high maximum heart rate - Page 2

11-11-2004, 04:08 PM

I was originally going to mention my own experiences with max heart rate,
but reconsidered after thinking about it a bit more...

>I was proud a month ago to discover my maximum heart rate going up the
>steepest hill I have ridden so far was 195, which is much higher than would
>be predicted for my age of 49. My resting heart rate (before getting out of
>bed) is 60. The Black Rose suggested we form the hummingbird heart club
>and I found an article that supported that it is normal variation (
>[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] ).
>
> However, my doctor wanted to check it out, and so did the cardiologist she
> sent me to. And today I had my stress test and flunked. The EKG showed
> that when my heart rate went above 170 part of the wave (ST, I think)
> dropped out. Because of the abnormal EKG I now have to have a heart
> catheterization to rule out a blockage. The doctor does say it may be a
> kind of false positive that is fairly common in women. I've always had
> good cholesterol numbers and I felt great all the way through the test
> (and wanted to keep going) so I find it hard to imagine that I could have
> a blockage. But I will have it checked out.

So far, so good. You've sought professional help for a potentially-serious
medical condition, and it's possible it may save your life.

> If it turns out I don't have a blockage, the cardiologist says he wants to
> put me on medication to reduce my maximum heart rate. I've done a google
> group search and found lots of threads on various forums that come to the
> conclusion that a high maximum heart rate is normal variation. But I
> haven't found any references to medical articles. Does anyone know of any?

It's good to be informed, but keep in mind that any medical advice you get
here that contradicts your doctor is *not* to be given a whole lot of merit.
It may be something to discuss with your doctor, but beyond that? You're
taking your life in your hands.

> The cardiologist didn't give me much time, but he didn't seem to mind
> being challenged, so I would like to argue the point. If that doesn't
> work my other alternative is to try to find a cardiologist who specializes
> in athletes (assumably I would have to go to Atlanta for that) for a
> second opinion.

Now we're back on-track. If you've got a tendon problem, sure, it's relevant
how others have dealt with it. But when you're talking about something as
serious as your heart, there's no safe substitute for a formal relationship
with an appropriate doctor. Your current cardiologist should be a good
resource for a referral to somebody specializing in athletics, and (as
you've already seen), they usually don't mind somebody looking for a second
opinion. I doubt that doctors who are 100% sure of themselves are the best
choice anyway; if I were doctor dealing with a potentially life-threatening
situation, I'd probably feel a lot better if my patiend *did* request a
second opinion.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

11-11-2004, 04:08 PM

I was originally going to mention my own experiences with max heart rate,
but reconsidered after thinking about it a bit more...

>I was proud a month ago to discover my maximum heart rate going up the
>steepest hill I have ridden so far was 195, which is much higher than would
>be predicted for my age of 49. My resting heart rate (before getting out of
>bed) is 60. The Black Rose suggested we form the hummingbird heart club
>and I found an article that supported that it is normal variation (
>[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] ).
>
> However, my doctor wanted to check it out, and so did the cardiologist she
> sent me to. And today I had my stress test and flunked. The EKG showed
> that when my heart rate went above 170 part of the wave (ST, I think)
> dropped out. Because of the abnormal EKG I now have to have a heart
> catheterization to rule out a blockage. The doctor does say it may be a
> kind of false positive that is fairly common in women. I've always had
> good cholesterol numbers and I felt great all the way through the test
> (and wanted to keep going) so I find it hard to imagine that I could have
> a blockage. But I will have it checked out.

So far, so good. You've sought professional help for a potentially-serious
medical condition, and it's possible it may save your life.

> If it turns out I don't have a blockage, the cardiologist says he wants to
> put me on medication to reduce my maximum heart rate. I've done a google
> group search and found lots of threads on various forums that come to the
> conclusion that a high maximum heart rate is normal variation. But I
> haven't found any references to medical articles. Does anyone know of any?

It's good to be informed, but keep in mind that any medical advice you get
here that contradicts your doctor is *not* to be given a whole lot of merit.
It may be something to discuss with your doctor, but beyond that? You're
taking your life in your hands.

> The cardiologist didn't give me much time, but he didn't seem to mind
> being challenged, so I would like to argue the point. If that doesn't
> work my other alternative is to try to find a cardiologist who specializes
> in athletes (assumably I would have to go to Atlanta for that) for a
> second opinion.

