another heart question-- possible PAC's related to rowing?

[elixva]

I am new to the erg -- tried it for the first time on November 1st, and am loving it... finished the Holiday Challenge 200K in 23 days, and have never felt better... except I seem to have developed an irritating arrhythmia...

lately when I am at rest --usually in bed at night-- I get a disturbing sensation that my heart is missing a beat, then making up for it by giving a mighty heave-ho, so my heart about thumps about out of my chest... last night, it actually woke me up around 2am... I checked my heart rate, and it was teetering around 42-44 bpm, which seems lower than usual (though I am typically up and about when checking it other times)

I did some poking around online, and think these might just be premature atrial contractions, but I'm wondering if they are related to my training, and if I should be worried... I saw that PAC's can be related to caffeine, alcohol, and high stress, none of which seems to apply... (surely a morning cappuccino and the occasional glass of red wine aren't excessive... and I enjoy both too much to give them up!)

Has anyone experienced something like this as they ramped up their rowing routine? Do I need to be thinking about focusing my training on specific target heart rates/interval training to get my heart properly on board? (Right now I do about 8-15K at a shot, depending on whether or not I am lifting too, typically at a 2:20-2:30/500m pace... my best 2000m was just under 8:20, so I'm not exactly breaking any speed records, even among the 40-49 yr-old set...)

I'd appreciate any insights/training suggestions -- and of course, I will be chatting with my doctor if it continues (though in truth, I have never felt stronger or more fit... )

Thanks in advance for your feedback--
Elizabeth

[jzm7awb]

Could be a whole list of things - go see your Doctor and get an ECG, and then a 24hr holter monitor too (24 recording of your heart). When it all comes back normal go nuts on the erg.

[paul s]

As a person with a defibrillator in my chest I would go get this checked out. It may be nothing because many people have erratic heart rhythms who do not need any meds or a defribrillator, however the first sign of serious problems is usually Sudden Cardiac Death which is 92% fatal.

Paul Salata

[hjs]

See a dokter. You can,t foul around with your hart.

[rowland]

I would also take the advice from the other posters, seeing a doctor to find out what is wrong. Instead of first taking the medications, the first thing I would do is change my diet for at least 3 months to see if diet would make any difference.
I would look at all the food and drinks and processed junk foods in my diet that could be causes of the heart problem. yes, coffee could be causing your problem, also salt and diet sodas,
Better to change the diet now than be on medications for a life time.

[jzm7awb]

..., however the first sign of serious problems is usually Sudden Cardiac Death which is 92% fatal.

Sudden Cardiac Death is by definition 100% fatal !!

I'll get my coat shall I?!

[paul s]

OK Technicalities. Ventricular Fibrillation is a cause of cardiac arrest and Sudden Cardiac Death. The ventricular muscle twitches randomly, rather than contracting in unison, and so the ventricles fail to pump blood into the arteries and into systemic circulation. Survival rates vary from 2% to 6% depending on which study you are refering to, so it is basically fatal. Lucky people have symptoms before hand and can be treated with drugs or an implanted defibrillator as I have been. It has fired 5 times for severe rhythms and once for what probably would have ended up in Sudden Cardiac Death. Periodically you will read about some young athelete dropping on an arena floor and who despite the best efforts of team physicians cannot be revived. I felt that Elizabeth should get these erratic beats she is getting checked out by a cardiologist. They may be benign, but............

I hope that explains it better Mr. jzm7awb

[jzm7awb]

Mr jzm7awb?! Thankyou for the honour of the Mr title, but I left surgical training long before earning the right to being Mr...

Dr jzm will suffice!!

[elixva]

spoke with the doctor -- she agrees that they are probably benign, but I am scheduled for some follow-up tests on Monday... though it 'll probably be like taking an old car for servicing -- never seems to make the same strange sounds it does for me...

Thank you all for your considered responses... I am counting on years of healthy diet/lifestyle choices to protect me from dire coronary consequences, but it will be good to know the facts regardless...

Elizabeth

[Bob S.]

Thank you all for your considered responses... I am counting on years of healthy diet/lifestyle choices to protect me from dire coronary consequences, but it will be good to know the facts regardless...

Elizabeth

That didn't work for me. Creeping stenosis of my aortic valve did me in. Then I was blindsided by a report of 90% blockage of a coronary artery even though I was completely asymptotic and did not have any of the usual suspect factors other than gender and age — i.e. my weight and cholesterol were low, I was physically active, and there wasn't much family history of heart problems.

It took a valve replacement job and some additional plumbing to get me back on the erg, but I got a pretty good four year run out of it, culminating in PB marathon last summer along with a post-op 60' PB and a current tie for first place on the nonathlon. It has been back down hill since then — the aging process is now apparently overcoming any new progress from post-op rehab.

Bob S.

[grams]

Some high blood pressure medicines have your symptoms as a side effect. I went through 3 types before I found one that worked with rowing. The first one (beta blocker) gave me the flutters when I lay down at night.

The second one made me run out of breath with sudden exertion. I felt like rowing was almost too hard to do, which wasn't the case on he first med. So I had a treadmill test with a cardio dr and asked them to let me run to anerobic level. Normally they don't let you go to failure. It showed that the med was producing a lag in increasing my heart rate with increased exertion.

The one I am on how works the best. I think the treadmill test was the most revealing regarding what was happening with exercise.

The cardio said he had a rower who took his erg in and they used it instead of the treadmill. In his case too his medicine was the cause of his problem.

grams