UKH

Hey folks, 

Like many in here, despite the increasing niggles and injuries, running is an important part of my life/fitness and some of you follow me on Strava.

I was struck badly by COVID in Jan and gave myself a long time to recover.

- https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/off_belay/post_covid_chest-756349?v=1#x97...

I tried getting back on the road a few weeks ago and the pain was still there so after a very painful run on Thursday last week I sought advice from a GP who advised me to go to A&E. Long story short and a lot of panic (the medical teams were incredible and its clear they take chest pain very seriously) it seems that there is something not quite right with the ticker. There were elevated troponin levels and very high blood pressure and high cholesterol. 

I am going to get some more tests done to make sure that there isnt something more serious to consider and they have diagnosed stable angina. I have been given loads of pills to lower the BP and CH which I need to start taking (I have concerns about them too which I will get advice on).

So assuming the drugs control the symptoms and there is nothing else at play, has anyone got any experience of running with angina heart issues or do I need to knock this on the head?

Cheers

Richard

I have had heart issues, not the same as yours, and an issue I found was that on the road to recovery when I raised my heart rate, it frightened me, and I backed off.

My advice would be though, try and get a consultant who is sympathetic to your lifestyle and if the consultant is a fat arse, definitely sack them. I had a fat arse and he wanted me to stop climbing and all sorts of nonsense so I located another consultant who was a climber and ultra runner, and supported me in living the best life possible.

I can't speak for running. I had chest pains about 7 years ago and was diagnosed with angina. After an angiogram they found I had 3 blocked arteries. I had 4 stents put in via my wrist. Be aware some of the medication they prescribe prevents your heart rate increasing too much. In my case even with quite strenuous exercise my heart rate never goes above about 90. My resting rate is between 45 & 50.

Despite this I am very active and happy I never had a heart attack even though the consultant said I was days away from having one.

Exercise induced Angina will be down to partially blocked coronary arteries. I would take it easy till you’ve had further examination and advise, once they know how severe the blockages are and possible options.

Sorry to hear about all you have been through.

I'd strongly recommend discussing running with your cardiology doctor and nurse. 

With the heart and new angina, I don't recommend taking advice on cardiovascular exercise from forums. I have no doubt whatsoever about everyone having good intentions but this is serious stuff and you need the pros here.

Exercise is part of cardiac rehab.

No advice from me, but sorry to hear of your troubles, and all the best.

After you have advice from the professionals, it may be that you can exercise but shouldn't go above a certain heart rate. This is the case for my husband (1 year post heart attack). If he goes over, he won't trigger another attack but will get very tired for a few days. If you don't already have one, get a watch with accurate heart rate monitoring (corus are best so I hear) and set an alarm for your upper rate limit. You can also use the watch to track heart rate variance which is a good indication of heart health.

Hope recovery goes well

Best of luck, hope your recovery goes well.

You should STOP running NOW. If you must walk the dog take it easy, don't go too far and don't go alone. Get an appointment with a Consultant Cardiologist ASAP and insist on having an echocardiogram. If you have any chest pains go straight to A&E.

Thanks folks.

Cardiologist assessment booked in. I have a good watch for monitoring - Garmin 965 - which I'll use.

Does anyone have much experience of exercise  with angina? Im not sure if it was a heart attack and even if it was, it would have been very mild.

Until you have had an echogram and you definitely know that the angina isn't a symptom of something more serious you shouldn't exert yourself. You should knock it on the head.

My medical condition is that I have some 20 to 30% constriction with the artery leading into my heart, not bad enough to require a stent. I am now much more careful keeping my cholesterol low and have become almost vegan--will be soon. The thing that showed the problem was a CT scan. For me an ECG, ultrasound and exercise test on a bike did not show the problem. I had to pay to have it done privately, the CT scan. My local hospital would not do it as they said I was asymptomatic. However, there was a real issue there that the CT scan only showed up. I hope that is of some help. 

Having had a similar issue myself, as above. My GP told me I was ok to cycle 10 miles a day. When I saw the cardiologist he told me to lock my bike up and not to use it and to only walk a short amount.

The issue is until you know exactly what's causing the problem you should take any risk. I for one had no idea and neither did my GP that I had 3 completely blocked arteries so his advice was completely wrong.

Take it easy and I wish you a speedy recovery. 

Once you are back fit again you will be offered a 12 week cardiac rehabilitation (about an hour a week) which starts off with gentle exercise that is monitored.

Edit: not corus but polar watches best for HR