Lowered heart rate with weight loss

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captmel
captmel Posts: 29 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi. I have had a low heart rate before my weight loss and it seems to be dropping. For the past couple years I've been about 200 lbs and my heart rate was normally around 45-50 BPM. I've lost about 30-35 lbs since february and its rarely as high as 45 when I check it. Mostly between 38 and 43. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had any significant drop in Heart rate after losing weight? and if its normal?

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  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Are you exercising? As your heart gets stronger (cardio) it doesn't have to work as hard to pump the blood and oxygen through your body so your bbm drops. Weight loss may have something to do with it as you don't have as much mass that blood/oxygen needs to reach. I would guess the increase in fitness would be the bigger difference, but combined you will def have a lower resting HR.
  • Raynne413
    Raynne413 Posts: 1,527 Member
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    If your heart rate is really that low, you should definitely talk to a doctor. My doctor is concerned about my heart rate being 54 bmp, resting.
  • captmel
    captmel Posts: 29 Member
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    Yes I am exercising. Mostly running but I did that before. I can run faster for a longer period of time. I run 3-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes. 3.5 to 4.6 miles each day. Just wondering if other people have noticed a big drop.

    I saw a speciallist about 2 years ago and they told me it was a normal Low and nothing to worry about. The EKG showed 42 BPM at the time. i wore a heart rate monitor to bed last night and it dropped to 34 while i was sleeping. its just so strange to me. I'm not an athlete by no means.
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    Yes I am exercising. Mostly running but I did that before. I can run faster for a longer period of time. I run 3-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes. 3.5 to 4.6 miles each day. Just wondering if other people have noticed a big drop.

    I saw a speciallist about 2 years ago and they told me it was a normal Low and nothing to worry about. The EKG showed 42 BPM at the time. i wore a heart rate monitor to bed last night and it dropped to 34 while i was sleeping. its just so strange to me. I'm not an athlete by no means.

    You picked good parents! ;-)

    Per another poster, RHR drops as your cardiovascular fitness improves. Part of that is that the heart muscle gets stronger; another factor is that, over time, the body becomes more efficient at delivering oxygen to the muscles; and, with the loss of body mass, there's just less mass that requires oxygen.

    What's interesting is that you're running < 15 miles/week but that's, obviously, a good number because you're seeing measurable fitness gains.

    One suggestion - you might want to ask a professional about getting a medical bracelet that indicates that you have a low RHR. If someone finds you somewhere and you're HR is very low, they may assume that you're in distress. Perhaps you could run the question by a small sample of EMT's or ER personnel.

    And my comment about parents is a takeoff on a standing joke with runners because so much of what makes the elites so fast is genetic. Yes, they work very hard and must be deadly competitors but, genetics plays a big role when the runners at the front of the pack are fighting it out.
  • Raynne413
    Raynne413 Posts: 1,527 Member
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    I would definitely follow ATT949's advise about a medical alert bracelet, or maybe something to at least keep in your wallet. :)

    Your heart rate generally does improve when your body gets healthier. I think it is more fitness related than necessarily weight related. I was having an EKG done, and the technician immediately asked me if I was runner or if I worked out a lot, and she said it was because my heart rate was so low.

    Out of curiosity, do you ever have a problem with dizziness or light headedness? I sometimes do, and I've yet to pinpoint if it is due to low RHR, or if it my low blood pressure.

    :)
  • flatlndr
    flatlndr Posts: 713 Member
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    I'm just wondering if anyone else has had any significant drop in Heart rate after losing weight?
    Having lost 100+ lbs, my resting heart rate has gone from 70+ to 50 ... and occasionally upper 40s.
  • captmel
    captmel Posts: 29 Member
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    Out of curiosity, do you ever have a problem with dizziness or light headedness? I sometimes do, and I've yet to pinpoint if it is due to low RHR, or if it my low blood pressure.

    :)

    I've experienced this just a few times and mostly when I haven't eaten much. but lack of food wasn't an issue before. LOL :)
  • Mindfreak1999
    Mindfreak1999 Posts: 272
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    Had a medical two weeks ago, my pulse rate was 34 at rest. the doctor asked me to go exercise and then take a reading 5 minutes after training which I did, it read 37. OK you need more information I cycle 300 km a week. when I was ver weight my pulse was 75.
    Have never felt better.
  • captmel
    captmel Posts: 29 Member
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    Per another poster, RHR drops as your cardiovascular fitness improves. Part of that is that the heart muscle gets stronger; another factor is that, over time, the body becomes more efficient at delivering oxygen to the muscles; and, with the loss of body mass, there's just less mass that requires oxygen.

    What's interesting is that you're running < 15 miles/week but that's, obviously, a good number because you're seeing measurable fitness gains.

    One suggestion - you might want to ask a professional about getting a medical bracelet that indicates that you have a low RHR. If someone finds you somewhere and you're HR is very low, they may assume that you're in distress. Perhaps you could run the question by a small sample of EMT's or ER personnel.

