Hi.
I am a healthy 21-year-old who is not overweight and works out out 3-4 times per week, running 2-3 miles each time. I do not smoke and only drink on weekends.
I have had high blood pressure in the past, but have gotten it under control through natural methods like diet and exercise. It usually sits around 124/82 now, and my pulse is 55-60 at rest.
in the past month or so, I've had some scares when running. when reaching the 1.5 or 2 mile mark, I will start to hear my heartbeat in my head. it goes 1-2-3-pause-------1-2-3-pause------- every single time. my chest doesn't hurt, but I can definitely feel my heart acting funny... as if it dropped or is trying to run away. despite the lack of pain, I get so freaked out that I have to stop running immediately. I am positive that I am keeping hydrated while running, by the way. I do not feel fatigued AT ALL... it's just that the way my heart feels is abnormal, so I stop. it was a foreign feeling up to a month or so ago, when it first started. as I said, I'm in good shape so no other parts of my body are feeling fatigued.
for the next 10-15 minutes following the work-out, these irregular heartbeats are very prevalent. I have an Omron BP monitor, and taking my pulse through that shows an irregular heartbeat EVERY TIME within 10-15 minutes of working out. I am able to view the pulse with that as well, and it shows just how I hear it in my head - three heartbeats, then a pause for two seconds, and then a stronger heartbeat. this occurs consecutively without any breaks. my pulse is shown at this time as 130 or 140. the irregular heartbeat usually does not disappear until after 10-15 minutes, as I said, when my pulse is down to the high 80s/low 90s.
oddly enough, my diastolic BP raises significantly during the same time I am having these irregularities. when taking my BP directly following exercise, it is often something like 135/100. now I understand the 10 point increase in systolic after working out is normal, but I've read that your diastolic is supposed to stay stable during and after exercise. is diastolic raising 15-20 points during exercise odd? what could this be a sign of?
I've been to my cardiologist frequently the past few months, but he just took an EKG and brushed it off as nothing wrong. I was not experiencing these irregular heartbeats at the precise moment he was taking the EKG though, so how would he know?
this is all very new to me. I've been working out for years and this just recently started happening. I very rarely get these sensations when I'm not working out.
what should my next step be? to see my cardiologist and demand a stress test and echo-cardiogram? should I avoid rigorous exercise until my appointment?
thanks for your support.
Mike