Spiky heart rate on exercise
Discussion
Just wondering if this is worth having investigated further? I'm an old (age 66) recreational road cyclist. Last week out on our occasional evening 'blast' with the cycle club I was aware after 8 mins of hard cycling that I wasn't keeping up and my heart rate was unduly high. So I reluctantly dropped off the back of our group after around 18 mins and did my own thing. I ride with a Wahoo Tickr chest strap which is said to be one of the better monitors. Looking at the Garmin's heart rate trace afterwards shows several very short spikes up to 200+ bpm followed by equally short recoveries to a reasonable level.
Obviously a more normal reaction is a gradual ride in heart rate as exercise intensity increases with a gradual fall as the load eases - as shown for the rest of the ride. A non-medical friend suggested this may be some form of fibrillation. I used very occasionally to experience similar spikes two or three decades ago when I was a runner (spiking up to 220 bpm as I was younger then) - I didn't have any means of recording it then and the running club vet showed me how to calm it down by gently pressing on arteries in the neck.
As further context, I've sometimes felt similar spikes when riding hard in winter temperatures of 4C or lower, which I put down to cold weather asthma. These were typically just one or two spikes, not repeated spikes, with a feeling that I was breathing deeply but the oxygen just wasn't getting through. I mentioned this at my last asthma review and the GP put me on a 24-hour portable ecg device this January - but despite pushing quite hard on a cycle ride I couldn't replicate this and was given the message by the surgery that it's nothing to worry about (though I didn't speak to the GP). I don't experience asthma in warm weather.
I've a naturally high heart rate, being of small stature, and sense that my functional threshold is c. 165 bpm (slightly higher than the simplistic formula of 220 - age) though I've never had this measured formally eg on a treadmill. I'm not inclined to trouble the GP again, particularly as I was given the all-clear in January, so I suppose the simple answer is to ease off if I feel this happening again.
Any thoughts on what is causing this and tactics for addressing it?
Thanks - and apologies for the long post!
Obviously a more normal reaction is a gradual ride in heart rate as exercise intensity increases with a gradual fall as the load eases - as shown for the rest of the ride. A non-medical friend suggested this may be some form of fibrillation. I used very occasionally to experience similar spikes two or three decades ago when I was a runner (spiking up to 220 bpm as I was younger then) - I didn't have any means of recording it then and the running club vet showed me how to calm it down by gently pressing on arteries in the neck.
As further context, I've sometimes felt similar spikes when riding hard in winter temperatures of 4C or lower, which I put down to cold weather asthma. These were typically just one or two spikes, not repeated spikes, with a feeling that I was breathing deeply but the oxygen just wasn't getting through. I mentioned this at my last asthma review and the GP put me on a 24-hour portable ecg device this January - but despite pushing quite hard on a cycle ride I couldn't replicate this and was given the message by the surgery that it's nothing to worry about (though I didn't speak to the GP). I don't experience asthma in warm weather.
I've a naturally high heart rate, being of small stature, and sense that my functional threshold is c. 165 bpm (slightly higher than the simplistic formula of 220 - age) though I've never had this measured formally eg on a treadmill. I'm not inclined to trouble the GP again, particularly as I was given the all-clear in January, so I suppose the simple answer is to ease off if I feel this happening again.
Any thoughts on what is causing this and tactics for addressing it?
Thanks - and apologies for the long post!
So, having been a cyclist and sadly not being unfamiliar with heart issues....
Go and see your GP and get a referral to a cardiologist. You'll probably be told to wear a 24 hour monitor (basically 3 sticky pads on your chest wired to a small recorder). I'd go riding wearing it.
Then return it and wait for the follow-up. If there is anything not quite normal, they'll tell you.
It could be atrial fibrillation (or it could be something else) or it could be benign. But better to know if it is something and be able to deal with it. It would have to be something pretty rare to curtail your riding, but be aware that conditions like atrial fibrillation are a leading cause of strokes, so not something to ignore either.
Go and see your GP and get a referral to a cardiologist. You'll probably be told to wear a 24 hour monitor (basically 3 sticky pads on your chest wired to a small recorder). I'd go riding wearing it.
Then return it and wait for the follow-up. If there is anything not quite normal, they'll tell you.
It could be atrial fibrillation (or it could be something else) or it could be benign. But better to know if it is something and be able to deal with it. It would have to be something pretty rare to curtail your riding, but be aware that conditions like atrial fibrillation are a leading cause of strokes, so not something to ignore either.
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