Naturally high heart rate?

LaurenAOK
LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm starting to realize that my heart rate is naturally on the higher end of normal. Normal resting heart rate is 60 to 100 bpm, mine is normally right around 90 or above. When I exercise, it shoots up insanely high, usually 180 bpm or more. Even when I'm just running, which is something I enjoy! I just read in another thread someone saying that during Insanity their HR normally hovered around 150... mine was ALWAYS 180 or above during Insanity :noway:

I'm not too concerned about the health aspect, because I seem to be in great health. I'm young, at a very healthy weight, I exercise daily, and I eat well (for the most part). Everything with the doctor checks out; my blood pressure is actually insanely low! Not dangerously so haha, the nurses are just always very impressed.

Anyone else have this issue? I just find it discouraging because I've taken fitness tests before where how they measure your fitness is by how high your heart rate is after a minute or so of jumping jacks or something... I always score "poorly" because my heart rate gets up high, but they don't know that it's high when I'm just resting as well :(

I thought maybe getting in shape would help this, but I actually consider myself to be at a high level of fitness at this point and I still have this problem. Just wondering if anyone can relate!
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Replies

  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    smoker?
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    smoker?

    Oh god no, I'm a singer. Never touched a cigarette in my life!
  • shrinking_cylon
    shrinking_cylon Posts: 33 Member
    I'm starting to realize that my heart rate is naturally on the higher end of normal. Normal resting heart rate is 60 to 100 bpm, mine is normally right around 90 or above. When I exercise, it shoots up insanely high, usually 180 bpm or more. Even when I'm just running, which is something I enjoy! I just read in another thread someone saying that during Insanity their HR normally hovered around 150... mine was ALWAYS 180 or above during Insanity :noway:

    I'm not too concerned about the health aspect, because I seem to be in great health. I'm young, at a very healthy weight, I exercise daily, and I eat well (for the most part). Everything with the doctor checks out; my blood pressure is actually insanely low! Not dangerously so haha, the nurses are just always very impressed.

    Anyone else have this issue? I just find it discouraging because I've taken fitness tests before where how they measure your fitness is by how high your heart rate is after a minute or so of jumping jacks or something... I always score "poorly" because my heart rate gets up high, but they don't know that it's high when I'm just resting as well :(

    I thought maybe getting in shape would help this, but I actually consider myself to be at a high level of fitness at this point and I still have this problem. Just wondering if anyone can relate!

    I've always had a really high resting heart rate too! I'd also go to the gym with my mom and the machines read my heart rate at almost double hers o.O I've had tests done though and everything seems to be fine...
  • kendzini13
    kendzini13 Posts: 36 Member
    Note: your resting heart rate should be taken when you are sitting or lying down. When I'm sitting my heart rate can get as low as 55. When I'm standing it goes up to 90. When I run or cycle, my average HR is above 180. The younger you are, the higher your "max" or working HR is (226 - age for women). I have also noticed that as I've got fitter (even though I was pretty fit before, as I've started doing other forms of exercise, the HR responses have changed), I have to work harder to get it up so high.
  • Justjamie0418
    Justjamie0418 Posts: 1,065 Member
    I average around 176/180 during insanity.
  • Spook_Nuke_Em
    Spook_Nuke_Em Posts: 408 Member
    I average around 176/180 during insanity.

    Me too. Lightweight high, no?
  • calihoya
    calihoya Posts: 80 Member
    I'm exactly the same as you and I also tend to have low blood pressure. Sounds like from the calculation someone provided above, I'm in the okay range since I'm 26. I always thought my high heart rate was bad too, but I guess it's just one of those things that varies from person to person. If your doctor things it's okay, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
  • Justjamie0418
    Justjamie0418 Posts: 1,065 Member
    I have low Blood pressure as well! Weird.

    mine is normally like 90/70 or somesuch number I know my top number is normally always below 100.
  • jmkmomm
    jmkmomm Posts: 3,247 Member
    I have a very benign condition called (hopefully I can spell this right) paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, or PAT for short. It's when for no known reason the heart rate just jumps up to a high rate and from an EKG they can tell that the high rate is coming from the atrium and not the ventricle which is good. If it were from the ventricle it would be bad. I have it controlled by a beta blocker. When you are on a beta blocker you aren't able to use a % increase in your heart rate in your exercising. You have to go by more of an exertion scale. Example.....can you still speak while exercising?

