white spots in front of eyes when exercising

[crollorc]

Hi,

I'm a 34yo male. I am of average weight and eat reasonably healthily but lead a largely sedentary lifestyle walking maybe 4-5 miles on average each weekend. I have no history of medical problems but have rarely consulted doctor's.

I have recently (1 month ago) started exercising regularily (4-5 times weekly for short periods initially but now building up to 30mins of exercise) on my rowing machine.

I find that if my heart rate goes much above 150bpm i start to see 3 large overlapping bright areas at the center of my vision. These areas are too bright for me to be able to read something behind them and last until i lower my heart rate below 150bpm.

The same thing has happened throughout my life (certainly since my mid teens) if i exercise too hard.

Any ideas on what the cause may be?

Colm

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

You are welcome. JCH

[crollorc]

Thanks for the advise.

Colm

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

I would suggest you stop exercising and see an Internal Medicine Specialist or Cardiologist as your symptoms can be due to cardio-vascular disease. It is less likely that they represent an eye problem but an exam by an Eye MD ophthalmologist would be ideal also.

JCH III MD