I have a "regularly irregular heart beat", meaning it goes from a slower rhythm to a faster rhythm at a pretty regular pattern, and has never bothered me. I was overweight for most of my life, and now, at 23, I've gotten down to a healthy weight through proper diet and exercise. My blood pressure ranges between 108-69 to 120/76 (I'm only 5', so this is considered a good blood pressure) but my heart rate is incredibly high. I keep seeing that it should be under 80bpm, especially considering that I do regular endurance training (40-60 minutes moderate to high intensity cardio 3-4x/week, with moderate intensity of at least 30 minutes the rest of the week).
My current resting heart rate tends to average out at about 88-89bpm, and my maxHR has gotten up to 192 to almost 200. When I start running at the higher intensity, while my body feels fine, I sometimes start coughing or feel like my chest is congested, and it's hard to breathe. I've always thought it was possibly just damage to my lungs (I had a severe illness when I was kid that lasted a few months, and it's lingering affect can manifest in exercise induced asthma, especially during the spring time). When I'm stressed, I have gotten dizzy before, but I've never passed out.
Should I be concerned with my heart rate being so high? I'm still young (23), female, and I consider myself to be in very good condition with the combination of cardio and strength training I do.
I had an EKG a few months ago and things appeared fine, but it was for an overall physical. Is there anything I should be concerned about? Or what do you recommend I should do? Should I see a doctor to find out if there could be damage by the high heart rate, especially going so high during my running?
Thanks!