Why does a high heart rate mean?

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BusyRaeNOTBusty
BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Not resting but during activity. My 41 year old husband did a mountain bike race last summer. 6 hours race, average heart rate 169. That's pretty high for an old dude. Should he be worried? He does use an inhaler for asthma during his races but doesn't over use it, and supplements with caffeine.
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  • bugaha1
    bugaha1 Posts: 602 Member
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    169 maybe ok but it all depends how fast it comes down when he stops, that's what they look for on a stress test.
  • 1brokegal44
    1brokegal44 Posts: 562 Member
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    I'm 46 and my heart-rate gets up into the 170s when I'm running. Unless his doctor tells him not to, I wouldn't worry about it.

    And, "old" dude at 41?
    :frown:
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    I'm 46 and my heart-rate gets up into the 170s when I'm running. Unless his doctor tells him not to, I wouldn't worry about it.

    And, "old" dude at 41?
    :frown:

    I'm just joking. I really don't think he's old. He was just comparing himself to some younger teammates.
  • disasterman
    disasterman Posts: 746 Member
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    He should go to his doctor and discuss it there. I really don't understand the point of asking a bunch of random strangers months afterword whether it's something to worry about. You're going to get variations of three answers:

    1. Yes, it something to worry about. Go to a doctor.
    2. No, it's normal and nothing to worry about.
    3. It might be something to worry about, depends on ____________________(fill in the blank).
  • Fayve
    Fayve Posts: 411 Member
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    I'm not sure what advice I can really give, but I told my doctor that my heart rate averages about 180 when I'm doing rigorous exercise, sometimes up to 200 if I'm really pushing. The doctor was surprised, but said to keep an eye on it. It's been like that for years for me though.
  • jamk1446
    jamk1446 Posts: 5,577 Member
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    169 maybe ok but it all depends how fast it comes down when he stops, that's what they look for on a stress test.

    This is my understanding as well.
  • pandsmomCheryl
    pandsmomCheryl Posts: 168 Member
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    Your hubby is fine.

    I'm almost 43, run 25 miles a week and my heart rate goes anywhere between 120 (easy effort) to 186 (full effort). 169 would put me in a tempo-run pace. My resting heart rate is in the 57-63 range.

    My heart rate (during exertion) runs higher than the MHR calculators. I figured out my Maximum Heart Rate by running speed intervals around a track multiple times until I reached a "can't go anymore" level. It was 196.

    Some people's hearts just pump a little faster, even if they're fit. I'm assuming your man is a fit dude if he participated in a 6-hour long bike race...
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    Not resting but during activity. My 41 year old husband did a mountain bike race last summer. 6 hours race, average heart rate 169. That's pretty high for an old dude. Should he be worried?

    He was just thinking about you.

    I'm 42 and my average HR for this half-marathon I did Saturday was 170. That was for nearly 2 hours. A lot of this depends on heat, humidity, and level of effort. The heart rate itself sounds fine. Mine will hit 185 during a 5k race so 170 really isn't terribly high.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    the general rule for max hr is 220- age, so that means his max, according to that cal would be 179. Meaning he would have been at 94% of max HR, which is quite, high, most likely if he can sustain an HR that high for that long, his "real" max HR is probably quite a bit higher than 179.

    I had a friend that had her max HR tested and worked out to be 203 (33 years old), and the calc would say it should have been 187.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    sounds more than acceptable, but if you think it's a concern talk to the doctor about scheduling a stress test
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    He's probably fine, but it's not something worth guessing over.
  • CentralCaliCycling
    CentralCaliCycling Posts: 453 Member
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    169 maybe ok but it all depends how fast it comes down when he stops, that's what they look for on a stress test.

    This is the best answer. Everyone has a different base heart rate. The base heart rate changes with exercise and age. Exercise can get it up some if you haven't been exercising. Age will reduce your max over time.
  • gailmelanie
    gailmelanie Posts: 210 Member
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    Both the medications you list can increase heart rate. In this case it probably isn't a problem, but to be sure, it would be a good idea to check with a physician. Barring other problems, if he doesn't feel ill in any way during exercise that produces that heart rate, it sounds like he's just working hard and his heart is responding the way it should to circulate the necessary oxygen and nutrients to where they're needed and removing the wastes produced during exercise metabolism.
  • gobonas99
    gobonas99 Posts: 1,049 Member
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    I'm 46 and my heart-rate gets up into the 170s when I'm running. Unless his doctor tells him not to, I wouldn't worry about it.

