The Bike Doc 250+
Joined: 08 May 2003 Posts: 1398 Location: Corpus Christi and Warda, Texas
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Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2004 6:06 am GMT +0000 Post subject: |
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Wumpus:
A well conditioned athlete should experience a return to a normal heart rate withing several minutes (usually <30 minutes) after completing an intense interval. Factors that can cause an athlete to have a sustained elevated heart rate include over-training or under-training , dehydration, a concurent illness, medications (cold remedies with decongestants, diuretics) an abnormal heart rhythm that leads to sustained abnormally high heart rates.
Look at your training program, if you are putting in too many high intensity days nor more than 2 per week and are not allowing yourself rest and recovery days, you are going to push up your baseline heart rate and at the same time find it heart to sustain high intensity at your max heart rate. If you are undertrained and crank up the intensity of your work outs too quickly you will also find your heart rate staying up more.
Make sure you drink plenty during your work outs as well as on your off days. Even in the cooler weather, you can still loose a quart an hour of water through sweat and your breath.
We are in the cold and flu season. If you have symptoms of a viral illness, ease off on the training, allow your body time to rest and recooperate. If you are taking a cold or flu medication with a decongestant in it (eg. pseudoephedrine) or an herbal remedy with Mahuang or Ephedra these can elevate your heart rate as well as your blood pressure. I would not recommend taking these medications or herbal remedies.
Certain prescription asthma medications, the broncho dialators such as albuterol, metaproterenol, salmeterol, famoterol, or over the counter epineprhine (Primatine Mist) can raise your heart rate. If you are on prescription asthma medication do not stop it, but talk to your doctor about your heart rate and asthma symptoms. Discuss ways you can improve your asthma control without having to rely as heavily on the broncho dilators.
If you have an extremely elevated heart rate especially if is associated with chest pain, get an immediate medical evaluation. Abnormally rapid heart rates can be potenitally life threatening and require evaluation by a competent cardiologist.
In in any event, do not hesitate to be examend by a competent physician to review your concerns and discuss your symptoms to help develop an effective plan of action for you.
Thanks, _________________ Paul K. Nolan, MD
AKA: The Bike Doc |
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