Blue lips after vigorous exercise

[soup182]

I have been doing a lot of cardio on an elliptical trainer for more than a year, but lately have been doing a lot more since I have more spare time. I sometime spend as much as 2 hours doing cardio. But after these long sessions, I've noticed that my lips are a little blue. The blueness goes away and my lips return to normal after a while, but I was wondering if there was anything I should be concerned about?

[John Kenyon, CNA]

Hello -

While cyanosis (blue lips, nail beds, etc.) can be a sign of something wrong with one's heart or lungs, if you're tolerating the exercise without undue shortness of breath this may just be a perception issue on your part. However, I'd be the last person to suggest you ignore something so classic and suggestive, so I feel compelled to advise you to bring this to the attention of your doctor. While there may be no other obvious signs (and there appear to be no symptoms), there's a remote possibility this could be caused by some genetic structural defect, so maybe a stress test would clear the air once and for all. At the very least mention it to your doctor.

I hope this is helpful. The blue lips sign with no symptoms is unusual. Best of luck to you. Please follow up here as needed.