Can resting heart rate be affected by Supraventricular tachycardia?

[reasonle]

Hi everyone,

Hoping I can get some insight on my heart rate.  I would like to say that I am pretty healthy, I am only 24 and am in normal ranges for weight.  I try to weight train 2x a week and run 2x a week.  I also eat so that I have a VERY small deficit.  I have been doing this (with some variation) for about three years now.  When I was younger I used to play volleyball and also swim but then when through periods of no physical activity in highschool.

My problem is that I CANNOT get my heart rate "low enough" when I run.  Even when I am running a slow 12"-13" mile, my heart rate (measured by my polar chest strap HRM) is at 160 after ten minutes or so.  Weight lifting even elevates my heart rate so that I need to catch my breath.  Walking quickly gives me a heart rate of 140-150 depending on the day...

I do apparently have SVT though.  It can be brought on by standing up, or just for no reason at all.  Can that affect my heart rate while working out as well?  Any help would be appreciated.  I even saw a cardiologist about this and all he told me was that I was out of shape...

Thanks!

[slysam]

Ask your doctor about this since you have a known issue (though I would say this if you just suspected an issue). Weight lifting, the work part, is anaerobic exercise though. I don't really get out of breath because the effort isn't sustained long enough, but usually it is anaerobic exercise that causes the out of breath feeling. My heart rate does get a little higher weight lifting than with cardio, but it recovers very fast during the rests so it doesn't stay high. Just during the more challenging exercises. I think it is natural for it to increase, but I don't know about your situation and whether that would effect how you respond to exercise and what is safe for you. If you didn't have an issue I would suggest going by perceived exertion (how intense it feels), but what did your cardiologist advise? The running issue, in normal circumstances sounds like you are just not yet conditioned for running at that speed. I would have suggested jogging slower or doing intervals of jogging and brisk walking (like couch to 5k programs or the Zombies, Run! phone app would have you do). Or even just brisk walking, if it gets you into aerobic ranges.  But only if it is okay with your cardiologist. Sometimes people who use to be fit and active try to return to their previous fitness too quick after a long sedentary period when they really should start at the point appropriate for a sedentary person since they lost much of their previous fitness. Starting too aggressively can make it hard to stick with it long enough to experience improvements.

[reasonle]

My cardiologist said that I should try to work out 3x a week at a HR of 140-150...  But for me that just means really quick walking!  I feel like that just cannot be enough for me considering that I have been running for 3 years now.  I tried telling myself that all that running at too high a HR has hurt my heart, but I still don't know if I can believe that.

I have done interval training and while it does make the workout much more enjoyable, I still fluctuate between 140/160 with walking/jogging.

[Maxit]

If it was me, I would get a second opinion.

[Heybales]

---

@reasonle wrote:

My cardiologist said that I should try to work out 3x a week at a HR of 140-150...  But for me that just means really quick walking!  I feel like that just cannot be enough for me considering that I have been running for 3 years now.  I tried telling myself that all that running at too high a HR has hurt my heart, but I still don't know if I can believe that.

I have done interval training and while it does make the workout much more enjoyable, I still fluctuate between 140/160 with walking/jogging.

---

Well, outside your medical condition being a reason, I'll mention this.

Walking after doing that running will indeed be a decline in cardio fitness. It would be like taking weight off the bar while lifting.

Your body only maintains what is needed, and it happens faster in a diet.

You would lose muscle mass that was not needed anymore.

From running to walking - you will lose cardiovascular fitness.

Now, that being said, it is also easy for people to totally train their upper aerobic system, the lactic producing side of the range, and be good at that. Every time they do cardio, it's hard as can be. Do this everyday, and the body takes care of it automatically by slowing you down because you have no recovery.

And the body can be very willing to go straight to that side of the range if trained that way.

The only way to counter it is ....... to slow down and train the fat burning side of the range.

If that is walking level that gets up to 140-150 though, that truly may be more related to the heart condition.

Was that recommended range based on a tested HRmax that was found through testing?

Because calculated HRmax can be very off.

Spend 2 weeks totally hitting the desired zone, if doing treadmill, walk at incline until exactly there. Shoot, do incline to be just below it actually for 2 weeks, really train body to use the lower aerobic end.

Notice the pace and incline needed to obtain that HR of say 130-140.

At the end of 2 weeks, see if it isn't faster pace or more incline for same HR - meaning your body is adapting on that side of the range.

For runners that have been doing it wrong for years - it's called slowing down to speed up.

[LZeeW]

@reasonle  A rapid heart rate that happens in response to exercise, fever, and things like that is a sinus tachycardia.  Nothing wrong with your heart.  SVT stands for supraventricular tachycardia and it is an arrythmia.  It can be caused by certain medications or an abnormal "wiring" problem in the heart.  Evaluation includes a careful history and a physical exam.  It should also include a resting EKG and an ambulatory EKG (where your EKG is recorded for several days to pick up episodes of rapid heart rate).

If you concluded that you have SVT, your conclusion may be incorrect.  If you think that the first cardiologist didn't evaluate you completely, then you should get a second opinion.  If you have episodes of a rapid heart rate when you are not exercising, be sure to tell the doctor this.