tribe3

hi all,

I’ve been riding almost daily for the last 4 months, increasing distance and speed slowly but steady and feeling well. These last seven days I rode 250 miles – more than usual since I commuted 3 times to work.

YESTERDAY: I went to the doc for my annual physical and all is OK. (I never had heart problems) He told me to cut with coffee because he noticed I could be a little dehydrated… I did. Only 2 large ones instead of 6.

TODAY: I went out for my usual 2 hour ride. All OK until minute 22. I started to feel my heart pumping like crazy… Strange because it was at a rather flat part and I had already recovered from a short but steep hill a couple of miles back. I kept going and thinking that it would go away but NO… I turned around and started back. At this point I was feeling some annoyance while breathing, like a pain in the lungs when you have a cold and also very tired. Had I brought the phone with me I would have called wife to pick me up. It took me 45 minutes to undo the road. I drank a bottle of water in the way, and dragged myself home.

At home I drank some sport drink, ate well, and now I’m feeling good. Like nothing happened.

Anybody had this? I’m a little worried…

Thorco

I know exactly what you are talking about. I'm 34 and have had palpitations for about 5 years, not necessarily when exercising but off and on at no given time. It scared the **** out of me at first and I went to the emergency room one Sunday b/c it was going on, and off, for a couple hours. When I got there they hooked me up to an EKG and after realizing I wasn't about to die they released me. I then went to a "specialist" who told me to cut back on alcohol and caffeine (I drank/drink alcohol but don't drink caffeine often). So I cut back on beers to about 6-9 a week. No significant change in the palpitations. In the last 8 months I have quit taking Lipitor and started taking herbal/natural drugs to treat high cholesterol (mostly red yeast rice, fish oils, CoQ-10 and niacin). Since taking them I have noticed a decrease in the frequency of the palpitations. Coincidence? Maybe but I'll continue on that path providing my cholesterol levels stay in check. The doc also told me to lay off heavy exercise so when I notice the palpitations when riding (not often) I slow it down and relax just to be on the safe side. I would recommend seeing a specialist and maybe you will have more luck than I did on what the cause may be.
Kevin

tribe3

Thanks for your reply Kevin. I hope your situation gets better with natural medicine. It's always better to avoid chemicals when possible. Especially that you are only 34. Biking should get your cholesterol down.

I'll check with the doc tomorrow... but I'm hoping that this episode was due to bad hydration and tiredness. I hope so!!

jazzy_cyclist

Try a search on this.. lots of posts.

There are lots of benign situations and others that are serious. I had some issues like this off and on which I made worse by worrying about them (I had first seen my doctor). Get checked out just so that you can have peace of mind.

BuckyYuen

I was working out on a treadmill once, felt my heart rush, then passed out. Went to see regular doctor and cardiologist over the following 2-3 weeks, and they initially said I was having palpitations... probably caused by dehydration. Mind you, I'd been working 8-9 months of nightshift work and wasn't getting much sleep (and a lot of coffee)... so that all probably contributed to the dehydration. Anyway, haven't had anymore episodes of fainting or palpitations.