Losing weight with heart disease

natalse
natalse Posts: 22 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i have Mitral Valve Prolapse and sometimes find it hard to exercise because my heart begins to palpitate severely and my hands shake uncontrollably. Sometimes I get scared to go to the gym because I think it could happen again. I'll be seeing my doctor in two weeks but I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and how you overcame it

Replies

  • winnie141
    winnie141 Posts: 211 Member
    My daughter has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (sp?) Basically thickening of the heart lining. She is not supposed to do any competitive sports at all or her heart could go into cardiac arrest. She has pain when she does any activity. Her type of exercise is leisurely walking and leisurely swimming...with the idea of not pushing it. Do you need higher calories as I know some people who have major heart conditions need more calories to sustain themselves? If not I would eat a healthy diet of fruit, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins with emphasizing on low sodium and depending on your height keep your calories reasonable! Go for a walk everyday. I walk 30 to 40 minutes a day and I still lose weight. You don't HAVE to get your heart rate up high to burn calories...believe it or not just by moving more and sitting less you are burning calories! I hope this helps!
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    edited July 2015
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  • natalse
    natalse Posts: 22 Member
    jburke141 wrote: »
    My daughter has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (sp?) Basically thickening of the heart lining. She is not supposed to do any competitive sports at all or her heart could go into cardiac arrest. She has pain when she does any activity. Her type of exercise is leisurely walking and leisurely swimming...with the idea of not pushing it. Do you need higher calories as I know some people who have major heart conditions need more calories to sustain themselves? If not I would eat a healthy diet of fruit, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins with emphasizing on low sodium and depending on your height keep your calories reasonable! Go for a walk everyday. I walk 30 to 40 minutes a day and I still lose weight. You don't HAVE to get your heart rate up high to burn calories...believe it or not just by moving more and sitting less you are burning calories! I hope this helps!

    Yes this does help. I'm trying to lose weight and lowered my calorie goal to 1,000. I'm not sure if this may be too little for someone with heart disease. I also want to do spinning classes for about 45 mins. I know aerobic exercise is good with MVP but I'm not sure if it's too intense. Walking seems like a great idea though!

  • winnie141
    winnie141 Posts: 211 Member
    edited July 2015
    How tall are you? Typically your NOT supposed to go under 1200 so if I were you I would keep my calories at 1200 otherwise your body can start to go into starvation mode and not lose weight and if you do lose weight you can lose muscle tissue. Your body does not discrimate on what kind of muscle, that can include heart muscle, so please stay at 1200. If your going to do spin, you need to talk to your doctor BEFORE doing so, he/she might recommend wearing a 24 hour heart monitor so see how your body reacts to that kind of exercise. If you decide to do it before talking to your doctor I would find a good heart monitor and do a little reasearch on what is a good heart rate and KEEP it at that and not go over.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    maybe think in length of time instead of intensity.
    obviously, talk to the dr and come up with a plan. but do a longer jog or walk, instead of a really intense run. maybe do pilates or power yoga instead of HIIT or cross fit.
    eat at least 1200 calories. unless a well educated dr says differently. even eat back some of your exercise calories too
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    natalse wrote: »
    i have Mitral Valve Prolapse and sometimes find it hard to exercise because my heart begins to palpitate severely and my hands shake uncontrollably. Sometimes I get scared to go to the gym because I think it could happen again. I'll be seeing my doctor in two weeks but I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and how you overcame it

    Just putting this out there, you don't have to exercise to lose weight.

  • Sandcastles61
    Sandcastles61 Posts: 506 Member
    As I am sure your doctor has told you at some point, exercise such as walking is good when you have a heart condition. It is just the intensity of spinning for instance I would be concerned about if your doctor has not specifically cleared you for that, especially since you are having periodic increase of symptoms. Your doctor appointment is only two weeks away. It would be prudent for you to hold off on any dieting or exercising extremes until you run it by them. Your doctor is the only one who can make these recommendations for you.

