After a mitral valve repair I started couch to 5k and then 5 - 10. I now run for a 1 hour and 40 - 50 mins run each weak. My heart was damaged prior to the op.
When I attend annual hospital checks they don’t really do any tests beyond weight and bp. I was bought a fitbit and when i ran my bp went off the scale ( Im on bp drugs to keep it steady and they haven’t changed for a couple of years and are checked by the GP annually and are ok). I asked the hospital and GP should I keep running - the hospital said run as much as your body lets you. Talking to a nurse yesterday she said that running would put a strain on my heart and that I should just walk.
With this advice and the fitbit readings Im anxious about causing more damage. I enjoy the running - and so does my dog - but am I shortening my life?
Written by
robertrae
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8 Replies
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I'm no medical expert, but everything I've read suggests you SHOULD keep running, but maybe you need to throttle back a bit till your body catches up and adapts - hence the hospital saying you can run as much as your body lets you. Some medical personnel still haven't caught up with the fact that running is good for you, so the nurse is probably just misinformed: it was not so long ago that women were banned from public races in case their wombs dropped out, and the myth of runner's knee still persists in the face of all research and evidence to the contrary.
I couldn’t comment on your individual case robertrae, but I was delighted last week when my doctor took me off my hypertension tablets as a result of running 3 times a week. I am 60 and have had high blood pressure for about 10 years.
If you have a monitor at home, keep a record of daily readings of BP and heart rate, just in case you want some evidence when discussing it with health professionals.
In addition to my comment, doesn’t Fitbit measure heart rate rather than blood pressure? There is a lot of discussion on the accuracy of wristband measurements compared to chest bands.
personally I would go and see your GP and explain the conflicting advice you have been given, which is indeed odd. Obviously I cannot comment on your situation but I am very surprised that anyone would be disuaded from running, particularly as it has so many varied health benefits....
It does sound as though there could be some miscommunication. It could be that the nurse thought your blood pressure was spiking rather than your heart rate elevated, they are not interchangeable issues and have different consequences. And how seriously you take her rather depends on the context she was talking to you.
That said, it *could* be that the question isn't run or don't run but something more complex and no-one has properly explored with you what you are doing or thinking of doing... it could be that faster or longer (ie over 10k) runs carry a degree of risk you'd rather not take. Some folk eg Realfoodieclub use strategies such as run-walk on their runs to make it workable for their health conditions.
Bear in mind that ultimately it is your body and your choice, given the best available information about your own situation.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
How did your parkrun or (not)parkrun go?
