High Heart Rate - 226 BPM ???

[Gazfrapeerith]

My HR often seems to rise in the first half mile or so and I put this down to the aerobic system kicking in. I have had high heart rate readings before (once when climbing up onto Askham Fell 205 bpm) and i dont think it was due to interference or having just done the Bob. It may be the sensors but I tend to get no reading at all if the sensors arent moist.

Nevermind I seem to be OK so I wont worry too much although I would have freaked out a little had I seen 225 flashing at me though!!!

Thanks Gaz

[goldsim1963]

A heart rate of over 220 BPM sounds alarmingly high. I think the advice around checking the gadget and its accuracy is good. You could, if you wish take your own pulse although it would be very difficult to count at such a high rate. Try counting over six seconds and multiplying by ten. I am also presuming that you did not have any symptoms whilst having ? such a high HR?? If you did then a trip to your GP would be advisable. There are many formulae to calculate whay you max HR might be but ost use the 220 minus your age formula.

[Alexandra]

I have had my Polar show freak highs when the battery was giving out, but they were only momentary spikes.

I have also had a few incidents of tachycardia (ultra fast heart rate). With the first my HR went up to 200, which for a person then 67 was way above my notional max. Surprisingly, I didn't feel that bad, except for the worry, but I certainly couldn't have run fast for very long. The high HR continued all morning - maybe 5 hours - but gradually coming down. It left me feeling pretty washed out. Since then I have had a few more incidents, but with my HR only going up to a less worrying 170 or less. This is never associated with exercise, but comes on while still in bed in the morning or shortly after getting up. My normal HR while still in bed in the morning would be usually max 60.

After the 1st incident I saw a GP who made light of it. He obviously thought someone who routinely checked her HR every morning must be a complete hypochondriac. I tried to explain that this is something many runners do but ... Later, after a few more widely spaced incidents, when I had 2 attacks in 1 month I went to another GP who sent me to a specialist. I have been very satisfied with the care at the hospital. I got to wear a 24 hour monitoring device, which picked up a few abnormal beats I hadn't even noticed. What they really need in order to find out what is going on is to do an ECG while I am having an attack, but since then I haven't had one. If/when I do, I have to get myself to the hospital and they will ECG me straight away, day or night.

Naturally, I have researched this problem thoroughly. The danger is that when the heart beats so quickly it is beating very inefficiently. The blood is left pooling in the heart and clots can form, resulting in, worst case, stroke.

I suggest that anyone who experiences an ultra high heart rate for any length of time, (momentary spikes are OK) especially if it occurs more than once, should get checked out, and also research remedies on the web. There are various medical strategies, and also home remedies that work for some to stop the high heart rate when it is happening. What works varies enormously from person to person. I have tried all the home remedies and for me, the only thing that works at all is to walk gently (NOT run) in the open air.

[IanDarkpeak]

I have had my Polar show freak highs when the battery was giving out, but they were only momentary spikes.

I have also had a few incidents of tachycardia (ultra fast heart rate). With the first my HR went up to 200, which for a person then 67 was way above my notional max. Surprisingly, I didn't feel that bad, except for the worry, but I certainly couldn't have run fast for very long. The high HR continued all morning - maybe 5 hours - but gradually coming down. It left me feeling pretty washed out. Since then I have had a few more incidents, but with my HR only going up to a less worrying 170 or less. This is never associated with exercise, but comes on while still in bed in the morning or shortly after getting up. My normal HR while still in bed in the morning would be usually max 60.

After the 1st incident I saw a GP who made light of it. He obviously thought someone who routinely checked her HR every morning must be a complete hypochondriac. I tried to explain that this is something many runners do but ... Later, after a few more widely spaced incidents, when I had 2 attacks in 1 month I went to another GP who sent me to a specialist. I have been very satisfied with the care at the hospital. I got to wear a 24 hour monitoring device, which picked up a few abnormal beats I hadn't even noticed. What they really need in order to find out what is going on is to do an ECG while I am having an attack, but since then I haven't had one. If/when I do, I have to get myself to the hospital and they will ECG me straight away, day or night.

