what more important...

grizzlymaze
grizzlymaze Posts: 185 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Whats more important? good blood pressure or resting heart rate? now obviously both are important, but which one is a better judgement of health? I just took my blood pressure and am at 123/78 but heart rate in high 80's. I asked the nurse about the BP and she says thats good numbers, but I read somewhere that a healthy person has a resting heart rate in the 50's. Should I be concerned?

Replies

  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Heart rate should be measured while resting (taken first thing in the morning before you get out of bed). If I recall, a resting heart rate in the 50s is for athletic people. I think the normal range would be higher.

    As for your answer, sorry, I don't know.


    ETA - sorry I missed where you said resting - just finished a backshift so reading comprehension is obviously lacking.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    Interested to hear more on this topic..
  • zoefisher2785
    zoefisher2785 Posts: 5
    Whats more important? good blood pressure or resting heart rate? now obviously both are important, but which one is a better judgement of health? I just took my blood pressure and am at 123/78 but heart rate in high 80's. I asked the nurse about the BP and she says thats good numbers, but I read somewhere that a healthy person has a resting heart rate in the 50's. Should I be concerned?

    Your blood pressure should be 120/80 - so yours is perfect :smile:
    Your resting pulse rate should be between 60-100 beats per minute - so again - perfect :smile:

    42529893.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • drewhosick
    drewhosick Posts: 5 Member
    This was the chart I found that has info on heart rates depending on your exercise level:

    http://www.topendsports.com/testing/heart-rate-resting-chart.htm
  • dbower18
    dbower18 Posts: 40 Member
    I work out almost every day and consider myself above average fit for my age (61). But I also have a heart condition and take my blood pressure every morning. It also gives me my resting heart rate. Generally your doctor will be looking to make sure that your resting heart rate is under 100.

    I pay a lot more attention to blood pressure just because that is what my cardiologist is more concerned about. If my BP is normal (around 120/80) and my HR is 60 to 70, I am good. If my HR is bit high for me (say in the 80's), I will test blood oxygen level just to make sure.

    Generally as your cardio fitness improves your resting HR will come down. But some of the improvement is probably driven and capped by genetics and age. A consistent reading in the 50's would suggest someone who is a competitive athlete or has very good genes. Or both.
  • VBnotbitter
    VBnotbitter Posts: 820 Member
    How old are you for starters? Age can have an impact on the numbers. In general though health care professionals worry more about your BP, as heart rate can change so rapidly and in response to many different things. It is really only the super athletic who can get their heart rate below 60, as they have increased the size of their myocardium (heart muscle) with intense cardiac exercise. You rarely see that in the normal population.

    I would have to ask though what is your rationale for taking your own blood pressure? Do you have a condition you have to monitor it for? If not I wouldn't bother, I've seen too many "worried well" come into emergency because their numbers have changed on their home BP machine. Blood pressure is subject to many normal variants and isn't a fixed number for anyone.
  • grizzlymaze
    grizzlymaze Posts: 185 Member
    thanks. I'm 30 yr old and in average fitness. Not extreme athletic or over lazy. I work at our hospital so once in awhile I will take my BP.

Categories