Is my heart rate normal
Replies
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Fitbit's resting HR value as displayed is not what is usually considered resting HR, first thing in the morning at it's lowest.
So you can look at your HR graph and find your morning lowest. Keep looking at that low, it's good to note those changes.
Fitbit seems to include in their value daytime resting too.
And get ready for the Dr visit when he looks at data and says this doesn't appear that low - have the phrase ready that is not normal as you were stressed and it's normally whatever lower value.
Whenever I follow the nurse in, hop on table, and get my blood pressure and they say seems high - I always respond "that seems high for just walking in and getting up here?" - to which they usually sheepishly admit maybe not.
I'll ask if they want to try again after some restful minutes. Such a crock, which I like to make a point of since those checks allows tagging the visit for insurance as a full workup.
my docs office always kills time before doing the BP to give it time to settle. review medication list, review reason for visit, has anything changed, yadda yadda yadda then does BP right before doc comes in
in my case, i have pretty low BP, so id just get a 'normal' reading if done soon, which, if the nurse that day bothered to look at my history, might freak her out thinking something was horribly wrong. my doc certainly would notice and retake it himself.
anyway yes, it does seem fitbit does take the daytime resting heart rate as your resting heart rate. i go by the night time one which for me is in the low 60s. was in the 50s but one of my meds has increased it a bit it seems.2 -
Thanks guys, mine's not a fitbit, it's a Huawei Honor band so I'm not sure if the way it measures is the same. Trying to attach a screenshot from today's reading so far,
hope it works. Resting heartrate seems a bit higher today but I've been feeling anxious so that might be why.
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That's cool it gives a range, letting you see the low that easily instead of zooming in on chunk of time and perhaps getting a specific reading to see it's low.
I'd agree not a real resting HR value either - perhaps despite attempting to figure out when you got up, these devices don't want to assume they are right, and that the low morning HR reading before wakeup really is the resting HR.
So they just avg all the low values that perhaps have no steps during that time.2 -
Only your doctor can say for sure, so I'm glad you've already got the appointment. Your symptoms (chest pain, esp.) are concerning. If it were JUST heart rate as measured by a fitness device, I wouldn't worry - sometimes mine's a bit loose and probably not picking up all the data while I sleep. I KNOW for a FACT that my Garmin measures blood oxygen a consistent 7-9 pts. low. (My PulseOx measurements are always 98-100. Garmin would have me seeing a pulmonologist, STAT!) The rest of its measurements are spot on, but that one's just stupid. At least it's consistently stupid, so it's fine.0
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Low heart rate is called Bradycardia. It can be caused by a lot of things. Best to have a doc check it. But don’t worry- I’ve had it for years- even at >100 lbs overweight. Sometimes it can mean something isn’t right though so good that you’re seeing a doctor.
My heart rate runs about 43-44 even as I sit here writing this. It is normal for me. Never been to a cardiologist but numerous GP’s have told me not to worry about it.
I use a Garmin forerunner 35 (their cheapo model) and it is always spot on when I test manually.
Make getting into the “heart rate zones” etc really challenging for me.2 -
Fitbit's resting HR value as displayed is not what is usually considered resting HR, first thing in the morning at it's lowest.
So you can look at your HR graph and find your morning lowest. Keep looking at that low, it's good to note those changes.
Fitbit seems to include in their value daytime resting too.
And get ready for the Dr visit when he looks at data and says this doesn't appear that low - have the phrase ready that is not normal as you were stressed and it's normally whatever lower value.
Whenever I follow the nurse in, hop on table, and get my blood pressure and they say seems high - I always respond "that seems high for just walking in and getting up here?" - to which they usually sheepishly admit maybe not.
I'll ask if they want to try again after some restful minutes. Such a crock, which I like to make a point of since those checks allows tagging the visit for insurance as a full workup.
This annoys me at my doctor's office. They pretty much break every guidance on taking blood pressure. They do it first thing after they walk me back to the exam room and have me hop up on the table, no support for my feet, no support for the arm they're measuring the blood pressure in, asking me questions so I'm talking while they take it ... which you couldn't do in the old days when the person taking the measurement had to be listening with a stethoscope, but now that it's all automated, apparently there's no requirement for the person taking the BP to actually know the right way to do it.4 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »Fitbit's resting HR value as displayed is not what is usually considered resting HR, first thing in the morning at it's lowest.