    After your appointment come back and tell us what they recommend for your calories and exercise and we would love to help you ❤
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    Sandcastles61 wrote: »
    As I am sure your doctor has told you at some point, exercise such as walking is good when you have a heart condition. It is just the intensity of spinning for instance I would be concerned about if your doctor has not specifically cleared you for that, especially since you are having periodic increase of symptoms. Your doctor appointment is only two weeks away. It would be prudent for you to hold off on any dieting or exercising extremes until you run it by them. Your doctor is the only one who can make these recommendations for you.

    After your appointment come back and tell us what they recommend for your calories and exercise and we would love to help you ❤

    100% agree with this post.

    While you're waiting you can start now by recording your calories on MFP. Weigh yourself, take measurements and photos to help track your progress. This can also help determine a reasonable deficit for yourself.

  • dietstokes
    dietstokes Posts: 216 Member
    I have MVP, but do not normally find it difficult to exercise. Don't forget MVP can cause severe anxiety, which can feel like palpitations (and even a heart attack in some people!), but is not. Until you are checked out by a doctor and clear things with him/her, I would stick to lower intensity exercises. But MVP should not keep you from exercising with intensity in the future :)
  • natalse
    natalse Posts: 22 Member
    jburke141 wrote: »
    How tall are you? Typically your NOT supposed to go under 1200 so if I were you I would keep my calories at 1200 otherwise your body can start to go into starvation mode and not lose weight and if you do lose weight you can lose muscle tissue. Your body does not discrimate on what kind of muscle, that can include heart muscle, so please stay at 1200. If your going to do spin, you need to talk to your doctor BEFORE doing so, he/she might recommend wearing a 24 hour heart monitor so see how your body reacts to that kind of exercise. If you decide to do it before talking to your doctor I would find a good heart monitor and do a little reasearch on what is a good heart rate and KEEP it at that and not go over.


    I'm 5'3

    I'll raise it to 1200, thank you!
  • natalse
    natalse Posts: 22 Member
    dietstokes wrote: »
    I have MVP, but do not normally find it difficult to exercise. Don't forget MVP can cause severe anxiety, which can feel like palpitations (and even a heart attack in some people!), but is not. Until you are checked out by a doctor and clear things with him/her, I would stick to lower intensity exercises. But MVP should not keep you from exercising with intensity in the future :)

    Yes, I do have anxiety as well. Sometimes I can tell the difference when it's MVP and when it's anxiety and 80% of the time it's anxiety I would say. I'll wait until I get cleared. Thanks!
  • natalse
    natalse Posts: 22 Member
    Sandcastles61 wrote: »
    As I am sure your doctor has told you at some point, exercise such as walking is good when you have a heart condition. It is just the intensity of spinning for instance I would be concerned about if your doctor has not specifically cleared you for that, especially since you are having periodic increase of symptoms. Your doctor appointment is only two weeks away. It would be prudent for you to hold off on any dieting or exercising extremes until you run it by them. Your doctor is the only one who can make these recommendations for you.

    After your appointment come back and tell us what they recommend for your calories and exercise and we would love to help you ❤

    I'll avoid high intensity exercises until I see him. And I'll definitely let you all know what he says, thanks for the support!
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    natalse wrote: »
    I'm 5'3

    I'll raise it to 1200, thank you!

    When you input your stats to MFP, what is the calorie goal it recommends for 1 lb/week? 1200 may be lower then you need to go.

  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    This sounds like anxiety over the fear of what could happen when exercising rather than MVP. My grandma, aunt, and two of my cousins all have MVP. My cardiologist thought I had it as well- turned out to be supra-ventricular tachycardia instead. In the vast majority of people, MVP is not life-threatening and people with MVP can go on living a normal life- that includes exercise.

    I think it would be helpful to make an appointment with a mental health specialist to work through your anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy worked wonders for me (I have generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder). I experienced the same thing when exercising- an increase in anxiety. Exercise brings on similar symptoms of anxiety (sweating, shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, maybe dizziness, etc). Everything you are feeling is normal in someone who suffers with anxiety.

    I think it would be best if you wait to exercise until you meet with your cardiologist. Tell him about your worries, what you experience during exercise, and if he has any recommendations for exercise. Walking is a great start.

    Let us know how your appointment goes!



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