    I found out I had this when one day my heart rate jumped up to 200 for no reason, then after a bit it would just go down to normal on its own. I never new when it wold do this but activity is pretty hard to do when it's up that high
  • gabijadc
    gabijadc Posts: 90 Member
    My resting heart rate is always around 80, sometimes even over 90.
    When I work out I go up to around 188 usually. I did insanity, but I didn't have a HR monitor so I have no idea of knowing.

    I've always been told by doctors to "calm down", but I keep telling them that this is how it normally is for me...
    I'm not sure if it's healthy or not, I've assumes it was because I do HIIT training, but maybe that makes no sense
  • johnnylufc
    johnnylufc Posts: 39 Member
    max heart rate 220 take off your age . so like me max 220 take my age = 170 . at the moment i get my heart rate on avg 130 -140 thats because am over weight and unfit .
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
    I'd just ask a doctor about it to see what they think just to be on the safter side, and if they think it's okay then I'd just forget about it!

    I know they say resting heart rate is related to fitness levels, but mine is pretty low (55-60) and I'm in okay shape but not excellent, so I don't think it's completely related to that. I'm guessing that some of us just have lower heart rates naturally and some higher!
  • peasantsong
    peasantsong Posts: 107 Member
    My resting heart rate was very high when I was hyperthyroid. Always over 90bpm and sometimes over 110bpm. Now that I don't have a thyroid anymore, my resting heart rate is always in the low 60's. Maybe some of you with high rhr should ask your doctor if this is normal or if there are any underlying causes for having such a high heart rate.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    i would go to a doctor to get that checked out now.
  • Tessyloowhoo
    Tessyloowhoo Posts: 504
    I have tachycardia aswell. I actually used to go into SVT which is about 250+ beats per minute. I had a heart surgery two months ago to fix that but now i just have a "normal" tachycardia at about 110 resting pulse. My cardiologist says not to fret about it unless you have symptoms from it like pain in your chest of neck or a feeling of too much adrenaline. It definitely does increase your calorie burn when your doing cardio! I would get a heart rate monitor to use while running just to make sure you are under 200 bpm.
  • MsEndomorph
    MsEndomorph Posts: 604 Member
    I have a high resting heart rate, as well. The lowest of the low I've seen is 88bpm. My blood pressure is usually pretty low, too, which is probably just cause and effect. I wear a HRM just in case (although I've never had a problem staying under the max)
  • jamielynas
    jamielynas Posts: 366 Member
    my resting HR sits in the high 30s when going ALL OUT I hit 165-170 tops
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
    Mine has always been high, even when I was a kid (and I'm old enough that I grew up actually playing hard, outside). I even was sent for chest x-rays with contrast when I was in preschool. Didn't find anything wrong then. When I was 30 and pregnant the midwife noticed a "clicking" and that time they found mild mitral valve prolapse, but it went away when I wasn't pregnant anymore.

    I also have very low blood pressure as well. WOnder if its related?

    Anyway, mine has been there from birth and has not been affected very much by being in better shape, in worse shape, in whatever shape.
  • AmberRNurse
    AmberRNurse Posts: 1 Member
    Might have inappropriate sinus tach (IST) if you feel bad when your heart rate get high during exertion.
  • MsEndomorph
    MsEndomorph Posts: 604 Member


    I also have very low blood pressure as well. WOnder if its related?

    Your body needs an adequate amount of blood whether you have low, normal, or high BP. So your heart will compensate for a low blood pressure by beating faster. More beats = more blood.

    Or on the opposite side of things, if your heart is beating too fast, it may not have time to fill up all the way and that can lead to low blood pressure.

