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Drinking water drops heart rate?

All,
Hopefully this is the correct place for this type of post. I just received a heart rate monitor for Christmas and am using it with my Garmin 220. During my runs, I drink water from a water bottle every ~2 miles or so. What I have been noticing is that my heart rate is stable at about 128 bpm and then drops to about 118 immediately after drinking water but only for a couple seconds and then bounces up to just a bit over 128 bpm for a couple of seconds and then stabilizes again at 128 bpm. It does this every time I drink water.

You can see an example of this at:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/420175766

Look at the 17:56, 34:39, and 52:43 marks.

Is this normal? Is it me holding my breath while I drink? Is it the cool water hitting my body? Is it a combination of both? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

0 Former Member over 11 years ago

** Want to be VERY CLEAR that this is not Medical Aid and Advise, and you should seek Medical Aid and Advise from a Physician **

I have been trained on use of Pulse Oximeters and have a good understanding of how to interpret these devices in an EMS environment. The heart rate monitors used by Garmin devices are fairly accurate, and indeed you have noticed just how accurate they are. During my medial training we where instructed to give a good hard cough, while observing the Oximeter. It's almost scary to see the result that is registered on the screen, if you didn't know what to expect in this situation one would be very alarmed. A similar thing can occur with a heart rate monitor. As the body ingests fluid there is internal displacements, and physical pressure form this displacement is placed onto the heart itself.

Personally, I would consult with my doctor on this. What I have written is my opinion, and not medical advise...