fast heart beat

hi all....i am Rohini, 27, 213 lbs and 169cms. i have a 4 year old son. Today i climbed the stairs and i was short of breath. i could hear my pounding heart beat, it was very loud. i couldnt breath and i feel like my chest was heavy. it was a very weird feeling. I also had lightheadedness. I was very scared that i would get a heartattack. After one hour it was fine.
But i was really ashamed of my health condition. this definitly is not the age to be so week. I want to live for my son. Was this due to my obesity or anything serious. I walk for everyday for 20mins at 4.5 speed.
An year back i had a general check up and my doctor said that my Echo was fine and last month i had an ecg it was fine too.I heve GERD too.
Has anyone had any such experience???? will this condition get better with weightloss????
ideas please friends.......

Replies

  • meritage4
    meritage4 Posts: 1,441 Member
    Since you have just had your heart checked out by medical tests it's probably from being unfit and heavy.
    Imagine anyone carrying a 27 kilo pack up the stairs. That is what you are doing until the weight goes down.
    Keep on with your weight loss.
    Increase length of time and/or intensity of your workouts. One day a week go longer-add 5 minutes a week. Another day add a bit of speed -maybe even jog for 30 seconds every 5 minutes.
    another day walk same speed but increase incline. Small changes will improve fitness over time.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Speak to doctor if you are at all worried about your heart ..and get unexpected symptoms like this

    Once that is cleared up ..if no underlying medical reason then it sounds to me like a reaction to being very unfit, carrying too much weight and exacerbated by panic attack

    So get cleared by physician and you know what you need to do
  • Making little changes in your lifestyle will help, even if it's wearing small weights whilst hoovering, never sitting down (if you have time to sit down and just watch tv then you have time to be doing something more productive!), food track like hell! Don't not count single bites you take during the day, set a goal of 1,200cals a day and stick to it! (Even chewing gum has calories, every little thing does add up!)- also try to get into good habits with food and drink such as never drinking anything but greentea or water, never over cooking, don't snack (that's probably the reason for a busy mothers weight gain)
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    I would see a Dr again if it were me. But this tends to happen when you are unfit. As you lose weight and get more active, it should get better. Barring no medical conditions, that is.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    I was out of breath all the time before too. Now I run. Losing weight will DEFINITELY make a HUGE difference, especially if you keep walking while you do it.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
    When I was really out of shape, yes. I had this experience. I was on the elliptical, resistance level 1, and I think after 30 minutes I wanted to die. I was sweating buckets, I could feel and hear my heartbeat, it hurt to breathe.... If your cardiovascular work leaves you this exhausted, then it probably means that you need to find something a bit less strenuous. For me, it was a combo of being overweight (200lbs) and being really out of shape. Added weight can really make getting in shape difficult at first. Even just carrying my heavy backpack and winter coat around makes walking up flights of stairs way more tiring than when I'm without all of these items.

    Btw, I find stairs to be the most strenuous. I would recommend trying out other cardio exercises until you find something that gives you a good workout without making you feel absolutely horrible, and work your way up to more strenuous exercises as you get fitter.
  • Ellaskat
    Ellaskat Posts: 386 Member
    definitely speak to your dr - but here are things to consider -
    Did you have more caffeine than normal? Coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, antihistamine/decongestants, diet pills? Any of this if more than your 'normal' could give you that unpleasant heart experience.

    Something to consider....
  • Amanda4change
    Amanda4change Posts: 620 Member
    Since you said you've been checked for heart issues recently I think it's due to your excess weight and overall fitness. However you should still call your doctor and explain the symptoms to them and see what they say prior to repeating the workout (and even then you shouldn't go to the point that your heart rate is that high)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    hi all....i am Rohini, 27, 213 lbs and 169cms. i have a 4 year old son. Today i climbed the stairs and i was short of breath. i could hear my pounding heart beat, it was very loud. i couldnt breath and i feel like my chest was heavy. it was a very weird feeling. I also had lightheadedness. I was very scared that i would get a heartattack. After one hour it was fine.
    But i was really ashamed of my health condition. this definitly is not the age to be so week. I want to live for my son. Was this due to my obesity or anything serious. I walk for everyday for 20mins at 4.5 speed.
    An year back i had a general check up and my doctor said that my Echo was fine and last month i had an ecg it was fine too.I heve GERD too.
    Has anyone had any such experience???? will this condition get better with weightloss????
    ideas please friends.......

    Ask a doctor?
  • trekkie_bbs
    trekkie_bbs Posts: 64 Member
    As the others have said it doesn't hurt to get with your Doctor. However with that said I myself also had this when I started exercising. I was much heavier than you are (almost 300 pounds). I am half the man I used to be and feel so much better.

    Starting out it was so hard. I couldn't run for more than 5 seconds without losing my breath. So I decided to work out in my living room by running in place. Once I mastered running for 1 minute then I would bring my feet up till I kicked myself in the rear and worked on that until I could do that for a minute. Same with in front of me until my knees would come as close as I could to my chest for a minute straight. This got me ready to deal with steps, inclines (to some degree) and the thumping of walking (did it on linoleum floor)

    Something else I found out is if I held my chest up and held good form it helped me breathe easier when I worked out.

