Anyone else have heart problems and trying to lose weight?
alid8333
Posts: 233 Member
My heart doctor suggested I try to connect with others who have heart problems and are also trying to lose weight or who have lost weight. My name is Alicia, I'm 33 years old 5'3 and weigh 185 pounds. I have Afib, mitral valve prolapse and something else funky going on that we haven't figured out yet lol. I also have Crohns.
My goal is to lose 45 pounds by the end of this year. I was on exercise restrictions the past year and was put on a new Crohns medication as well which resulted in a 35 pound weight gain.
My current form of exercise that I'm cleared to do is walking at a moderate/brisk pace a half hour at a time. So I do 2 30 min sessions a day 7 days a week.
Once I lose 20 pounds and don't have any issues with my heart during that time I will be cleared to start running again and strength training.
Would like to make some friends who are in the same situation as I'm in.
My goal is to lose 45 pounds by the end of this year. I was on exercise restrictions the past year and was put on a new Crohns medication as well which resulted in a 35 pound weight gain.
My current form of exercise that I'm cleared to do is walking at a moderate/brisk pace a half hour at a time. So I do 2 30 min sessions a day 7 days a week.
Once I lose 20 pounds and don't have any issues with my heart during that time I will be cleared to start running again and strength training.
Would like to make some friends who are in the same situation as I'm in.
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Replies
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The good news is you don't need exercise to lose weight. Weight loss comes down to calorie deficit (eating less than you burn).
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I'd been having more heart palpitations while at rest, which my doctor thinks could be related to being anemic. I wore a monitor for two weeks, just sent it back last week, and am interested in the results. My doctor is especially optimistic because my arrhythmia is not activity-induced.
As soon as I found out I was out of Low Normal and back into Anemic, I doubled my supplement and increased dietary sources of iron, and have been getting the palpitations less.
I just learned about the anemia - heart palpitation connection last month and wanted to spread the word.2 -
kshama2001 wrote: »I'd been having more heart palpitations while at rest, which my doctor thinks could be related to being anemic. I wore a monitor for two weeks, just sent it back last week, and am interested in the results. My doctor is especially optimistic because my arrhythmia is not activity-induced.
As soon as I found out I was out of Low Normal and back into Anemic, I doubled my supplement and increased dietary sources of iron, and have been getting the palpitations less.
I just learned about the anemia - heart palpitation connection last month and wanted to spread the word.
Oh yeah I was anemic with all of my pregnancies and experienced more palpitations than normal.
I was diagnosed with Mitral valve prolapse when I was 15. I had the occasional heart palpitations but never let it bother me. But about a year in a half ago the heart palpitations changed followed by pain in my chest, left shoulder and left jaw. I ignored it for awhile until I passed out one day. Husband called the squad and on the way to the ER the ecg was showing my heart was in Afib. By the time I got to the ER it went back to normal so they assumed it was just a weird instance. Kept me for 24 hour observation ran more tests and then sent me home. I've worn the 48 hour monitors and wore a 3 week event monitor. It wasn't until then that it showed my heart went into svt (heart rate of 200) and then would go in and out of Afib. I'm suppose to have a ablation done that may fix the Afib but good ole insurance won't pay for the procedure because of my age!!! I have to be 35 before it will pay for it. It's stupid.
But I do get palpitations when I'm exercising which I've had a couple stress tests and a nuclear stress test that all came back fine.
So he finally cleared me.
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I have unstabilized SVT, (among other non heart issues) it certainly makes a difference in what you have to pay attention to!0
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lucid_wings wrote: »I have unstabilized SVT, (among other non heart issues) it certainly makes a difference in what you have to pay attention to!
What kind of SVT. I have 2 lol. The Afib and then out of no where my heart will shoot up to 200 bpm. They said I must have an extra electrical pathway and that's what causes the extreme high heart rate because when it happens I have a normal heart rhythm.
