Atrial fibrillation

Is characterized by chaotic and very rapid atrial depolarizations that result in irregular and sometimes rapid ventricular response. Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common arrhythmias, along with premature ventricular contractions.

Basic Exercise Guidelines:

• NOTE: Due to the variability in exercise tolerance and for safety reasons, it is recommended that those with atrial fibrillation seek a medically supervised graded exercise test to provide information for exercise programming based on the ventricular and perceived exertion responses to exercise
• aerobic exercise at a light to moderate intensity eliciting and RPE of 13-16 corresponding to workloads of 50% to 85% of peak VO2
• aerobic exercise should be performed 4-7 days per week for 30-60 minutes either continuously or over the course of several bouts
• resistance training can be performed at a moderate intensity and with a circuit weight training format of 8 to 10 exercises performed between 40% and 80% 1RM at 10-15 reps
• resistance training should be performed 2-3 days per week
• as with other cardiovascular conditions, performance of activities of daily living for the client with atrial fibrillation should be encouraged throughout the day
• for the appropriately screened client, HIIT may be suitable and valuable for increasing training outcomes/fitness