LF medical related advice

[Talshere]

I know this is one of the biggest cliches on the internet, going to a forum for advice. But I'm at uni and registering as a temp patient especially so close to Xmas is going to be a royal pain in the ass.

I've recently taken up badminton again. In the last 2/3 months. 3 times a week for 2hrs. Some times its pretty intense other times really laided back. In the more moderate and intense sessions Ill have worked up a sweat then Ill make a particularly jarring motion, a long lunge for the net or boundaries, or a big jump or some such.

All of a sudden my heart feels like its beating out of my chest. Ive not been able to measure it accurately but a rough estimate puts it at 4 beats a second (240 per min) in this period. My heart rate at rest is between 50 and 80. Depending on when I take it and just how bad my days been. Lower is more normal than higher. When this happens it doesn't "hurt" per say but it feels highly uncomfortable and I feel vaguely light-headed. I can continue playing but not vigorously. It never lasts more than 5 mins give or take and fades faster if I just stop all together. It also just stops. I can never put my finger on when, I just don't feel bad any more and once I've had it once I can pound my way around the court however I please and, as yet, it has never happened again in the same session.

I have read on the interwebs that this is likely "tachycardia" and can be related to my heart missing a beat or some other sudden drop in blood pressure. So this is two fold.

1)Should this worry me? So far it has ONLY happen at badminton. Are there any precautions I should take at the onset and such?
2)I am currently on Ranitidine to treat a suspected stomach ulcer. (It seems likely but diagnosis is based currently on the fact that stuff like cancer and all the other nasties is incredibly unlikely in my current demographic and reasonable fitting symptoms) Does this in any way change how much I should be worried?

Finally, should I drag my lazy ass to the doctor or just wait till I go home for Xmas and go to my regular doctor?

 

[ZeroMachine]

If it persists, go to a doctor. But, take into account that it may be the sudden increase in physical activity. Were you relatively, for lack of a better term, "sedentary" before starting up again?

Basically, I wouldn't worry about it. I SERIOUSLY doubt it's a tachycardia. Just watch what you're eating, pace yourself, work on your stamina, and see a doctor if it gets really bad.

 

[Comando96]

Should you go see the doctor?

The rule of thumb is that f you must ask yourself that question then in most cases you should. You've either got nothing to lose and quickly be told to fuck off, or you will be dealt with appropriately as there is something wrong.

Always go to the Doctor if you have to ask others "should I go" because you probably do (this is excluding stupid people).

 

[Talshere]

If it persists, go to a doctor. But, take into account that it may be the sudden increase in physical activity. Were you relatively, for lack of a better term, "sedentary" before starting up again?

Basically, I wouldn't worry about it. I SERIOUSLY doubt it's a tachycardia. Just watch what you're eating, pace yourself, work on your stamina, and see a doctor if it gets really bad.

Would "Arrhythmia" be more accurate? Near as I can tell there is a difference but Ill be damned if I can be arsed to find out what.

I haven't done any intense exercise for a while but I walk a fair amount and I live in a hilly area. I can and do just go for 5 mile walks for the hell of it. Not overly active but not inactive.

It just seems odd how suddenly it comes and goes and it sure as hell isnt normal. I've done this sort of recovery of fitness before in Badminton and Taekwondo because I'm fairly transient being a student with limited transport/funds (both in college and uni). I've never had anything like this.

Should you go see the doctor?

The rule of thumb is that f you must ask yourself that question then in most cases you should. You've either got nothing to lose and quickly be told to fuck off, or you will be dealt with appropriately as there is something wrong.

Always go to the Doctor if you have to ask others "should I go" because you probably do (this is excluding stupid people).

I will, when I go home for Xmas, I need to go anyway for follow-up stuff. My query was "should I be worried enough to go register as a temp patient"

 

[Dags90]

Yes. See his response above. If you ask the question, the answer is yes. 240 bpm can't be a correct heart rate, but if you are even close to that moderate exercise has you close to a heart attack. Go, go tomorrow.

Badminton can be rather grueling, I wouldn't be surprised if it could push people towards their maximum heart rate. I'm guessing OP is about 20, which would make his maximum heart rate about ~200 bpm (according to my cardiologist), so I find it extremely unlikely he was at 240 bpm. Even about 190 bpm is extreme, and not efficient as far as cardio training goes. And four beats a second is a shitty way to go about measuring it. 15 seconds * 4 is much better.

What you have are called palpitations. It's a general term for feeling anything that isn't quite pain in your heart. This includes being able to feel your heart beating, and feeling irregular beats.

Anyway, on to my anecdote. I went to a cardiologist to check on some palpitations I had been having, I've been prone to them because of another heart issue I knew about, but it was happening more frequently. My doctor's first guess? Panic attacks/stress, which would be the most common cause. I managed to browbeat him into getting me to see a cardiologist though because of my past history.

So I go to the cardiologist, and get an echo and a Holter monitor. Echo shows the issue I knew about was still there, but everything else is normal. I do the Holter for a week, it's normal too. Last thing to try was a stress test. I got my heart up to 194 bpm, on completing level 4 of the stress test (it has 5 levels). My stress test was seemingly fine.