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I was born with ToF I've had 3 open heart surgeries I don't/ can't exercise but I've lost 30-35 pounds in the last year with 20 of those pounds just since November 1st just from cracking down and counting calories strictly I have 37lbs left till my goal weight and till I'm finally in a the healthy bmi range
Please feel free to add me I would love to connect to more people with heart troubles and trying to lose weight4 -
kksmom1789 wrote: »I was born with ToF I've had 3 open heart surgeries I don't/ can't exercise but I've lost 30-35 pounds in the last year with 20 of those pounds just since November 1st just from cracking down and counting calories strictly I have 37lbs left till my goal weight and till I'm finally in a the healthy bmi range
Please feel free to add me I would love to connect to more people with heart troubles and trying to lose weight
Wow that is awesome! I try not to beat myself up on the level of exercise I'm allowed to do. I know it can all be done on just diet alone.
But congrats on your weight loss!!
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What kind of SVT. I have 2 lol. The Afib and then out of no where my heart will shoot up to 200 bpm. They said I must have an extra electrical pathway and that's what causes the extreme high heart rate because when it happens I have a normal heart rhythm.
Mine originates in my atrials, they were able to catch it while I was getting fitted with a Holter monitor at the hospital (talk about convenient lol). I still need to go to the electrophysiologist to have my heart mapped, but they think I should benefit from ablation. I don't have any specific, isolated triggers, but when it goes off it's upwards of the 260 range. I can usually get it to revert with a Valsalva maneuver, but have had to go to the ER and be given adenosine before. I've found that I have to be really careful with my diet, hydration, supplements, sleep, and levels of activity or I end up having them all the time.0 -
lucid_wings wrote: »
What kind of SVT. I have 2 lol. The Afib and then out of no where my heart will shoot up to 200 bpm. They said I must have an extra electrical pathway and that's what causes the extreme high heart rate because when it happens I have a normal heart rhythm.
Mine originates in my atrials, they were able to catch it while I was getting fitted with a Holter monitor at the hospital (talk about convenient lol). I still need to go to the electrophysiologist to have my heart mapped, but they think I should benefit from ablation. I don't have any specific, isolated triggers, but when it goes off it's upwards of the 260 range. I can usually get it to revert with a Valsalva maneuver, but have had to go to the ER and be given adenosine before. I've found that I have to be really careful with my diet, hydration, supplements, sleep, and levels of activity or I end up having them all the time.
Yeah stress triggers mine. It's definitely a horrible feeling. I was running on the treadmill at the gym one day and I had an episode. My heart rate was already like 150 and it shot up to 275! That was probably the worst one I've ever had. I couldn't get it to come down even after trying the VM. After about 30 min I finally got it to come down and went straight to my docs office who then did a ecg and everything was fine. I really felt like I was going to die. That was when my doc put me on restrictions until we figured out what was wrong.
Then we discovered I have Afib along with whatever else is causing the other SVT. I'm suppose to have the EP study done to pace my heart and get it to go into the one form of SVT to see where it's coming from and then have an ablation. Then put me to sleep pace my heart again to get it to go into Afib and do another ablation. I'm a mess lol
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lucid_wings wrote: »
What kind of SVT. I have 2 lol. The Afib and then out of no where my heart will shoot up to 200 bpm. They said I must have an extra electrical pathway and that's what causes the extreme high heart rate because when it happens I have a normal heart rhythm.
Mine originates in my atrials, they were able to catch it while I was getting fitted with a Holter monitor at the hospital (talk about convenient lol). I still need to go to the electrophysiologist to have my heart mapped, but they think I should benefit from ablation. I don't have any specific, isolated triggers, but when it goes off it's upwards of the 260 range. I can usually get it to revert with a Valsalva maneuver, but have had to go to the ER and be given adenosine before. I've found that I have to be really careful with my diet, hydration, supplements, sleep, and levels of activity or I end up having them all the time.
I have a ecg monitor at home that I'm suppose to use when I exercise so it can pick up what's going on. But it's so hard to workout with wires attached to you.
