I was out riding on the weekend and as can so easily happen out on beach Road, ended up in a bunch of about 20 or so riders. As usual you strike up a conversation with the person next to you about the weather and all things bike related. These days there is the extra conversation piece of how much of the Spring classics are being televised by SBS this year. The conversation on this ride was to be a little different however. I was riding next to someone wearing some gear I had not seen before, it read Paceline. Being familiar with most of the jerseys out on the road I had to ask the question, who or what is Paceline?
This is what I learned, Paceline is a group of riders who raise awareness of cardiac arrhythmia by doing extensive 8 day rides covering up to 1200km. During that time they also try to raise funds for research into arrhythmias.
What exactly is an arrhythmia? Well, it is a problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat. During an arrhythmia, the heart can beat with irregular rhythm, too fast or too slow. It is caused by abnormal electrical activity in the heart.
What surprised me most is that this is not uncommon with 1 in 4 Australians over the age 40 affected. That well and truly takes it out of the realm of the elite athlete where I thought this type of condition might only exist simply due to the extreme training they did.
I for one would like to understand more about cardiac arrhythmia and the Paceline crew. I will do some more research to try and understand arrhythmias better and follow up with another post in the coming weeks. In the mean time if anyone would like to share their knowledge or experience with arrhythmias I would like to hear from you.
Posted by Alex Geers guest writer for health.com.au
The views expressed in this blog are the authors and not necessarily those expressed by health.com.au
The work done by Paceline, including raising awareness, is fantastic….. if a good friend of mine had been more aware of his condition, he may still be with us today.