Occasional Racing Heart During Somewhat Vigorous Exercising - Normal?

[CantWeight]

I get some palpitations during the day, for awhile it had been almost completely resolved with iron supplements (I now take Metagenics Hemagenics 2/day) so not sure if I need to increase my iron even though my numbers are more normal. Also taking Synthroid, I'm within normal range (about 1.5 on my doc's lab reference range).

But, recently I have been wearing a Polar FT60 heart rate monitor for smart exercise and at the end of my workout it displays my high and low HR - yesterday I walked up a big hill and when I reached the trail I noticed my HR decreasing from the high 140's which sort of surprised me... at the end of my exercise I reviewed my data and saw that I'd had a high of 198 (my max is 182)! Since I've been wearing the monitor for the last two weeks of workouts, I see that occasionally my heart rate goes up to 171 for about 30 secs, etc. I wouldn't know it if I wasn't wearing a monitor. I'd mentioned it to my endocrinologist/internist the other day and he said maybe it is SVT, he was not too alarmed by it. My workouts are not overly strenuous, most time is spent within 126-144 bpm, and the racing doesn't happen at every workout.

My resting HR is about 64 bpm and my blood pressure is usually about 110/70. My cholesterol numbers are all great, 177 total, high HDL, moderate LDL. I am Celiac Sprue, I'm gluten-free/dairy-free and eat a low-carb diet with no caffeine. I had been taking Rhodiola and 5-HTP both of which I've stopped about 2 weeks ago. I take vitamin and mineral supplements. I am very overweight.

Does anyone else have this experience? Is it normal? I'm very very worried about this being a doomsday scenario so I'm hoping your feedback will help calm my nerves.

[ravenwoodglass]

If you are alarmed by this you may want to ask for a consult with a heart specialist. I suspect it is nothing to worry about but if troubling should be checked out.

[CantWeight]

If you are alarmed by this you may want to ask for a consult with a heart specialist. I suspect it is nothing to worry about but if troubling should be checked out.

thanks, yes, I will follow-up with my internist. I was just hoping that someone else has had the experience and maybe it was a normal occurrence.

[cassP]

all of my random episodes of tachycardia, palpitation, & orthostatic hypotension have all disappeared since going gluten free.

while i can speculate about cortisol levels since u stopped rhodiola... or what types of exercise is best for u-> the most important thing is that u get this all checked with your PCP, and a cardiologist.... just run all the proper tests to be safe & rule out anything serious.

[bluebonnet]

i have svt after years of tests done. my heart rate will do the same thing ... i've had it in the 200's before on several occassions. i have noticed a MAJOR improvement since being gluten free. i will notice around my cycle that it will act up and that is quite possibly the hormonal fluctuations that naturally occur. i was and sometimes still stop-in-my-tracks scared to death because of the palps along with racing for no apparent reason. but like i said i've had many tests to rule things out and its best for you to see a cardiologist that is just as serious as you are about discovering the root cause. if he/she tells you to drop a few pounds or its all in your head or anxiety find another doctor if you are not satisfied. i was told all of the above but it ended up being a real problem with my electrical system in my heart.

if it is svt ... relaxation techniques, staying away from gluten, msg, alcohol and other triggers will help aleviate the frequency. and it is benign for the most part ... but again make sure the specialist who ruled everything else out confirms that. best wishes.

[CantWeight]

thanks everyone for your feedback! although I am still very concerned, I feel a bit less anxious about it today.