Heart rate jumps by 1/3.



starship

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Jun 16, 2004
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I will be just getting warmed up well, heart rate at 135-140, and then it jumps to 225-230. And then drops in various steps back to the expected 135-140. During this time I FELL FINE. But this happens now with two different heart monitors from two different companies. Am I picking up interference on my monitors, or, is my heart doing funny things electrically?

Anyone else ever see this?
 
starship said:
I will be just getting warmed up well, heart rate at 135-140, and then it jumps to 225-230. And then drops in various steps back to the expected 135-140. During this time I FELL FINE. But this happens now with two different heart monitors from two different companies. Am I picking up interference on my monitors, or, is my heart doing funny things electrically?

Anyone else ever see this?
Atrial fibrillation is a possibility... You might want to have it checked out.
 
JustCurious said:
Atrial fibrillation is a possibility... You might want to have it checked out.
Atrial fibrillation is immediatly fatal. Could be a tachycardia, but it's unlikely. I've heard of a lot of people getting HRM readings of 230 when riding over railroad tracks.
 
artmichalek said:
Atrial fibrillation is immediatly fatal. Could be a tachycardia, but it's unlikely. I've heard of a lot of people getting HRM readings of 230 when riding over railroad tracks.
Are you sure you're not confusing atrial fibrillation with ventricular fibrillation?

I've had both post-heart surgery and I'm still very much alive.
 
JustCurious said:
Are you sure you're not confusing atrial fibrillation with ventricular fibrillation?
It's possible. I'm not a cardiologist, but I do know that both types of fibrillations fire at around 6-12 Hz. RF interference from railroad tracks is at 3.8 Hz, which happens to be what starship's heart monitors are reading.
 
artmichalek said:
Atrial fibrillation is immediatly fatal. Could be a tachycardia, but it's unlikely.

Do not give out advice related to cardiology because in this case you are wrong on both counts.

It's pretty reckless to tell someone that a-fib is immediately fatal. A-fib is NEVER immediately fatal. Some people live in a-fib 24/7 for years. It's not pleasant, but do-able when all remedies are exhausted.

And it could be a form of tachycardia, which is just another way of saying HR is fast.

Electrical interference that I've seen results in a brief spike in the HR display, to the highest number the HRM will display, around 229 for my Polar HRM. Seeing the HR come back down in steps is not something I've seen from interference but I have seen it as part of my previous symptoms for a-fib and atrial flutter.

Typical for a-fib episodes is that you would feel a fluttering feeling in your chest just prior or during, but maybe not. You can check your wrist or neck pulse during the episode. A-fib will feel like irregular beats, irregular or random spacing between pulses.
 
Thanks for all the responce. The last two days my ride have been completly normal. There are High Voltage power lines along my ride which could be a factor. My last three physicals there has been something different about my EKG wave forms. So that could be a factor also.

I see my personal doctor tomorrow, with some questions about my wave form and heart rate.

As long as I can still cycle! Sometimes, my ride is the best part of my day.



WarrenG said:
Do not give out advice related to cardiology because in this case you are wrong on both counts.

It's pretty reckless to tell someone that a-fib is immediately fatal. A-fib is NEVER immediately fatal. Some people live in a-fib 24/7 for years. It's not pleasant, but do-able when all remedies are exhausted.

And it could be a form of tachycardia, which is just another way of saying HR is fast.

Electrical interference that I've seen results in a brief spike in the HR display, to the highest number the HRM will display, around 229 for my Polar HRM. Seeing the HR come back down in steps is not something I've seen from interference but I have seen it as part of my previous symptoms for a-fib and atrial flutter.

Typical for a-fib episodes is that you would feel a fluttering feeling in your chest just prior or during, but maybe not. You can check your wrist or neck pulse during the episode. A-fib will feel like irregular beats, irregular or random spacing between pulses.
 
starship said:
Thanks for all the responce. The last two days my ride have been completly normal. There are High Voltage power lines along my ride which could be a factor. My last three physicals there has been something different about my EKG wave forms. So that could be a factor also.

I see my personal doctor tomorrow, with some questions about my wave form and heart rate.

As long as I can still cycle! Sometimes, my ride is the best part of my day.
Here's how you can find out if it is your heart or power lines. Next time you ride by those high voltage lines and notice your HRM going nuts, just ride slightly past where it occurs, turn around and ride back and see if it happens again. If you can replicate the condition by riding under the same spot then you know it isn't you.
 
As previously suggested on this forum [ & personal experiance ] when the electrodes in the chest strap have poor contact up pops 230 there abouts.

