Scared about heart rate!

MissMichellemybelle

Hey everyone,

I know the obvious answer to this is "ask a doctor" but any input you have is appreciated!

I bought a new heart rate monitor today, and it confirmed my fears about my heart rate.

I was running a 13 min per mile pace today. Running slow. I was sweating, and felt like I was working, but not really that hard.

My target HR is 167. Target zone is 128-167. But today my HR was about 180-192. I know my HRM is not wrong, because I have taken it manually before with consistent numbers.

When at the doctor, my numbers are 120/70.

I want to think that I am just chubby and out of shape and thats the issue with such a high heart rate. But, the reason I am scared is due to family history. My mom died at 51 from VERY sudden onset dilated cardiomyopathy. She had been in the hospital for a brain aneurysm surgery 10 days before her death. Surgery went well, everything was fine. And never did the doctors diagnose or find cardiomyopathy (which is normally a very slow, gradual disease).

So my question is, does anybody know anything about such a high heart rate? Am I just getting nervous for no reason, or is this high of a heart rate while running so slowly cause for concern?

Thank you SO much!

yeabby

Mine is that high at times. You're target is lower but, that isn't your max. I don't like to spend extended time that high but, I don't stress about it getting there and being there for short times.

auntiebabs

When at the doctor, my numbers are 120/70.

That's your blood pressure not your heart rate.
BTW that a pretty good BP.

GaveUp

I've had mine get up to 180's but as long as I feel good I don't worry about it. Also if you are running outside the heat will cause your heart rate go up..... it does with me because you heart has to work harder in the heat or humidity.

kimeister

I'm no MD, but when I first started working out, my heart rate got up to 185 a few times, and I weigh about 50lbs more than you. It's an uncomfortable feeling, to be sure. Now that I've been working out for a couple of months, my heart rate rarely gets over 178, and it comes down pretty quickly.

If you're just not certain, you may want to check with your doctor. At the very least, you can google up quite a lot of information on this topic.

fnm101

here are a few things that came to mind as i read your post...
---if you were running up a hill, even at a slow rate, your effort level (and as a result, your HR) could be relatively high
---since a lot of things impact your HR besides exercising (e.g., anxiety or stress level, hydration, heat exertion), it may have been higher than anticipated due to a combination of factors
---if you are just getting back into running (and if any of the above occurred too) your HR doesn't seem that outrageous to me. i have seen mine in a similar ranger at times, but once i've been running consistently for a few weeks it's back in a reasonable range

something i have been doing lately is running until my HR reaches the top of my "ideal zone," then walking until it hits the bottom of my zone, then jogging again. repeat. this helps your heart to gradually adjust to jogging, which should regulate it better.

best wishes! it's great that you have a HR monitor, know your family history, and will consider going to a doctor.

auntiebabs

I found such a wide range of answers when I googled this.

I'm wondering what the concensus is here

Don't know if this is helpful but I found this...



I always seem to shoot up to the anaerobic range and find it hard to pull back. Don't the benefits or detriments of that?

fastbelly

You can't compare heart rate with blood pressure. HR has nothing to do with blood pressure.
Rest and the lack of it has great influence in your Heart Rate, if you track your Heart Rate consistently and you notice your rest HR to be up that can be a sign of your body asking you to slow down and take a day off. For calculating your target rate use the following:


You should track your Heart rate straight after waking up in the morning (HRRest)

Subtract your age from 220 and you'll have an approximate maximum HR (HRMax)
(there are other ways to calculate HRMax, I just use this because its the simplest one, not necessarily the most accurate but they are all approximations anyways).

To that value subtract your HRRest to find HRMax RESERVE

say you're 20 years old and have a rest HR of 60, your Max HR would be 200 and your HRMax Reserve would be 140bpm

For your training target HR (HRTarget) you'll just need to calculate 70% of your HR Reserve and add your HRRest.

In this case you'd be looking for a target of 140*0.7+60 > 98+60 = 158bpm

moriaht

My heart rate gets 200-210 every time i work out! Not for long periods of time, but at one point in my work out it will. It's not great but it's normal for someone without very good cardio to get up in those numbers if they push that hard. Within the month it will lower a great deal if you stick with it... is what i hear