HRM and tachycardia

samuraidoctor
samuraidoctor Posts: 29 Member
edited December 21 in Fitness and Exercise
I have noticed on some occasions I will go from warm-up to actually running with my HRM chest strap on and my pulse will go up to a ridiculous level. On one occasion it was over 200 and today, hit 169 or so. Meanwhile, I feel fine, not breathless, and I'm moving easily, just freaked out. So I was wondering, anyone else notice this phenomenon, and is it real, or due to conductivity on the chest strap?

My pulse suddenly "dropped" into my training range (25 bpm slower than what I'd been recording the second before) part-way into the run and then worked fine afterwards.

Replies

  • jgic2009
    jgic2009 Posts: 531 Member
    Next time that happens, find your pulse and count it manually--then you'll know if your HR really is out of whack or if it's just your HRM. Might just be time for a new battery.
  • heddylyn
    heddylyn Posts: 173 Member
    Try replacing the batteries in the watch and the strap if you haven't done so recently. If that doesn't work you may need to get a new strap. This recently happened to me and it was because my strap had gotten damaged. It would go from not reading anything and saying my pulse was zero and then jump up to 220. Hope this helps!
  • jmilian825
    jmilian825 Posts: 193 Member
    how fresh are your batteries cause my HRM was acting up similar and I ended up having to change out the batts. Since you don't feel out of breath or funny in any way it maybe that?
  • olong
    olong Posts: 255 Member
    I've had this too once in a while. I'm not an avid runner -- I usually run/walk/run... There have been times when I've resumed running after a waling "break". My HRM screams beeps at me since I'm well over my max heart rate. I don't have the answer as to why, though know you're not alone.
  • ncahill77
    ncahill77 Posts: 501 Member
    Try cleaning the leads of the HRM with rubbing alcohol first, if it keeps happening you need a new battery.
  • AnninStPaul
    AnninStPaul Posts: 1,372 Member
    it's not you, it's your HRM. mine occasionally goes to zero, and I'm not passed out.
  • Josie_lifting_cats
    Josie_lifting_cats Posts: 949 Member
    My max heart rate is 173. If I go over that I feel like I'm about I die. You'd know if your heart rate was that high. I agree with the others - probably time for new batteries.
  • reese66
    reese66 Posts: 2,920 Member
    I have that happened where I going a long at steady heart rate then it spikes and then goes right back down. Could be just the strap or the batteries/strap, but if you are feeling any dizziness, short of breath things like that you may want to talk to your MD about it. Myself I plan on saying something to my Doc just to see what she says.
  • dobarber
    dobarber Posts: 611 Member
    I'll get funky readings occasionally too. Try watching the readings when you're at rest to see if they change with the distance that you have your watch(if you have one with a watch which it sounds like you do) to see if the readings change. This happened to me and like the others said I changed the batteries and it read fine.
  • samuraidoctor
    samuraidoctor Posts: 29 Member
    Thanks, folks! I've actually got a relatively new strap and a pretty new battery in it, so I don't think it's that. In retrospect, I realized I'd carefully rinsed off the strap after using it Sunday, so there was almost no salt on it when I just wet it with water. I checked out amazon to look for HRM gels, and reading the reviews saw the exact same behavior described. I've ordered some of that produce and will post if it improves the performance after I get it.
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