Please can you tell me why I burp approximately every 15 mins on a road/static bike ? Also any tips to increase cycle power without raising hr? Private cardiologist advised aiming for 130 bpm max and I still wish to return to the Alps.
History 1 year ago collapsed off the bike road side cpr, stent within an hour, 1 year previously bleed on the brain.
Meds usual half dozen
Thanks
Sorry no idea about "burps".
My history - 2yrs ago had SCA whilst in the gym followed 2 weeks later by a triple bypass.
Always been a fitness person, weight training to gain weight, mountain/road cycling, squash etc.
Was advised by re-hab team to keep max HR below 125(ish), when i told cardiologist he said to not worry about HR & to purely go by how I feel (perceived exertion) and to slowly push myself, this was largely due to my fitness levels prior to the SCA.
The last few months I finally managed to run 5K, HR has been maxing at 150-170bpm, I had a conversation with my cardiologist last week, again I asked him about Max HR, told him it was hitting 170, his response was again "go by how you feel".
We're all different, but worth asking the question again, or get a 2nd opinion, especially if you where pretty high level of fitness before.
I've just been discharged back to my GP, which is a big result.
Good luck
Thanks
Fitness was pretty good before did the usual mountain marathons, paddled to Isles of Scilly Devizies/Westminster, Alp d’Huez.
Paid for a consultation to see if I could push it . I am pleased you are using the exertion chart as I don’t feel bad at 130 which I hit on the Cornish hills and have to “tread water” until hr subsides. I am 62 on bisoprolol etc does that tally with you hitting 150 ish
Cheers
I am also 62, was on 10mg Bisop (5mg in morning - 5 in eve), Losartan & Aspirin.
Following convo with Cardiologist last week, he halved my Bisop, now just take 5mg in the eve, this was mainly due to feeling faint post workout, esp since lockdown and running outdoors, also recent Echo showed EF to be ~45%, which is as near to normal as i could hope for.
The odd occasions HR is hitting 170ish has only been since running outdoors, windy days, slightly hillier terrain, but I always feel fine, prob an 8 on RPE scale and after a few mins it will go back to 130-140's, prob a 6/7 on scale.
My max HR, depending on what calc you use, is 168 (Miller formula = 217-(0.85*Age)+4
Gaz
Hi Gaz
My ef is also 45 I have been on 1.25 bisoprolol since the cardiac arrest and told no reason to change
Have a good one. Jim
Was curious about the burping! Came across this - worth a read
livestrong.com/article/4233...
Extract of 1 reason -
"Exercising draws blood flow away from the stomach, which can impede digestion. When this happens, key hormones increase production to move food through the intestinal tract faster than normal and help produce gas. Finally, the jarring of the stomach during exercise can also produce gas, which can cause burping."
I’m curious about max heart rate, I had HA back at the start of March and 4 stents fitted in a marginal artery.
I’m 42 and was a regular gym user pre HA, reaching peak or near peak HA for my age most sessions (3 times a week).
It’s a question I’ve not yet asked my cardiac rehab nurse or physio, obviously I’ve had no face to face rehab given the current situation but I have spoken a few times and I tried to call last week but await a call back.
I’ve worked through the BHF levels 3 - 5 rehab workouts and I have recently tried a kettebell workout online done by a friend who runs the local gym, using a light weight and managing my form and effort so as not to overdo it. I felt fine throughout but my HA did reach 150, I had slight discomfort the next day briefly which I have encountered before after overdoing it slightly. The physio said don’t get obsessed by HA, go by how you feel. I want to push on but don’t want to damage anything!
My cardiac rehab was a waste of time did an assessment and was told I was more advanced than course and would find it frustrating, said to keep to 110 bpm. I went to the educational session and someone asked if walking the dog was exercising I felt I was sat with my grandad. I am used to pushing through so the perception chart is difficult
Live to the Max. Jim
I think the key thing is "slowly", how slow really depends on "you"!
You had a Cardiac Arrest, you don't say what damage (if any) was done to your heart, or what your EF is?
IMO the last thing you want to do is to push too hard, too soon. Tortoise wins in the end 
I was told very early on that the level of fitness i had prior to the SCA was a double edged sword, my expectations would be much higher, but the damage & severe EF (33%) would hold me back, frustrations would also be higher, but to take it slow, listen to "my" body & the prior fitness would give me a better chance of making improvements.
1 year after SCA Echo showed my EF was ~40% during that 1st year I (very imo) slowly increased the weights i was using, was walking/rowing/cycling faster. Started cycling outdoors (no hills).
2 years just passed, Echo showed EF as ~45% "running" 5k in ~30mins, trail cycling (some hills, no big climbs).
The 1st 6 months (upto end of re-hab) I kept HR below level as told to by re-hab team.
After that I always used RPE, as someone who has always trained, I also monitor my HR BUT purely to see fitness levels increase (hopefully).
Sorry to waffle on! But trying to show my "slow", which will be totally dif to your (or anyone else's) slow.
As i said, we're all different - Heart Attacks - Cardiac Arrests - Stents - ByPass surgery - Down Time - Damage to Heart - Ejection Fraction etc etc.
