Dilated Cardiomyopathy

[wordbomb2003]

Hi,

I have recently been diagnosed with a mild dilated Cardiomyopathy, I have an ejection fraction of 46%. I am a keen cyclist and have recently completed a season of criterium races and have done a number of sportives in the past couple of years that were in excess of 100 miles each. I train regularly although that has become sporadic and less frequent since my diagnosis. I have been given extremely mixed and somewhat vague information about what my "safe" limits are, varying from 10-15 miles not loosing my breath to reasonable milage whilst not loosing my breath. I have had very few symptoms mainly the odd heart palputation and general fatigue, I am on a beta blocker and ace inhibitors for my heart which are gradually being increased. I want to continue training and ideally having goals such as races or sportives that I can work towards, but I am somewhat unsure of what I can do safely and whilst I appreciate that there is a risk involved with it I don't want to stop what I enjoy doing and molicoddle myself on the off chance that something could happen. I have recorded my training with a heart rate monitor and GPS so I have some good records of my training and have been working with a trainer on plans but since the information on training at the level I am coming in from is thin at best I would really like some advice on what is reasonable?

Thanks

[Nurse Rachel Walker]

Aerobic exercise such as cycling, is generally very good for people with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). As well as strengthening the heart, it can reduce risk of heart disease and will generally make you feel better.

We would, however, advise against competative racing, as the temptation is to push yourself harder than you should.
Warm up and cool down periods should be twice as long as they would be otherwise, then the main thing is to listen to your body.
The following link take you to a page on the Cardiomyopathy Associasion website which gives advice regarding exercis in DCM and advises regarding HR monitoring.

http://www.cardiomyopathy.org/index.php?id=1143

The most important thing is that if you do experience any symptoms of chest pain, palpitation or severe shortness of breath during exercise you should discuss these with your doctor.