Heart rate drops too quickly

[Alex]

Hi all,

In my continued search for the possible cause of my heart rythm problems I did a new test and would like to know if you guys think it is normal or if someone experiences or has experienced the same thing. I will check with my cardio but the opinions/experiences of this community seem to help me more than anything.
Everytime I walk up five flight of stairs my heart rate reaches 140 bpms at the end of the fifth flight, then I walk ( about 40 yards) to my office, sit down ( at that point I am about 90 bpms) and a few seconds later my heart gets down to 46 or 47 bpms ( stays there for a minute or so) before bouncing back to my normal 60 to 65 bpm rate.
I think 140 bpms is too high for five flight of stairs ( I am 8 months post op and in good shape) but I think maybe my problems are partly because the HR drops too much too quickly. Any experiences like that ? Do Beta-Blockers just slow heart rate or are they also good at preventing extreme drops ? I am know taking Coreg ( 12.5 mg twice daily)
Any thoughts are immensely appreciated.
Un saludo !

 

[Wise]

I can't help with your question Alex, but I did notice you're from San Rafael. I mention that because my wife got her current guide dog there from Guide Dogs for the Blind. So, this is a welcome to the forum, but also sending best wishes to you in pinpointing your problems.

Probably not helpful in the least, but I do remember when I was having A-flutter that my heart raced (don't know the reading) and then would drop to the 40's.

Wise

 

[Duff Man]

I'm 250 lbs, taking 50 mg's of tenormin, and 15 mg's of Vasotec (not an ant-arrhythmic agent). I'm 25 years old, haven't had AVR yet.

I did a little simulation of what you're talking about: My heart rate went up to 96-100 bpm after 11 stairs and when I sat down shortly afterward it went down to 84, and now after about a minute it's 68-72 bpm which is my normal resting heart rate - lately. Sometimes my resting heart rate is 90 or 100 bpm.

Conclusion? I think I'd be more concerned if my heart rate didn't recover/slow down soon enough.

EDIT: I didn't see you said FIVE flights. I just walked up and down my stairs 10 times which is probably equivalent to 5 flights and my heart rate immediately afterward was 132-136. My resting heart rate slowly decreased to it's normal 70ish

I'm definitely not the most fit specimen though... maybe someone else can repeat the "Test"

 

[DebbyA]

Hi Alex,
This is just a guess, hope it helps.

HOW are you measuring your heart rate?
If you are using a monitor and have an irregular heart beat, the readings may not be accurate. (I got some strange readings from my Polar, scrutinized the websites, and found out that it does a kind of calculation if it doesn't detect a beat. I have a first degree heart block and already knew this could be a problem from the monitors in rehab.)

Good luck finding an answer!

 

[Alex]

Aaron,

Thanks a lot for the test ( I owe you one !, it seems my HR ( if I wait long enough after seatign ) will drop to more than my normal HR and then comes back up...did you waited long enough and it would just not go lower than your normal one ? It seems quite interesting that my hear do that but at some point I thought maybe it is normal.

Debbie, I use a normal HR monitor ( chest strap) but sometime i even put my hand and press against the chest and/or carotides to see if I catch pvcs missed by the monitor ( I doubt I do but i feel more confident doing that)

 

[DebbyA]

This is from Polar:
http://www.polar.fi/en/support/faqs?product=&category=General

" Arrhythmia
Polar products are not designed to detect arrhythmia or irregular rhythms and will interpret them as noise or interference. The computer in the wrist unit will make error corrections, so that arrhythmia beats are not included in the averaged beats per minute. The blinking heart symbol in the face of the unit, however, will continue to show all heart beats received. In most cases the Polar products will work fine for persons with arrhythmia."

I was trying to say before that if you have an arrhythmia, the numbers you get from your monitor may be wrong, especially if they vary wildly in a short time and don't reflect how you actually feel.

You might also post this in active life styles--some of those folks are a lot more familiar with the fitness numbers.

 

[Duff Man]

Aaron,

Thanks a lot for the test ( I owe you one !, it seems my HR ( if I wait long enough after seatign ) will drop to more than my normal HR and then comes back up...did you waited long enough and it would just not go lower than your normal one ? It seems quite interesting that my hear do that but at some point I thought maybe it is normal.

Debbie, I use a normal HR monitor ( chest strap) but sometime i even put my hand and press against the chest and/or carotides to see if I catch pvcs missed by the monitor ( I doubt I do but i feel more confident doing that)

Alex, to be honest I haven't paid much attention to my heart rate other than when I take my blood pressure every week/half week. As long as I don't "feel" it, I'm fine with it. I can't stand the sensation of feeling my heart beat in my chest.

Blood pressure and heart rate do tend to drop quite a bit after exercise. This is actually a desired effect for alot of people with heart issues and after a while of sticking to an exercise program, one's HR will remain lower for days or weeks. Athletes will often have low resting heart rates.

So if it were me, personally I wouldn't give it too much thought unless it's something that bothers you. When you get in to the 40's, that is pretty low, so you might want to go in just to make sure your doc is alright with it.

As far as catching PVC's... you don't feel them in your chest? Some people don't and I envy them. As far as I know, PVC's are very common and usually benign. If they happen in groups it can be more dangerous... but that's pretty uncommon. Three or more PVC's in a row is what constitutes v-tach, I believe.