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  • Depressed maximum heart rate probably/possibly affected by medication questions…
  • rosscopeco
    Free Member

    So I got one of my wallies pulled on Friday afternoon. Long term issue with one of my teeth that another dentist made a hash off. The dentist also prescribed amoxicillin to clear up a little abscess and said that I could also take ibuprofen for 24/48 hours.

    Anyway…dumb ass here thinking he was taking ibuprofen manages to take two propranolol on Friday night / Sat morning which my better half takes for PMT headaches. So I read the small print on Sat afternoon when Mrs Rossco points out my stupidity and it’s in essence a beta-blocker which in turn reduces your heart rate / blood pressure.

    When doing a stint on my rowing machine yesterday morning I noticed that although I was breathing out my arse my HR seemed a good bit lower than normal. I didn’t think much about it at the time as it’s been at least 2 weeks since I’d last used the rowing machine so I put it down to lack of practise. I then went out this morning for my usual early morning spin and REALLY noticed the effect in that my MHR was at least 20 BPM below what I normally observe. I maxed out at 163 on a tech climb which usually produces 183-5. Other than the lower HR I felt fine and didn’t observe any other obscurities.

    I’ll already called the Doc with the query (he’s out at the moment) but has anyone else observed a similar issue when on such meds?

    palmer77
    Free Member

    Yep, I take Venlafaxine (150mg) for anxiety, and recently have been prescribed Propranolol (40mg) twice per day for the same. Before my MHR was around 185 bpm and now its around 165-170 bpm with a RHR of 55-60 bpm. The Venlafaxine increases blood pressure and the Propranolol decreases it so I will be interested to see what this is after a bit more time.

    legolam
    Free Member

    Propranolol is a short acting beta blocker and its primary function is to reduce the heart rate (with the side effect of also reducing blood pressure). I would expect the effect to wear off relatively quickly.

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    footflaps
    Full Member

    Propranolol is a short acting beta blocker and its primary function is to reduce the heart rate

    This, I’ve been on it and it was like riding a bike with a rev limiter installed, no matter how hard you try, you can’t get the revs up.

    PeterStarkiss
    Free Member

    Long term on beta blockers after heart issues.

    I max out at 145 bpm. It’s like the rev limiter on your car.
    Uphills I hit my maximum and stay there whilst everyone else cruises off into the distance.

    No problem to me but must be odd when you are not expecting it !

    palmer77
    Free Member

    Can I ask if people have found it limits their performance whilst on these? Especially as the purpose of an increased heart rate is to provide oxygen to the muscles during strenuous exertion?

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Can I ask if people have found it limits their performance whilst on these?

    Er yep of course it will, it’s like having a rev limiter fitted. You’ll be unable to operate at high heart rates where your top end power lies.

    palmer77
    Free Member

    So would training with beta blockers be beneficial or not? I am riding the Paris Roubaix in April and if they are going to be detrimental to my training I will stop them.

    EDIT: I should add that with taking these and training, my muscle mass has increased, and I am able to sustain a higher power output albeit with a lower heart rate.

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