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I lost 80 pounds over 9 months so far. I have a really bad heart from an infection, Iv had 2 surgeries and a stroke. Just eat less and walk for me. Im scared to do more but it seem i don't need to
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What crohn's med? Just interested (I have Crohn's).0
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JaydedMiss wrote: »I lost 80 pounds over 9 months so far. I have a really bad heart from an infection, Iv had 2 surgeries and a stroke. Just eat less and walk for me. Im scared to do more but it seem i don't need to
Congrats on the weight loss!!
A stroke! That had to be extremely scary! That's my fear with the Afib is my risk of stroke. I'm suppose to take blood thinners but my stomach doc doesn't want me on them as it can do more harm with me having Crohns0 -
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It's scary when it happens! Ive been lucky that it hasnt happened at the gym, but sometimes I've had those flutters that feel like it's going to and get really light headed. I didnt really like wearing the monitors either, the wires and stickets are irritating to my skin. The worst though is it happening when I'm driving!
At least they have a plan for treatment for you! Hopefully they will be able fix things with the ablations! This year we should have the $ for me to take care of things more, so there is that. 0 -
lucid_wings wrote: »It's scary when it happens! Ive been lucky that it hasnt happened at the gym, but sometimes I've had those flutters that feel like it's going to and get really light headed. I didnt really like wearing the monitors either, the wires and stickets are irritating to my skin. The worst though is it happening when I'm driving!
At least they have a plan for treatment for you! Hopefully they will be able fix things with the ablations! This year we should have the $ for me to take care of things more, so there is that.
The electrodes literally eat my skin lol. I can't have anything done for 2 more years because my insurance won't pay for the procedure because of my age. I have to be 35. It's ridiculous.
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That is ridiculous! But sadly, not surprising. I started having problems and warning signs in my early 20s, they told me I was "internalizing" stress. It wasn't until I was 28 and 8 months pregnant when I went into a full blown svt and needed adenosine that they said, oh, I guess it wasn't stress! I know that sometimes Dr.s can send in appeals if they feel it necessary to get it covered.2
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My name is Bob. I am 59 years old, 5'8' tall, and almost 2 years ago weighed 230 lbs.
I developed diverticulitis a few years back and was hospitalized several times over about a year with an abscess in my colon. I had to have surgery to remove that part of my colon so I had to get my heart and lungs tested to be able to get the surgery. During the tests they determined that I had COPD, and a small portion of the bottom of my heart was slightly enlarged. They said I could have had a mini heart attack at some point. I have always had a mitro-valve prolapse (heart murmur).
I still got the surgery but they told me I had to start exercising and lose weight or I would not be around much longer. They also recommended walking at a brisk pace.
I started walking every day, but could not walk any further than 1 mile at a slow pace (about 3 mph) without having to lay down and feeling like I was dying.
I got a fitness tracker, set it to lose 1 lb. per week, stated logging my food, and kept walking that slow mile. 2, 3 sometimes 4 times a day. I started losing 1 lb. a week, and kept walking every day. When it got easier, I stepped up the pace and distance, and when that got easier, I stepped it up again. I did this for about a year and by the time the year was up I had lost about 57 lbs., and could power walk 10 miles at a 4.5+ mph pace.
I didn't stop there.
It got to the point where just power walking I couldn't get my heart rate up enough any more so about 6 months ago, I started adding jog intervals to my power walks. At first I could only jog for about 30 seconds before I had to start walking again, so I did 30 second jog/2 minute walk intervals for about 3 miles every day. when that got easy, I stepped it up to 1 minute jog/2 minute walk, and so on.
Now, I am at the point where I can jog 5 miles non stop, and can keep my heart rate in zone 4/5 (80 to 100 percent of MHR) for well over an hour. I have drastically increased my lung capacity and heart health, and all my blood work (that used to always be a mess) comes back perfectly normal now. My doctor is in AWE of me and brags about me to his other patients.
