Question: Hi. I think you are the specialist to answer my question, even though I am sedentary and far from being athletic. I don't do much exercise unless you count walking my dog for 10 minutes a day. My job requires sitting. Although last Autumn, before it became cold, I did do a lot of biking (not competitively but definitely cardio) and hiking and I did not have any problems with
shortness of breath or anything. Before that, I was relatively sedentary for about 6 years, with some occasional hiking but not much - still without shortness of breath. Seven weeks ago, I had a slight injury and it limited my activity for about 3 weeks. I wasn't bedridden or anything like that, but I didn't walk the dog as much and spent more time watching TV. I did some household chores, but certainly not as much (or as strenuously) as normal. I did have more inactivity than usual for sure but even though my activity was limited, I was still moving around. Then, 4 weeks ago, I began experiencing pretty extreme shortness of breath on exertion and
tachycardia. For instance, I can't take a shower without sitting down at least twice and my
heart rate is 170 or so - almost the estimated maximum for my age. My heart rate increases to 145 or so (with shortness of breath) just by brushing my teeth or dressing. Sometimes, I am short of breath just by getting out of bed and walking into the other room. (With a heart rate of 130 or so) The shortness of breath and tachycardia are directly proportional to the level of exertion - the more energy it requires, the more short of breath I get. I do recover quickly once the activity stops and I sit. My resting heart rate is usually 80 or so. I am also very fatigued most of the time after I have any significant exertion (for instance, I went to the store today, walked around for about 30 minutes, tried on some clothes and got so very short of breath. When I got home, I was extremely tired and had to lie down.) I have had most cardiac reasons ruled out - by ekg, 24 hour
holter monitor,
stress echo, and labs. All were normal. So, my question to you is this - do you think I could be having such pronounced symptoms because of deconditioning, even though I was only less active for 3 weeks (and certainly not on
bedrest or anything). Also taking into account that it wasn't a highly dramatic change from my usual activity. I am a registered nurse and the people I see having the level of shortness of breath and tachycardia as pronounced as mine are extremely
overweight and don't move around at all - or have heart or lung disease. I am 5' 7" and weigh 128 lbs, with no other health problems. I've also never smoked. I see my cardiologist for a follow up on Friday but I wanted to know if you thought that deconditioning could be the cause of my symptoms. I'm not sure how quickly and dramatically that happens for a non-athlete. Thank you for your input!
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Hi, thank you. I am wondering specifically, would it be possible to get that deconditioned and out of shape (enough to have the problems I'mhaving) in the amount of time that I had to be less active (3weeks), taking into considetation my previous level of conditioning (sedentary but without shortness of breath). Thank you again, Dr. XXXXXXX
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