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Cardiovascular Disease Prevention (Expert Forum)
High heart rate
Answered by
Lee Kirksey, MD - Peripheral Arterial Disease, PAD, Cardiovascular Disease, stroke, treatment, angioplasty, spider veins, laser ablation, wound treatment, surgery, leg pain, Prevention, Varicose veins
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center of the Univ. of Pennsylvania Healthcare Clinical Assistant Professor at The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Philadelphia - PA
Questions in the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention forum are answered by Dr. Lee Kirksey, associate professor at The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
High heart rate
by DPM111, Apr 28, 2009 08:32PM
I've posted a couple times about trying to recondition myself. I'm still concerned about how poorly conditioned I seem to be, compared to my friends that I talk to.
On an elliptical trainer, I can go for about 8 minutes at low speed. My pulse slowly goes up to about 135 by then, which seems very high. I also sometimes go for a 20 minute walk. I feel again like I am doing more work than I should have to. Today, my pulse was 135 after coming back from a walk at normal speed -- I felt sort of out of breath while walking, but I was also having something of a mild anxiety attack -- it's hard to know which came first.
Possible factors I wonder about:
1. Deconditioned heart and legs, which is normal
2. I am having some generalized anxiety and mild anxiety attacks
3. Actual loss of heart function, some kind of slowly progessing myopathy
What should my doctor and I do? Can a test rule out #3, and then perhaps I can just calm down and get to work?
On an elliptical trainer, I can go for about 8 minutes at low speed. My pulse slowly goes up to about 135 by then, which seems very high. I also sometimes go for a 20 minute walk. I feel again like I am doing more work than I should have to. Today, my pulse was 135 after coming back from a walk at normal speed -- I felt sort of out of breath while walking, but I was also having something of a mild anxiety attack -- it's hard to know which came first.
Possible factors I wonder about:
1. Deconditioned heart and legs, which is normal
2. I am having some generalized anxiety and mild anxiety attacks
3. Actual loss of heart function, some kind of slowly progessing myopathy
What should my doctor and I do? Can a test rule out #3, and then perhaps I can just calm down and get to work?
Doctor's Answer
by Lee Kirksey, MD, Apr 30, 2009 07:24PM
, Apr 30, 2009 07:24PMTo: DPM111
Hello
Its very difficult to determine if you have some underlying physiologically signficant cardiac abnormality vs deconditioning from a sedentary lifestyle just from a short email. I would have a thorough physical and examination by your PCP. Perhaps they will determine that a cardiac perfusion stress test or cardiac echo is warranted to rule out silent underlying cardiac abnormality. Good luck
Its very difficult to determine if you have some underlying physiologically signficant cardiac abnormality vs deconditioning from a sedentary lifestyle just from a short email. I would have a thorough physical and examination by your PCP. Perhaps they will determine that a cardiac perfusion stress test or cardiac echo is warranted to rule out silent underlying cardiac abnormality. Good luck
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Today I went for a 20 minute walk, and my heart rate was 100 shortly after getting back. So 100 vs. 135 bpm is what anxiety can do!