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What Causes Pale Skin Color After Exercising?

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Posted on Mon, 16 Mar 2015
Question: What causes going very pale (ghostly white) after exercise?
No,I'm not particularly worried about it so I don't want one of those "useless" answers where a doctors says "that's normal,or it's anxiety" etc.
I want to know the actual mechanism behind this.
It feels to me like I can get the blood to pump around like people normally do when exercising.
Instead of feeling health,I feel more weaker.
My history is:
34 yrs old female
Pleural effusion of unknown cause
Postural tachycardia syndrome
Mitral regurgitation and also regurgitation of another valve but forgot the name,sorry.
Iron deficiency anemia(low ferritin)
Mention of Ebsteins anomaly but with no functional probs on Echo.
Thanks
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (2 hours later)
Brief Answer:
There are 2 reasons for you pale skin.

Detailed Answer:
Hello! Thank you for your question on HCM! Regarding your concern I would explain in simple words the reasons of your pale skin during exercise:
There are 2 main reasons why it goes pale:
1) anemia (low hemoglobin level is reflected in the pale skin especially during physical exertion), seems that you fulfill this criteria. The scale of its contribution depends on the level of hemoglobin.
2) redistribution of blood supply in physical and mental stress conditions reflected with a lowered blood flow to the skin and greater blood supply to vital and visceral organs (such as brain, heart, liver, kidneys, etc). This blood redistribution occurs more often when the cardiac output is inappropriate, and increases not proportional to all body demands. In your situation your cardiac ultrasound shows mitral regurgitation (and another regurgitation), also Ebstein anomaly. All this echo - detected disorders make the heart work less efficiently and produce suboptimal cardiac output during exercise.

So, these are the two main mechanisms explaining your pale skin.
Hope to have been helpful, and to have fulfilled your expectations.
Feel free to ask me whenever you need.
Greetings from Dr. Iliri
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Pradeep Vitta
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Ilir Sharka

Cardiologist

Practicing since :2001

Answered : 9544 Questions

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What Causes Pale Skin Color After Exercising?

Brief Answer: There are 2 reasons for you pale skin. Detailed Answer: Hello! Thank you for your question on HCM! Regarding your concern I would explain in simple words the reasons of your pale skin during exercise: There are 2 main reasons why it goes pale: 1) anemia (low hemoglobin level is reflected in the pale skin especially during physical exertion), seems that you fulfill this criteria. The scale of its contribution depends on the level of hemoglobin. 2) redistribution of blood supply in physical and mental stress conditions reflected with a lowered blood flow to the skin and greater blood supply to vital and visceral organs (such as brain, heart, liver, kidneys, etc). This blood redistribution occurs more often when the cardiac output is inappropriate, and increases not proportional to all body demands. In your situation your cardiac ultrasound shows mitral regurgitation (and another regurgitation), also Ebstein anomaly. All this echo - detected disorders make the heart work less efficiently and produce suboptimal cardiac output during exercise. So, these are the two main mechanisms explaining your pale skin. Hope to have been helpful, and to have fulfilled your expectations. Feel free to ask me whenever you need. Greetings from Dr. Iliri