Forums >Health and Nutrition>How common is arrythmia after running
Joggaholic
I read that irregular heart beat can be normal in a healthy heart, but how do I tell if it is normal or not normal? I notice it after running sometimes. I hadn't worried about before, but wondering if I should be?
Just for information, I have normal to low heart disease risk (don't smoke or drink, not overweight or diabetic... etc). Today I ran 10 miles on the treadmill, fairly easy effort, HR was in the 130s the whole time (my HRmax is around 190+). About 30 minutes after running I was lying in bed and noticed my heart beat flutter/stutter/sputter. I had occasionally felt this after running/exercising before but it never bothered or worried me enough that I paid much attention to it, that weird feeling always goes away after a little while. This time mainly out of curiosity (and too lazy to get out of bed) I monitored my HR using a phone app and also by keeping my left hand on my chest feeling my heartbeat. Basically what I found was that my heart would beat 10-20 times and then it'll stutter for a beat, it's almost regular for an irregular rhythm. The HR is in the 70-80 range which seemed normal. The flutter is not very pronounce, if I'm up and walking around I probably won't even notice it, so I suspect this probably happens more often than I'm aware. The arrythmia was gone (or I just couldn't feel it) maybe an hour or so after running. I don't have any other unusual symptoms, so I'm hoping this is just a case of being overly paranoid over something that is common and benign?
You don't say how old you are, but from your picture and your max HR I assume you're in your 20s or early thirties at the most. At that age some dysrhythmias are rather common. I really should say that one dysrhythmia in particular is very common. It is known as a sinus dysrhythmia. Basically this is when the heart speeds up and slows down in a pattern. It often does this in response to your breathing. It's commonly found in slender, athletic young people and children. It's a normal finding and nothing to be worried about. I'm fifty and have had it all my life.
What seems different about yours is that you feel a fluttering. A sinus dysrhthymia will rarely be felt in that manner. That makes me wonder if you may be having some Premature Ventricular Contractions or PVC's. This is when the bottom part of the heart beats before it's supposed to. I've known people who were 18 and had four to five a minute while at rest. Nothing was ever found to be wrong with the heart. At the same time other young people have had them and have been found to have heart problems.
It is possible that you have a sinus dysrhythmia and when your heart is on the slow down portion of the cycle it simply skips a beat than takes off again. At the same time there are quite a few other dysrhythmias that could be occurring. It's really difficult to tell without seeing a EKG.
Do you ever feel them when running or while doing normal activities? Also, do you ever get chest pain, lightheaded or dizzy? What is your heart rate while it's happening?
Basically it's rather difficult to know without seeing an EKG so it's almost impossible to know if you should mention it to a Dr or not.
Good Bad & The Monkey
By going to see your doctor.
how do I tell if it is normal or not normal?
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Of course, Trent I know I can't get or trust any internet diagnosis, I'm just trying to get a sense of how serious this is along the scale of "nothing to worry about" to "I can drop dead at any time".
sinus dysrhythmia... Premature Ventricular Contraction...
sinus dysrhythmia...
Premature Ventricular Contraction...
Thanks Daydreamer1, I'll read up more on these conditions. I'm 41. I don't know if "fluttering" is the right word, but I can feel and notice that irregular heartbeat, sort of felt like one "pump" happened too soon. I don't notice this while running, only afterward on a few occasions when I was resting after running, HR was around the 80s when I monitored it today, which seemed reasonable (my resting HR is in the 50s). I was breathing normally, no dizziness or lightheadedness or chest pain...etc, I felt pretty normal otherwise. As you and Trent had noted, can't really figure this out from an online discussion, but I want to see if this sets off any huge alarm. I'll certainly bring this up next time I check in with my doc.
Thanks
Connoisseur of Cookies
It set off enough of an alarm for you to bring it up in an online forum to ask. It set off enough of an alarm for you to start doing some reading on it. That it prompted you to do those two things is all the alarm *YOU* need.
It doesn't matter what other people might think as far as setting off alarm bells. It concerned YOU enough for YOU to ask. That should be enough.
STOP reading the internet. STOP asking Dr. Google (Dr. Google is a quack, by the way.). CALL YOUR DOCTOR on Monday and make an appointment.
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"C" is for cookie. That's good enough for me.
Of course, Trent I know I can't get or trust any internet diagnosis, I'm just trying to get a sense of how serious this is along the scale of "nothing to worry about" to "I can drop dead at any time". Actually for those of us that keep up with pending changes in medicine, having a video consultation with your Dr is just around the corner. It will be cheaper and yield higher profits but will be just about as good as getting any other information from the internet. Thanks Daydreamer1, I'll read up more on these conditions. I'm 41. I don't know if "fluttering" is the right word, but I can feel and notice that irregular heartbeat, sort of felt like one "pump" happened too soon. I don't notice this while running, only afterward on a few occasions when I was resting after running, HR was around the 80s when I monitored it today, which seemed reasonable (my resting HR is in the 50s). I was breathing normally, no dizziness or lightheadedness or chest pain...etc, I felt pretty normal otherwise. As you and Trent had noted, can't really figure this out from an online discussion, but I want to see if this sets off any huge alarm. I'll certainly bring this up next time I check in with my doc. Thanks Something else you may want to look up and do a little research on is A-fib in endurance athletes. This seems to be the latest craze to be studied. A lot of stuff being written about it right now, some of which may be valid and other stuff that seems to be hyperbole.
