Running going downhill

I have been a runner for most of my adult life. Late 2003 I ran my first marathon in a respectable time (3:33) for a 50 yr old. Once I recovered from the marathon I started running again 3 months later. After a several months of running I began having "sudden exhaustion" events. I would be running fine for several miles, feeling good then suddenly I was forced to stop. My endurance would suddenly disappear. I faced the same problem once I began running again in 2005. Again, it appeared after a few months of running normal. I began wearing a heart monitor and noticed my heart was slowing down by 20 beats/min when these events hit. It was very difficult to maintain an effective training program when my heart was limiting what I could do, so I stopped running again. In 2006 I had the strategy of running slow on a treadmill for long distances. I was hoping my heart would have tolerated an easier progression. However, after running 1hr and 10mins one day, 7 days later I was revisited by the "sudden exhaustion" event around 40-45 mins. I documented several times in 2006 that it was my heart rate dropping suddenly during these episodes. On the last run in 2006 I fought the exhaustion and the urge to stop for a few more seconds and I was left with a sensation in my chest. Every time my heart beat I could feel it in my chest. No pain, just very annoying and as you could understand it was difficult to concentrate. Once again I stopped running and began talking to a cardiologist. In 2007 I began running again. This time I adopted a warm-up routine, which started out with a walk/run at a slow speed and ended with a short run (1min) at a much faster speed. I always used this warm-up before I ran. After running for several weeks, one day I got on the treadmill and attempted the warm-up and only got 1/2 way through. I did not have enough stamina to complete even the warm-up. I now have a fitness monitor, which allows me to monitor and download my heart rate into my computer. My resting heart rate is now in the low 30's. When I sleep it drops down into the mid 20's. When I run, most of the time I cannot get my rate above 100 bpm. I get tired without getting a full workout. I have had a nuclear stress test and scan which have ruled out any form of a blockage. A recent EKG however came back showing I was having an Atrial Fib. I wonder, is this the sensation that I feel in my chest sometimes? Anyone care to comment what Atrial Fib felt like to you? On July 2nd I am scheduled to meet with an electrophysiologist to "discuss" pacemakers. This appointment was scheduled after I wore a holter monitor for 48hours. I would like to hear from any one that can comment on a similar history to mine.--EL


7 Comments

pulse

by jessie - 2007-07-01 01:07:10

your heart rate is in the 30's and when you sleep it drops to the 20's no wonder you have no stamina. all i can say is i had braddychardia pulse was 28 and i was immediately given a temporary pacemaker. within a few days i had a permanent one. i had no stamna at all and sometimes could not walk two feet without s.o.b. and great difficulty. hope this helps jessie now i am good and have a lot of stamina

Running and heart rate

by elpannell - 2007-07-01 07:07:00

CathrynB, I guess I was in a state of denial because the symptoms would go away when I quit running. When I returned to running I hoped my nemesis would not show up. I think my problem was just beginning in 2004 and more elusive. It has definitely progressed now and have plenty of information to show the Drs. Explain to me what a King of Hearts monitor is. I don't think I have long pauses like you but since I am able to download my heart data from my fitness heart monitor I notice during my sleep I will have a heart beat averaging 27 for a long period then I have several seconds of my heart rate spiking up to 60. I am also trying to understand how the PM will work with my heart. After all if I am in the low 30's most of the time the PM is going to be doing most of the work. And yes, I am armed with a list of questions, charts and data. Thanks for your input. --EL

pulse

by elpannell - 2007-07-01 07:07:05

Jesse, thanks for your response. Is a temporary PM standard practice? How much simpler is the procedure? And I guess the Temp PM is taped to your chest? And while I am asking, is the procedure an afternoon surgery normally followed by an overnight stay in the hospital? How many days out of work you you guess for a desk jockey?--EL

heart rate, monitors, etc

by elpannell - 2007-07-01 10:07:46

Cathryn, I think I had the Kof H monitor. They referred to it as a event monitor. I had that in the early stages with the cardiologist but could not capture the event during the 30 days I had it.
I never have seen stars nor have things turned dark, however I have issues with being lightheaded after climbing stairs, standing up after sitting or bending over. This last time I quit running the lightheadiness went away 7 days once I stopped running. I have also seen signs that my heartrate is on the rise. At night my heart rate is now 10 to 15 bpm higher than 2 weeks ago.
The Atrial Frib was detected in my family doctors office when doing a physical. 2 days later I got the Holter monitor from the EP's office. I never saw the EP just the technician. At this point I assume the 48 hour monitor did not detect an AF because he passed on the message it was up to me if I wanted to continued to run. Also, I know that AF can lead to dangerous clots so I asked should I be taking an asprin every day? His response was it would make no difference. So tomorrow my 1st questions will be what did the 48 hour monitor detect?
A fitness monitor just records heart beats / minute for optiumn training purposes. Mine can be set to record the average heart rate every 5, 10, etc seconds. Recently I have it set on 10sec average because I can record longer intervals this way. I understand what you say about the pause and I will find out definitely tomorrow.--EL

elpannell

by jessie - 2007-07-02 05:07:32

the temp pacemaker is put in until you can get a permanent one and this was done on an emergency basis as i was a candidate for cardiac arrest.i di wear a holter afterwards. it took only 15 minutes or so for the temporary and then 2 days later i was at london's university hospital for the permanent one. i blieve they gave me sedation and i think it was put in in about an hour. i was returned to my hometown by ambulance and had a nurse with me. after the temporary pacemaker i went into chf and had to be intubated for a few hours. so hope this helps. you are much younger and it might be quite different for you jessie

how did it go?

by elpannell - 2007-07-03 12:07:28

The 48 hour monitor did reveal that my heart paused a few times for 3 seconds as I slept. This should not surprise me after I have recorded myself @ 22 bpm a few times.
Also, the EP pointed out to me on today's EKG charts, during a 12 second interval my SA node only fired one time. In his words he said it was "grossly abnormal but not life threatening".
So now I am officially on deck for a PM. They are just waiting on me to say when. It won't be in July as there is too much all ready planned, maybe early August. A delay is not dangerous, I just have to deal with the fatigue and early tiring.
Was not going to bed until I let you know Cathryn. Good night.

EL

getting a pm

by elpannell - 2007-07-04 07:07:56

I would think the big difference between your case and mine is I have never fainted or came close. I was getting mildly lightheaded frequently during the period of time that I was training. Stairs, bending, standing up from a sitting position were the primary times I could feeling it. If I had mentioned a fainting episode 1 time I am sure I would have been in your situation. 7 days after I quit running, the lightheadiness problem went away and my heart rate has climbed somewhat (as I expected from previous experience). I expect it to rise a little more in the coming weeks.

I had a sleep study last night watch for my new read.
--EL

You know you're wired when...

Your pacemaker receives radio frequencies.

Member Quotes

I am just now 40 but have had these blackouts all my life. I am thrilled with the pacer and would do it all over again.