“Can excessive running on the treadmill cause a strain to my heart?”
I pant a lot after running on the treadmill and I am worried if this could strain my heart. Are my worries wrong? What are the symptoms to watch out for?
6 Answers
There is no strain on the heart if you don't have a known cardiac problem. If you get tightness in the chest or get shortness of breath during exercise that gets worse, or you get dizziness and nausea, then you should stop and get checked out.
Mark Rasak
Cardiologist
Not likely. Other parts of your body may suffer from overuse syndrome, but the heart isn't usually one of them.
Have your cardiologist run a stress test (either stress thallium or stress echo) if you're worried.
If you have risks for heart disease, it should be checked before vigorous effort. By it self, exercise does not strain the heart and actually help to keep the heart strong and reduce the risk of heart disease but if exercise causes unexplained symptoms, it warrants investigation.
Yes, atrial fibrillation is common.
Julia G. Ansari
Cardiologist
That would not strain your heart, however if you think that you have risk factors and with exercise you are getting really sob too quickly you may want to talk to your primary care doctor to get a treadmill stress test to assess for any abnormalities that may suggest blockage of the arteries