    Thanks for the advise. I'm defintely going to look into the bracelet when I get home. I work offshore and the medic here is aware of my low HR for that reason.

    If only I knew about this "Gift" before. Perhaps I would've been an olympian. haha
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    I had a surgery in June and the nurse taking my stats beforehand thought her machine was wonky. When she asked if I knew my resting heart rate she said okay then, we're good, it was me and not her machine. I actually overheard the anesthesiologist say it dipped down to 35 during surgery and it was a good thing she told the team mine was super low or he would've stopped the whole thing.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Yes I am exercising. Mostly running but I did that before. I can run faster for a longer period of time. I run 3-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes. 3.5 to 4.6 miles each day. Just wondering if other people have noticed a big drop.

    I saw a speciallist about 2 years ago and they told me it was a normal Low and nothing to worry about. The EKG showed 42 BPM at the time. i wore a heart rate monitor to bed last night and it dropped to 34 while i was sleeping. its just so strange to me. I'm not an athlete by no means.

    Sleeping will always be lower than resting HR, unless you are dreaming/nightmares, so I wouldn't count that as your "normal" resting HR
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Yes I am exercising. Mostly running but I did that before. I can run faster for a longer period of time. I run 3-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes. 3.5 to 4.6 miles each day. Just wondering if other people have noticed a big drop.

    I saw a speciallist about 2 years ago and they told me it was a normal Low and nothing to worry about. The EKG showed 42 BPM at the time. i wore a heart rate monitor to bed last night and it dropped to 34 while i was sleeping. its just so strange to me. I'm not an athlete by no means.

    if your specialist said it was normal why are you asking a bunch of randos like us?

    and why are you checking your heart rate while you're sleeping?
  • cw106
    cw106 Posts: 952 Member
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    male ,52, down 35 to 200 been exercising 11 weeks.
    reduced heartrate significantly.treadmill shows avg of about 117 now down from 130 on same routines.
    just checked at rest, 57 bpm via s5 phone hrm.
    so yes, definately.
  • Early_Riser
    Early_Riser Posts: 127 Member
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    Yes, I was near 100 when I started, and am now consistently in the 50's.
  • burnsgene42
    burnsgene42 Posts: 102 Member
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    I've always thought it was a sign of good health. Strong slow heart. The better shape I've been in seemed to come with a slower heart rate (low 40s).
    A slightly irritated emergency room nurse once told me I should get a medical alert tag , to prevent some medic from going into a code blue mode.
    I'm not a doctor but the way I understand it is your heart is strong enough that it doesn't have to work hard to keep the blood flow going.
    If everything else is good (blood pressure ect) I'd see it as a positive thing.
    Enjoy your good health and thank your ancestors.
  • captmel
    captmel Posts: 29 Member
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    if your specialist said it was normal why are you asking a bunch of randos like us?

    and why are you checking your heart rate while you're sleeping?

    Well I'm asking is it normal to drop lower with weight loss. Not if a low heart rate is normal for me.... I checked it when I went to sleep because, like I can tell when my heart is racing, it seems like it had slowed down when I had lid down to sleep. So I was curious. Are you having a bad day. You sound kind of pissy? cheer up lol
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    if your specialist said it was normal why are you asking a bunch of randos like us?

    and why are you checking your heart rate while you're sleeping?

    Well I'm asking is it normal to drop lower with weight loss. Not if a low heart rate is normal for me.... I checked it when I went to sleep because, like I can tell when my heart is racing, it seems like it had slowed down when I had lid down to sleep. So I was curious. Are you having a bad day. You sound kind of pissy? cheer up lol

    this is me in a good mood
  • captmel
    captmel Posts: 29 Member
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    if your specialist said it was normal why are you asking a bunch of randos like us?

    and why are you checking your heart rate while you're sleeping?

    Well I'm asking is it normal to drop lower with weight loss. Not if a low heart rate is normal for me.... I checked it when I went to sleep because, like I can tell when my heart is racing, it seems like it had slowed down when I had lid down to sleep. So I was curious. Are you having a bad day. You sound kind of pissy? cheer up lol

    this is me in a good mood

    :)
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
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    I was never overweight as a child/young adult, but my resting HR was always at around 75-90 with sleepy time at around 65. Now that I'm starting to consistently go to the gym 4-5x/week, I have a resting HR at 60-65 (freezing all the time). I haven't measured my nighttime resting HR yet, but it would probably be lower as well.

    My high HR during exercise can still skyrocket to 165 without an issue except the feeling that my heart will pop out of my chest, but it can quickly (within 30 secs) drop back down to like 145 and within a few more seconds 120 if I walk for a minute.

    Simple answer is, yes, it is extremely likely that your heart is getting more efficient while not having to work as hard (with the weight loss) to get blood throughout your body (blood pressure is another thing that will probably drop a little due to better fitness). As long as there are no medical concerns (are you light headed, etc.), and you feel good, there should be no harm. Just double check with the doc, but everybody's body behaves a little differently.

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