    So they're definitely related. And in many more possible ways for unhealthy hearts, but I'm assuming we're all healthy here. :)
  • gobonas99
    gobonas99 Posts: 1,049 Member
    I'm 36. my resting HR is usually around 60-65. But when I workout, my HR is ALWAYS over 165. When I run, it is always over 180....and frequently hits 190+. But, my HR is back down to 130 or lower within 3-4 minutes.

    My HR has always been that way - both at my heaviest and at my fittest....the only thing that has changed is my recovery time (at my heaviest, it would be almost 10 minutes to get back to 130....at my fittest, 3-4 minutes. If I tried to stay within my "zones" per the 220 minus age calc, I would never be able to do more than walking. The thing is that all of those HR calcs are based on averages of the population. That means that there are people out there with lower max HRs and higher max HRs.

    It is much better, IMO, to go by perceived exertion. When I first started working out, I would feel like I was going to die (aka "max exertion" or "red zone") when my HR hit 185....but now, I can easily carry on a conversation at a HR of 185 (depending on the day, it could be "yellow zone" or "orange zone"). Now, my HR needs to hit 195 or higher (and yes it has...I've seen it hit 205) for me to feel like I'm in the "red zone". I never get lightheaded or dizzy when my HR gets that high (unless I'm sick)....and although I'm definitely breathing hard, I can still talk. :)
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    My resting hrart rate isn't high, but when I exercise it goes through the roof. I had a full cardiac workup and I'm just one of those people who lies outside the normal range.
  • spectralmoon
    spectralmoon Posts: 1,179 Member
    I guess I'm your opposite; my resting heart rate is 54, which is below average. I haven't been diagnosed with bradycardia (which surprises some nurses since my BP is low as well)... just palpitations from anemia. :laugh:
    When I'm really getting a workout, though, I'm between 165-192.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    My resting heart rate is around 60 bpm, but it will get up to 190 or 195 during Insanity.
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  • mschelle
    mschelle Posts: 240 Member
    My resting is usually between 90-100. My bp is always low, too - 90/60 range.

    When I work out I can get to 150s in about a minute, and if I don't exert much I can stay there easily. When I push hard, I will get to 180ish, and I've been as high as 199, which is well above my calculated max.

    I saw a cardiologist recently when a medication I was on had me over 110 resting (I'm off it now and back to "normal"). My EKG, stress test, PFT, and xrays were normal, so the cardiologist said to just go by how I feel. Around 185 I start to feel pretty bad, so that's usually where I will take a break until I'm back to 150s.

    No matter how often I work out, though, I have never had a RHR below the 90s.
  • kathypiechlukas
    kathypiechlukas Posts: 3 Member
    I wear my fitbit at night when I sleep. My resting pulse rate is 89. I usually hit about 160-180 when I am doing combat or core de force. I am in decent shape, my pulse has always been rapid and my blood pressure is usually very low. 105/70 average. I have lupus and my doctors say that my meds could be contributing to it but doesn't seem too worried about it.
  • folgers86
    folgers86 Posts: 84 Member
    edited July 2017
    My resting HR is upper 60s-low 70s (when sitting) and HR during exercise is around 170-180. Low blood pressure. I have almost no cardio fitness lol. That being said, my dad discovered he had a congenital heart defect when he was in his 50s because his heart rate and blood pressure started doing wonky things. Might be worth just a quick mention to the doc just so it's on record.

    Wow, just noticed how old this thread is haha.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,068 Member
    220 minus age (or other age based formulas for estimating max heart rate) can be wildly inaccurate for many individuals. (I'm 61. My max 'should be' 159 by this formula. It's tested as around 180, and there's nothing wrong with my heart health.) Max does tend to get lower with older age, but this decline is less true for people who are routinely active. For different people at any age, it simply varies because of genetic and other factors

    If you have the slightest concern about your heart health, consult your doctor. Don't take advice from random people on the internet.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    Yeah, see a doctor.I have heart problems and arrythmias from a medical condition. without meds, my hr while exercising is 200+.

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