    And, "old" dude at 41?
    :frown:

    Ditto. Except I'm 36. :smile: My working heart rate for cardio normally falls in the 165-175 range for something "easy" like biking or step...and in the 175-185 range for something "hard" like running or HIIT workouts. Even "purposeful walking" puts me at like 155-160. But in all cases, I am still able to talk and carry on a conversation (albeit sometimes just a couple of words)...and while I am definitely huffing and puffing, I am never totally out of breath. It is the recovery time that is more important, IMO. I am ALWAYS back under 140BPM within 3-4 minutes of stopping exercise, and between 120-130 within 5-7 minutes. It is impossible for me to workout and stay in my supposed "fat burning heart rate zone".

    HR is SO individual, and it is important to remember that the HR guidelines (including max HR) are based on the average of the population - there are people who trend both higher and lower than the average (without any underlying health issues or medication causing the variance).

    And I'm totally in with the :frown: on 41 being old. My mom just turned 60, and I definitely wouldn't consider her old, let alone my 43 year old hubby. :huh:
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,662 Member
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    monitor might need a new battery too, especially if thats atypical.

    sometimes i'll start seening readouts that make me scatch my head, pop in a new battery and things are back to normal.

    I use a timex and i think the directions say that the battery should last a year or more, but i'm replace every 6 months or less


    just seems like a hella high average over 6 hours of work
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    Not resting but during activity. My 41 year old husband did a mountain bike race last summer. 6 hours race, average heart rate 169. That's pretty high for an old dude. Should he be worried? He does use an inhaler for asthma during his races but doesn't over use it, and supplements with caffeine.

    Um. As an Old Chick, I'd say no... .It's fine as long as he's not struggling in any way.

    Max heart rate zone stuff is nonsense.
  • phytogurl
    phytogurl Posts: 671 Member
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    My hr during my 2 hr ride yesterday was avg 141 and max was at 175...i was really pushing it though! My max is usually in the 160's but i can quickly recover to a lower hr, depending on how fit I am.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    He is going to talk to a doctor about it. He was just looking over his records on the Garmin website and the two races he did the best at were the ones with the two highest average heart rate. Max heart rate on these races was about 195. He does use his "zones" to gauge intensity (so he doesn't burn out quickly on long races) and he's wondering if maybe he needs to raise the levels on these zones to do better.

    And yeah, my max is about 175 too and I'm 8 years younger.
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,655 Member
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    As a single data point, it means pretty much nothing. I'm an old chick (by the OP's standard) and I easily sustain heart rates in the 160-180 range for half an hour at a time. Then in the two minutes afterward, my heart rate drops 40 bpm or so, and a few minutes later I'm in the 80-100 range typical of my post-workout (my resting heart rate is around 55, last time I checked). What goes into that number -- breathing, training, the size of your heart, the type of activity, whether you worked out intensely the day before, all sorts of things.

    OP, your husband's perceived exertion is a much better metric. If he feels like he's killing it, that's ok. If he feels like he's killing himself, that's bad. If he's had a sports physical and his doctor has cleared him for activity, he's probably just fine. If his heart rate doesn't recover pretty quickly after he stops, he might try laying off the caffeine pre-workout.

    This article may be of interest.
    http://running.competitor.com/2012/10/training/three-heart-rate-monitor-mistakes-everyone-makes_29427
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,662 Member
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    My hr during my 2 hr ride yesterday was avg 141 and max was at 175...i was really pushing it though! My max is usually in the 160's but i can quickly recover to a lower hr, depending on how fit I am.

    thats typically how i am with a really hard workout... although i'm practially falling all over myself to get over 170

    so basically this guy was averaging what i basically peak at during an insanity workout.... for 6 hours. I new i wasn't superman, but i didn't know i was that far behind the curve lol

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