    I have lost over 150#'s in the past 2 years but this alone does not make my suggestions better than anyone else's as we all are different. I guess what I am saying is choose a slow and steady path and work your way up.

    I found a web-sight that helped me with a beginners workout video that helped me when I was just starting out. http://www.fitnessblender.com/videos/low-impact-workout-for-beginners-40-minute-total-body-beginner-workout Again I am not saying do this, only suggesting a way to start out.

    I wish you all the luck in the world. Losing the weight I have was hard. People told me I would look sick, that I would be unhealthy, that I would never be able to keep it off. Thank God I found Myfitnesspal.com and read the stories on here and drew inspiration from others.

    You can do this! Just make sure your Doctor is part of it.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    edited January 2015
    I used to have to rest climbing the stairs. It got progressively worse - didn't start out like that. It was a long, slow process. Doctor told me I needed to exercise more so that I wouldn't get so out of breath, that my breathing would improve if I'd just do more.

    While it is true that your stamina improves if nothing is wrong with you, it does not improve if your windpipe is being strangled and your lungs are being crowded out.

    There was something wrong with me, so I'm always hesitant to say there is nothing wrong with someone else. If you find that you really cannot do more than you are, keep trying new doctors. Don't just think, "Logically, it makes sense. There is nothing physically wrong with me, so I must be lazy. If I'd just try harder! I'm not trying hard enough!" I wasted years of my life, thinking there was something wrong with me for not working harder, lol.

    Be sure there is nothing wrong. Don't assume it's you. I should've been smarter. Remember this: If you really cannot do it, you really cannot! That's simple enough. And if you cannot, find out why. When you're trying harder, but able to do less and less, don't blame yourself.

    Don't be me.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    I agree to see your doc! Since its been a year and that usually doesn't happen when you climb the stairs-than please see your doc. It took you an hour to recover-that's a long time, especially since you are so only 27.
    Don't do anything strenuous till you get cleared by your doc
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    It shouldn't take an hour for your heart rate to go back to normal, so as the others said, go see the doctor. It certainly could be weight related. Fat can build up around the heart and longs, making it difficult to breathe. Walking can help to strengthen the heart, but if it doesn't have room to move, all the walking in the world won't help it.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
    hi all....i am Rohini, 27, 213 lbs and 169cms. i have a 4 year old son. Today i climbed the stairs and i was short of breath. i could hear my pounding heart beat, it was very loud. i couldnt breath and i feel like my chest was heavy. it was a very weird feeling. I also had lightheadedness. I was very scared that i would get a heartattack. After one hour it was fine.
    But i was really ashamed of my health condition. this definitly is not the age to be so week. I want to live for my son. Was this due to my obesity or anything serious. I walk for everyday for 20mins at 4.5 speed.
    An year back i had a general check up and my doctor said that my Echo was fine and last month i had an ecg it was fine too.I heve GERD too.
    Has anyone had any such experience???? will this condition get better with weightloss????
    ideas please friends.......

    Sweetie, please go see your doctor about the stair incident. Just be on the safe side.

    For me, my GERD got better with weight loss.
  • christinalong1991
    christinalong1991 Posts: 74 Member
    Agreed, go see a doctor. But this sounds like me when my asthma gets triggered. Something as simple as walking up stairs on a bad allergy day and I'll have the same symptoms, and with asthma it can take awhile for it to come back down afterward. like another post had said, if you keep trying and it keeps getting harder, you could be doing permanent damage to your lungs if it is asthma, so its best to get it checked out, it could have just been nothing, but I wouldn't want to leave that to chance.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    You have to go to a doctor first.

    I had this almost 4 months ago. From one day to another i had exactly what you describe there. Now in my case it was unfit. My blood pressure was over 152/112 heartbeat went way up and a dangerous high sugar level.
    It was when we walked ( yes just walking) our evening stroll with our doggie. We did this every day and np. Than suddenly i went through 4 days of this horrible feeling.

    Like i said in my case unfit, but you have to see a doctor that exams you to see if that is in your case the same.


    BTW yes it gets better with a good diet and exercise. After 90 days (today) of diet 60 pounds lighter and walking ( and jogging now too :) ) at least 4 miles a day for 6 days a week. I feel marvelous. Today i am exactly 200 pounds.
    Every Monday i get checked and get my stats.
    sugar level is normal
    blood pressure ( after about 4 weeks) back to 123/72
    resting heart beat is 72

    When i started the first of October it was 1200 calories a day and i couldn't even walk a half mile without breaking out in sweat and the heart racing. For a person who was a very active sporter almost my whole life a scary thing to have.
    Now like i said i walk 6 days a week for 60 minutes the treadmill and even jog a bit in those 60 minutes. and 3 times a week light lifting for about 30 minutes.

    So yes see a doctor, and when you are unfit than you know what to do. Lose weight and start training.