I know some of you have questioned it, but I really do have a good heart, as confirmed by a cardiologist this morning. EKG and stress test showed nothing abnormal.
BUT, I'm so NOT impressed with my treadmill stress test. I was hoping I would at least find out my true max heart rate through all of this so I would at least have a reference point of some sort. The lady got me all hooked up and showed me where my HR was on the screen and said "now, you are at 60-something right now, you can stop whenever you want, but we'd really like to see that HR get to at least 164." I told her that surely wouldn't be a problem. So I start walking. Whopee. Every 3 minutes the incline and speed increases. I asked her after a few minutes if I would get to find out my true max HR. She said "your 100% max? Well, that is 193. Because it is 220 minus your age." GREAT. She knows nothing. I tell her that I could easily get over 193 and that my high heart rate when exercising was the whole reason I was there. She said "well, we don't really want you to get that high." Wonderful. I thought that was the point.
I started running at 12 minutes in, with a 18% grade at maybe 5.2? mph. I hit 196 13.5 minutes in and she stops the test. WTF? She says "well, we really have all the info we need, so I'm going to stop now." I said that I could keep going and my HR could easily go over 200, but she stopped it anyway.
So I'm glad to know there is nothing obviously wrong with my heart - everything looks to be working properly, everything is sized correctly, and there are no irregularities with the rhythm, but I am not any closer to figuring out what in the world to do with a 195 HR that feels like my heart is going to come out of my throat than I was before all the testing.
I guess my next step will be to do VO2 max and lactate threshold testing, but I'm a little weary of that right now because I don't know if I'm overtrained/under-recovered and if that would skew the results, or if it would still be good to get the testing done now and then again in a few months.
I have come up with a new profession though: cardiologist/personal trainer/coach/overtrainer-analyzer. Think someone would hire me if I became one of those?
BUT, I'm so NOT impressed with my treadmill stress test. I was hoping I would at least find out my true max heart rate through all of this so I would at least have a reference point of some sort. The lady got me all hooked up and showed me where my HR was on the screen and said "now, you are at 60-something right now, you can stop whenever you want, but we'd really like to see that HR get to at least 164." I told her that surely wouldn't be a problem. So I start walking. Whopee. Every 3 minutes the incline and speed increases. I asked her after a few minutes if I would get to find out my true max HR. She said "your 100% max? Well, that is 193. Because it is 220 minus your age." GREAT. She knows nothing. I tell her that I could easily get over 193 and that my high heart rate when exercising was the whole reason I was there. She said "well, we don't really want you to get that high." Wonderful. I thought that was the point.
I started running at 12 minutes in, with a 18% grade at maybe 5.2? mph. I hit 196 13.5 minutes in and she stops the test. WTF? She says "well, we really have all the info we need, so I'm going to stop now." I said that I could keep going and my HR could easily go over 200, but she stopped it anyway.
So I'm glad to know there is nothing obviously wrong with my heart - everything looks to be working properly, everything is sized correctly, and there are no irregularities with the rhythm, but I am not any closer to figuring out what in the world to do with a 195 HR that feels like my heart is going to come out of my throat than I was before all the testing.
I guess my next step will be to do VO2 max and lactate threshold testing, but I'm a little weary of that right now because I don't know if I'm overtrained/under-recovered and if that would skew the results, or if it would still be good to get the testing done now and then again in a few months.
I have come up with a new profession though: cardiologist/personal trainer/coach/overtrainer-analyzer. Think someone would hire me if I became one of those?
Comments
It worries me a bit. But since every checkup I've ever had shows healthy...
I have never seen my heart rate up that high. The higest I have ever seen it 188. Everyone is different due to genetics and not 220- your age.