It was a long hard road, but I worked with my doctor and kept pushing myself, so it can be done. My doctor told me that I not only added more years to my life, but added more healthy years to my life.
I think you can do it too, but work closely with your doctor, and keep your doctor informed as you go along.
Best of luck to you.9 -
OK me too. I gained 20lbs but I was 20 underweight so it was needed. I've been on it 2 years now. it saved my life. Probably switching to something else soon though.0 -
I have occasional SVT and doctor prescribed Carvedilol. It works well but I'm having a hard time losing weight. I also have hypothyroidism so I would imagine that contributes to the weight challenge as well!1
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I have two damaged valves, and have had since I was 4 years old and developed Rheumatic fever.
I also have a genetic mutation which increases my chances of developing blood clots combined with a high homocysteine level which increases my chances of heart disease.
I go for a series of heart tests every few years.0 -
bcalvanese wrote: »My name is Bob. I am 59 years old, 5'8' tall, and almost 2 years ago weighed 230 lbs.
I developed diverticulitis a few years back and was hospitalized several times over about a year with an abscess in my colon. I had to have surgery to remove that part of my colon so I had to get my heart and lungs tested to be able to get the surgery. During the tests they determined that I had COPD, and a small portion of the bottom of my heart was slightly enlarged. They said I could have had a mini heart attack at some point. I have always had a mitro-valve prolapse (heart murmur).
I still got the surgery but they told me I had to start exercising and lose weight or I would not be around much longer. They also recommended walking at a brisk pace.
I started walking every day, but could not walk any further than 1 mile at a slow pace (about 3 mph) without having to lay down and feeling like I was dying.
I got a fitness tracker, set it to lose 1 lb. per week, stated logging my food, and kept walking that slow mile. 2, 3 sometimes 4 times a day. I started losing 1 lb. a week, and kept walking every day. When it got easier, I stepped up the pace and distance, and when that got easier, I stepped it up again. I did this for about a year and by the time the year was up I had lost about 57 lbs., and could power walk 10 miles at a 4.5+ mph pace.
I didn't stop there.
It got to the point where just power walking I couldn't get my heart rate up enough any more so about 6 months ago, I started adding jog intervals to my power walks. At first I could only jog for about 30 seconds before I had to start walking again, so I did 30 second jog/2 minute walk intervals for about 3 miles every day. when that got easy, I stepped it up to 1 minute jog/2 minute walk, and so on.
Now, I am at the point where I can jog 5 miles non stop, and can keep my heart rate in zone 4/5 (80 to 100 percent of MHR) for well over an hour. I have drastically increased my lung capacity and heart health, and all my blood work (that used to always be a mess) comes back perfectly normal now. My doctor is in AWE of me and brags about me to his other patients.
It was a long hard road, but I worked with my doctor and kept pushing myself, so it can be done. My doctor told me that I not only added more years to my life, but added more healthy years to my life.
I think you can do it too, but work closely with your doctor, and keep your doctor informed as you go along.
Best of luck to you.
Wow that is literally amazing! Congrats on the weight loss! I know my doctor told me to just take it easy and work myself back up to where I want to be fitness wise.
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singingflutelady wrote: »
OK me too. I gained 20lbs but I was 20 underweight so it was needed. I've been on it 2 years now. it saved my life. Probably switching to something else soon though.
I've always been able to control my weight since being diagnosed with Crohns. I know a lot of people lose weight or can't gain weight when they have it, until they get put on a medication. Then some people ballon up. Unfortunately I was one of them lol. I wanted to stop doing my infusions but the doctor said the initial weight gain is normal and once I lose the weight the Remicade won't make me gain it back again.
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singingflutelady wrote: »
OK me too. I gained 20lbs but I was 20 underweight so it was needed. I've been on it 2 years now. it saved my life. Probably switching to something else soon though.
