Really high heart rate...

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danielle4992
danielle4992 Posts: 72 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I bought a heart rate monitor ( Polar with the chest strap and little watch thingy ) and I ran my first 5K of the year. I felt great the whole time and I felt great after I finished.. I ran the whole time at maybe like a 5.5 mph pace, and had to run uphill 4 times.. on one of the hills ( the really steep one ) my heart rate got up to 199... is this too high? I run at least 3 times a week.. but i just now started paying attention to my heart rate.. When my heart rate was at 199 i felt good, like i was pushing myself, but awesome.. I am not that overweight..only about 16 lbs overweight... heart disease does run in my family.. but I haven't looked online to see if this is normal.. so please.. what do your heartrates get up to when you exercise? I also wanted to add that I have always had awesome blood pressure, cholesterol, iron , the whole nine yards.. vital stats are awesome.. so what gives :grumble:

Replies

  • jcm214
    jcm214 Posts: 157
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    What is your resting heart rate? They discovered I have tachycardia (fast heart rate) when I went in for a routine check and my resting went up to 140. Yikes. They had me do an EKG and then had me wear a holter monitor for 24 hours and now I'm on metoprolol (a beta blocker) that keeps me fairly normal. I stay around 75-80 resting. But I don't know much about exercise heart rates, I've just started looking at mine when I exercise and I'm on a medication.
  • danielle4992
    danielle4992 Posts: 72 Member
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    Don't know what my resting heart rate is ( is that where you are pretty much sleeping?? ) I know I sat in a chair for about an hour and my heart rate relaxing in the chair was like 66-78... depending on my movement of my arms and when i stretched it would go up, yawning etc.... I did however have to stay at the hospital a little longer after my surgery bc after coming out of anesthesia my heart rate was a little higher than what the doctor wanted it to be ( scared the crap out of me bc I was still high as he** lol ) I think I remember them saying it was in the upper 60's which I guess I might consider kinda high since I was put under..
  • kcdrake
    kcdrake Posts: 512
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    I had a similar question a few weeks ago. Apparently your max heart rate should be 120-your age.
    Even if you're older than 21, I wouldn't worry too much. You said that it got that high when you were running up a steep hill. If it were like that all the time, every time you ran it might be cause for some concern. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. But it is good you're keeping an eye on things, just in case something odd becomes more consistent!
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
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    I had a similar question a few weeks ago. Apparently your max heart rate should be 120-your age.
    Even if you're older than 21, I wouldn't worry too much. You said that it got that high when you were running up a steep hill. If it were like that all the time, every time you ran it might be cause for some concern. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. But it is good you're keeping an eye on things, just in case something odd becomes more consistent!

    I think you meant 220-your age. I've seen for women it is 226-your age which isn't a huge difference but... When I go jogging (still novice runner) my heart rate can reach up to 188. Mine goes very high very quickly. How long was yours that high?
  • TCASMEY
    TCASMEY Posts: 1,405 Member
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    My HRM sometimes jumps up to 212 and I know my heart is not beating that fast. Remember it is an electronic device and anything around it could cause interference. If it has never done this before while running I might be inclined to think it was some type of interference.
  • danielle4992
    danielle4992 Posts: 72 Member
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    I had a similar question a few weeks ago. Apparently your max heart rate should be 120-your age.
    Even if you're older than 21, I wouldn't worry too much. You said that it got that high when you were running up a steep hill. If it were like that all the time, every time you ran it might be cause for some concern. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. But it is good you're keeping an eye on things, just in case something odd becomes more consistent!

    I think you meant 220-your age. I've seen for women it is 226-your age which isn't a huge difference but... When I go jogging (still novice runner) my heart rate can reach up to 188. Mine goes very high very quickly. How long was yours that high?
    It was only that high for about 15 seconds ( the incline of the hill ) but my HR is also like 188 or around there when I am running a steady pace...
  • danielle4992
    danielle4992 Posts: 72 Member
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    My HRM sometimes jumps up to 212 and I know my heart is not beating that fast. Remember it is an electronic device and anything around it could cause interference. If it has never done this before while running I might be inclined to think it was some type of interference.

