Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Heart Rhythm (Expert Forum)
Very high heart rate while exercising
Answered by
Michael J. McWilliams, M.D. - atrial fibrillation, Pacemakers, Defibrillators, Arrhythmias (SVT, VT), PVC/PAC, Ablation
Wilmington Health Associates
Wilmington - NC
Questions in the Heart Rhythm forum cover topics that include heart rhythm issues, arrhythmia, irregular heartbeat, implanted defibrillators, pacemakers, and tachycardia.
Very high heart rate while exercising
by sandymack, Aug 31, 2007 09:14AM
Hi -
I'm a 36 yr old female, 5'9", 140 lbs., that has recently begun running (for the last 6 weeks). Prior to that, I would exercise a few days a week...nothing too intense like walking or the stair stepper at the gym, but I wasn't just in horrible shape. My question is how high is too high for my heart rate while exercising? I've been wearing a heart rate monitor (I've actually used two different ones to make sure the reading is correct). After running a couple of miles at around a 12 minute pace, my average heart rate is between 185 - 190. My heart rate has actually gone up to 207. Since I have been gradually increasing my runs, I expected to see a decrease in my heart rate. I have a watch that I plug into the computer at the end of a run that gives me all of the info, such as my pace, miles run, high HR and avg. HR. My average HR has actually gone up a little bit from where I started. The program that gives me the info estimates what my maxium heart rate should be and so of course, it tells me that on average I'm always over 100% of what my maximum heart rate should be. I reach these high levels within about 3 - 5 minutes into the run and I stay there the whole time.
I take Ambien everynight because of a sleep disorder that I have. Someone told me that it can cause high heart rates and I was wondering if that is most likely the cause of my problem? Am I harming myself by running at these high levels?
Thank you for your insight. I really appreciate it!
I'm a 36 yr old female, 5'9", 140 lbs., that has recently begun running (for the last 6 weeks). Prior to that, I would exercise a few days a week...nothing too intense like walking or the stair stepper at the gym, but I wasn't just in horrible shape. My question is how high is too high for my heart rate while exercising? I've been wearing a heart rate monitor (I've actually used two different ones to make sure the reading is correct). After running a couple of miles at around a 12 minute pace, my average heart rate is between 185 - 190. My heart rate has actually gone up to 207. Since I have been gradually increasing my runs, I expected to see a decrease in my heart rate. I have a watch that I plug into the computer at the end of a run that gives me all of the info, such as my pace, miles run, high HR and avg. HR. My average HR has actually gone up a little bit from where I started. The program that gives me the info estimates what my maxium heart rate should be and so of course, it tells me that on average I'm always over 100% of what my maximum heart rate should be. I reach these high levels within about 3 - 5 minutes into the run and I stay there the whole time.
I take Ambien everynight because of a sleep disorder that I have. Someone told me that it can cause high heart rates and I was wondering if that is most likely the cause of my problem? Am I harming myself by running at these high levels?
Thank you for your insight. I really appreciate it!
Doctor's Answer
by Michael J. McWilliams, M.D., Aug 31, 2007 04:22PM
, Aug 31, 2007 04:22PM
I take Ambien everynight because of a sleep disorder that I have. Someone told me that it can cause high heart rates and I was wondering if that is most likely the cause of my problem? Am I harming myself by running at these high levels?
If you are tolerating that heart rate and it comes down appropriately when you finish your work out, this is nothing to be concerned about. If you didn't have the monitor, you wouldn't even know.
The ambien is not causing this.
Enjoy your running.
If you are tolerating that heart rate and it comes down appropriately when you finish your work out, this is nothing to be concerned about. If you didn't have the monitor, you wouldn't even know.
The ambien is not causing this.
Enjoy your running.
Recent Videos
RSS
Expert Activity
Related Expert Forums
Related Communities
