# Doctor has me spooked, who else has experienced this?



## Bill-E-BoB (Jul 15, 2011)

So my doc gave me a bit of a scare yesterday. I took my mom in for a routine followup on her recent triple bypass surgery, and we were talking about heart conditions & I mentioned how a runner in a race I was recently involved with collapsed as he crossed the finish line with a heart attack and died before he hit the pavement. The doctor said it's surprisingly common among athletes who have no clue anything is wrong with them, and about 1 in 3 of the people who die of it had complained of symptoms that could've been early warning signs beforehand but didn't do anything about it. Then he listed out EXACTLY the symptoms that happen to me when I work my butt off either on a ride, or in the weight room, or anything extremely strenuous. So, he told me I need to go see a cardiologist & until I do I shouldn't do any strenuous activity under any circumstances. 

SO...Here's what happens to me, does it happen to anyone else? I'm hoping what I'm experiencing is just a good workout, and not warning signs of a bad heart.

Sometimes, if I'm doing an unusually long climb or riding significantly harder than normal for at least a 5-10 minute stretch without letting up, something that really gets my pulse going & a good hard workout, it starts to hit me. Moments after I stop exerting myself I feel my pulse hitting very hard in the back of my neck, a few seconds later my ears plug up & it sounds like I'm underwater. A few seconds after that my vision tunnels in & I get dizzy & weak. If I sit down & rest until my breathing is back to almost normal, my vision & hearing return & I feel fine. This only happens once in a while, and normally at the beginning of a ride. Once I regain my composure I'm fine for the rest of the ride no matter how hard I push.

I never worried about it before, it's happened off & on for the past 9 years with all sorts of various physical activity. When I was fat & lazy, 10 pushups would trigger it. Now it takes sprinting up a climb or running 5k+. The better shape I get into, the more I have to exert myself before it happens, so I always just assumed it's how the body reacts to a hard workout. But a few months ago my mom had a heart attack, and then on thanksgiving I watched a completely healthy cross country runner fall down dead from over-exerting himself...and now the doc tells me this. So I'm spooked. Does this sound like anything other than just exhaustion? What do the rest of y'all experience when you push a little beyond your limits?


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## Bill in Houston (Nov 26, 2011)

has not ever happened to me. sounds like something worth checking into.


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## Delirious (Jun 12, 2011)

I would definitely get that checked out and then get a second opinion while your at it.


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## OpsMan (Dec 25, 2011)

I used to be heavy into triathalons and training to be into them again. This is a common thing for us to stop and get checked out. Triathaletes have a long list of things to get checked out for given the abuse we put up with.


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

Worth looking into.

While I don't have those symptoms, or any really heart related, it is not uncommon for me to have the heart tests accomplished during each annual physical. Insurance requires this or pay more $. It's part of our company insurance program.

Best of luck with it.

PK


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## torreyaz (Jul 17, 2011)

Probably should go see a cardiologist and get a stress test. Maybe try to find one who's into cycling/MTBing.


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## Bill-E-BoB (Jul 15, 2011)

Ok I've got an appointment scheduled for Wednesday so hopefully they'll say it's no big deal...but I was really hoping you guys would all be saying that it happens to everyone & it's not a problem.


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## Econoline (Mar 5, 2004)

Do you get regular physical exams? (they should be free now with ObamaCare)

Are your blood pressure and cholesterol in the "normal" range?


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## rkj__ (Feb 29, 2004)

I've never experienced those symptoms while working out. You made a good call by following up on the doc's advice and scheduling an appointment.


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## Bill-E-BoB (Jul 15, 2011)

Econoline said:


> Do you get regular physical exams? (they should be free now with ObamaCare)
> 
> Are your blood pressure and cholesterol in the "normal" range?


Yep, physical every year, nothing out of the ordinary...I'm due again for one in January/February-ish. Cholesterol is normal, my blood pressure tends to run low...between 90-110 over 50-80. My resting heart rate is quite low too, around 50 bpm. I found on Web MD that low blood pressure is usually harmless and a sign of good health, but can cause dizziness when not enough blood gets to the brain for some people, so maybe that's the problem. I'll let y'all know what he says after running some tests.