I've always been able to control my weight since being diagnosed with Crohns. I know a lot of people lose weight or can't gain weight when they have it, until they get put on a medication. Then some people ballon up. Unfortunately I was one of them lol. I wanted to stop doing my infusions but the doctor said the initial weight gain is normal and once I lose the weight the Remicade won't make me gain it back again.
My weight gain was 1 year 3 months ago (it took a long time for it to work) and I've been stable weight wise since0 -
singingflutelady wrote: »singingflutelady wrote: »
OK me too. I gained 20lbs but I was 20 underweight so it was needed. I've been on it 2 years now. it saved my life. Probably switching to something else soon though.
I've always been able to control my weight since being diagnosed with Crohns. I know a lot of people lose weight or can't gain weight when they have it, until they get put on a medication. Then some people ballon up. Unfortunately I was one of them lol. I wanted to stop doing my infusions but the doctor said the initial weight gain is normal and once I lose the weight the Remicade won't make me gain it back again.
My weight gain was 1 year 3 months ago (it took a long time for it to work) and I've been stable weight wise since
Yeah I started Remicade this time last year and put on all the weight over the course of last year. I will say I haven't had a flare up that I needed to be hospitalized for since December 2015. Before that I was in and out of the hospital every couple months. So it's definitely helping.
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kshama2001 wrote: »I'd been having more heart palpitations while at rest, which my doctor thinks could be related to being anemic. I wore a monitor for two weeks, just sent it back last week, and am interested in the results. My doctor is especially optimistic because my arrhythmia is not activity-induced.
As soon as I found out I was out of Low Normal and back into Anemic, I doubled my supplement and increased dietary sources of iron, and have been getting the palpitations less.
I just learned about the anemia - heart palpitation connection last month and wanted to spread the word.
Well, unfortunately it appears to be more serious than I thought - the monitor said my heart rate goes up to 187 at times. I asked what times to cross check against if that was when I was exercising, and what exercise I was doing. I'm having an echo-cardiogram next week and assume I will be referred to a cardiologist after that. My doctor asked if I've ever been on beta blockers, which I have not.1 -
lucid_wings wrote: »
What kind of SVT. I have 2 lol. The Afib and then out of no where my heart will shoot up to 200 bpm. They said I must have an extra electrical pathway and that's what causes the extreme high heart rate because when it happens I have a normal heart rhythm.
Mine originates in my atrials, they were able to catch it while I was getting fitted with a Holter monitor at the hospital (talk about convenient lol). I still need to go to the electrophysiologist to have my heart mapped, but they think I should benefit from ablation. I don't have any specific, isolated triggers, but when it goes off it's upwards of the 260 range. I can usually get it to revert with a Valsalva maneuver, but have had to go to the ER and be given adenosine before. I've found that I have to be really careful with my diet, hydration, supplements, sleep, and levels of activity or I end up having them all the time.
I have a ecg monitor at home that I'm suppose to use when I exercise so it can pick up what's going on. But it's so hard to workout with wires attached to you.
I may up with one of these from my doctor. Meanwhile, can anyone suggest something simpler and reasonably priced from Amazon that I can use in the meantime?0 -
I have MVP/MVR. I dont have the afib with it. I do have pain under my arm from time to time. other than that I dont have issues. I was diagnosed because I thought even while on asthma meds(Im asthmatic) that they werent working. they did an ultrasound and found thats my issue. I dont know how I ended up with this issue, it wasnt diagnosed until my late 20s I did one of those holter monitors last year and they found no issues. I have palpitations from time to time but usually its at bedtime.but things have improved a lot since I started working out.1
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also my doctor said people with mvp/mvr also can have panic attacks/anxiety attacks as they go hand in hand with the condition. so if anyone has had them it could be a reason.2
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I have MVR, a leaky pulmonary valve, and pulmonary issues (hopefully to be diagnosed after tests on Th). I had open heart surgery and had my mitral valve replaced 9 years ago. I will have another surgery in the next few years. It is hard when you have low energy and can't exercise much. After my pulmonary issues are diagnosed, I hope my specialist will send me to pulmonary rehab.1
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