Make sure you moisten up the contacts & tighten the straps. Seems more of a problem in cooler weather due to lack of salt filled sweat which creates a good conductor,absolutely vital for correct operation.
If symtoms persist see a professional
 
WarrenG said:
Do not give out advice related to cardiology because in this case you are wrong on both counts.

It's pretty reckless to tell someone that a-fib is immediately fatal. A-fib is NEVER immediately fatal. Some people live in a-fib 24/7 for years. It's not pleasant, but do-able when all remedies are exhausted.

And it could be a form of tachycardia, which is just another way of saying HR is fast.

Electrical interference that I've seen results in a brief spike in the HR display, to the highest number the HRM will display, around 229 for my Polar HRM. Seeing the HR come back down in steps is not something I've seen from interference but I have seen it as part of my previous symptoms for a-fib and atrial flutter.

Typical for a-fib episodes is that you would feel a fluttering feeling in your chest just prior or during, but maybe not. You can check your wrist or neck pulse during the episode. A-fib will feel like irregular beats, irregular or random spacing between pulses.
Well said Warren, there is on occassion some alarmist talk in these forums, for example one cold drink after a hard ride and maybe you're a goner etc. It's fine for those who know what to take with a pinch of salt, but I imagine some of the younger members are more impressionable and could be quite worried by some of the advice that appears in these forums.

Says he who is taking all RD's advice and suffering in silence!:D
 
WarrenG said:
Do not give out advice related to cardiology because in this case you are wrong on both counts.

It's pretty reckless to tell someone that a-fib is immediately fatal. A-fib is NEVER immediately fatal. Some people live in a-fib 24/7 for years. It's not pleasant, but do-able when all remedies are exhausted.
:eek: you mean he would have died had he believed the information? that IS pretty reckless.

:p
 
cheapie said:
:eek: you mean he would have died had he believed the information? that IS pretty reckless.

:p

Put yourself in the place of the person wondering about their heart, who reads that it could be fatal...
 
that would indeed suck! :cool: but it's not like he told him to try smoking crack to get rid of it. :D


WarrenG said:
Put yourself in the place of the person wondering about their heart, who reads that it could be fatal...
 
Sillyoldtwit said:
Well said Warren, there is on occassion some alarmist talk in these forums, for example one cold drink after a hard ride and maybe you're a goner etc. ...
Says he who is taking all RD's advice and suffering in silence!:D

Yours is more of a slow death... Each day RD gets you just a bit closer and closer...

:)
 
WarrenG said:
Put yourself in the place of the person wondering about their heart, who reads that it could be fatal...
I pretty clearly stated that my reply came without a medical license, but rather a background in instrumentation. Did you? For all you or I know it could be the arhythmia presented at his previous physicals, which his doctor must not have been too concerned about, that threw off the monitor. HRM's are certainly not designed to provide a full diagnostic ECG. So before you go around calling people reckless, perhaps you should hold back on giving your own expert diagnoses based on the second hand reading of a cheap heart monitor.
 
artmichalek said:
I pretty clearly stated that my reply came without a medical license, but rather a background in instrumentation. Did you? For all you or I know it could be the arhythmia presented at his previous physicals, which his doctor must not have been too concerned about, that threw off the monitor. HRM's are certainly not designed to provide a full diagnostic ECG. So before you go around calling people reckless, perhaps you should hold back on giving your own expert diagnoses based on the second hand reading of a cheap heart monitor.

I mentioned the possibilities of interference errors with his HRM.

Whether this is about a-fib or not you are ignorant about the facts surrounding a-fib and it is reckless of you to comment about a-fib, especially to suggest to the OP it is "immediately fatal". Your ignorance is no excuse for being reckless.
 
Holy cow, I started a flame war!

Just got back from doctor's and a new EKG was normal (same as before).

I not have on a "King of Hearts", a WIRED monitor so IF this happens again, I can record the event and send it in for a doctor to look at.

This should prove interference or a real electrical (heart) problem.

I let you guys know what I find.

Last two rides were fine, and the power lines are alone the trail for 6 miles.



artmichalek said:
I pretty clearly stated that my reply came without a medical license, but rather a background in instrumentation. Did you? For all you or I know it could be the arhythmia presented at his previous physicals, which his doctor must not have been too concerned about, that threw off the monitor. HRM's are certainly not designed to provide a full diagnostic ECG. So before you go around calling people reckless, perhaps you should hold back on giving your own expert diagnoses based on the second hand reading of a cheap heart monitor.
 
starship said:
Just got back from doctor's and a new EKG was normal (same as before).

I not have on a "King of Hearts", a WIRED monitor so IF this happens again, I can record the event and send it in for a doctor to look at.

The normal ECG does not indicate whether or not you have intermittent a-fib. Hopefully you won't have any episodes.
 

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