Low blood pressure, HR & working out hard

Hey all,

So I went to the docs the other day (routine script time) and he decided to check my blood pressure, weight etc. Turns out my blood pressure was quite low, ie 80/48! He said it was nothing to be concerned about but that it "just meant that you'll live longer"

I get light headed occasionally, but not largely enough to be concerned about I think (will keep an eye on it though). But what I was really curious about was my heart rate when working out. On my morning run today, it peaked at 198! I know the max heart rate thing is a guide but I was curious to see if anyone else with very low blood pressure found they had a high heart rate? Or if there was anything else you noticed in yourself, how you are feeling or how you respond to training?? Do you think it's related even?

Curious to see if anyone has experienced the same or something unique too!

Replies

Roni_M

I have low blood pressure (90/60 usually) and my HR has gone up as high as 187 during exercise. I'm not sure if it's related or not though.

kaydensmom12

Usually when you have low bp, then your heart rate will compensate by becoming higher. If you bp is low, and it is taking more time for the blood to get to your body parts, then it will need to pump faster, making your heart faster, that is what we learned in nursing school. My bp is always more on the lower side, 100/60, and my heart rate would go way up into the low 200's when exercising, when my max is 169. That can also have to do with not being used to certain exercises, because now that I am running more often my body/breathing is getting used to it, and my hr is less each time.

Edit to say, that it is common to get lightheaded with low bp, because the oxygen is slowly getting to your brain. Make sure you are drinking enough water, and change positions slowly.

captawesome

Yeah I'm not sure if its related...

lgrix

I have low blood pressure and get light headed sometimes as well. I don't have the issue with high hr while exercising though. If I get up to 160 I tend to back down a bit otherwise I over exert and can't continue to push. I try to stay 140-150.

newhabit

what is your resting heart rate? if it's like 50 and it goes up to 200 maybe that woudl cause concern. if your resting heart rate is like 80 or 90 that could be fine.

kc4173

I have low blood pressure. I do not get dizzy, but my heart rate has always been extremely high. My resting heart rate is always fast - no matter how ggod shpae I am in. Even when I was in top shape back in the army, it sta at about 78 bpm. And I was running consistent 7.5 min miles.

tracey5011

I am hypotensive too and my bp goes up near 200s when exercising also. Since MFP I have found that my hands and feet get much colder than they did previously.

crafty30

Yep I have the exact same thing! Low blood pressure but high HR when exercising! When I run it goes up to 186 sometimes.. It would probably go higher but I slow down when it gets that high.. Ive gone from doing no exercise for years to a fair bit now so I dont know if the high HR is just because I am (Or was!) very unfit or if its linked to my low BP!

seardefilip

I have low BP as well-

My BP was 98/56 it is always around those numbers-

I get dizzy from time to time but actually asked the doc about it and said that being dizzy can come from low BP but it's not common-
Also headaches are not caused from low BP (something I was dealing with for a while)-

-

captawesome

Thanks for the replies guys!

@Kaydensmom, that makes sense to me. I've pretty much kept up with the same HR but increased my pace. I use my HR to see how hard I can push myself.

@newhabit my resting heart rate was in the mid 50's last time I checked (about 2 months ago) I have become fitter since then so I'd expect it to be about the same or perhaps a little lower... what is your theory?

ChristyU74

Usually when you have low bp, then your heart rate will compensate by becoming higher. If you bp is low, and it is taking more time for the blood to get to your body parts, then it will need to pump faster, making your heart faster, that is what we learned in nursing school. My bp is always more on the lower side, 100/60, and my heart rate would go way up into the low 200's when exercising, when my max is 169. That can also have to do with not being used to certain exercises, because now that I am running more often my body/breathing is getting used to it, and my hr is less each time.

Edit to say, that it is common to get lightheaded with low bp, because the oxygen is slowly getting to your brain. Make sure you are drinking enough water, and change positions slowly.

^^This is what my doctor has told me as well. I'm usually at about 100/60 as well, which isn't even that low, but I do find that I usually have a pretty high heart rate during cardio (170/180) and I get light headed even during lifting when my heart rate is not so high. Resting heart rate is easily in the 70's.

TrailRunner61

Are you hyrdrated enough?? I don't know where you live but it's been 104 here the last few days.

I know that when I was an emt we would give fluids to raise blood pressure so maybe that's part of the problem, along with it being low to begin with. Make sure you drink plenty an hour or so before working out and take some water with you too.

I have high blood pressure and I know that sodium also increases your BP, so maybe you could hydrate with something like gatorade. I think it has sodium in it.

Be careful wtih this, it can make you feel really ill and passing out while in the middle of a workout can be painful!

Good luck!

captawesome

Wow there seems to be a fair few of us with a low BP.

Wanted to add that yes, I'm ALWAYS cold!! I'm in Australia and it's winter here but I still have to wear an absolute ridiculous amount of clothes to keep warm.

I try to keep up with my fluids, I tend to drink 95%+ just water and around 2-3 litres per day. I normally try to keep my sodium low because my weight reacts so much to it. Guess that could be a factor as to why though...

newhabit

Thanks for the replies guys!

@Kaydensmom, that makes sense to me. I've pretty much kept up with the same HR but increased my pace. I use my HR to see how hard I can push myself.

@newhabit my resting heart rate was in the mid 50's last time I checked (about 2 months ago) I have become fitter since then so I'd expect it to be about the same or perhaps a little lower... what is your theory?

wow i dont' know what to say... maybe ask your dr about that. mine is the same, about 50 but only goes up to about 170 at the most.

JesterMFP

Usually when you have low bp, then your heart rate will compensate by becoming higher. If you bp is low, and it is taking more time for the blood to get to your body parts, then it will need to pump faster, making your heart faster, that is what we learned in nursing school. My bp is always more on the lower side, 100/60, and my heart rate would go way up into the low 200's when exercising, when my max is 169. That can also have to do with not being used to certain exercises, because now that I am running more often my body/breathing is getting used to it, and my hr is less each time.

This is interesting. I'm actually the opposite. I have low blood pressure (with dizziness/light headedness) , but I aso have a low resting heart rate and I struggle to get my heart rate up high during exercise.

nursygirl10

Glad I came across this thread! My BP is usually around 98/56 and resting heartrate of about 55. Today at bootcamp my max heartrate was 217! I am a little concerned but when I am working out I don't feel as though I am working too hard. When doing cardio for an hour my HR averages about 150 and I can easily hold a conversation at that rate. If anyone has any links or articles which talk about this it would be appreciated.