Elevated and irregular heartbeat days after strenuous workout

Hello, doctors!

I have recently begun doing a volume block which shifted dramatically from my previously strength focused programming, the workouts have been strenuous and long, 10+ reps for a lot of sets.

I have been feeling “weird” since last friday, after a long squat workout, my heartbeat feels like it’s irregular, and when I measure it (using my father’s device, an omron monitor - he’s a diabetic), it says my BP is normal but that my heartbeat is just that, irregular (there’s an icon to sinalize it). When I or my girlfriend try to feel it, it’s as though as a beat is skipped every 4-8 beats.

I also have a garmin watch I like to wear for my walks and it’s now basically showing an always elevated heartbeat, even while resting after waking up its now at 85+, usually it’s 60-70.

It still feels “off” today, it’s very weird and getting me worried, my father has atrial fribrillation and had a stroke last year, but he’s nearing 70 and diabetic and I’m only 30 years old, the only thing I was told years ago was that I had something called mitral valve prolapse.

I called my GP and he said he thought I was going too hard too fast (meaning doing too much volume), and that he wasn’t worried, but could prescribe a holter monitor if it would set my mind at ease. I also have a history of anxiety attacks which probably partially explain why my GP isn’t very worried (he knows my history).

Is it normal for a shift in volume like this to generate this sort of problem even days after the workout?

In hindsight, I think my programming was poorly chosen and I was probably unconditioned to that much volume, but now I’m feeling more and more anxious about this, to be honest, if it wasn’t for covid and the risks of going to a hospital, I think I would have probably gone already just to be safe.

Sorry for the long text and appreciate all you guys do.

Any kind of significant systemic stimulus like this can precipitate things like premature beats. If this clearly happened in the aftermath of a significant programming change, try dialing things back a bit and see if they improve. If not, and you’re still feeling worried about it, a holter monitor could definitively answer the question for you.