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5k training after heart attack - need important advise re high HR

Good morning.

I'm M45, had a heart attack 7 month ago. After last heart cartography under pressure i was told by a doctor that my max HR is around 159, so this year i shouldn't go over 140 during physical activities.

Have been doing fast walks 6 days a week for last 4 months (8-9 km every walk). Today was my "benchmark run" with garmin coach in order to start 5k training. I had to run for 5 minutes... here is the log https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/4299534738. As you can see i ran with tempo of 6 min/km, but my heart rate went up to 163.

So, i need an advise from people who've been in the similar situation. What do i do... should i accept the fact that i can't run at all and stick with my walks for physical activity or do i tough it out and wait for my heart to get trained enough so HR during runs would lower itself?

Thank you

  • try run as slow as You can, when the HR is high begin to walk, when it drops-run. 

  • Yes accept you cant run for now. Continue with the walks and maybe slow down a bit to keep your HR at what the doc recommended. Hopefully over time your condition will improve and you can walk faster/run.

  • or try bike training or combination of walking,runing and bike rides. make your heart acomodate for physical trainings

  • That is a good suggestion as it is easier to slow down with those. Maybe add rowing?

  • Rather than not running as a solution, one option might be to do run/walk intervals. Run for 1 minute, then walk for 4 minutes, run for another 1 minute, then walk, etc. Provided you keep your running pace down, this should stop your heart rate from getting too high - indeed, the log you provide shows your HR increases to 140 in about 1 minute of running. Over a few weeks, you can increase this to 2 minutes running/3 minutes walking, etc.

    This approach of run/walk intervals is the generally recommended way for anyone to transition into running, not just those with heart problems. Also, perhaps try a pace of 6:30 or 7:00/km, rather than 6:00/km.

    Also, if your heart rate went to 163, and it didn't feel that hard, then your maxHR may well be higher than 159. But this is probably something you should talk with your doctor about (with copy of the HR graph in hand), rather than taking advice from some random dude on the internet. Slight smile

  • Better ask a physician or cardiologist whats best. Ohr isn’t reliable. Do you wear a hearstrap?

  • I think spruitp has given you the best answer. Consult with your doctor or cardiologist. Even if there are others here who suffered a heart attack in the past, your training/recovery program may be different. This isn't an "one size fits all" situation. 

  • First, what spiritup said. Work with your doc. 

    as far as running, based on your heart rate and breathing it looks like you were working really hard. Do as others have said and stay slow enough to stay in zone 1-2. Over a few months you should find that your speed in that HR range improves. Build a solid aerobic base before running hard. 

    I am aware, though, that this advise is worth just what you paid for it ;-)

  • There is a HR alert feature on the FR945 - have you set that and tried it to tell you to warn you?