Mr. Asthma

Question:

>>To avoid wheezing when I exercise, I take two puffs immediately before.<<

I’d wait at least 15-20 mins after taking the inhaler before exercising. That usually works better for me.

Response:

I am 32 and use salbutamol for exercise and allergy induced asthma. To avoid wheezing when I exercise, I take two puffs immediately before. My heart rate seems to increase after I puff. Do you know by how much? How long after puffing will the salbutamol effect my heart rate? PS. I use a heart monitor watch to exercise. Should I adjust my target zone of 60-75% max HR to include the effects of the drug? Thanks for your help. Erik

Response:

> I am 32 and use salbutamol for exercise and allergy induced asthma. > To avoid wheezing when I exercise, I take two puffs immediately before. > My heart rate seems to increase after I puff. Do you know by how much?

This varies from person to person depending on your sensitivity to the drug. > How long after puffing will the salbutamol effect my heart rate?

Salbutamol/albuterol inhaler lasts for 4-6 hours, but I think it peaks around 2 hours. > PS. I use a heart monitor watch to exercise. Should I adjust my target zone > of 60-75% max HR to include the effects of the drug? > Erik

Your maximum Heart Rate is not affected by the drug; its measured using a stress test on a treadmill. Max HR is a function of your physical fitness, and not of drugs (correct me if I’m wrong; I had a stress test on a treadmill a while back while on an NIH study on cholesterol, I used my Ventolin before the test so I wouldn’t have an asthma attack; the attending doctor said it was OK.) Therefore the 60-75% HR number does not need to be adjusted. In practical terms your Max Heart Rate is determined on a treadmill, where you will probably have to do what I did, pretreat with Ventolin. Determining Max HR using a formula, like 220-age, is only a very rough guide; my Max HR came out much higher than the formula would indicate. Ellis

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