Recent 'episodes' with my fluctuating heartrate have left me with several questions. First, a little history. A few years back, my heart would race while resting, and my blood pressure would shoot up every time I would stand. I was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachecardia Syndrom, and was prescribed several medications that took care of the problem. I eventually came off the meds, quit smoking, lost 35 lbs, and began riding religiously once again. For the past year or so, I have felt great, with none of previous symptoms making an appearance. Until this past Thanksgiving. I went for nice little 30 miler. I felt great the whole ride, but felt crappier than usual post ride. Several hours after the ride, while having rested for an hour or two, my heartrate was still up around 120-130 bpm. It didn't return to the normal 60-ish bpm resting HR that I am used to. For the next several days, I had moderate chest pains, and decided a trip to the ER would ease my worried mind. All blood tests and EKG came back inconclusive, but they held me for an extra hour or two to monitor my HR, which was in the low 50's, because they considered that too low. It dropped into the 40's once or twice during that period. They released me, and told me to follow up with my cardiologist. I had felt fine for several days afterwards, and decided I didn't need to follow up with anyone. Fast forward a week to yesterday: a couple hour high-output ride left me with the same elevated HR for several hours post-ride.

Questions:
what is your resting HR?
how soon after a ride (or other excercise) does your resting HR return to normal?
is several (2-4) hours an acceptable amount of time for my HR to return to its resting state?

I thank anyone who has taken the time to read and respond to this, and appreciate any and all responses.

the_dude


edit: I realize there are probably a million and a half HR posts, and I apologize if this has already been covered.

i think you need to stick with the medical professionals for your issues on this one, but i think your questions is...how soon after exercise does HR return to resting level...? if so, the answer is within a few minutes after completing the exercise (whether it be running, biking, rowing, swimming).


Questions:
what is your resting HR?
how soon after a ride (or other excercise) does your resting HR return to normal?

I thank anyone who has taken the time to read and respond to this, and appreciate any and all responses.

the_dude[/QUOTE]

i think you need to stick with the medical professionals for your issues on this one

yeah, i'm planning on a follow-up appointment with my cardiologist. i'm not asking for anyone to give me a diagnosis, just looking for simple answers and maybe a few similar experiences. thanks for the response.

the_dude

Questions:
what is your resting HR?
how soon after a ride (or other excercise) does your resting HR return to normal?
is several (2-4) hours an acceptable amount of time for my HR to return to its resting state?
the_dude

Here is some data I just collected today. Hopefully it is responsive to your questions. I just got an HRM 2 weeks ago so am having fun playing with it anyway. The data is what it is - and I will not be presumptuous WRT suggesting what it means to you.

Background:
Age - 54
Clinically tested RHR/VO2max - 42bpm/53.2ml/min/kg
"Normal" daily HR ~ 52bpm
Max measured HR on the cycle since getting the HRM - 168bpm

Ride Results for Today:
Starting HR - 59bpm
20 mile roundtrip on a route with rollers and a few traffic stops
Ascent/Temp/Conditions - 900ft/53F/scattered rain
Avg Speed/Cadence/HR - 19mph/93RPM/135bpm
Max measured HR - 155bpm

At the conclusion of the ride:
Final HR on the cycle - 114bpm
Off the Cycle:
HR after 1 minute - 70bpm
HR after 4 minutes - 59bpm
HR after 24 minutes - 55bpm

HTH

wow. thanks for all the info. that is exactly what i was looking for. the more research i do on this topic, the more variables i see coming into play. such as lack of sleep the night before the ride, pre-ride nutrition, etc. so who knows why i'm experiencing this. ideally, i'd like to have my HR drop back into a normal resting range much quicker, as yours does. thanks again.

the_dude

I wish I had your resting heart rate however, your heart rate remaining elevated does not sound like my experience. I can go from 150 down to 90 after a couple minutes at a stop light. At the end of a ride it will be pretty much normal after 10 miuntes or so.

Think about it...lower heartrates just mean you are one step closer to death. ;)

Think about it...lower heartrates just mean you are one step closer to death. ;)

thanks dillwad! :D

the_dude

dude,
i am 46 and have been riding now for about 5 years. i ride about 4 or 5 hours a week pretty hard. i can recall my hear rate staying high after riding but it hasn't happend recently.

get it checked out but

based on my experience i wouldn't be too worried about it. i'm no expert but the way i see it there are mechanical problems and electrical problems with the majority being mechanical. if you had serious mechanical problems i would think you would have symptoms during a hard ride

i my case my theory is that my body was in a state of flux (getting in better shape) and sorting itself out

It is definitely not normal to have an elevated heart rate that long after excersize. As you felt bad at the time, possibly indicating a lowered cardiac output, I would be concerned with aberrant conduction within your heart, a general category of multiple conditions which may have a myriad of causes. You need a stress test and probably a multiday heart monitor study. I would take this very seriously. My professional advise: don't ride again until you are checked out by your cardiologist.