I now consider myself an Expert in the new "ME", you need to become an Expert in the new "YOU".
Gaz
For power you could try squat exercises without weights a go way of strengthening. I'm afraid to build power you need to raise your HR, things like powering up hills or short bursts require the HR to raise quite high. I would just ride in your correct HR zone and make sure this doesn't go above 130hbpm, this will build good endurance and make you fit. Power can come later.
Just a question
Is Heart Rate Accurate when taking Bisoprolol?? and is that the reason Cardiologists say it's more important how you feel !!
Just seems strange to me you take a pill so as not to over tax your heart and then you try to get your Heart Working as Hard as possible.
Am I missing something here ??
The other thing this thread has brought home is Fitness is Not an Indicator of your State of Health in fact the opposite !!
Stay Safe
A question i asked - the answer was yes it is accurate, albeit lower by ~10 bpm.
"Just seems strange to me you take a pill so as not to over tax your heart and then you try to get your Heart Working as Hard as possible."
Isn't that what we all do at re-hab & subsequently (hopefully)!
I was told recently that cardio re-hab where stopping the stress tests & just using RPE, not sure if that was just a local thing.
I was told that slowly pushing myself would help my Heart overcome the damage done by scarring etc, the Bisop would be helping to protect it. The fact i have improved so much, says for "me" it has worked.
Again, we are all different - I only explained my experience because Jim appeared to have come from a similar place fitness wise, so thought it may help to hear it.
I am not saying everyone should be doing what i'm doing, rather doing what works for them.
Fitness is most definitely not an indicator, i now know a couple of people in my gym who had similar experiences to me, both super fit. Hereditary factors & unseen issues, in my case probably a mix of hereditary (dad died at 42 of SCA) and smoking, which i haven't done since my SCA.
Gaz
Hi Gaz
I wasn't being Critical it is just an observation , my Cardiac rehab was a gentle introduction into taking exercise, not necessary after a major Heart event just doing something I hadn't done for a long time.
Take Care
Hiya,
I never took it as critical
I think the point i'm trying to get across is how we are all so dif, in the experience we have gone/are going through and the level of our fitness pre event, in part, determines how much/soon we should be pushing.
Gaz
From my conversations with a number of Cardiologists there isn't or doesn't appear to be a common consensus on what is or isn't appropriate in terms of what exercise HR ranges are ok for Cardiac patients (stented with some residual untreated restrictions in the RCA in my case). The local NHS cardio rehab were of the lower levels don't go over what is probably the norm aerobic HR range (for age based max HR) and the consultants associated that team weren't keen on anything above the same guidance . A separate cardio consultant I saw (independent to local nhs trust) said there was a separate view in that what ever you as an individual were comfortable/capable of was acceptable in terms of sustainable HR ranges during exercise and or if max HR is ok. I tend to find I can "easily" sit in threshold HR ranges during exercise (uphill MTB trails ) and if i don't have the HR range visible on my Garmin Edge I can easily stray into max HR range , as I did on a recent 50 min ride where I was in the max HR range for about 24mins and during that set a new max hr reading which is above the std max hr number based on age. The NHS cardiologist advised betablockers (bisoprolol) acted as a brake on the maximum HR your heart can attain, the symptom of achieving that is IME a feeling of needing more oxygen than my lungs can supply, though my recent max HR I would have estimated at was at 80% effort so not sure if I had attempted to go faster (i was pacing up a long climb) what the result would have been (more breathless feeling or higher HR?) . One thing I do note is post exercise I may feel a bit or more of chest discomfort and my HR takes a while to return to normal resting HR, with associated HRV readings indicating more heart stress activity than usual resting state HRV would be for the post exercise duration.
Interesting post. My resting heart rate is between 40 and 44. I find it impossible to get over 130 no matter what effort I put in. And I can tell you I push myself hard. My point being that it's pointless hi ing you a macum if they don't know your resting.
My understanding is that there is no correlation between Resting HR and Max HR, Max HR can vary for everyone, even same age & same fitness levels, this is why the 220-age calc is used as a guide only.
A low Resting HR is generally an indication of fitness level, unless on meds obviously.
You could have 2 top athletes, same age, both with a resting hr of 40, 1 could have a max hr of 190 the other 200.
Agree my resting hr is 48-50 ish and I can hit 130 on a 8 to 12% hill. I was questioning whether the 45% ef was having an impact?
Thanks all for this discussion it is interesting. Jim
I would say that an EF of 45% is just one of the factors that is having an impact!
Can't see how a heart that is pumping, at best 5% less (50%-45%) blood or at worst 20%+ less (65%-45%) blood is not going to have an impact, unless -
I had quite a lengthy conversation about this not long ago, I asked the question "could my EF have been 45% prior to SCA", the short answer was yes it is possible. Unless I happened to have had an echo in the not to distant past, we will never know for sure.
If that was the case though, then I would say no impact!
Not sure that really answers your question, but very hard to know with other factors in the mix.
Agree, this is very interesting. Also really good to hear other "fitness" people's experiences.
Take care
Gaz
just had stent fitted
Beta Blockers and Fitness Training 
But I am fit and healthy!
Recent De-fibrillator fitted
45 HA and Stent Fitted
