High Heart Rate

[Marty]

Jack, if you can do the treadmill with ease but get air hunger sometimes
going downstairs,etc. makes me wonder if you are not hyperventilating.This will never kill you but can be very worrisome and difficult to treat.You might check by rebreathing into a paper bag. If that helps it would cinch the diagnosis.

 

[carista]

I also get a lot more short of breath going up stairs then I do when I work out on the elliptical or treadmill. My heart rate will go up easily without doing much activity also. I won't even feel like I'm doing much but my heart rate will go up 10-20bpm just from walking across the room. Doing the elliptical seems easier to me now then before surgery but my heart rate is higher than it used to be when I do do it. I never did bring it up to my cardiologist...maybe I'll mention it next time I see him and see what he has to say about it.

Carista

 

[Mary]

Before surgery, my heartrate ran in the mid70's. After surgery, I struggled with a rate of 110-115. The cardiologist decided to see if it would stabilize on its own. It has taken some time, but seven months out it's back in the mid to high 70's, and I expect it to drop more as I lose weight and continue with the aerobic activity.

I guess I should have knocked on wood before I posted my previous reply.

On Saturday and Sunday afternoon, I checked my heartrate with a pulse oximeter before starting my workout at the Fitness Center.
Both days it was 95 before I did a darn thing!


I checked it this morning before I got out of bed--62. I checked it again after I started moving around and had a cup of coffee--74.

I don't know why it's taken this sudden jump. My blood pressure is good-- 111/73 I'm jogging/walking on a treadmill 40+ minutes, and it stays between 120-135, but drops quickly down to 110. That sounds high until I compare it to the "before" treadmill rate of 95!

The only meds I'm on are Lasix, a potassium supplement, and a 325mg enteric coated aspirin. I've dropped 9 pounds since I started this routine five weeks ago, and my salt intact has been drastically reduced.

I am so aggravated!

 

[Georgia]

This is exactly the same pattern I have - low in a.m., but always high in the late afternoon. And it is frustrating and I've never gotten a good explanation for it. My numbers are nearly identical to yours, except that in the last year the late afternoon rate has come down to average around 80 - 85. I don't feel like my heartrate is high; I feel comfortable, etc. And my bp is low (110/60). My cadio says my hr is fine. Go figure. I about drove myself crazy over this; finally decided that maybe it's just me and if my docs aren't worried, why should I be?

 

[Mary]

This is exactly the same pattern I have - low in a.m., but always high in the late afternoon. And it is frustrating and I've never gotten a good explanation for it. My numbers are nearly identical to yours, except that in the last year the late afternoon rate has come down to average around 80 - 85. I don't feel like my heartrate is high; I feel comfortable, etc. And my bp is low (110/60). My cadio says my hr is fine. Go figure. I about drove myself crazy over this; finally decided that maybe it's just me and if my docs aren't worried, why should I be?

Georgia,
Like you stated, I would never recognize that the HR is high unless I checked it. I feel no different, and actually, I feel better--more peppy, etc.--as the day wears on.
My concern is I'm going to wear this bovine valve out sooner, rather than later.
Maybe with time the afternoon rate will drop to the level you're experiencing. I could live with that.

 

[jax3172]

More on heart rate

More on heart rate

Mary,

Was your HR < 95 before workouts in the past or don't you know for sure?

Georgia, I'm glad you both feel OK. Unlike you and Mary, I actually peak in the late morning then it goes down from about 3 PM on. It actually starts to creep up from the high 60's in the wee hours (like 5 AM). By the time I get up and walk 20 steps into the bathroom at 7 AM it's in the low 90's.

I still exercise but I should feel better. My frustration is that I often feel like I'm not getting enough air, and I often feel exhausted. This correlates to the HR. The more I feel this way, the higher my resting HR is. When I feel like I'm getting enough air, my HR is usually a bit lower. My blood Oxygen level is fine (usually high 90's). A recent lung test showed some inefficiency in the smaller lung recesses but if I'm getting enough O2 then why does the ticker think it needs to work harder? This isn't what I expected 7 months post-op. I thought I'd be climbing mountains with my repaired and more efficient ticker. My nature is to push myself but my body won't cooperate and that stinks. I'm tired of trying to pursue it with doctors. I feel like I'm the only one who really cares. As I write this it?s 88. A month before surgery with all my problems, it would have been 68.

 

[Georgia]

Mary, my guess is that it will. I had a terrible time keeping it under 100 (my cardio's goal) for the first year. If you continue the aerobic work I imagine it'll come down some. I think that as long as it's ok in the morning your cardio won't worry much. I'm a night owl by preference - my temp maxes out late in the day, so I think a lot of this is just being aware of it. Probably always did have higher hr late in the day. Never checked it before.

 

[Mary]

Mary,

Was your HR < 95 before workouts in the past or don't you know for sure?

I was checking my HR previously, and by November, before a workout, it had dropped to 80. The 95 is a new development.
I have access to a pulse oximeter, and my O2 sats are always 98-99% no matter what the HR is.
I might ask my PCP to order blood work and find out if I'm anemic--again

Georgia,
I see the Cardio in May; hopefully he'll let it settle down on its own.