Q: I am taking medication to lower my blood pressure and prevent auricular fibrillation. Usually my blood pressure is 110 – 140 sys and 65 – 69 dys pulse rate <60. I take regular exercise three times a week at the gym. Usually my pulse rate does not reach more than 115 during rowing, cycling or any other exercise of that sort. However when I run (younger people would say jog – I am 76 years old) my pulse will suddenly zoom up to 180 to 190 and will return almost immediately to >100 if I stop. If I keep going it will remain at this high rate but drop slightly. I do not have any pains or any other symptoms and feel good if I continue. Is this OK.
A: I don’t think it is wise to push your heart that hard. You have a condition known as atrial fibrillation where your heart beats too fast. This is the most common irregular heartbeat. It is possible when you jog, the medicine you take is not able to keep your heart from beating irregularly. Atrial fibrillation increases your chance of having a stroke. You might need to have your heart rhythm monitored while you are jogging to see exactly what is going on. You should discuss this further with your doctor.
I also use a rowing machine and swim for the same reasons. I asked previously about (any research into) the comparative benefits of cardio-vascular exercise vs Resperate (if time is limited to one or the other), but there was no reply.
I have a.fib. also. My doc. put me on the treadmill and measured my numbers. Age, physical health, sex, weight and how tall you are all have a bearing on the results.
My results are for the treadmill: between 110-120.
What that means is that I have to stay in that range.
It is very important not to exert your heart rate to go higher than that!
Medicine can not control that. You can. Stay with aerobics, don’t jog.
Also, move slower but take longer to get there. Slow but steady is the best way. We’re not young anymore and have to accept this.
I think that this is a pretty fast and ungrounded diagnosis of atrial fibrilation. I am not a physician, but I know enough about both AF and exercise variations among people that I would not consider that you have enough evidence from what the writer has offered to make that diagnosis. Plenty of 70s competitive athletes like myself, who do not have AF, have similar experiences during all out efforts in competition in swimming and track where despite what the charts say our maximal heart rates are closer to 200 than their suggested 220 minus one’s age. I run my workouts at over 160, 15 or 20 beats over my expected maximal with no ill effects and no AF.
I have being on Atenolol for many years, maybe 20 years and would like to go to a more Natural medicines. My readings are presently 127/70 (88) to 147/76 (81)
What do you suggest as alternative natural medicines.
Thanks
The best natural medicine I know of is diet and exercise. I tested the theory a few months ago after being put on anti-hypertensive medication for HBP. I’d highly recommend reading “Eat to Live” and “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” I transitioned to a plant-based diet and over the next few months, watched my doctor gradually reduce my dosage of BP meds. Within 3 months I was weaned off the medication. Today I still follow the plant based diet, take 100mg of CoQ10 and get adequate Omega-3 EFA’s via Walnut and flaxseed every day. My BP consistently runs about 115/65 Also check out the following video: http://vimeo.com/31181896
ASK YOUR CARDIOLOGIST what your maximum Target Heart Rate should be for your certain type of exercise that will not do anymore damage. I asked mine & he gave it to me………They also would be able to tell you with a stress test on a treadmill 😉