CPET can’t come around soon enough after my symptoms the last few days

[Westie2012]

Had two episodes of a faster hr than usual the last couple of days . Todays HR was higher than it’s been for many months and symptoms on my usual walk to school , I could really feel my heart thumping , I know it’s going around 140 when I feel the pounding in my chest . So glad I’m (hopefully )having a CPET next Friday to see if anything’s happening on exertion .

[Dogloverxthree]

take care I know how you feel I was taken in to hospital Saturday as mine was so rapid about six hours and they send it was to much strain on my heart so I had to have blood tests just to make sure I have had triple cabg and pacemaker and heart failure so they were a bit concerned anyway came home next day

[Yumz199725]

Is there a chance of bringing your appointment forward have you told your cardiologist of how you have been feeling x

[Westie2012 in reply to Yumz199725]

I won’t be able to be seen any sooner , the test should have taken place two weeks ago but it was cancelled , I haven’t told my cardiologist as I thought I’d just wait to have the test and see how it goes , I just hope the test causes my symptoms to start so they can see what is going on .

[Yumz199725 in reply to Westie2012]

I hope your cpet shows what's causing your symptoms x

[Westie2012 in reply to Yumz199725]

thank you , me too .

[Tos92]

Just a thought Westie2012 . When you’re walking, are you walking up a hill or any types of levels that are not ground level? Also, are you ever carrying anything with you which might put more stress on your heart when walking?

I’ve noticed if I’m walking up a flight of stairs, and not ground level, my heart rate goes up like this. Similarly, if I have some heavy shopping and I’m walking with it, it can also become elevated like this.

[Westie2012 in reply to Tos92]

Today I was walking up the steepest part of the walk to school when my heart was really pounding , last time that happened I had my dose of bisoprolol upoed, it can happen if I’m walking a bit faster than normal on a flat surface , I wasn’t carrying anything at the time . Walking upstairs at home fire cause me to get out of breath , if I’m carrying something heavy I sometimes have symptoms like today .

[Tos92 in reply to Westie2012]

I’m not sure if that is normal for you when walking up a steep or some stairs, but it has happened to me many times and I can feel my heart pounding with a similar elevation as yours. I hope the CPET goes ahead. Do let us know how you get on with it x

[Westie2012 in reply to Tos92]

Have you asked a medical professional about your symptoms when you’re going upstairs ,or carrying heavy shopping ? If so what was the outcome ? Hope you’re keeping well x

[Tos92 in reply to Westie2012]

The GP has noted that I have a higher heart rate than normal sometimes upon small activity. For example, when I’m getting dressed, my heart rate may spike for no reason or if I’m washing the dishes, it can cause my heart rate to spike. When I say spike, I mean over 100. I don’t always feel the symptoms when it does spike and the cardiologist doesn’t seem to know what causes this. I do however, have a myocardial bridge which is a congenital heart defect, although mostly benign, any unexplained symptoms relating to the heart, I usually put it down to this x

[Tos92]

It’s “Tos92” not “Tosser92”. Would appreciate it if you got it right the next time.

[Tos92]

I don’t think it was a “typo”. I liked your original comment and it most definitely didn’t say “Tosser”. You’ve re-edited to add that bit, which I don’t understand why as I have no personal grievances with you. However, you seem to be heading in the right direction.

[irishwife93]

Are you on ivabradine? My husband takes this to lower heart rate. He’s also been advised to keep his HR below 120. He keeps an eye on his Apple Watch while walking and if it exceeds this he stops until it goes down again. We have a lot of hills where we live so I understand it can be difficult to go for a nice flat walk!

[irishwife93 in reply to irishwife93]

You can calculate a target heart rate during exercise here based on age, take a break if your heart exceeds this

extras.bhf.org.uk/patientin...

[Westie2012 in reply to irishwife93]

I take bisoprolol. Where I live it’s either up or downhill to walk anywhere , I used to be able to walk to the school with no problems .

[irishwife93 in reply to Westie2012]

I think bisoprolol is more for blood pressure than heart rate! You can have low bp and still have a high heart rate. I would raise this with your GP or consultant and see if you need medication to keep your heart rate low. Take it easy on the hills. The warmer weather also means your heart will be working harder than normal!

[Westie2012 in reply to irishwife93]

I was put on bisoprolol by a cardiology dr I saw when I’d been sent to the cardiac assessment unit after I’d been unwell after my heart was racing , that was over a year ago . I struggled with the heatwave we had last year and do struggle more with extreme temperatures( hot or cold )since having a pacemaker

[wischo]

What is your apple watch telling you about your Co2 max readings. I get this type of reading often when I push myself mostly say an hour in gym and a 6klm walk. However as my heartrate is generally in the 50s it happens sometimes out of the blue when resting. My cardiologist says its tachy/brady and in time I will need a pacemaker. I have two stents in LAD and initially these fast runs were put down to SVTs which showed up on stress treadmill tests. The other aspect is that 140 bpm is well below your maximum heart rate for your age or is your pacemaker meant to stop this. I am 72 and my heartrate can go from 55bpm to 140bpm on a brisk walk!! sometimes but not always. I often wonder are the cardiologists really that clued in as much as we would like.

[Westie2012 in reply to wischo]

What are Co2 readings? I’take the watch readings with a pinch of salt but they do match up with hospital heart monitors when I’ve been sent for tests so think hr is quite accurate . If I look at the health app after a walk it always says I have low cardio fitness and Vo2 levels are low too . My pacemaker doesn’t stop my heart from going up to a set level , it’s mainly for the heart pauses and bradycardia , I take bisoprolol for the tachycardia .

[wischo in reply to Westie2012]

Yes Bisoprolol will reduce your heart rate for sure and there are also calcium channel blockers I was given an option of taking but I declined them as I feel I am on enough medication. Its the tachy runs I hate to see although I have no symptoms with them they can be worrisome. I was offered an ablation and also put that on the long finger as my brother had two of them and still ended up with a pacemaker due to heart rate of 30bpm with long pauses seen on a 24hr Holtor monitor. Hope your CPET gives you some answers.

[Westie2012]

Update from my CPET yesterday , two really nice guys did my test , when they did the breathing tests before going on the treadmill they told me my airways were narrower, when I was attached to the heart monitor they were watching the ecg in silence for a few minutes which made me wonder if there was something wrong , they then asked if I had a pacemaker . I managed 10 minutes on the treadmill before I went so dizzy and shaky sbd things went a bit blurry , they could see my hands and arms visibly shaking. I’ve had that happen once after a rather brisk walk to the school . It soon passed . I didn’t get any feeling that my heart was pounding but I did get really breathless a few times during the test where I couldn’t speak to respond to their questions . Legs ache a bit today !! Have a lovely weekend , it’s a beautiful start to the day , so quiet , just the birds singing, sun is shining in a perfect blue sky .