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Heavy heart beat during riding season

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Heavy heart beat during riding season

Old 10-11-10, 10:07 AM
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Heavy heart beat during riding season

First off I want to say that I have been to my GP, Oncologist, Nephrologist, and Cardiologist. I'm on Avapro for high BP, Crestor for high cholesterol, and have only one kidney but other than that I'm in good shape. Had a stress test and passed with flying colors, wore an event monitor for a month and all they found was an occasional early beat. None of the docs have put me on any kind of exercise restrictions.

With that all said I often feel uncomfortable during the riding season with a heavy heart beat. I expect to look down and see my heart jumping out of my chest like a Tex Avery cartoon character. It is especially noticable after doing longer rides. During the winter when I don't ride as much it seems to go away. Since the Seagull on Sat, I've felt very shaky and uncomfortable. Just checked my BP and it's 129/66, HR is 58. One thought I had was I may be over compensating on the electrolytes and taking in too much sodium. My BP was 149/80 last night and I made sure to drink a lot of water.

Anyone have a similar experience? Any thoughts on this?
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Old 10-11-10, 11:28 AM
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Dude...this may not be the place for a guy with your history to look for medical advice.
Which won't stop people from giving it, so I might as well check in. I had what sounds like similar symptoms about 1990. I was a runner more than a cyclist at the time, 6'4"/215, morning pulse around 42, sometimes in the 30s. First thing I noticed was what I guess I could call a "heavy" heartbeat, a pounding in my chest after just a couple of miles at a slow pace. My resting pulse shot up, literally overnight, to the low 60s, and my mile splits on a five-mile run increased by more than a minute. An ECG showed me in solid atrial fibrillation, which wouldn't convert with drugs or electroshock. I've been on warfarin for more than 20 years (no particular problems with it, by the way), and now that I'm in my 60s, I figure I'd be slow anyway, so I don't worry about that.
My cardiologist is my age, and until his knees gave up a couple of years ago, he was a marathon runner and long-distance cyclist. Having a doc who was doing the same things I was helped a lot. I've found that some doctors, especially young ones, look at a 55-year-old guy who wants to be active and just reflexively tell him to slow down because of age. My PC doc and cardiologist both are older guys who exercise, and they were willing to work with me to make things as good as they could be, rather than just telling me to slow down. if they SAID slow down, I'd probably do it, but so far they haven't.
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Old 10-11-10, 12:22 PM
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Thanks Velo Dog. I know some forums won't even allow people to ask medical questions but I figured that this group would be the ones most likely to understand and possibly have a similar experience.
So far none of the docs have told me to slow down. As a matter of fact the cardiologist told me he would normally advise against someone attempting a double century but after my tests he said to go for it.
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Old 10-11-10, 04:28 PM
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Originally Posted by seemunkee
First off I want to say that I have been to my GP, Oncologist, Nephrologist, and Cardiologist. I'm on Avapro for high BP, Crestor for high cholesterol, and have only one kidney but other than that I'm in good shape. Had a stress test and passed with flying colors, wore an event monitor for a month and all they found was an occasional early beat. None of the docs have put me on any kind of exercise restrictions.

With that all said I often feel uncomfortable during the riding season with a heavy heart beat. I expect to look down and see my heart jumping out of my chest like a Tex Avery cartoon character. It is especially noticable after doing longer rides. During the winter when I don't ride as much it seems to go away. Since the Seagull on Sat, I've felt very shaky and uncomfortable. Just checked my BP and it's 129/66, HR is 58. One thought I had was I may be over compensating on the electrolytes and taking in too much sodium. My BP was 149/80 last night and I made sure to drink a lot of water.

Anyone have a similar experience? Any thoughts on this?
I won''t offer advice since I'm not a doctor. What I will do is ask you to read this chart to see were you are at with your BP and discuss with you doctor if needed.

https://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/medi...d-pressure.htm
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Old 10-11-10, 04:46 PM
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Sodium?
Try potassium instead of sodium. Your cardiologist will probably tell you to restrict your sodium intake.
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Old 10-11-10, 06:29 PM
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It's very important that your docs listen well to you. My cardiologist is younger than I am but he pays attention to what I say and do. He's fine with my daily workouts at almost 60. I had a heart valve replaced about 5 years ago and they had to do some other cardio work. Also on blood thinners due to the artificial valve. You have to be confident and comfortable with those in charge of your health care. In reality, you are the one in charge. It's OK to shop around until you find the right connection. Good luck.
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