So you can look at your HR graph and find your morning lowest. Keep looking at that low, it's good to note those changes.
Fitbit seems to include in their value daytime resting too.
And get ready for the Dr visit when he looks at data and says this doesn't appear that low - have the phrase ready that is not normal as you were stressed and it's normally whatever lower value.
Whenever I follow the nurse in, hop on table, and get my blood pressure and they say seems high - I always respond "that seems high for just walking in and getting up here?" - to which they usually sheepishly admit maybe not.
I'll ask if they want to try again after some restful minutes. Such a crock, which I like to make a point of since those checks allows tagging the visit for insurance as a full workup.
This annoys me at my doctor's office. They pretty much break every guidance on taking blood pressure. They do it first thing after they walk me back to the exam room and have me hop up on the table, no support for my feet, no support for the arm they're measuring the blood pressure in, asking me questions so I'm talking while they take it ... which you couldn't do in the old days when the person taking the measurement had to be listening with a stethoscope, but now that it's all automated, apparently there's no requirement for the person taking the BP to actually know the right way to do it.
that reminds me of a follow up visit my husband had at his ENT earlier this summer. The chick (not an RN, im not even sure a CNA) first didnt hook up the cuff and couldnt figure out why it wouldnt come on. then figured that out, but put the cuff on inside out on his arm, so it inflated....toward the outside. im sitting there (having been raised by a nurse who then taught nursing and wanted nothing more in the world than for ME to be a nurse and basically felt like i lived in a nursing boarding school my entire childhood thinking 'OMFG'. hubby is getting more irritated by the minute. the assistant is acting like shes never seen any of this equipment in her life. Finally gets a pressure off him, and its normal, but like me, a normal reading is HIGH for him. So I ask her to recheck the connections, and recheck his pressure. 'because that reading is high for him'... 'its a normal reading' ...'not for him its not'
now im getting irritated. up until that point i had been doing quite well to hide my irritation. hubby was not even bothering to hide HIS irritation lol
'never mind. we'll just wait for the doctor'
few minutes later, the doc comes in, I tell him what happened. he apologizes for that, shes filling in for someone, we'll do the exam and he'll do the bp himself at the end. which he did. manually. pressure was (hubbys) normal.
dont have someone fill in who cant hook up a machine a 5 year old can connect and push a button. ugh. ive never wanted to take over someones job so bad with 'here, just let me do it'4 -
I use a program called Cardiogram.
It works with Apple Watch, Garmin, and FitBit.
It helps me notice trends. And is generally pretty good.
https://cardiogram.com/0 -
A little update
I'm just back from the docs and the main take away from my blood test is that it shows a borderline underactive thyroid and she wants me to come back in 8 weeks for another blood test. All other markers were good including liver and cholesterol which is fantastic! We still can't get to the bottom of the chest pain, checked lungs and no issue there. She wants me to go straight to A&E the next time I get the crushing chest pain sensation so that they can take a blood sample while I'm having symptoms. We discussed my heart rate concerns and she doesn't think it's something to be worried about. She suggested that the chest pain might be related to my large beast size and said I should go and get refitted for a more supportive bra. Larger breasts can also cause difficulty breathing making exercise hard. I'm a uk size 32GG so that's a lot of weight on my chest and can cause bad posture and shoulder pain and as I'm left handed it may be why I'm feeling pain on that side. I think I need to find some strengthening exercises for my upper back so that I can see if this improves things.8 -
39flavours wrote: »A little update
I'm just back from the docs and the main take away from my blood test is that it shows a borderline underactive thyroid and she wants me to come back in 8 weeks for another blood test. All other markers were good including liver and cholesterol which is fantastic! We still can't get to the bottom of the chest pain, checked lungs and no issue there. She wants me to go straight to A&E the next time I get the crushing chest pain sensation so that they can take a blood sample while I'm having symptoms. We discussed my heart rate concerns and she doesn't think it's something to be worried about. She suggested that the chest pain might be related to my large beast size and said I should go and get refitted for a more supportive bra. Larger breasts can also cause difficulty breathing making exercise hard. I'm a uk size 32GG so that's a lot of weight on my chest and can cause bad posture and shoulder pain and as I'm left handed it may be why I'm feeling pain on that side. I think I need to find some strengthening exercises for my upper back so that I can see if this improves things.
