I DID workout with my husband ( we got a deal for both of us working out--a great monthly rate) at the cardiac rehab place for our local hospital--my husband had a heart attack and he worked out faithfully every day, so in March 2010 I joined with him. I started out with full intent, this was it, I, who am VERY out of shape and overweight, was going to get IN shape and lose weight. I had full, happy approval from my cardiologist and my regular Dr. At first, it was fine. I loved it, I got up to 50 minutes of cardio on the treadmill and Nustep...then suddenly, kinda out of nowhere (but not really Ive been having PVCs/PACs for 18 years) my benign palplitations started up. Not that they were ever really gone, but they didnt bother me during exercise. They usually went away when I exercised. The first few times I had it, I told the cardiology technicians there...I even went to the cardio, and he gave me a talking to...told me its much worse for me if I DONT exercise, that the palps are harmless, etc..etc...etc....but to appease me, he told the rehab people to put me on a monitor while I worked out, if I felt them start up. So...of course, they did the very next night.
It was a portable monitor, and they told me to work out as normal. They watched my heart-----and I watched them, as Im working hard on the treadmill & my heart is flopping around in there like a fish....and I waited for them to come tell me to stop. They never did.
I get all done, my heart is just mis-firing allllll over the place, I walk over to the girl..and I say...well? SHe said...."I gotta give you credit. You stayed on that treadmill, and your heart WAS having lots of mostly PACs.... but...I dont see ANYTHING that is concerning in the least"....
well, i did this time and time and time again, until I could tell, they were getting tired of having to put me on the monitor--truly, it wasnt part of MYparticular plan that I was paying for...so really, they didnt have to do it. I wasnt sent there by any doctor...
So..I went a few more times, and I will be honest. I couldnt take it anymore. I COULD NOT TAKE IT!!!
EVEN THOUGH I was told BY a cardiology person watching my heart, that it was fine.
Mentally....I could not stand it anymore, the sensation of those damn palpitations SO fierce, so awful......it was easier to stop working out.
Of course that was six months ago, and ive never been back. I should go. I know its hurting me not to go, and I just had a physical, and my dr told me to go back, but ....Im just afraid!!!
I have them daily now, without any exertion anyways, what would exercise do!?!?!?
I know im in the wrong here, but they are that horrible, that I just cant make myself go
I'm just interested to see if exercise helps others because it makes me worse, which is frustrating trying to recover from everything I've been through the past 2 years. I keep trying and am going to figure this all out one day.
I just posted this in Bromley's exercise thread:
I think one of the earliest signs I had problems was my bp/hr problems during exercise; the hemodynamic [sp] responses started with me from childhood.
My 2009 treadmill stress test showed problems walking in under 5 minutes and I fainted. I had noticed over the years my weird bp plummets and my "thumping" in my chest when I would run or do heavy exertion like moving furniture but not to the point it stopped me from doing it; even going through 50,000 pvc's I would walk/run 4-6 times weekly, sometimes more. I would faint, get back up and finish what I was doing; but it's because dr's told me it was nothing to worry about.
I still have no clue what changed, what tipped the scale on the wrong side that made me go down hill so fast back in 2009, but I suspect it was infection when we were at the beach but it can't be proven now and nothing was found back then which makes me suspect it even more.
If better means they are less frequent then exercise does help mine to stay away. I have a difficult time exercising when i'm having an episode of PVC's.
Why can't you drive? I know my dr's put me on a no driving restriction from the first time I saw them due to my syncope (fainting) episodes.
Is there a reason for your sleep problems? I know my EP thought sleep deprivation played a part in my arrhythmia problem. If you haven't you may want to get a sleep study done or ask the dr for something to help you sleep to see if it helps.
It could be adrenaline that triggers yours also, I've ran and did long distance since I was 14 - I'm lucky now to walk w/o triggering a huge episode of something.
Good luck on your ablation; let us know what happens and what they say is going on =)
Maybe I need to change my mind. I walked on the treadmill for 24 minutes and ran for 1 minute. ( the first time running in a very long time) Haven't had any kind of stimulants, diet coke, chocolate, etc; and my heart has been bouncing around and have had a few short svts. Maybe the running stimulated the heart too much. I decided to go ahead with an ablation so hopefully there is an end of this in sight.
I haven't been exercising since my last episode of Afib. I tried, as the cardiologist said it was the best thing I could do for myself. It was ok for 3 times, tho I was very weak. Then the 4th time my bp went down -- I think my beta blocker had just kicked in and I got scared and haven't been back since.
In the past, when I've started exercise (after work at a preventative cardiology exercise center with a crash cart nearby) even when I'm extremely tired, if I push thru the skipped beats and continue, even just to do a light workout (20 minutes on a nu-step) I almost always feel better and energized. Sometimes I'm just plain exhausted, but I believe that may be due to the fact that I am chronically sleep deprived and I've worked all day besides. Looking forward to retirement and being able to exercise anytime I want.
My husband has to go with me, because I haven't driven to work or anywhere in 3 months.
Does anyone actually pass out during exercise as I do? I haven't in awhile due to my PM being reset but exertion & exercise have triggered fainting episodes since I was 9...
Now at 44 with a pacemaker/ICD it just leaves me fatigued my HR shoots up crazily and my bp makes me sick...I feel good as long as it's very slow and only 1-5 minutes; anything above is a disaster.
I've tried several times since ablation in 2009 to start over and when I push myself past a few minutes at a time I end up sicker than when I started. Maybe it really is all due to my ANS problems causing more complications than I like to think.
I have pvt's and svt's. When I walk on the treadmill for just 10 minutes a day, I have less problems for the day. I feel like when I give my heart a workout, it functions better.
There is no easy answer because I have had them pre, during, post. Its never the same. :)
btw I'm about to join that 4th group - I don't exercise - why does it have to be so hard?
Yesterday - all I had to do was walk from the parking lot to the dr's office go up the elevator and across the hall - my HR was 190 by the time I sat for the nurse to take my pulse & bp was 150/100 (which my cardiologist wants) but I don't have to like it do i? lol My hr stayed high even when the dr talked to me and examined me - 150 ugh!
I just wanted to see what others voted and say.
When I had my stress test done in 2009 during my pvc "storm" my pvc's increased during and after and just in 4:55 min 2 PVC couplets and 1 PVC triplet in recovery; yet I had been exercising 4-6 times wkly.
Now, it's not the pvc's that's bothering me - it's my hr and bp driving me mad; and the pvc's do bother me also but that's normal. I'm going to ask the cardio when I go back what's going on and keep trying.
I need to add this: Premature beats often occur in the beginning of exercise, this is normal. They can also occur if you suddenly increase work load, that's normal too. Often a sign of poor exercise condition.
If you get massive amounts of PVCs during intense exercise, this is sometimes a problem, given, of course, you're not in the middle of a panic attack (earlier I often got those during exercise because the sensation of exercise (rapid heart rate, heavy breathing, sweating) triggered it).
Fortunately, mine always go away with exercise. I also don't seem to be affected by the added adrenalin in my system after exercise either as mine will stay gone for several hours after exercise.
My PVC's and PAC's just bump along as they wish. Exercise or exertion tends to trigger my atrial tachy though. Then I have to pause and wait till it decides to kick back to NSR.
4th choice - Don't know since PVC's discourage exercising - that's my vote