Joining the gym

[Tammylouise1985]

Hi everyone I'm new to this,I have a vsd and recently joined the gym,I've noticed on one of the machines I use my heart rate goes upto between 160-190 is this risky?

[skid112 Heart Star]

Hi tammylouise, not a lot of info to go on, what has your gp/cardiologist said about your condition are you on any meds , do you have any regular appointments with any specialists?

[Tammylouise1985 in reply to skid112]

Last time I seen him he said have to get my heart going pumping...I'm due to see them back in October aswell..I'm not on any meds,they have said will prob need surgery later on in life X

[Marc68]

Hi Tammylouise. I'm not really versed in vsd but as I understand it your heart has to work harder to compensate for the blood passing between the ventricles. Assuming from your username you are age 32, your maximum heart rate should be 206-32=174.

To be on the safe side I'd try and keep below that until you see them in October. Use the same machines if you like, just slow down a bit when your HR rises. Breathing is also important... breathe out on exertion, breathe in when relaxing the muscles. That helps to keep your HR down. Try and avoid any exercise, such as heavy weights, that make you hold your breath and/or grunt.. it's called isometric exercise and it isn't good for heart patients. It raises your blood pressure and impedes bloodflow back to the heart.

[Midgeymoo17]

The heart rate detectors on those machines is genuinely awful (particularly if it does it from your palms). The advice I was always been given regarding this (and I have a repaired VSD) is that I should exercise at the point you are sweating and can reasonably still hold a conversation.

So can at the very least speak i something called sense clauses (groups of words between which you do not normally pause but would normally suspend with out breathing afterwards i.e.: "The thing is" if you complete that sentence you would notice you have a brief pause after is but you would not normally breathe in that pause, My maximum exercise is I would have to breathe after is).

[KEN65]

Hi Tammy, I find swimming best overall, not my best sport but breast stroke in the pool for 30 mins is good with you in control on how hard you want to push your swim. good weight bearing on your body and gets the ticker working well, I am 65 always been a sport male and use a Garmin watch to see my heart rate,maybe worth a try. good luck.

[Tammylouise1985]

Hi thanks for your replies when my heart rate does go up I slow down to bring it down,like I said when I last seen the doctors they told me do exercise that gets the heart pumping,I've only recently joined the gym since losing my dad last month so I had to do something to keep me occupied and busy

[Marc68]

Hi Tammylouise. I'm sorry yo hear about your Dad.

You do need to get your heart pumping to exercise it. Using muscles requires oxygen, which is carried around in the blood, so when you exercise your muscles need more blood. Your heart pumps harder to supply it.

Although you need to get your heart rate up you don't want to push it too far. Because of the vsd your heart will probably have to work even harder and that could well be the reason you're getting upto 190bpm. You shouldn't let it get anywhere near that high. Personally I'd stop way before that.

[Tammylouise1985]

Thank you,it only goes up to that when I go on the escalator at the gym that piece of equipment is a killer

[Marc68]

I'd stay well clear of it if I were you. You don't need to put yourself at risk.

[Tammylouise1985 in reply to Marc68]

I've been on it again today only went upto 167

[Marc68]

Hi Tammylouise. You need to be careful. 167 is still very high, and quite possibly dangerously high. I haven't come across a single heart patient who has been advised they can exercise at that high a rate and there's good reason for that.

The 174 figure from the basic calculation above is for people without heart problems. There are a few of us on here who are trying to find out how they calculate the figure for heart patients but so far it seems that it may be that a % is applied to that figure.

If that is the case, and everything so far points to it being right, then your rate would be between 65% - 80% of 174, which is 113 - 139. Until you can get professional advice then I don't think you should be going above that.

You're not doing yourself any favours going on this machine, and potentially it could cause you very, very serious issues. Please, take it easy.

[LesleyJ59]

Do you warm up beforehand? When I went to cardiac rehab after a small heart attack I was told to spend 10 - 15 minutes exercising comfortably (slow walk etc rather than a brisk walk). I find that a very useful guide - I always used to wonder why my chest felt tight hillwalking when I would start at the bottom of a steep slope and have to keep stopping to get my breath back. Now I take it slow for the first ten minutes and it's much more manageable. Of course you should always slow down for the last 5-10 minutes also or stretch out so you don't get stiff muscles.

[laura_dropstitch Heart Star]

Better to be safe than sorry. I wouldn't push yourself too hard, at least until you see the doctors next month. Midgeymoo's advice about exercising to the point of being sweaty but able to hold a conversation sounds good. I know my cardiologist advises this as a more reliable method of exercising safely than monitoring heart rate.

[Tammylouise1985]

Hey guys thank you for your concerns I have started to take it steady,I do enjoy going to the gym and don't want that to stop,my appointment wants to hurry up I walk to the gym also that takes me a good half hour X