if you dont already do strength training/weights at the gym, definitely look into it. the upper body work (chest, back, shoulders) will all help strengthen those muscles and may work towards giving some relief, if the chest size is contributing to the problem.0 -
Another thing that can feel like a heart attack but isn't: esophageal or bronchial spasms. Especially the latter. Esophageal spasms actually feel like what they are - but in an overabundance of caution, they will test first for cardiac problems. (Ironically, a nitro patch or sublingual nitro will stop esophageal spasms as well as it treats angina.)2
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No matter what your fitness level, chest pains are never something to ignore. Please see a doctor!1
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yeah mine goes down to 40 bpm as well when I'm asleep0
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We have recently had a couple of healthy 20ish year olds phone my doctor's surgery saying their fitbits had told them their sleeping heart rates were perilously low. They were both completely fine! God knows what their fitbits are up to!2
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As I’ve improved my health my bpm has dropped. It was never high when I was at my heaviest and now that I typically walk and jog daily about 7 miles it’s consistently in the 40s. I have a Drs appt. at the end of the month so will bring it up again. He had mentioned earlier this year about possibly doing a full blown check of my heart's overall efficiency. With current state of affairs I didn’t want to unnecessarily take up the time with this so hadn’t followed up.
An additional bit of info. When I workout I get my heart rate nice and high, but my recovery is fast. I drop 20-40 bpm from when I finish at a 1 and 2 min post workout reading. Within 5 mins I can be back in the 70s.
Checking in with Drs is really the best thing to do..1 -
As I’ve improved my health my bpm has dropped. It was never high when I was at my heaviest and now that I typically walk and jog daily about 7 miles it’s consistently in the 40s. I have a Drs appt. at the end of the month so will bring it up again. He had mentioned earlier this year about possibly doing a full blown check of my heart's overall efficiency. With current state of affairs I didn’t want to unnecessarily take up the time with this so hadn’t followed up.
An additional bit of info. When I workout I get my heart rate nice and high, but my recovery is fast. I drop 20-40 bpm from when I finish at a 1 and 2 min post workout reading. Within 5 mins I can be back in the 70s.
Checking in with Drs is really the best thing to do..
I dunno. Asking a doctor about a heart rate that's fairly common among athletes in good condition, when one is pretty physically active oneself seems like something in the nature of humble brag.
108-year-old walks into doctor's examination room under own steam, not even using a cane: "Doc, I'm worried. All of my siblings and even a couple of my kids died years ago, yet here I am, still going pretty strong. Do you think there's something wrong with me?"1 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »
As I’ve improved my health my bpm has dropped. It was never high when I was at my heaviest and now that I typically walk and jog daily about 7 miles it’s consistently in the 40s. I have a Drs appt. at the end of the month so will bring it up again. He had mentioned earlier this year about possibly doing a full blown check of my heart's overall efficiency. With current state of affairs I didn’t want to unnecessarily take up the time with this so hadn’t followed up.
An additional bit of info. When I workout I get my heart rate nice and high, but my recovery is fast. I drop 20-40 bpm from when I finish at a 1 and 2 min post workout reading. Within 5 mins I can be back in the 70s.
Checking in with Drs is really the best thing to do..
I dunno. Asking a doctor about a heart rate that's fairly common among athletes in good condition, when one is pretty physically active oneself seems like something in the nature of humble brag.
108-year-old walks into doctor's examination room under own steam, not even using a cane: "Doc, I'm worried. All of my siblings and even a couple of my kids died years ago, yet here I am, still going pretty strong. Do you think there's something wrong with me?"
