Cambridge's Hudson on rowing with atrial fibrillation
'Not dangerous'
"James's condition is different to atrial fibrillation you see in the normal population," said Dr Rob Howlett, GP and medical support for Cambridge University Boat Club."As an elite athlete he pushes his body to places most people don't go to."You see changes in the heart, adaptive changes for the exercise they are doing. You sometimes see odd things appear like atrial fibrillation."It's not dangerous, it doesn't cause collapse or sudden death. He's very safe. In fact, he gets it more at rest than when he is pushing himself."If they train less it will go away, but that obviously isn't an option."The 31-year-old wears a heart rate monitor for every session on the water.He also does daily meditation to bring his stress levels down and has reduced his caffeine intake."If I have an episode, we have a pill in the pocket method," he said."I stop training and take a medication called Flecainide which slows the nerve impulses in the heart and reduces the heart to a normal level."I then try and relax as much as I can. I have a great medical team around me."Hudson is used to the demands of elite competition.He is on a break from training with GB Rowing and was a reserve in the men's eight at the Paris Olympics.He is studying for an MBA at Cambridge and is preparing for his first Boat Race against Oxford on Sunday."What I've realised is that atrial fibrillation is indiscriminate," he added."But it's great to be bringing awareness to the condition and understand I am not the only one out there dealing with it."It's good to show people that anything is possible – that you can prove you can go out there and achieve your dreams."
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