IRBBB and cycling

[brobeans443]

I have incomplete right bundle branch block according to my last ekg, and was curious if cycling would be ok with this (testosterone only)? It causes slightly elevated hemoglobin too, but I'm still within normal range right now (16.6). Just had my bloods done last month.

I was having some heart palpitations which led me to get the ekg in the first place but those have since cleared and I'm pretty much asymptomatic now.

If anyone could give some insight on this, that would be great.

[RangerDanger830]

No I would not cycle at all. Testosterone enables HDL to carry cholesterol out of the arteries and to the liver. So it does help if you have low-T as it is.

However, on cycle your resting heart rate and RBC count are both going to be higher. That is going to put you at risk more than the HDL will help you.

As you know with a bundle branch block in the right your right ventricle isn't getting the electrical signal it needs. So it isn't pumping as effectively. This means you should avoid anything that's going to make the heart's job even harder.

Has the cause of the issue been discovered?

[almostgone]

I would resolve the issue with the conduction error before even considering any testosterone use other than perhaps TRT if you are out of range.
I have left bundle branch block along with a few other cardiac issues and blood disorders, but I am on a very marginal TRT.
You mentioned your hemoglobin is high, make sure you monitor hematocrit. Having a high hematocrit/packed cell volume puts a tremendous load on your heart.
Also, have you had a stress echo cardiogram done?

[brobeans443]

No I would not cycle at all. Testosterone enables HDL to carry cholesterol out of the arteries and to the liver. So it does help if you have low-T as it is.

However, on cycle your resting heart rate and RBC count are both going to be higher. That is going to put you at risk more than the HDL will help you.

As you know with a bundle branch block in the right your right ventricle isn't getting the electrical signal it needs. So it isn't pumping as effectively. This means you should avoid anything that's going to make the heart's job even harder.

Has the cause of the issue been discovered?

I had an echocardiogram done as a follow up test and it came back normal. No further testing was done and I know that rbbb can be caused by other factors besides right ventricle hypertrophy, so my cardiologist is apparently a pos now that I've figured out there are many other tests to possibly figure out the cause of it and he didn't have any of them ordered, just saying "oh your heart is just off by a few milliseconds, no biggie"

Well now I'm thinking "what if I develop left bundle branch block mother ****er? Then I end up with heart failure and die! Yeah, no biggie.."

[brobeans443]

I would resolve the issue with the conduction error before even considering any testosterone use other than perhaps TRT if you are out of range.
I have left bundle branch block along with a few other cardiac issues and blood disorders, but I am on a very marginal TRT.
You mentioned your hemoglobin is high, make sure you monitor hematocrit. Having a high hematocrit/packed cell volume puts a tremendous load on your heart.
Also, have you had a stress echo cardiogram done?

My hematocrit was 49.8, which was normal, but on the upper level. See my above response

[RangerDanger830]

Well if I were in your shoes I wouldn't cycle as of right now. First your His and PF aren't functioning properly and now your doctor says it's ok?

Do you have a copy of your ECG I could look at? It's supposed to be off by more than 100ms to be considered a partial blockage. If your doc said its off by just a few I would be curious as to how much a few is.

I still wouldn't risk a cycle until I found out why your QRS wave was over 100ms and now it's supposedly not. How's your BP? Did he find ischemia?

[brobeans443]

Well if I were in your shoes I wouldn't cycle as of right now. First your His and PF aren't functioning properly and now your doctor says it's ok?

Do you have a copy of your ECG I could look at? It's supposed to be off by more than 100ms to be considered a partial blockage. If your doc said its off by just a few I would be curious as to how much a few is.

I still wouldn't risk a cycle until I found out why your QRS wave was over 100ms and now it's supposedly not. How's your BP? Did he find ischemia?

Well, echo-cardiogram as in a sonogram of my heart which came back normal. The electrocardiogram (ecg) is what showed my irbbb.

BP was perfect, 120/80. No ischemia found on the echocardiogram.

Now I'm confused as to why I even have IRBBB and what's causing it since my echo came back as normal (no structural damage and no hypertrophy) and my BP is good. On top of all this i'm asymptomatic..

[brobeans443]

bump

[Bonaparte]

Bundle branch blockages can be congenital and relatively benign. It's the LBBBs caused by MI that are especially concerning.
Regardless, I wouldn't even think of cycling until you have a complete understanding of how this affects you and your long-term health.

[RangerDanger830]

Well there's more than ischemia that can cause it, I only asked because that was one of the more worse case scenarios.

False positives are rarer these days but a second opinion never hurts. I'd start with that next.

[RangerDanger830]

I just re-read your response and forgot to reply to the asymptotic point. A RBBB is usually classified by my protocols as a QRS wave greater than 100ms for a partial block and 120ms for a full block. Some places are different, I've seen some protocols use 115ms.

You can be asymptotic and still easily have one but it depends on what you mean by asymptomatic. You can have a partial block and not feel anything, but it'll still show on the waveform. It's actually pretty easy to diagnose which is why I asked for the readout if you have it. Most docs don't give it out unless asked though.

[brobeans443]

Bundle branch blockages can be congenital and relatively benign. It's the LBBBs caused by MI that are especially concerning.
Regardless, I wouldn't even think of cycling until you have a complete understanding of how this affects you and your long-term health.

I'm about 99% sure it's congenital since my echo was normal. I'm not sure what else would explain it. Long term health with RBBB isn't a problem. It's avoiding LBBB which is the task since i have RBBB, so keeping blood pressure low on cycle is key. Checked my BP again today and it was 110/75!

Well there's more than ischemia that can cause it, I only asked because that was one of the more worse case scenarios.

False positives are rarer these days but a second opinion never hurts. I'd start with that next.

Yeah, I'm going back to ask them about it some more but everything looks fine except the RBBB, no underlying causes.

[RangerDanger830]

I would get it looked at again the come back here and fill us in before considering cycling.

[brobeans443]

I would get it looked at again the come back here and fill us in before considering cycling.

Will do. I'll let you know all the info they give me and the responses to my questions. Thanks for the help

[RangerDanger830]

Try to ask for a copy of the waveform before they get it, some might argue a bit but it is your legal right if you so choose to have a copy.

[brobeans443]

Try to ask for a copy of the waveform before they get it, some might argue a bit but it is your legal right if you so choose to have a copy.

I was able to get mine last time without any problems. Are you able to interpret ecg's?

[almostgone]

Just wondering, when they did your stress echo did they tell you what your ejection fraction is?

[RangerDanger830]

I was able to get mine last time without any problems. Are you able to interpret ecg's?

In NC I am.

[brobeans443]

Just finished a 9 week cycle of Test E 600mg/wk.

Took me a while to be convinced to go through with a cycle obviously, but it was definitely worth it. Gained 22 lbs and my lifts increased a ton. What helped convince me the most was doing my own research, and found out there was a strong lack of evidence showing AAS to be harmful on the heart with short term usage (long term usage is a different story though, and has a lot of evidence showing to be harmful).

I wanted to put this up here for others that may have RBBB and are concerned about cycling like I was. I had an echo + ekg done before the cycle and on the 8th week of the cycle, both were normal. I can post results if anyone wants them. Also, my HCT and hemoglobin had gone down to a comfortable amount within the normal range before cycling, which was another factor that helped put me at ease.

I appreciate the concern everyone had, but RBBB with no underlying causes and a structurally normal heart, is not a very serious abnormality and based off of my recent experience, is OK to cycle with T.