Why I Should Not Have Tried to "Walk It Off"

My unexpected journey with Atrial Fibrillation (AFib)

The following blog post is brought to you by the No Time to Wait Campaign.

I was a high-performing athlete for most of my adult life, so I was used to the resulting physical pain. I also endured decades experiencing migraines. My usual treatment for everything was ice and over-the-counter pain relievers.

But in more recent years, I was no longer dealing with overworked muscles, strained tendons, or a wrenched back; I had to face new health challenges.

So much for just ice and pain relievers.

Recently, my body gave me another challenging health issue – a heart condition known as atrial fibrillation, or AFib. It started as a minor annoyance. Sometimes when I got out of bed, I noticed shortness of breath and light-headedness. It came and went so I didn’t worry about it. I shrugged it off as another age-related inconvenience to be endured and complained about. But I was wrong.

During the past few years, I wondered whether I had been too quick to dismiss symptoms as related to aging. I was beginning to feel like my body and my mind were two separate entities struggling for control.

That is a common mistake some people make for a variety of reasons. I didn’t relish going to the doctor in the first place, but I really didn’t want to go and be thought of as being an alarmist, looking for attention, complaining about nothing. I also didn’t want to go and receive bad news about my body that might require more medication (I’m going to need a bigger medicine box!), bed rest, or worse.

These thoughts crossed my mind when I was visiting my son, Amir, and his young children. I started to have the same symptoms again – the shortness of breath, the light-headedness. I kept it from my family, especially Amir, who’s a surgeon and would probably have encouraged me to talk to my doctor; I didn’t want anything to interfere with my time with my grandchildren. I returned home after a few days having successfully hidden my condition.

A few months later, I went to a baseball game with some friends. We were sitting in the sun for 20 minutes and I started to feel light-headed. The former athlete in me chose to soldier on. I’d promised my friends we’d get some autographs from a few of the players, and we went down to meet them. That’s when I started experiencing shortness of breath and felt so light-headed, I thought I would faint. My friend and manager, Deborah, rushed me to the hospital.

After some tests, the doctors diagnosed me with AFib. To which I responded, “What is that?” I had heard the term AFib before, probably on a medical drama on TV, but I had no clue what it was. The doctors explained that AFib is the most common irregular heart rhythm.^[1] I didn’t know that about 9.5 million people in the U.S. are projected to have AFib in 2023^[2] and by 2030 it is projected that the number will reach approximately 12.1 million.^[3] I didn’t know that AFib contributes to about 158,000 deaths each year.³ I didn’t know that AFib makes the risk of stroke about five times more likely.^[4] And I didn’t know that Black Americans also have a significantly higher risk of AFib-related stroke,^[5]despite being diagnosed with AFib at lower rates than White Americans.^[6]

I sure know all of this now. If I had known about AFib, perhaps I wouldn’t have dismissed my symptoms. I could have spoken with a doctor and gotten diagnosed before my symptoms landed me in the hospital.

That’s why I am joining Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer in their No Time to Wait campaign to raise awareness about AFib and its symptoms. I know how easy it may be to dismiss symptoms of AFib, but that can lead to serious complications like AFib-related stroke.³

Knowing the common symptoms of AFib is important; these include an irregular heartbeat, racing heart, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or light-headedness.³ These symptoms can be associated with other potentially serious conditions and only a healthcare professional can determine whether these symptoms indicate AFib.

I left the hospital with a treatment plan and a mission to keep myself hydrated, watch what I eat, and monitor my symptoms. It was hard to deal with the symptoms, but I think it was harder still on my friends and family. I decided to do everything in my power to work with my care team to better manage my condition.

Today, I can walk, even run a little. I do strength training. I hydrate because that is something I neglected in the past.

I’ve also reached an agreement with my body: when I get certain symptoms I won’t “walk it off,” “rub some dirt on it,” or “grin and bear it.” I’m going straight to a medical professional. Understanding my condition allows me to take better care of myself and spend more time with my grandchildren. I have a lot more play days set up and I don’t want to miss any of them.

Discussing the common symptoms of AFib with a healthcare professional can help lead to earlier diagnosis; these common symptoms include an irregular heartbeat, racing heart, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or light-headedness.³ These symptoms can be associated with other potentially serious conditions and only a healthcare professional can determine whether these symptoms indicate AFib.

If you’ve experienced these symptoms, speak up and talk to your doctor – this is no time to wait. For more information, you can visit. NoTimetoWait.com

---

^[1] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). What is atrial fibrillation? National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/atrial-fibrillation

^[2] Colilla S, Crow A, Petkun W, Singer DE, Simon T, Liu X. Estimates of current and future incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the U.S. adult population. Am J Cardiol. 2013;112:1142–1147. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2013.05.063.

^[3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, October 14). Atrial fibrillation. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/atrial_fibrillation.htm

^[4] High blood pressure, afib and your risk of stroke. www.heart.org. (2022, September 14). Retrieved October 20, 2022, from https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/atrial-fibrillation/why-atrial-fibrillation-af-or-afib-matters/high-blood-pressure-afib-and-your-risk-of-stroke

^[5] Patel, P. J., Katz, R., Borovskiy, Y., Killian, A., Levine, J. M., McNaughton, N. W., Callans, D., Supple, G., Dixit, S., Epstein, A. E., Marchlinski, F. E., & Deo, R. (2018). Race and stroke in an atrial fibrillation inception cohort: Findings from the Penn Atrial Fibrillation Free study. Heart rhythm, 15(4), 487–493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2017.11.025

^[6] Alonso, A., Agarwal, S. K., Soliman, E. Z., Ambrose, M., Chamberlain, A. M., Prineas, R. J., & Folsom, A. R. (2009, July). Incidence of atrial fibrillation in whites and African-Americans: The atherosclerosis risk in communities (ARIC) study. American heart journal. Retrieved October 31, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2720573/