    This ws the first time running with a HRM and I think it was probably spot on considering I was at about 185 give or take a few the whole run... but I do know you are correct about interence with these HRM's.. it does happen...
  • afyfe
    afyfe Posts: 93
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    My average (not peak) during a good run is about 179 (I'm 30) but it has gone as high as 197. My doc didn't seem worried because I am consistently in that level. She told me to start worrying about it if it starts jumping all over the place or I start feeling faint, headaches, etc. Just my experience though.
  • 8turboturtle8
    8turboturtle8 Posts: 239 Member
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    MY heart rate also runs high when working out no matter where I am working out. I also feel fine, can even talk fairly well so I just keep an eye on it and make sure I feel ok. But I always wondered if this was accceptable...
  • mzmoonlight
    mzmoonlight Posts: 160
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    Yay for your HRM! I got one at Xmas and havent looked back! What I do is interval training (running and walking) with my goal at keeping my heart rate at a specific level (136-162). I do this for weight loss though and this doesnt seem to be a huge goal of yours if youre only slightly over. For weight loss, my levels are considered a bit high but for fitness you can allow it to go a bit higher (I seem to feel more worn out if I let my heart rate go higher). You will notice the longer you workout with your HRM the lower your heart rate will be during exercise, this is an indicator of improved fitness. Personally I would be a bit concerned about letting it get that high but if its not doing you any harm then there is no reason to feel like that, I guess. Depending on what your goals are (fitness, weight loss etc) it might be worth you looking up target heart rates while running for those specific goals.
  • Stepmom1
    Stepmom1 Posts: 155 Member
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    Well, I found out that Allergies can cause your heart rate to go high. Allergy sufferers have a faster heart rate than those who do not have it. I was concerned because my heart rate was going over 200 when I was doing intense plyo workouts. Then my husband told me that a friend of his went to the doctor and was told that allergies can cause your heart rate to be high.

    So, I am one of those....
  • spritie
    spritie Posts: 167
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    If your healthy (have no preexisting medical conditions) and you feel fine exercising at that intensity (level of effort) It just means you are placing signfiicnat demands on your body to perform the exercise you are, and your heart rate along with your breathing has had to increase in response to that demand.

    *note I'm only talking specifically about high heart rate while exercising, high heart rate while at rest is a different ball game.

    Also the 220-age calculation is an estimation, like everything else about our bodies, individual factors such as genetics etc. effect your max heart rate.

    Also the heart rate you can acheive (how close to max) before you have very high levels of lactic build up is a combination of genetics and fitness level.

    What I'm basically trying to say it, if you feel good exercising with HR - 199, thats fine, embrace it and enjoy many more moments of running up hills :)
  • danielle4992
    danielle4992 Posts: 72 Member
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    Well, I found out that Allergies can cause your heart rate to go high. Allergy sufferers have a faster heart rate than those who do not have it. I was concerned because my heart rate was going over 200 when I was doing intense plyo workouts. Then my husband told me that a friend of his went to the doctor and was told that allergies can cause your heart rate to be high.

    So, I am one of those....

    Wow! I did not know that.. and i have HORRIBLE allergies! Thanks for that info~!
  • rbc_racing
    rbc_racing Posts: 31 Member
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    That seems fairly high to me, I would probably try to run on a treadmill with a HRM and have the watch on at the same time, the machines are notoriusly inaccurate but I would try one just for a comparision. It could be a defective HRM, or your breathing could use some work, your HR will go higher as required to get sufficient oxygen to your muscles and if your not breathing right your heart will work harder to pump more oxygen rich blood around your body..

    There is alot of info to help you find your true HR here http://www.howtobefit.com/determine-maximum-heart-rate.htm

    You can also check it manually during your runs by checking your pulse for 10 sec and multiplying by 6, that number should be close or equal to your reading on your HRM.
  • hollymires
    hollymires Posts: 117
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    try taking your own pulse when it reads that high...even if you just count your heartbeats for 15 seconds and multiply by 4...then you will know if the hrm is even accurate.

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