As I'm recuperating from the stress test, the doctor notices an anomaly on the EKG. It turns out to be SVT. It's pretty much harmless. It's just another thing that causes minor chest discomfort, and may be related to the structural deformities that cause me the same.

Anyway, go to your doctor, and see if you can see a heart specialist. My insurance paid to have a young, otherwise healthy man to see a specialist and have a stress test/Holter (both expensive tests) due to as vague a symptom as "self reported chest discomfort". They do this because they know if they denied, and I dropped dead because of something that was serious, they'd be in deep shit.

 

[Phyaran]

Yes. See his response above. If you ask the question, the answer is yes. 240 bpm can't be a correct heart rate, but if you are even close to that moderate exercise has you close to a heart attack. Go, go tomorrow.

Badminton can be rather grueling, I wouldn't be surprised if it could push people towards their maximum heart rate. I'm guessing OP is about 20, which would make his maximum heart rate about ~200 bpm (according to my cardiologist), so I find it extremely unlikely he was at 240 bpm. Even about 190 bpm is extreme, and not efficient as far as cardio training goes. And four beats a second is a shitty way to go about measuring it. 15 seconds * 4 is much better.

What you have are called palpitations. It's a general term for feeling anything that isn't quite pain in your heart. This includes being able to feel your heart beating, and feeling irregular beats.

Anyway, on to my anecdote. I went to a cardiologist to check on some palpitations I had been having, I've been prone to them because of another heart issue I knew about, but it was happening more frequently. My doctor's first guess? Panic attacks/stress, which would be the most common cause. I managed to browbeat him into getting me to see a cardiologist though because of my past history.

So I go to the cardiologist, and get an echo and a Holter monitor. Echo shows the issue I knew about was still there, but everything else is normal. I do the Holter for a week, it's normal too. Last thing to try was a stress test. I got my heart up to 194 bpm, on completing level 4 of the stress test (it has 5 levels). My stress test was seemingly fine.

As I'm recuperating from the stress test, the doctor notices an anomaly on the EKG. It turns out to be SVT. It's pretty much harmless. It's just another thing that causes minor chest discomfort, and may be related to the structural deformities that cause me the same.

Anyway, go to your doctor, and see if you can see a heart specialist. My insurance paid to have a young, otherwise healthy man to see a specialist and have a stress test/Holter (both expensive tests) due to as vague a symptom as "self reported chest discomfort". They do this because they know if they denied, and I dropped dead because of something that was serious, they'd be in deep shit.

Supraventricular tachycardia *can* be very serious, but it's good that it's only minor in your case.

Regarding the OP, I have a couple of things to add.

Firstly, arrythmia vs. tachycardia. Tachycardia just means fast heart rate, which is still regular (i.e. consistent beat). An arrythmia means the beat is irregular but may be slow, fast or normal in terms of speed (i.e. 60bpm but irregular ECG/EKG).

Also ranitidine has been noted in some people to cause cardiovascular issues briefly following administration but it's unlikely to be related to this given it's exercise induced.

 

[Talshere]

Regarding the OP, I have a couple of things to add.

Firstly, arrythmia vs. tachycardia. Tachycardia just means fast heart rate, which is still regular (i.e. consistent beat). An arrythmia means the beat is irregular but may be slow, fast or normal in terms of speed (i.e. 60bpm but irregular ECG/EKG).

Also ranitidine has been noted in some people to cause cardiovascular issues briefly following administration but it's unlikely to be related to this given it's exercise induced.

Ty for the info

If I were currently deliberately taking my ranitidine like, 30mins to an hour before badminton could this exacerbate or cause this as a symptom I simply don't have without stress.

 

[Phyaran]

Regarding the OP, I have a couple of things to add.

Firstly, arrythmia vs. tachycardia. Tachycardia just means fast heart rate, which is still regular (i.e. consistent beat). An arrythmia means the beat is irregular but may be slow, fast or normal in terms of speed (i.e. 60bpm but irregular ECG/EKG).

Also ranitidine has been noted in some people to cause cardiovascular issues briefly following administration but it's unlikely to be related to this given it's exercise induced.

Ty for the info

If I were currently deliberately taking my ranitidine like, 30mins to an hour before badminton could this exacerbate or cause this as a symptom I simply don't have without stress.

Impossible for me to tell. Only way to rule out the ranitidine *would be* to play badminton without having taken it (not that that's my clinical advice, just telling you the only way to really rule it out as a contributing factor). It seems unlikely to me that it's related.

I would recommend talking to your doctor about it, the heart is really not something you want to take chances with. If there's any sort of problem you want to know ASAP.

 

[Powereaver]

for this general age range 175-190BPM is a good heart rate to maintain for exercise sakes.. but if youre exercising and getting a massive jump to 240bpm.. maybe see a doctor just to double check it isnt something underlying that may be causing it.

 

[Talshere]

Cool ty everyone. Ill go register in the morning.