dad.

Heart attack is a very vague term and could mean a ton of things. Plenty of people have normal cardiac function after a heart attack and aren't limited at all. See what his echo says, see what his cardiologist says, but no reason to think it's over. Chances are if he tolerates the activity then it's fine for him to continue the activity. 

If I land hard off of a jump or get a good jolt, it will knock my heart out of rhythm and it speeds up.  I have to pull over and chill for a minute or two until my heartbeat slows down to normal.  I am 63 now, but it has done it for 10 years.  Doc's hook me up to their stuff and say all if fine.  Cut out caffeine which seemed to help a bit, but still happens.  I am in good shape and can bust out 45 minute motos no problem.  Not on any medications.

Sorry to hear this Matty. But like others have said, every case is different. He’ll need to find out exactly what is causing it and deal with it accordingly. The good news is that most likely he’ll still be able to ride a dirt cycle, they’ve come a long ways in this field in the last 20 years. Hopefully it’s something easy to overcome. I wish him the best 👍

What was the course of treatment after the heart attack? Was it confirmed by cardiac enzymes, then told to follow up with his doc? Hospitalized? 

I have a good friend that had the big one at Pala. Struggled just getting out of his riding gear. Could barely load his bike. Chest pain hit shortly after and Pala FD was on him in minutes. He had a confirmed Widow Maker heart attack. Got fixed up at Temecula Valley cath lab with a stent. His doctor told him he suffered no heart damage, just had a major warning. He was back on the bike in 6 weeks and said he feels fine and has no ill effects from it. 

I have SVT, which means my heart spontaneously jumps up to 190 to 200+ beats per minute. It feels like shit, give me heart attack symptoms. I luckily have only had it happen at home but wouldn't want to have it anywhere else. I will have it fixed in August but it kind of hangs over me for now.

I was at GH a couple weeks ago and was talking with a guy that said he has had 2 heart attacks so it doesn't have to mean it's completely over.

Tell your dad to take it one step at a time. Get with a cardiologist and follow through on all treatment and therapies. Get second opinions if he doesn't feel like he's getting proper treatment or somebody is giving him doomsday diagnosis. Remember, most medical professionals have a knee jerk "NO" reaction to anything related to motorcycle related and especially dirt bikes.

Good luck to your dad.

He probably has some significant blockage. Once they fix that up he will probably feel better than he has in months.

I made two several hundred mile off road trips after my heart transplant, but granted the new heart was in better shape than the old.  But there is an issue with transplanted hearts in that all nerves are cut and the organ cannot respond to the brain telling it to beat harder to get more oxygen to the muscles when under exertion.  The heart rate will slowly increase due to hormonal response to exercise, but pushing hard even after a slow warm put me out of breath because the ticker would not keep up.  So early on I knew that motocross and track riding with any sort of ambitious riding was out for me.  That was a reckoning, not because I had any talent or ambition, but because I enjoyed it.  But I continued to ride and I stuck to the desert with friends and trails with the kids where then pace was more manageable and the ambitions a little lower.  

What is a challenge for most people, and was for me, is that there is an initial period of some level of denial where one wants to prove nothing changed and that you'll get over it.  While this is a great motivator for rehab, which absolutely is critical to recover optimally, things aren't the same mentally and physically.  From my experience it is really important to find the balance of being real with yourself, relearning how much resilience your body has to the stress of exercise and whether more recovery is needed.  It's important to learn to read your body, because some days are better than others.  It's also necessary to find ways to continue being involved in the things you enjoy, as coming up against those limitations can drive depression for people with cardiac issues (or any impairing health crisis).  I'd think the track experience would be easier to navigate for that, with a good rehab and successful recovery.  

In the end I made the most of time I had when I still could ride and have no regrets and am damn glad I did what I could while I still could.   This is about 10 years post transplant, and that is the point where statistically half the people transplanted the same year I was already have died.  Keep enjoying bikes as a family as long as you can and it makes sense.