Naturally, I have researched this problem thoroughly. The danger is that when the heart beats so quickly it is beating very inefficiently. The blood is left pooling in the heart and clots can form, resulting in, worst case, stroke.

I suggest that anyone who experiences an ultra high heart rate for any length of time, (momentary spikes are OK) especially if it occurs more than once, should get checked out, and also research remedies on the web. There are various medical strategies, and also home remedies that work for some to stop the high heart rate when it is happening. What works varies enormously from person to person. I have tried all the home remedies and for me, the only thing that works at all is to walk gently (NOT run) in the open air.

Thats a bit of a coincidence Alex

Read this
http://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/showt...384#post348384 post 160

I'm having a heart rate monitor fitted on Wednesday for the above condition.

Apparently this form of Arythmmia is not uncommon in endurance athlete. Basically the top part of the heart vibrates rather than beats/pumps which as you say allows the blood to stagnate which could lead to blood clots after 48 hours leading to a possible stroke. Where as this is more common in 60 plus's you are 3 times more likely to get this than the man in the streets but you are 6 times less likely to get heart disease.

Since the word has got round about my recent episode I have had 4 other runners say they have had similar experiences.

I suffer from WPW syndrome of which there was a thread a couple of years ago, this is very similar and in my case was what triggered my recent trip to A&E.

As to the exercices you mention to lower the heart rate I have been dooing these quite successfully for 20+ years and can now lower my heart rate just by thinking about it. very Zen. Give me a PM if you want to talk about this further.
Ian

[Alexandra]

Thats a bit of a coincidence Alex

Read this
http://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/showt...384#post348384 post 160

As to the exercices you mention to lower the heart rate I have been dooing these quite successfully for 20+ years and can now lower my heart rate just by thinking about it. very Zen. Give me a PM if you want to talk about this further.
Ian

I certainly will - your post has already given me lots of info I hadn't succeeded in finding for myself. But surely everyone would like to read about the HR lowering exercises - perhaps in a separate thread. I'm not quite sure they are the same as the strategies I have tried eg plunging the face in ice cold water or an ice pack over the heart, in order to shock the heart into behaving properly, neither of which works for me. Another suggestion is to take a valium and lie down. I got some valium from my GP (after a thorough grilling to establish I was not proposing to become addicted) but have had no incident since so obviously haven't tried it.

[Lola]

226 BPM used to be the default reading on the common use HR algorthym. It appears on the screen once the HRM knows that it is receiving a signal but that signal begins to fail for some reason, lack of moisture on contacts or increased distance from sensor to transmitter. It is not reading your heart. Moving the chest strap or adding moisture will usually clear the problem and return your wellbeing. This is not to say high readings should be ignored in general, it applies specifically to this one figure ie 226. There was a thread about this some years back, older uncoded Polar models appeared particularly vulnerable.

Hope this makes you feel a little less worried. If in doubt, I'm sure the manufacturer would confirm the
algorthym default for you.

[Alexandra]

226 BPM used to be the default reading on the common use HR algorthym. It appears on the screen once the HRM knows that it is receiving a signal but that signal begins to fail for some reason, lack of moisture on contacts or increased distance from sensor to transmitter. It is not reading your heart.
.

This is absolutely fascinating! How did we ever manage without this forum, and others (sort of) like it?

[Lola]

Hope I wasn't out of order, I know nothing of the medical issues but used early Polar HRMs and it was a common issue. Thats how the exact figure came to light.

[Alexandra]

Hope I wasn't out of order, I know nothing of the medical issues but used early Polar HRMs and it was a common issue. Thats how the exact figure came to light.

I wasn't being sarcastic, I really value your contribution.

[IanDarkpeak]

I certainly will - your post has already given me lots of info I hadn't succeeded in finding for myself. But surely everyone would like to read about the HR lowering exercises - perhaps in a separate thread. I'm not quite sure they are the same as the strategies I have tried eg plunging the face in ice cold water or an ice pack over the heart, in order to shock the heart into behaving properly, neither of which works for me. Another suggestion is to take a valium and lie down. I got some valium from my GP (after a thorough grilling to establish I was not proposing to become addicted) but have had no incident since so obviously haven't tried it.

Just had some one email me with the same exact same condition.