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## Danke (Sep 19, 2005)

It is more common than commonly noted I think. We had a person at work who though they were having epileptic seizures but afer a full on collapse and trip to the emerg won a pacemaker. 

Same goes for the stories about a high school athlete who comes off the bench and then suddenly drops dead. No dope, no medical history, just a bad ticker.


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## xcguy (Apr 18, 2004)

No matter how hard I've pushed myself nor how high my heart rate got nor how long it stayed elevated, I never had those symptoms. Get checked out, man.


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## pacing08 (Jan 15, 2008)

Yes, see a doc. That has never happened to me either and I do strenuous cardio work outs. Look at your family history.

Like Danke says, young folks can die from heart failure also.Not necessarily from heart attack but from cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is normally what happens to athletes. ie. Reggie Lewis Boston Celtics died at 27 yrs old at time (I think) from playing basketball.

Be careful! And consider doing moderate work outs.Def consult with cardiologist.


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## kinsler (Sep 13, 2011)

The condition that I think this thread is referring to is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy for those interested.


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## Bill-E-BoB (Jul 15, 2011)

kinsler said:


> The condition that I think this thread is referring to is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy for those interested.


That's the condition this thread is hopefully NOT referring to...hopefully the condition this thread is referring to is dehydration or lazy dude syndrome or something! Cardiomyopathy is what killed the runner I witnessed on Thanksgiving...I'd really prefer this thread to be dehydration.

But yes, that's the condition my doctor talked about today. He did an EKG, took blood & urine, is testing it & getting back to me tomorrow, sending me to a cardiologist later in the week & said until they decide I'm ok no biking, no hiking, no running, no gym and no women. :madman:


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## kinsler (Sep 13, 2011)

Bill-E-BoB said:


> That's the condition this thread is hopefully NOT referring to...hopefully the condition this thread is referring to is dehydration or lazy dude syndrome or something! Cardiomyopathy is what killed the runner I witnessed on Thanksgiving...I'd really prefer this thread to be dehydration.
> 
> But yes, that's the condition my doctor talked about today. He did an EKG, took blood & urine, is testing it & getting back to me tomorrow, sending me to a cardiologist later in the week & said until they decide I'm ok no biking, no hiking, no running, no gym and no women. :madman:


I hope that not the case either, but when people refer to the young athlete who collapses and dies on the court or field that is often the cause...

"Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common genetic cardiovascular malformation, with a prevalence of approximately 1 in 500 patients. HCM often presents as sudden cardiac death in previously asymptomatic individuals. Other symptoms that may preceded sudden cardiac death include chest pain and/or dizziness with activity, or syncope (fainting). "

Glad your seeing a cardiologist- hopefully it's nothing serious.


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## Shark (Feb 4, 2006)

Good that you are going to get checked out.

I have never experienced anything that you are describing. Even was I started biking, & didn't take much to "bonk" after big climbs etc, never anything like that. 

Hope you are OK!


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## TNRabbit (Dec 9, 2011)

Interesting; I get that "underwater" feeling in my ears under moderate-to-heavy exertion at times....guess I'd better see the doc...

Don't have any of those other symptoms, though....


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## Secace (Sep 8, 2004)

As much as the Doc always spooks me, nothing gets my panties in a twist like self-diagnosing myself by reading the millions of medical horror stories online. The internet can scare the **** out of you in a hurry!


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## bballr4567 (Mar 12, 2006)

I normally get the hearing thing if I go hard for a while but its the only thing I get. It doesnt help that I have about 40% hearing loss so when the blood gets pumping in my head it drowns out most of the sounds. 

I need a CT to confirm it but my doc thinks Ive got LVAS.


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## electrik (Oct 22, 2009)

If you hammer super hard up a hill and then just STOP at the top, you can get symptoms like that because your body is still in "hammer mode". I forget the medical term. However if in such a situation you get tunnel vision and hear a whooshing sound like being underwater you are in trouble and probably know it. Stop, get off the bicycle and crouch down. Tell somebody you're about to pass out.

