High heart rate during exercise

[picks4]

I am a new paramedic, and I recently took the physical fitness test at the hospital.  I was told that as a 33 year old female, my maximum heart rate should be around 158 during activity.  It was 198 at one point.  Unfortunately my active heart rate has always been high, and until this test, it has never been a problem.  I was told I need to figure out how to correct this.  Any ideas? Certain exercises, or medications?

[slowdown4life]

I'm a 46 y.o. male, 5'5", 155 lbs.  My resting heart rate is 60-80 and about 55 bpm when I wake up. I've always had a faster heart rate all my life.  I run 3 miles 3 times per week.  I also workout with weights and do other cross training and have done so most of my life.  Recently I noticed that my heart rate during intense exercise was reaching 180-190 bpm (after I built up to a sprint) and during steady pace part of my run was averaging about 160 bpm.  Recently, I noticed that my heart rate reached 200+ bpm on similar runs and a couple times stayed at 200+ for 30 minutes AFTER I finished running and was just sitting.  I went to the doctor and had an EKG which came back normal.  I started to deduce (besides aging) what I was doing differently and I came up with a list of things that I had been doing more of.  1.  Being stressed, feeling anxious more than usual the past 2 years.  2.  Drinking ice teas during lunch and having green tea every day (lots more caffeine than I'm used to as I'm not a coffee drinker).  3.  Eating/snacking more (especially chips like Doritos).  4.  Sleeping irregularly.  Immediately, I saw that it seemed like each of these activities could be feeding each other.  The caffeine from the ice teas and green tea were adding to my anxiety and stress and also preventing me from getting a solid night's worth of sleep, which in turn was making me weaker and more fatigued overall.  The most interesting thing I found was that I also seemed to have an adverse reaction to MSG, which is a known heart rate increaser.  I was dosing-up my body with MSG each time I snacked on Doritos after or between meals.  One weekend (the one after which I had the 200+ heart rate that didn't come down for 30 min), I had an especially MSG-filled weekend as I had a large bowl of soup and pickled condiments which must have been laden with MSG.  I also had several servings of Doritos.  The most interesting of all these MSG-related facts I found is that the protein drinks and protein bars that I have been using before and after workouts (Whey Protein) has the same exact effect as MSG.  In fact if you look-up hidden sources of MSG, you will find most proteins are "free glutamates" just like MSG, in addition to many flavor enhancers in chips and other food not labelled as MSG.  You can imagine, that one weekend, I had MSG soup, MSG chips and MSG protein.  Combined with my tea drinking and lack of sleep, it produced a perfect storm of fast heart rate.  I've since tried to relax more, cut out the caffeine and chips as well as the protein drink and now I'm back to 160-180 bpm during moderate to hard exercise.  I'm hoping to bring it down more with continued awareness and vigilance.  Best of luck and good health wishes to all of you.

[slowdown4life]

