Low resting heart rate

kristidotson

My daughter has a low resting heart rate of 43. She is physically active and eats healthy - but I believe she could be in better shape. She has difficulty losing weight. Any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned? Wondering if a low heart rate indicates a slow metabolism.

Fflpnari

I have a low heart rate, lower since losing weight. I go down into the 30's when losing, Now that Im eating maintenance, I am in the 40's-50's. IS she symptomatic?

T1DCarnivoreRunner

Those of us who are very active and participate in a lot of cardio tend to have lower RHR's. I'm a runner and 43 is fairly common. This is because of the adaptations we make - we adapt to have a higher stroke volume (we pump more blood with each heart beat) and that causes our RHR to decrease.

NovusDies

kristidotson wrote: »

My daughter has a low resting heart rate of 43. She is physically active and eats healthy - but I believe she could be in better shape. She has difficulty losing weight. Any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned? Wondering if a low heart rate indicates a slow metabolism.

Last I heard a low resting heart rate is a good thing. How old is your daughter?

nutmegoreo

kristidotson wrote: »

My daughter has a low resting heart rate of 43. She is physically active and eats healthy - but I believe she could be in better shape. She has difficulty losing weight. Any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned? Wondering if a low heart rate indicates a slow metabolism.

Talk to her doctor (or have her talk to her doctor if she is at that age).

PAV8888

Could or could not be a good thing depending on the *why'* and how.

My activity being constant and using Fitbit's definition of a resting heart rate I can, with good correlation to date, predict my upcoming scale weight changes depending on whether I am low 60's or high 50's, in the low to mid 60s, or higher than mid 60s (losing, maintaining, gaining)

AnnPT77

kristidotson wrote: »

My daughter has a low resting heart rate of 43. She is physically active and eats healthy - but I believe she could be in better shape. She has difficulty losing weight. Any thoughts on this? Should I be concerned? Wondering if a low heart rate indicates a slow metabolism.

No, generally it doesn't indicate a slow metabolism. (My resting heart rate is a little higher than hers, but below the so-called "normal" range, at high 40s to low 50s.)

It can be genetic, a sign of a worrisome health condition, or a result of being a reasonably well-conditioned athlete, that I know of.

If she's asymptomatic, it's probably most likely to be genetics (even if yours isn't low) or athleticism rather than a health condition, but it's her doctor who'd really be in a position to say.

The only possible connection I can think of between weight management and heart rate is hypothyrodism, but if she were severely hypothyroid she would have other symptoms, and the calorie penalty for hypothyroidism isn't so huge we can't lose weight, it just means we might need a slightly lower (like up to 5% lower) calorie intake. And that would still be a question for her doctor. (There may be other possible connections, but I'm aware of that one because I'm hypothyroid.)

Many people have difficulty losing weight, mostly because the process is pretty simple, but following the necessary process isn't always easy, unfortunately.

If she's trying to lose weight, and isn't successful, and you suspect a physical problem, the best idea would be for her to see her doctor to explore that possibility.

Best wishes to you both!

goatg

https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/everything-you-know-about-obesity-is-wrong/

goatg

Low resting heart rate is usually good and very common in well conditioned athletes. But I’m not a doctor.

Before you tell your daughter she has to lose weight (athletes receive enough pressure and are generally more prone to eating disorders) do your homework.

If she’s not an athlete and is obese this could be a big problem.

Basically, don’t be an idiot and go see a professional.

apullum

How old is your daughter?

Why do you believe she “could be in better shape”?