Don't get too spooked, you're still here chatting with us, but if you have a real concern and feel it's abnormal for you then visit the cardiologist. Hope you'll get the all clear to get out there and ride hard.


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## BruceBrown (Jan 16, 2004)

Bill-E-BoB said:


> But yes, that's the condition my doctor talked about today. He did an EKG, took blood & urine, is testing it & getting back to me tomorrow, sending me to a cardiologist later in the week & said until they decide I'm ok no biking, no hiking, no running, no gym and no women. :madman:


Based on your family history...

Have the cardiologist put you on the treadmill and push for them to take you up into the same heart rate zones you hit on the bike while they do the EKG. Don't settle for lower heart rate zones that they are used to doing on old geezers. Have them take you up in the cycling hard heart rate area. Although insurance probably won't cover it, I would also push, beg, cajole the Doc for a Coronary Calcium Scan to find out if you have any plaque build up (calcium is one of the items found in plaque) in your coronary arteries. I think I paid $99 for the test out of pocket. Well worth it - IMO. Combined with the other tests - it gives an excellent overview of where your heart disease (assuming the family history) is at this moment in time and compares it to a base average.

I'm not saying that is what it is, I'm just saying if you are going in to be checked - demand the full gamut of non-invasive testing available. Especially with your family history of heart disease.


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## Bill-E-BoB (Jul 15, 2011)

Update for those interested, the cardiologist has done 2 tests on me, 2nd one was today...and both have been good news. 

First, an echocardiogram confirmed that I do NOT have cardiomyopathy. My heart muscle looks perfect & doesn't show any abnormalities, so that's a huge relief there. Upon seeing that he said I can go ahead & resume biking while they figure out what it is.

Next, this morning was a treadmill stress test. Still waiting to hear the detailed results but initial feedback was that everything went normal. I pushed to my muscles fail point, or as close to it as I could get while running because if I actually pushed to failure I'd be flat on my face & that's no good. Got my heart rate up to 172 which is 90% of max and the highest they said it should ever go...kind of my redline if you will. At this heart rate, my blood pressure was 192/70, which is what your blood pressure should max out at during exercise (actually 190) and at rest I ranged between 105-120/70. These are all the perfect numbers for a healthy heart.

SO...still waiting to talk to the doctor about it but I have a theory about what's going on. When I maxed out, I was just starting to get light headed, felt the throbbing in my neck, and my vision was getting sparkly. I had to stop not because of my heart or exhaustion, but because of muscle failure. If I kept pushing my legs would've fallen out from under me & I'd have face-planted on the treadmill. When I'm riding a bike, weight training, or the other things that have triggered this, I am in no danger of doing a faceplant so I can push 'til the muscle fails...and I have. I remember a few times that I'm at the top of a hill and literally cannot pump my pedals one more rotation. So, that means I went PAST the point I hit at the test, which is supposed to be the absolute max. I'm thinking that if I kept going a few more seconds during the test my HR would've increased to 180 or so, and my BP would've gotten up to around 200/70, both are indicative of hypertension & would start triggering those symptoms. If I'm right, then the doc is going to call and say the only thing wrong with me is that I don't know when to say enough is enough & slow down! 

BruceBrown, I'll ask him about the Calcium Scan too. My mom passed a CT & stress test with flying colors before being rushed back to the hospital 6 months later when a cardiac cath revealed 80% blockage in 3 vessels...so I agree with you that as many tests as possible are good piece of mind. But the tests so far have looked like it's nothing serious, so that's good news.


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## Bill in Houston (Nov 26, 2011)

Good news, it seems. Thanks for the update.


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## rkj__ (Feb 29, 2004)

Bill in Houston said:


> Good news, it seems. Thanks for the update.


I'm also happy to hear you got some good news.


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## TNRabbit (Dec 9, 2011)

Glad to hear there's no immediate danger, congratulations!

Please keep us informed. Good luck~


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