Mac_48

So I have done most of my riding at school to lose weight, but today was different. At college it is mostly flat where I ride, but I came back to hills which I thought I wold be fine on. I went on my first ride for Christmas break, and although it started out very smoothly, around mile 4 it started going bad. All of a sudden, on a small hill, in the middle of my chest a weird sensation began. It was almost like a pain, but it also just seemed like my heart was being compressed. it continued for another mile so I turned around and headed back, the sensation was there the whole time. after I stopped back home, it continued for 10 minutes of laying down and then was replaced by light headedness and the taste of blood. It took me around half an hour to return to normal. Is this just pushing myself too far? It scared me because I didn't know what was happening. I've lost about 70 lbs since summer and have about 30 more to go (to get me down to 190). Can anyone ease my mind this made me really concerned.

Nola_Gal

You should definitely go see a doctor and get it checked out. Good luck, hopefully it's nothing...but it doesn't sound like anything to play with either.

10 Wheels

Doctor Time. Only a Doctor can help you with this.

Mr Danw

I would suggest you not ride until cleared by the doctor. Chest pains are nothing to play with.

exile

Doctor definitely. Just because you lose weight does not necessarily mean you are "healthy".

On the other hand, if you are not used to riding hills and you are sucking in cold or extremely cold air then that pain you felt could be your lungs. Don't get me wrong, I'm still advocating seeing a doctor. Just trying to ease your mind.

garethzbarker

doctor. i had to go get myself cleared for hard riding last month. By the way are used to sports and high heart rates? I got scared halfway to death pushing myself on a trail ride several months back. Turned out to be a panic attack... Been so sedentary for so many years I didn't know what it was supposed to feel like. Also, I started to really take warming up before riding really serious. Go see a doctor though.

Neil_B

Go see your doctor. And then report back to us here - we want to know what's going on too.

EasyEd

Doctor. Today.

MikeWinVA

Get to the Doctor asap...could be a minor MI (heart attack). They can do a blood test and almost immediately tell if you have had a coronary issue and run an EKG.

If you have good insurance ask the doctor to have a cardiac MRI. These can show any heart irregularities (hypertrophy) as well as coronary artery blockages. This is the best noninvasive test to have to rule out heart problems.

If nothing is wrong...then you have peace of mind.

Mac_48

Thank you for the advice, I called and scheduled an appointment with my doctor. I think it might have just been dehydration (I forgot my water bottles and didn't drink anything that morning) and not enough calories (only ate around 400 cals and the ride was at around noon) coupled with not enough air because I flipped the stem of my bike and I was in the drops (decreasing the ammount of air I could take in due to my stomach being pushed in). Those are just ideas though.... I took an EKG and a stress test over summer to make sure I was healthy and I passed so I think that I am ok, but I am going to still go to make sure. I'm going to start wearing my heart rate monitor to make sure I am not pushing myself too hard. I thought it might have been an MI but my arm didn't hurt so I passed it off as just something wierd. I am definately going to go see a doctor... I'm glad you guys pushed the matter

garethzbarker

how's your health level, age and past experience with sports? I'm 33, never done sports, obese and using biking to get out of it. lost like 35 lbs so far (down to 224lbs yay). have had some really weird feeling a couple of times and had to get checked out.

once, i tried trail riding and i swear to god i thought i was dying at one point, I would have cried if I had any moisture in my body. Another time I forgot to eat and just lost all my energy on a two day ride. I almost passed out and I felt this feeling of doom. I developed asthma and it hurt my chest a coupe of times too. Laugh if you want but when you can't breathe, your chest hurts, or you feel yourself losing consciousness I find it scary. And since I've never done sports I don't really know what pushing yourself is SUPPOSED to feel like.

My best friend on the other hand has played football and wrestled. He has a heart murmur but he know how to push himself yo max heartrate and how much he can take.

txvintage

First, this is no way to suggest not seeing the Doc. Do it, be safe, be smart.

Getting the coppery, or keytone, taste in your mouth can also be a sign of depleted glycogen in your muscles. You mentioned you hadn't eaten or hydrated well before the ride. It could be you were bonked before you ever got on the bike.

Mac_48

I'm 20, used to weight lift and wrestled for a semester but besides that, mostly stayed inactive. I ran around with friends when we hung out, but I have been classified as overweight most of my life (around 230 Lbs. at 5'7" but am now 6'). I hit my peak of weight gain at 295 when I met my girlfriend last January. She was very supportive of my goal to lose weight that became more and more important the heavier I became. I have tried many times to lose the weight, but with the support of my girlfriend, this summer I decided to eat healthy and was able to actually do it. I rode 10 miles at a moderate pace, twice a week for the past semester (17 weeks) while sticking to a 2,000 cal diet and have decided to pick up the pace. that is when I ran into this problem. I was fine with flat ground when I was riding elsewhere back here, but when I decided to ride straight out of my house, hitting a fair amount of hilly terrain, I ran into this issue.

garethzbarker

for sure see the doctor. ya know... in case they can't find anything wrong with you, a panic attack can feel just like a heart attack. Good luck on your weight goal. Just to make you feel better I'd like to say the chances of you having a heart problem are probably low and the amount of people that die from heart problems that didn't already have a heart defect are almost 0. in other words, if the doctor says your heart is fine then don't let this scare you away from riding dude. The heart is a strong muscle, if it isn't diseased you can push it pretty hard My grandfather went to the hospital for chest pains once and we all laughed when the doctor told us it was just gas

cohophysh

bump...any updates?

coasting 

get it checked out. sounds like you've been tested for angina and some of your description sounds like symptoms and some not.

A point for op and others. when you see your doctor about chest pains, tell him you are a cyclist and how much exercise you are doing. Being a regular cyclist raises your fitness level to the point where your heart is so strong that it does not need to beat much faster for some of the physical tests that they use to bring on symptoms. For example, they tell people to walk a certain distance to raise heart rate, but a fit person will be able to walk 10x that distance and not feel a thing, yet still have a blockage in the artery.

Also, do not assume that because you have turned your life around you have cured any cardiovasculor disease. You're fit, exercise regularly, eat extremely healthily....all fine and good for prevention, but the damage done during the times you were unfit and eating crap is not reversible. Blockages do not become unblocked, normally.

Pinyon

I agree with everyone else. It COULD BE NOTHING, but this is one of those situations where YOU REALLY NEED TO FIND OUT FOR SURE! Even if your blood work comes back okay, I would hope that your doctor pushes for a treadmill stress test, just to make sure.

Don't ride until you get cleared, either. Not worth the risk.