Now we're back on-track. If you've got a tendon problem, sure, it's relevant
how others have dealt with it. But when you're talking about something as
serious as your heart, there's no safe substitute for a formal relationship
with an appropriate doctor. Your current cardiologist should be a good
resource for a referral to somebody specializing in athletics, and (as
you've already seen), they usually don't mind somebody looking for a second
opinion. I doubt that doctors who are 100% sure of themselves are the best
choice anyway; if I were doctor dealing with a potentially life-threatening
situation, I'd probably feel a lot better if my patiend *did* request a
second opinion.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

11-11-2004, 04:08 PM

I was originally going to mention my own experiences with max heart rate,
but reconsidered after thinking about it a bit more...

>I was proud a month ago to discover my maximum heart rate going up the
>steepest hill I have ridden so far was 195, which is much higher than would
>be predicted for my age of 49. My resting heart rate (before getting out of
>bed) is 60. The Black Rose suggested we form the hummingbird heart club
>and I found an article that supported that it is normal variation (
>[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] ).
>
> However, my doctor wanted to check it out, and so did the cardiologist she
> sent me to. And today I had my stress test and flunked. The EKG showed
> that when my heart rate went above 170 part of the wave (ST, I think)
> dropped out. Because of the abnormal EKG I now have to have a heart
> catheterization to rule out a blockage. The doctor does say it may be a
> kind of false positive that is fairly common in women. I've always had
> good cholesterol numbers and I felt great all the way through the test
> (and wanted to keep going) so I find it hard to imagine that I could have
> a blockage. But I will have it checked out.

So far, so good. You've sought professional help for a potentially-serious
medical condition, and it's possible it may save your life.

> If it turns out I don't have a blockage, the cardiologist says he wants to
> put me on medication to reduce my maximum heart rate. I've done a google
> group search and found lots of threads on various forums that come to the
> conclusion that a high maximum heart rate is normal variation. But I
> haven't found any references to medical articles. Does anyone know of any?

It's good to be informed, but keep in mind that any medical advice you get
here that contradicts your doctor is *not* to be given a whole lot of merit.
It may be something to discuss with your doctor, but beyond that? You're
taking your life in your hands.

> The cardiologist didn't give me much time, but he didn't seem to mind
> being challenged, so I would like to argue the point. If that doesn't
> work my other alternative is to try to find a cardiologist who specializes
> in athletes (assumably I would have to go to Atlanta for that) for a
> second opinion.

Now we're back on-track. If you've got a tendon problem, sure, it's relevant
how others have dealt with it. But when you're talking about something as
serious as your heart, there's no safe substitute for a formal relationship
with an appropriate doctor. Your current cardiologist should be a good
resource for a referral to somebody specializing in athletics, and (as
you've already seen), they usually don't mind somebody looking for a second
opinion. I doubt that doctors who are 100% sure of themselves are the best
choice anyway; if I were doctor dealing with a potentially life-threatening
situation, I'd probably feel a lot better if my patiend *did* request a
second opinion.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

11-11-2004, 04:23 PM

You might find this web site useful. It has lots of information
about heart disease, testing, and treatment:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

11-11-2004, 04:23 PM

You might find this web site useful. It has lots of information
about heart disease, testing, and treatment:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

11-11-2004, 04:23 PM

You might find this web site useful. It has lots of information
about heart disease, testing, and treatment:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

11-11-2004, 04:23 PM

You might find this web site useful. It has lots of information
about heart disease, testing, and treatment:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

11-11-2004, 05:45 PM

pam_in_sc <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:

> I've done a google group search and found lots of threads on various
> forums that come to the conclusion that a high maximum heart rate
> is normal variation. But I haven't found any references to medical
> articles. Does anyone know of any?

Here's an article from the Journal of Exercise Physiology:

The Surprising History of the "HRmax=220-age" Equation
Robert A. Robergs and Roberto Landwehr
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

--
Michael Fuhr
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

11-11-2004, 05:45 PM

pam_in_sc <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:

> I've done a google group search and found lots of threads on various
> forums that come to the conclusion that a high maximum heart rate
> is normal variation. But I haven't found any references to medical
> articles. Does anyone know of any?

Here's an article from the Journal of Exercise Physiology:

The Surprising History of the "HRmax=220-age" Equation
Robert A. Robergs and Roberto Landwehr
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

--
Michael Fuhr
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

11-11-2004, 05:45 PM

pam_in_sc <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:

> I've done a google group search and found lots of threads on various
> forums that come to the conclusion that a high maximum heart rate
> is normal variation. But I haven't found any references to medical
> articles. Does anyone know of any?

Here's an article from the Journal of Exercise Physiology:

The Surprising History of the "HRmax=220-age" Equation
Robert A. Robergs and Roberto Landwehr
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

--
Michael Fuhr
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]