Target heart rate and arrhythmia

meganjbennett
meganjbennett Posts: 6
edited September 26 in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone else have a heart arrhythmia? How do you estimate target or even max heart rate? I had a personal trainer ho attempted to explain aerobic vs anaerobic exercise, but when my heart rate jumps from 80 to 220 and back down to 60 in 5 minutes, how do I tell what I'm doing? I know I hav to stop when I get runs of tachycardia, but sometimes I can't tell if it's from a good workout or ? Anyone have other heart issues? How do you cope while getting fit?

Replies

  • AngelicaDulas
    AngelicaDulas Posts: 196
    I get arrhythmia when I push too hard in a run. i'm not the most fit person, but I'm not really too overweight either (5'10" and 172, still need to lose another 10lbs) And I do lots of brisk walking for long durations. I'll do short burst interval jogging (only at 5mph, maybe 6) and If I push to keep jogging another interval once my breathing becomes too difficult through the nose, I'll get palpitative flutterings. :) Scared me too the first time!! I just pay attention and don't push too hard. It's better to slowly build your endurance into something and help your heart to eventually grow stronger than to over tax it and make it want to quit! :) I say just slow it down a little bit and give yourself time. I always here that you're never supposed to try and increase your cardio/jogging more than 10% more than the previously accomplished exercise... something to do with building stamina. hope this helped?
  • AngelicaDulas
    AngelicaDulas Posts: 196
    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/target-heart-rate/SM00083

    also here's a tool that when you enter your age it tells you what your supposed target heart rate is.
  • Deidresmith
    Deidresmith Posts: 5
    There are a few things you can do.

    First, you can tell your intensity by the talk test, while this is very subjective, if you are working so hard you cant talk then you're probably above your target HR zone. If its hard to talk but you can still manage a very short and direct convo then your probably near the top of your HR zone.

    Second, you can take your pulse for a 10 second increment and times it by 6. This will tell you your HR. If you recognize when you have an arrhythmia while taking your pulse, don't count the flutters individually.

    Third, you can calculate your target HR zone and max HR zone with new formulas that have been proven in recent studies to be pretty accurate.

    The simplest way to calculate max HR is to use this formula:
    MHR= 207-(0.7xage)
    Your target HR zone should be 70%-80% of this number.
    MHR x 0.7= Low end of HR zone
    MHR x .85 = High end of HR zone


    The way I tell if I am having a good workout is by judging how much I am pushing myself. If I am giving it my all in such an intensity that I can only do it for a very short amount of time then I'm probably working too hard. If I'm at an intensity where I can do it for about 15 minutes and at the end of my 15 minutes I am exhausted, thats probably near the top of my HR zone. This method isn't too scientific, but by paying attention to your body; muscles, HR, perspiration, breathing rate, and perceived exertion you can get a pretty good idea if you are getting a good work out. :) I hope this helps!
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    OMG I would have a panic attack if that happened to me during a workout! I would be too nervous to ever exercise again if I had a serious arrythmia that changed my heart rate that much. I'm such a wimp! As it is, I get occasional palpitations when I'm at rest (a couple of times a week) - which make me feel light-headed and faint. Thankfully, I haven't noticed them too much during activity. I might get them while working out, but I'm usually too engaged in the activity to feel it. Sometimes I start feeling weak and nauseated and that's how I know I need to slow it down a bit. I can't get too far past 160 bpm before I start feeling some symptoms. I don't worry about what normal people do with target heart rates. I just exercise at a pace that feels slightly challenging, but I don't push myself too much. It's not a competition. If you feel nauseated, dizzy or light-headed give it a rest. Have you asked your doctor about what is safe when you're exercising?
  • meganjbennett
    meganjbennett Posts: 6
    Oh sorry, upon re-reading my post I realize I didn give enough info. I have a heart defect and have had ablation (where they go into the heart to burn the tissue that is sending the extra electrical impulses). The surgery was unsuccessful so I have to live with the arrhythmia. It's not only present during exercise, but it does make it more pronounced! I've been given the ok to exercise by my cardiologist, but I can't calculate my target heart rate so I don't know if I'm doing it right with the aerobic vs anaerobic exercises. I know arrhythmias are common, so I was curious if someone else had PVCs or tachycardia that might have some advice?
  • ncmom2two
    ncmom2two Posts: 1 Member
    Very late in responding - but I also have a-fib and had an unsuccessful ablation. You are right in that there is no way to figure out target heart rate when your heart rate changes every second. My kids' favorite thing is for me to try the blood pressure machines in the drugstores as they often don't know what to make of my heart rate and come back with '0'.

    I don't know about you but I'm on rate reducing drugs so even when I am exercising hard (sweating, hard to talk) - my rate now stays under 100 bpm. I have been told to go with how I feel to determine how hard I am exerting myself. It is tough.
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