I'm a 46 y.o. male, 5'5", 155 lbs.  My resting heart rate is 60-80 bpm and about 55 bpm when I wake up. I've always had a faster heart rate all my life.  I run 3 miles 3 times per week.  I also workout with weights and do other cross training and have done so most of my life.  Over the last year, I noticed that my heart rate during intense exercise was reaching 180-190 bpm (after I built up to a sprint) and during the steady pace part of my run was averaging about 160 bpm.  Last year, it was only about 145-160 bpm max.  Recently, I noticed that my heart rate reached 200+ bpm on similar runs and a couple times stayed at 200+ for 30 minutes AFTER I finished running and was just sitting.  I went to the doctor and had an EKG which came back normal and my blood pressure was also normal.  I started to deduce (besides aging) what I was doing differently and I came up with a list of things that I had been doing more of the past year.  1.  Being stressed, feeling anxious more than usual the past 2 years.  2.  Drinking ice teas during lunch and having green tea every day (lots more caffeine than I'm used to as I'm not a coffee drinker).  3.  Eating/snacking more (especially chips like Doritos).  4.  Sleeping irregularly.  Immediately, I saw that it seemed like each of these activities could be feeding each other.  The caffeine from the ice teas and green tea were adding to my anxiety and stress and also preventing me from getting a solid night's worth of sleep, which in turn was making me weaker and more fatigued overall.  The most interesting thing I found was that I also seemed to have an adverse reaction to MSG, which is a known heart rate increaser.  I was dosing-up my body with MSG each time I snacked on Doritos after or between meals.  One weekend (the one after which I had the 200+ heart rate that didn't come down for 30 min), I had an especially MSG-filled weekend as I had a large bowl of soup and pickled condiments which must have been laden with MSG.  I also had several servings of Doritos.  The most interesting of all these MSG-related facts I found is that the protein drinks and protein bars that I have been using before and after workouts (Whey Protein) has the same exact effect as MSG.  In fact if you look-up hidden sources of MSG, you will find most proteins are "free glutamates" just like MSG, in addition to many flavor enhancers in chips and other food not labelled as MSG.  You can imagine, that one weekend, I had MSG soup, MSG chips and MSG protein.  Combined with my tea drinking and lack of sleep, it produced a perfect storm of fast heart rate.  I've since tried to relax more, cut out the caffeine and chips as well as the protein drink and now I'm back to 160-180 bpm during moderate to hard exercise.  I'm hoping to bring it down more with continued awareness and vigilance.  Best of luck and good health wishes to all of you.

[shany25m]

roobsta:

I like your theory about the heart muscle growth, it is better than the Doctor's theory which is nothing.

Roobsta and Naenae9155:

My Cardio Fitness test results were that I am in the top 95% of heart health, my oxygen utilization was above normal, etc. etc - my HR was 195 at peak but did not alarm the tester, and I could not catch my breath - also no alarm for them.

I then had an echo done, and they injected bubbles into my veins to better view the heart wall structures and to more clearly see holes in the walls, should there be any - bottom line, all systems go.

I am still answerless which is okay for now.  I am being medically discharged from the Army for other medical reasons and have not been actively engaged in cardio activity for about a year - which is a blessing since I cannot perform to standard anyway :)

Once I am healthier and medication free I have every intention to re-engage my physical stamina... I miss my adrenaline rushes. LOL

I had never even considered over training, nor was it suggested by the professionals.  I do hope that is the answer, though, because that is TOO EASY to fix :)))

sorry for the hugely delayed replies, I have been terribly busy with my other issues.  Hopefully you will see this reply.  Good luck to you!

shany25m

[darr54]

I am 40 year old male and ex forces, i have started wearing a heart monitor while exersising, and have noticed my heart rate is high while exersising (eg) today 9-5-11 i ran 6.7 mile in 1hr 7 mins and my heart rate was 180-190 do i run a rick of having a heart attack if i keep it up,  and i am trying my hardest to watch what i eat. please can someone enlighten me

[Amy9052]

I know this is old but in case anyone may read:

I had issues including high heart rate that turned out to be postural orsthatic tachacardia syndrome. It's hallmark is a heart rate increase of 30 bpm when you stand or over 120 when standing. There are other symptoms too that you may not think are connected. It can be debilitating, I'd know. A speed walk for me = 180- 195 bpm. Walking up the stairs = 160 standing= 130. Resting = 100. It suuucckks. Beta blockers help. Look into it & talk to dr cause it's common but most drs aren't very informed about it.

[Rc008]

I!m 65 and have had, until recently had a normal exercise experience ... Work on a treadmill and increase speed to get to a desired heart rate. About six months ago I noticed my heart rate was shooting up after moderate exercise and now will pop up to 120 with a few steps or very moderate exercise. Granted, that is not a high rate for many on this post. My resting heart rate is 50-55. I take lipitor and have good numbers but worry about muscle issues ... had sore ribs for several months. Will check my thyroid. I do have panic issues.