Ian F
Well-Known Member
I'll try not to make this too wordy, but if you've read my posts over the years, I'll know I'm not very good at that...
Basic stats: 50 year old male (51 in July), 5' 10", reasonable weight (~175 lbs.), average to thin build. Past tests: normal/average blood pressure; slightly high cholesterol. "Beer gut" is somewhat reduced since I've mostly stopped drinking in 2021. Try to eat healthy, but could do better.
About a year ago I started using a heart rate monitor to go with mu Wahoo Elemnt Bolt. It seems my heart runs "hot". My "conversational" HR is pretty much around 180 BPM or less (can easily hold a conversation at that HR). A max-effort 4 minute sprint will put me into the mid 190's. Trying to do a "Zone 1 or 2" recovery ride is damn near impossible as it's very hard for me to keep my HR that low. A HR under 150 feels like I'm not working at all.
Over the last few years, when I've done long, sustained efforts on climbs have required me to stop and catch my breath. I've attributed this to simply being out of shape and needing to train more, but in no matter how much I ride it hasn't really improved as much as I'd like. Mtn bike rides are worse than road rides.
I've been told by some that this just means my heart is strong. I've also been told by many more that I really need to get checked as my HR is not normal. I'm hesitant to go to my GP office as in my experience they simply don't do well with this sort of thing (it took many visits and more $$$$ than I care to think about for them to get a frozen shoulder diagnosis correct back 2009).
So... how does one go about finding a Dr. who knows how to deal with this sort of thing? I'm in SE PA, so unfortunately, NJ recommendations may not be helpful (although if they are in the Trenton to Burlington general area, I'd consider them). What questions to ask? Search parameters?
My health insurance sucks (FU: Aetna...), so I fully expect to pay for a fair bit of this myself.
Thanks for any thoughts or comments.
Basic stats: 50 year old male (51 in July), 5' 10", reasonable weight (~175 lbs.), average to thin build. Past tests: normal/average blood pressure; slightly high cholesterol. "Beer gut" is somewhat reduced since I've mostly stopped drinking in 2021. Try to eat healthy, but could do better.
About a year ago I started using a heart rate monitor to go with mu Wahoo Elemnt Bolt. It seems my heart runs "hot". My "conversational" HR is pretty much around 180 BPM or less (can easily hold a conversation at that HR). A max-effort 4 minute sprint will put me into the mid 190's. Trying to do a "Zone 1 or 2" recovery ride is damn near impossible as it's very hard for me to keep my HR that low. A HR under 150 feels like I'm not working at all.
Over the last few years, when I've done long, sustained efforts on climbs have required me to stop and catch my breath. I've attributed this to simply being out of shape and needing to train more, but in no matter how much I ride it hasn't really improved as much as I'd like. Mtn bike rides are worse than road rides.
I've been told by some that this just means my heart is strong. I've also been told by many more that I really need to get checked as my HR is not normal. I'm hesitant to go to my GP office as in my experience they simply don't do well with this sort of thing (it took many visits and more $$$$ than I care to think about for them to get a frozen shoulder diagnosis correct back 2009).
So... how does one go about finding a Dr. who knows how to deal with this sort of thing? I'm in SE PA, so unfortunately, NJ recommendations may not be helpful (although if they are in the Trenton to Burlington general area, I'd consider them). What questions to ask? Search parameters?
My health insurance sucks (FU: Aetna...), so I fully expect to pay for a fair bit of this myself.
Thanks for any thoughts or comments.
