Posted By Troy on April 23, 1999 at 14:59:58
I am a 29 yo white male. I try to exercise 4 times/week (2-2.5 miles in 22 -30 minutes) I've had
palpitationsHeart palpitations ever since high
schoolPreschooler development
Preschooler test
Preschooler test or procedure preparation
School age child development
School age test or procedure preparation
School-age children development. No history of ETOH or Tob. No DM,
normalNormal saline flush cholesterolCholesterol
Cholesterol and diet
Cholesterol producers
Cholesterol test
Coronary risk profile
High blood cholesterol and triglycerides,
borderlineBorderline personality disorder HTN, No FH of Heart disease or SCD. Currently take
AtenololAtenolol
Atenolol-chlorthalidone 25 mg QD for palpitations. My question concerns exercise and ischemia. If ischemia exists - will it present itself every time you exercise. I ask this because I periodically experience a tightness/knotting in the pit of my stomach (this is very different from the side cramps one has from prolonged exercise) after jogging for 10-15 minutes. This is associated with the onset of palpitations or PVC's which leads me to believe the two are related. If I try to push through this, sometimes my heart feels like it is going to just stop (I feel as though it is shutting down or tightening - scares the heck out of me) or begin jumping around a lot more. No chest pain is present but this is accompanied by worsening stomach pain (feels like a knot progressively tightens in my gut) and a noticeable increase in HR. My body begins to feel very light and I become very anxious. I don't have dyspnea with this but I may breath a little faster. After walking for a few minutes everything settles down and I feel relatively normal but it may return if I try to run again. I have no history of syncope. I've had a normal EKG and echo. No murmurs or extremity edema. I'm confused because this doesn't happen every time I exercise (maybe once every 2 weeks). I'm just wondering - does this sound like ischemia? My cardiologist thinks it's unlikely? He says when those symptoms occur to just take it easy.
Troy
Dear Troy,
Thank you for your question. Do you work in the medical field by any chance? I would tend to agree with your cardiologist that these are not ischemic symptoms. Ischemia tends to occur whenever the blood pressure and heart rate reach a certain level. Have you had a stress test?
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.
Follow Ups:
Exercise, palpitations and referred pain Troy 4/26/1999
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Re: Exercise, palpitations and referred pain CCF CARDIO MD -CRC 4/27/1999
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