Pulse rate and BP

WandaVaughn

Is a consistent pulse rate of 42-49 bad when paired with a consistent bp of 150/70?

I'm a 50 year old female. 5'6 and 138ish pounds.

I usually run up to 10 miles during the week and I'm adding miles to my long runs on Saturdays. This past Saturday I ran 9 miles, walked about a mile to cool down, stretched for 10 minutes or so, then drove a couple miles to a pharmacy. The bp machine there registered 90/61 and a pulse rate of 82. I was tired but felt pretty good. During the week, though, I have been very sluggish with readings as stated above!

I was on bp meds last year while I was losing weight. Doctor ok'd me to start halving my pills because my bp started dipping too low. I went just over a month without any pills and just got my prescription filled again. Made the mistake of taking whole pills for my first 2 doses. Third morning I was running but had to stop. Thought I was dying. Got home and my home machine bp was 85/45. Felt rotten the rest of the day. Haven't taken any meds since.

I don't know what's going on. If this is just normal for someone who runs, I guess I can either just get used to it and keep on running, or find something else to do for exercise. But I hate quitting. I have a lab appt for doc on 8/14 and a physical on the 21st, but I'm torn what to do about things right now.

Anybody have advice?

AnnPT77

Talk to your doctor. Good that you have an appointment coming up.

I'm a little confused by your post. First, you mention a consistent heart rate of 42-49, then a specific measurement of 82. 42 would be quite a low resting heart rate, but not insanely low for a very fit person. Is it literally 42-49 all day long no matter what you do physcially? 82 would be a perfectly sensible walking around daytime heart rate. Low heart rate in general can either by a symptom of a medical problem, or a sign of good fitness. (I set off the low heart rate alarm at a surgical center, even pre-sedation. My surgeon said it was "fitness induced bradycardia" and not a problem.)

It's also not clear to me what the timing of your low BP incidents were, with respect to your medication doses. I'm understanding you as saying you had a low BP incident when you took whole pills (rather than half pills) after a time period with no pills. Sounds like the most recent incident was after some time of no pills again, but it's not clear how long.

Your heart rate will slow down as you get fitter (resting heart rate, and heart rate at X level of exercise intensity). That's a positive adaptation, if that's what's behind what you're seeing.

Your blood pressure has obviously been problematically high for some time. One of your incidents sounds like it could've been mainly overdosed meds, but possibly not the most recent one.

This is doctor territory, not something random internet strangers should be diagnosing. Can you phone or email your doctor to get short-term exercise guidance? If not, and it were me, I think I'd either stop or back intensity & volume way, way off . . . maybe just walk, at most. What you're seeing is not normal for all people who run.

vegaspack

When you say your consistent BP of 150/70 does that mean consistently at home or at the doctor? I have white coat hypertension and my pressure is much higher when visiting the clinic.

Running_and_Coffee

The pulse rate makes sense if you're a long distance runner. I have to basically sprint to get my HR above 140 while working out and also run. The BP thing sounds concerning--definitely go with what your doc recommends. My BP is very low.

WandaVaughn

@vegaspack I check my bp at a local pharmacy, on their machine, so it's the same one all the time. And it doesn't seem to matter if it's after driving into town for work or stopping after work. It's always in the same general numbers.

@Running_and_Coffee As far as being a long distance runner, I just started back running in June. Started half marathon training, but the longest run so far was 9 miles, so I'm not running crazy long distances. I'm not Olympic-fit or anything.

AnnPT77

WandaVaughn wrote: »

@vegaspack I check my bp at a local pharmacy, on their machine, so it's the same one all the time. And it doesn't seem to matter if it's after driving into town for work or stopping after work. It's always in the same general numbers.

@Running_and_Coffee As far as being a long distance runner, I just started back running in June. Started half marathon training, but the longest run so far was 9 miles, so I'm not running crazy long distances. I'm not Olympic-fit or anything.

You don't need to be some kind of super elite athlete in order for your heart rate to drop significantly. It happens to regular-people recreational athletes who are consistent about their workouts. And to most (non-athlete-at-all) people, running 9 miles is utterly unimaginable. You're an athlete - perhaps a recreational one, but an athlete nonetheless.

My RHR will go into the upper 40s, and I'm just a li'l ol' lady (age 62) recreational athlete, not some kind of super-charged performer. 42 is especially low, and 49 is pretty low for walking-around RHR (as opposed to first thing in AM RHR), but it's not implausible, especially if you happen to be a person who naturally runs a bit lower HR than average. OTOH, there are serious conditions that involve bradycardia.

The BP issue seems like more of an outlier, especiallfy in someone who's had BP problems, been medicated, etc. . . . and you're feeling sluggish, besides.

Really: Talk to your doctor, not to random idiots like me on the internet who aren't medical professionals, don't know your medical history, etc. If this were a clinic, it would have a big sign saying "Clinic of Dubious and Ill-Founded Medical Advice". Monkeys with typewriters have as good odds of accurate, well-founded diagnosis.

It could be no big problem, but it could be serious. Ask your doctor. Ask your doctor. Ask your doctor.

WandaVaughn

Thank you all for your response. I suppose my biggest doctor-wise phobia is going with a problem and being told there's absolutely nothing wrong. (Just your imagination)

nutmegoreo

Have you noticed a trend in the heart rate as well? Some medications have an effect on both blood pressure and heart rate, so that may be a factor. This really is something to see your doctor about to determine appropriate dosing of medication, or possibly changing to a different medication. There are others that mainly influence pressure with no/minimal change to rate. The two are certainly linked. Typically when pressure goes down, rate will go up to compensate and keep enough blood and oxygen circulating.

Sairzie

I’d suggest if possible take two readings (AM and PM) for 7 days and take it to your doctor. May mean purchasing a BP machine at home but it will give the doctor much more info to work on than individual readings. Try to do these at rest, after a 5 minute sit down to get a true reading.

WandaVaughn

Update: I had an EKG done today and it was abnormal. Am going for a stress test in a couple of weeks. I guess we'll see what comes from that...

kksmom1789

WandaVaughn wrote: »

Update: I had an EKG done today and it was abnormal. Am going for a stress test in a couple of weeks. I guess we'll see what comes from that...

Good Luck on your upcoming stress test I have had 3 open heart surgeries so I basically don't work out I mean I can but I my anxiety makes it really hard. Stress Tests suck for me just because I have no stamina so I am done in like 3 minutes.