Hey I understand what you’re saying, but when going from over 400 to under 200 via just an overall lifestyle adjustment at my age is a little surprising when my bpm is typically associated with a well trained athlete. I know BMI can be a relative #, but according to the BMI range I am still overweight for a 6 ft man. In my case my efficiency does go to an extreme that I can go under 40 bpm and my drop after a workout has been as high as a 50-60 bpm drop. Now I don’t experience any of issues with poor health and low resting rate, but hypotension does pop into my head and that’s where I stop self diagnosing. Drs are trained and I will not be one to know better and tell them what may be wrong if anything. I did get a chuckle from him at my yearly when I dubbed myself a “FAThlete” earlier this year. That was 30 lbs ago. He had told me no need to go under 200, but in my younger years I was a jogger/cyclist and long jogs or rides at a heavier weight for a man twice the age well I decided I needed more to come off. Going back to my original reply. I had chosen to not pursue the efficiency check that will be his decision when I see him towards the end of the month if at all necessary. To illustrate while typing this the watch just pinged…
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@39flavours Not that it may relate to you at all, but just sharing my experience…back in my mid-forties, same height and 5-10 pounds less than you, I had chest pain. It felt like someone was squeezing my heart, under my left breast. My doc was confident that it was heartburn, but did a treadmill/dye/EKG test just in case. The test results came back all good with the heart and she prescribed Protonix for six months. She said I would feel much better very quickly, but to take the med for that length of time to give my esophagus a chance to heal. I felt better quickly, I believe in a matter of two or three weeks, and the pain fully went away. I know people have heartburn often, but I never did before, excluding the last couple months of my second pregnancy. That felt like heartburn (a burning sensation in the center of my chest). This one in my mid 40s, didn’t feel like heartburn at all. During this time frame, I had a higher level of stress. Every few years at the most, I get the same sensation and take the over-the-counter med, omeprazole, for two weeks and I’m good to go. Long story short: I had heartburn, which felt like chest pain, due to poorly managed stress. Perhaps this may be a consideration for your doctor. Hope you feel better soon.0
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[quote="lynn_glenmont;c-
[/quote]
I dunno. Asking a doctor about a heart rate that's fairly common among athletes in good condition, when one is pretty physically active oneself seems like something in the nature of humble brag.
108-year-old walks into doctor's examination room under own steam, not even using a cane: "Doc, I'm worried. All of my siblings and even a couple of my kids died years ago, yet here I am, still going pretty strong. Do you think there's something wrong with me?"[/quote]
@lynn-glemont - seriously? A humble brag? He was just stating his heart rate was low.....geeze.
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[quote="lynn_glenmont;c-
I dunno. Asking a doctor about a heart rate that's fairly common among athletes in good condition, when one is pretty physically active oneself seems like something in the nature of humble brag.
108-year-old walks into doctor's examination room under own steam, not even using a cane: "Doc, I'm worried. All of my siblings and even a couple of my kids died years ago, yet here I am, still going pretty strong. Do you think there's something wrong with me?"[/quote]
@lynn-glemont - seriously? A humble brag? He was just stating his heart rate was low.....geeze.
[/quote]
Seriously. Yup. A heart rate in the 40s may be a bit unusual but, when it's not causing a problem (asymptomatic) and is not a sudden change from the individual's normal stats, it is generally a good thing indicating good health.
ETA: My point was more that, under the circumstances described, this doesn't seem like something to be wasting anxiety over.0 -
I had a low HR.. until I got my pacemaker/defibrillator planted in my chest... I have CHF.
Now don't panic. Just go see your doctor, and discuss this with them.. determine WHY it is low.. and 44 is low.
72 is normal, and my ICD keeps my HR at 75 now.. I would routinely hit 50 or less, and set off alarms in the hospital, so it isn't something normal. Whether 55 is a problem is not something to decide on here.. go see the doctor, and make sure it isn't a problem, or if it is, they can deal with it properly.
I would take it easy until you see the doctor, and worry about a fitness regimen, AFTER you deal with any possible issue, with guidance from your doctor.
The other issues.. lack of energy, muscle weakness, and chest pains are more alarming.. especially when combined with low HR. You might be hoping for no medical issue, but the truth is, if you don't have any medical issue, then you have these problems, and without a cause, have no solution.
You really should want to find out you have a minor medical issue, and know it is treatable.. maybe a pill, and get on a regimen, and feel a lot better, and be able to live a long productive life. That way you aren't wondering what is wrong.
I was diagnosed with CHF 20 years ago at 27 years old.. I am healthier now, than then. I exercise regularly, and feel pretty good most days. I wish I hadn't waited until I had to go to the E.R., to see a doctor. Best thing to do is go find out, then go from there.
Hopefully, it is something minor, and easily taken care of, and you can resume exercise, and feel better too. Catching it early, may mean if there is a medical issue, it doesn't get too serious.1
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