Originally Posted by
metalheart44
Maybe it is just aging, I'm not sure. At today's nuclear stress exam I did fine. The tech taking the images and I had a good conversation so I asked him about my ejection fraction numbers and gave them to me and they are well within the "normal" range. Time and heart rate on the treadmill was good enough for the nurse to threaten to take me to the nearby senior center as an example of how exercise helps when aging. Since it was my birthday today, I decline the offer to visit the senior center.
So, the take away so far is that paying attention to heart function while cycling is helpful for me. Have I worried lately? Some, but I have tried to use that concern to sort out what is going on. There is more to find out.
When I did my test, the doc said I had the physiology of a fit 43 y.o. And I should stop worrying.
The simplest monitor for training stress is to take your orthostatic HR every morning, without fail, and record it in your training log. After getting up and peeing, lie back down with your HRM. Allow your HR to drop as low as it's going to go. I'd give it maybe 5 minutes. It's very important to image calming things, meditate. That's your morning resting HR, MRHR. Then stand, note the exact time and keep watching your HRM. After you stand, your HR will go up to a peak, then decline, then go back up again. Stand for 3 minutes and take your average HR for the last 30" of that three minutes. That's your morning standing heart rate, MSHR. The difference between them is your morning orthostatic HR. Two things to watch. If your MRHR goes up 6-8 beats above completely rested, you're on the edge of overdoing it. If your orthostatic HR climbs over 20, same thing. My orthostatic normally varies between 8 and 13 beats. This test is easy to do and well documented as a tell. It'll take a few weeks to document what's normal and what is not, but it's another handle on the problem.
The other simple tell is to hit a hill really hard after maybe 1/2 hour of riding and watch your HR. You're already doing that. But when your HR won't come up, it's nothing wrong with your heart, you just need more rest before pushing it that hard. IME.