Heart Rate question

Bob116 said:

I am a 75 year old man, overweight, in fair to poor condition

Taking three different hypertension medications resulting in extremely low
resting heart rate (58-62) beats per minute. Using a treadmill for walking I
am pooped long before I even approach an indicated HR of 94 (65%) of maximum.

I know someone who was taking hypertension meds. They can lower your max
heart rate. Just keep exercising at the reduced heart rate.

Quoted message said:

Recently, for a period of about two weeks I missed taking one of my
medications without realizing it until today. Coincidently I just started
using a Polar HR monitor at the same time I missed out on the med. Without
the meds my HR was 94-104 or slightly higher (65 - 70-71-72%)

Since going back to the med and walking at same rate, elevation, time, etc.,
my heart rate has been significantly lower. However, my HR is just about in
the range of 10% lower than when I was not taking that particular med. So I
just give myself the higher level. For instance today my average HR was
83bpm so I just "gave" myself an HR of 91bpm.

Am I fooling myself? Anyone have a better idea? No--why not ask the
doctor----he don't know. Thanks. Please forgive a walker for infringing upon
a runner's newsgroup.

Because the meds will interact with your max heart rate, you'll probably have
to just go by feel. If it feels like you're working, you probably are. Also, if
your workload (rate, elevation, time) is the same, and effort level is in the
same range, then aerobic output should also be the same (even if the actual
heart rate differs). Aerobic output is the important variable, heart rate is
only useful to the extent that it is an indicator of aerobic output.

IOW, keep at it, you've got the right approach. All the best.

--
Donovan Rebbechi
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

"Bob116" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Am I fooling myself? Anyone have a better idea? No--why not ask the
doctor----he don't know. Thanks. Please forgive a walker for infringing upon
a runner's newsgroup.
=========================

Is there some reason you can't see a different doctor?
Perhaps a cardiologist?
Can you get/have you had a stress test?
bj

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bob116 said:

Taking three different hypertension medications resulting in extremely low
resting heart rate (58-62) beats per minute. Using a treadmill for walking I
am pooped long before I even approach an indicated HR of 94 (65%) of maximum.

Blood pressure meds are known to cause some degree of fatigue - taking
three of them certainly won't make the fatigue any better.

Quoted message said:

Recently, for a period of about two weeks I missed taking one of my
medications without realizing it until today. Coincidently I just started
using a Polar HR monitor at the same time I missed out on the med. Without
the meds my HR was 94-104 or slightly higher (65 - 70-71-72%)

During the 2 weeks, did you notice any improvement in your stamina or
general comfort with exercise? Perhaps not much since you were still
taking 2 of them... There's a recently published article about taking
potassium supplements and it's beneficial effect on hypertension - you
might also look into switching to an old-fashioned diuretic.

Quoted message said:

Megan Rauscher, "Potassium, in Any Form, Lowers Blood Pressure",
Reuters, April 11, 2005,
Link:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=8159047

Potassium citrate has similar blood pressure-lowering effects as the
best-studied potassium compound, potassium chloride, according to a UK
study

In comments to Reuters Health, Dr. Graham A. MacGregor said the
important role of potassium in regulating blood pressure has been
demonstrated in carefully controlled studies using potassium chloride
and inactive "placebo" tablets. But it has not been clear, until now,
how far other potassium salts lowered blood pressure.

"These results support other evidence for an increase in potassium
intake and indicate that potassium does not need to be given in the
form of chloride to lower blood pressure," MacGregor and colleagues
from St. George's Hospital Medical School in London write in the
American Heart Association's journal Hypertension.

"Increasing the consumption of foods high in potassium is likely to
have the same effect on blood pressure as potassium chloride," the
researches say.

They compared the effects on blood pressure of potassium chloride or
potassium citrate in 14 adults with hypertension -- that is, with blood
pressure readings above 140/90. The participants took one compound for
1 week, waited a week, and then took the other for a week.

Average blood pressure at the start of the study was 151/93. It fell
significantly to 140/88 with potassium chloride and to 138/88 mm Hg
with potassium citrate.

"Our short-term study shows that potassium citrate is as effective as
potassium chloride, and this supports the evidence that the main effect
of increasing fruit and vegetable intake on blood pressure is due to
the increase in potassium intake," MacGregor said.

SOURCE: Hypertension, April 2005.

It seems to me I heard somewhere that Bob116 wrote in article
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

I am a 75 year old man, overweight, in fair to poor condition

Hi, Bob. I've got you beat by a year.

Quoted message said:

Taking three different hypertension medications resulting in extremely low resting heart rate (58-62) beats per minute. Using a treadmill for walking I am pooped long before I even approach an indicated HR of 94 (65%) of maximum.

My low RHR is 35 at extreme rest, forties or low fifties during active
idling like reading or sitting at this computer. Bumping up to 94
bpm or a nominal 65% MHR may be overdoing it as long as you're
overweight and in fair to poor condition. Both are curable, but slow
down till you get some endurance built up.

Quoted message said:

Recently, for a period of about two weeks I missed taking one of my medications without realizing it until today. Coincidently I just started using a Polar HR monitor at the same time I missed out on the med. Without the meds my HR was 94-104 or slightly higher (65 - 70-71-72%)

What medication did you miss, what does it control besides
hypertension (if relevant to heart function), and what dosage are you
on? All or any of these factors may affect HR.

Quoted message said:

Since going back to the med and walking at same rate, elevation, time, etc., my heart rate has been significantly lower. However, my HR is just about in the range of 10% lower than when I was not taking that particular med. So I just give myself the higher level. For instance today my average HR was 83bpm so I just "gave" myself an HR of 91bpm.

I take a very small dose of atenolol (12.5mg) that's supposed to have
that effect. I actually don't think I need it since I've always had a
slow heart rate, but I haven't yet persuaded my cardiologist to let me
stop it.

Quoted message said:

Am I fooling myself? Anyone have a better idea? No--why not ask the doctor----he don't know. Thanks. Please forgive a walker for infringing upon a runner's newsgroup.

Ah, a walker. Welcome anyway. :-) Actually that may explain the
quick out-of-breath and rapid changes in heart rate. Moderate
running, mixed with walk breaks especially in the early stages, will
build up your strength and endurance, but for us old guys we can't try
to ramp it up too fast. There's no hurry; it'll probably be a few
weeks before you suddenly realize it's gotten easier, your heart rate
is stabilizing and, maybe, you'll even be enjoying it. :-) Meantime,
have fun and stick around. It can be a fun group and even a
knowledgeable one, though some folks hide that very well. :-)