Best to your dad!

My uncle had a heart attack mid race a couple years ago. Went to the hospital got it squared away and feels better now than he has a many many years. He is back to winning vet races and leading the series. 

61 year old vet rider here with a total of six stents three heart procedures 20 broken bones, and two rods and 10 screws in my back. After the last three stents started riding my bicycle during the week and that seem to be the difference for me.At this point it is ride to ride another day.

I also have SVT and I got the ablation procedure done a few weeks ago, I have only been able to get out for two mountain bike rides so far since and it seems to be fixed. Mine was pretty bad it would happen multiple times will riding dirt bikes and multiple times on every mountain bike ride but never would happen without very strenuous exercise. 

I want to get a few more rides in before I'm comfortable that its actually fixed, I think the combo of strenuous exercise combined with the adrenaline is what did it for me. 

I could still function and wouldn't really get too light headed but felt very weird and would take a little break and it would come right back down. Mine would be 220-240bpm at times. I'm only 29 but SVT tends to show itself about this age usually.  

Guy I ride with is early 60's and was going up a hard hill climb. Didn't make it over the last edge and had to push the bike up and over it, said he was done after feeling tired and dizzy. Went to the doctor the next day and found a 90% blockage in one of his artery's. Got it fixed and is back riding now without issue.

Expert motor builder Terry Varner is an expert in this area too. Have you tried PM’ing him?

So what hasn't been discussed. Likely he'll be going on blood thinners. This is an issue if he does a digger and hits his head. I am on some meds that make my blood slippery. Similar concern, a small cut and I'm like a sprinkler. What that means is it's very easy to get a brain bleed, very bad. He'll have to consider the risks of that whenever he goes riding.

Sorry about your dad,

TM

Very possible if not likely.  Very hard to control a brain bleed in a timely manner if on thinners (or shaving cuts for that matter).  Account for all factors when assessing risk.

Getting old ain't for pu$$ies. It just keeps getting more complicated. 

I confess I rode prior to transplant while on thinners, but I never fully appreciated the risk until later when an older neighbor on thinners was gone in a flash ("older" then, not much older than 65 me now).

That said, I always tell people on my birthday that I am not getting older, I'm getting to live longer.

You and I brother, we're on bonus time!

I had to dig up my old account just to reply on this subject.

On may 1st I had a angiogram and had 3 splints put into my heart, my surgeon said take it easy for a month or so and keep the bpm under 140 for the first month and 170 the second, So first week of June went out to go and just putted around 1 lap at a time  just went out again last Thursday same thing, I got winded pretty quick, and was on the verge of 170, but it was a big improvement over the first time. 
They have the heart procedure down now, it’s a walk out same day deal, hope everything works out for your pops.

My dad had heart issues and high blood pressure. They put him on a lot of medication that he hated because it made him tired. He eventually quit taking it and ended up having a hemorrhagic stroke and passed away at 66. He never let it slow him down and figured he would rather go on his own terms. We still did a few races together but his wife limited his riding.  It's a bummer, I wish he was still around but I can't blame him for his choices.

59yrs old at the gym 6 days a week. Diagnosed with major AFib and SVT's in February and had Ablation in March. Riding has been slow for me and I am still on Eliques and blood thinners. Instead of every weekend I'm more every other but back to some semblance of normal at the gym. Sadly for me the Ablation was not successful and I will have to have a second.

I don't feel anymore at risk riding just when I get tired I stop where before I would push myself.  Your dad needs to listen to his body.

One of the lessons here is that there are different "heart issues" that have different consequences and treatments.  Coronary artery disease is different from sudden cardiac arrest is different from arrhythmia is different from heart failure.  It is important to be in tune with your cardiologist to address the situation you have.  

Anyone else riding with a Left Bundle Branch Block?  Cardiologist says I’m good and stress test was phenominal but I figure it’s what’ll do me in sooner or later. 

Yup, thats what I have.