Actually for those of us that keep up with pending changes in medicine, having a video consultation with your Dr is just around the corner. It will be cheaper and yield higher profits but will be just about as good as getting any other information from the internet.
Something else you may want to look up and do a little research on is A-fib in endurance athletes. This seems to be the latest craze to be studied. A lot of stuff being written about it right now, some of which may be valid and other stuff that seems to be hyperbole.
"Actually for those of us that keep up with pending changes in medicine, having a video consultation with your Dr is just around the corner. It will be cheaper and yield higher profits but will be just about as good as getting any other information from the internet."
As somebody doing policy work, implementation and research in this space, I would suggest that it may be further away than you think for a number of reasons. Reasons include physician workflow, reimbursement models and the fact that a video consultation (especially when a doctor/patient relationship has yet to be established in person) without an actual exam or set of testing adds little and may cause harm.
With heart palpitations, there is always a chance that the cause is something that could lead to "I can drop dead at any time", and a simple ECG is not enough to sort it out.
Actually this advice is far, far worse than doing some research on the internet. Too many Drs today are either too busy, don't really care or are influenced by financial considerations to provide good patient care. There are many examples of people who have disagreed with their Dr based on internet research and it has saved their lives. At the same time there are many, many people who are totally clueless to their detriment. There is absolutely nothing wrong with walking into your Dr's office being somewhat knowledgeable.
Case in point: Several years ago I developed a lot of voice problems. Several Dr's wanted to scope my vocal cords to see if i had polyps on them. Internet research didn't seem to point that way so I didn't go that route. Talked to my Family Doc and he suggested trying Zantac for acid reflux. His thoughts were that the acid was leaking up and burning my vocal cords while I slept. The Zantac took care of the problem. My Doc than suggested going on Prilosec because he thought it was better. It worked too, but several months later I started having cramping problems in cases where I had never had them before. Mentioned it to my Dr and some on the internet. The Dr was clueless other than wanting to order tests. The internet said several things. One, of course, was "contact your Dr now, don't ask Dr Google". Further internet research revealed that Prilosec can cause cramps because it affects the absorbtion of nutrients. I stopped the Prilosec, went back to the Zantac and in two months time the cramping problem had dissappeared. Told the Doc and he said "good job". Said he'd have to remember that. Bottom line is this; Doctors don't know everything and it doesn't hurt to be educated about the posibilities. Noithing wrong about asking for other peoples experiences.
I do agree with engaging with information and reading well curated sources from online. There are loads of examples of patients and their caregivers who catch things their doctors or other healthcare providers have not.
However, I do not agree that by and large doctors are too busy or too motivated by greed to provide good care. Some are, sure, but most are not. Likewise, some online resources are biased and misleading as well. The best approach is to do research and learn, and then partner with a trained and experienced healthcare provider / doctor to sort out an answer.
That all said, something like an erratic heart beat should actually be simple for any competent internist or cardiologist to sort out 99.9% of the time, whether you are read up on the problem as a patient or not.
It's a far cry from reading online information in an attempt at self diagnosis versus researching a diagnosis and/or treatment plan as provided by a health care provider. An informed patient population is, generally speaking, helpful. However, unguided reading/research does little more than scare people unnecessarily. Google lacks context and diagnostic tools to provide a reasonable approach to a diagnosis.
For every example of patients disagreeing with their health care providers there are dozens if not hundreds to thousands of examples of responsible health care providers taking the time to get it right and doing right by their patients. Let's please keep this in perspective.
Lastly, my advice was spot on. Call your (as directed to the OP) doctor on Monday and make an appointment. If the symptoms were enough to raise questions and/or concern they are enough to seek professional evaluation. Reading about all the possibilities that could be causing the symptoms isn't going to do anything other than cause unnecessary stress. As has been noted a reasonable internist or cardiologist should be able to address this relatively easily.
Want to read up after meeting with the health care provider? I'm all for it and regularly recommend that to my patients (along with appropriate resources for further research). Does the reading generate more questions? Let me know and I'm happy to discuss it.
In the meantime I stand by what I posted. The OP has concerns. Stop reading without any kind of context to guide your research. Call your doctor and make an appointment.
We are all an experiment of one and responsible for our own health. That aside, asking for help and advice by those with more experience is always the best medicine. The main reason I come to this site is to read other people's advice on healthy running and to keep some historical data to improve.
Hip Redux
"Actually for those of us that keep up with pending changes in medicine, having a video consultation with your Dr is just around the corner. It will be cheaper and yield higher profits but will be just about as good as getting any other information from the internet." As somebody doing policy work, implementation and research in this space, I would suggest that it may be further away than you think for a number of reasons. Reasons include physician workflow, reimbursement models and the fact that a video consultation (especially when a doctor/patient relationship has yet to be established in person) without an actual exam or set of testing adds little and may cause harm.
We have Doctors on Demand through work, which is, as I understand it, a video consultation with a doctor without any actual exam. And it is covered by our insurance. http://www.doctorondemand.com/
Yes. I understand that it is out there in that many people are doing it. It's just not clear to me that there is any real clinical value to doing it and it might actually be harmful. Right now, I think it's just technology looking for a use rather than solving a particular problem
This.
Before going in for a simple outpatient procedure, my arrhythmia was detected again by an EKG. No Dr. Google. Was referred by real doctor to a cardiologist. We spoke some and he discovered I'm a runner. He ordered an echocardiogram (kind of like an ultrasound). Results were normal. He said it was "normal" for me. He was not concerned. Now I at least have a baseline to refer to. Go check yourself out with a real doc.
marathon pr - 3:16