heart rate almost triples when walking is this normal.

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Replies

  • Marjayhan
    Marjayhan Posts: 59 Member
    ok got up to put the dog out to go pee.(they get walks other times) and it was up to 81. sat down for 2 min and its down to 67/68 which is about normal range lately(50s usually happen in bed when really resting)

    Might there be some anxiety causing this? Since you were getting tested before this happened when you had issues and it healed itself. Since you keep checking and checking maybe it's your mind worrying and causing your heart rate to speed up? Just asking cos I used to get 2-3 panic attacks a day sometimes more and thats what it would be like
  • Marjayhan wrote: »
    ok got up to put the dog out to go pee.(they get walks other times) and it was up to 81. sat down for 2 min and its down to 67/68 which is about normal range lately(50s usually happen in bed when really resting)

    Might there be some anxiety causing this? Since you were getting tested before this happened when you had issues and it healed itself. Since you keep checking and checking maybe it's your mind worrying and causing your heart rate to speed up? Just asking cos I used to get 2-3 panic attacks a day sometimes more and thats what it would be like


    nope, its not anxiety(never had a panic attack but my daughter has anxiety so I know what its like) I had no idea it was happening until I happened to take a glance at my fitbit. it struck me as odd since I had NO symptoms at the time. so I continued to monitor it and take my pulse manually to see if it was similar in range. I thought maybe the fitbit was off. it wasnt off by much. before that happened I wasnt even worried about my heart rate since I was not having any symptoms.

    I was told to keep an eye on it until my appt and my tests and let the dr know if it happens again. it hasnt. Im not worried really at the moment beause I know that I have a heart rhythm disorder and will hopefully know what causes it once the tests are done. it is what it is. if I need surgery so be it,if i need meds thats fine too. whatever the outcome is I will have to deal with it however I need to. I have a lot of health issues so im used to it. I ma having palpitations but thats been happening and my heart rate is in the normal ranges so nothing to worry about unless I have pain,nausea,vomiting,etc then Im instructed to go to the nearest ER.
  • nk9o
    nk9o Posts: 60 Member
    This chart has the general heart rates calculated by age.
  • nk9o wrote: »
    This chart has the general heart rates calculated by age.
    it doesnt say if that is resting,with activity or not. so that doesnt help. and for me to walk the dogs at 2-3 mph should never raise my heart rate into the 160s -170s. that is low impact cardio. when I would do high intensity workouts it barely went over 150s and that was going all out, giving it my all. so walking at a slow pace should not have been a maximum for me. thanks for trying to help but dont think this applies to me or my issue.

  • Marjayhan
    Marjayhan Posts: 59 Member
    Marjayhan wrote: »
    ok got up to put the dog out to go pee.(they get walks other times) and it was up to 81. sat down for 2 min and its down to 67/68 which is about normal range lately(50s usually happen in bed when really resting)

    Might there be some anxiety causing this? Since you were getting tested before this happened when you had issues and it healed itself. Since you keep checking and checking maybe it's your mind worrying and causing your heart rate to speed up? Just asking cos I used to get 2-3 panic attacks a day sometimes more and thats what it would be like


    nope, its not anxiety(never had a panic attack but my daughter has anxiety so I know what its like) I had no idea it was happening until I happened to take a glance at my fitbit. it struck me as odd since I had NO symptoms at the time. so I continued to monitor it and take my pulse manually to see if it was similar in range. I thought maybe the fitbit was off. it wasnt off by much. before that happened I wasnt even worried about my heart rate since I was not having any symptoms.

    I was told to keep an eye on it until my appt and my tests and let the dr know if it happens again. it hasnt. Im not worried really at the moment beause I know that I have a heart rhythm disorder and will hopefully know what causes it once the tests are done. it is what it is. if I need surgery so be it,if i need meds thats fine too. whatever the outcome is I will have to deal with it however I need to. I have a lot of health issues so im used to it. I ma having palpitations but thats been happening and my heart rate is in the normal ranges so nothing to worry about unless I have pain,nausea,vomiting,etc then Im instructed to go to the nearest ER.

    Have you then tried with someone elses fitbit ? Maybe it is faulty? I think they're just a guide though, those fitbits and shouldn't be considered as actual facts on your medical condition. Eitherway, i hope you get it sorted. If you have a heart rate so high like that I can imagine having awful symptoms with it as well , like one minute its high and then it drops I can imagine you would be fainting,sweating etc. Sounds very strange! Hopefully the specialists can figure out what it is. Best of luck!
  • Marjayhan wrote: »
    Marjayhan wrote: »
    ok got up to put the dog out to go pee.(they get walks other times) and it was up to 81. sat down for 2 min and its down to 67/68 which is about normal range lately(50s usually happen in bed when really resting)

    Might there be some anxiety causing this? Since you were getting tested before this happened when you had issues and it healed itself. Since you keep checking and checking maybe it's your mind worrying and causing your heart rate to speed up? Just asking cos I used to get 2-3 panic attacks a day sometimes more and thats what it would be like


    nope, its not anxiety(never had a panic attack but my daughter has anxiety so I know what its like) I had no idea it was happening until I happened to take a glance at my fitbit. it struck me as odd since I had NO symptoms at the time. so I continued to monitor it and take my pulse manually to see if it was similar in range. I thought maybe the fitbit was off. it wasnt off by much. before that happened I wasnt even worried about my heart rate since I was not having any symptoms.

    I was told to keep an eye on it until my appt and my tests and let the dr know if it happens again. it hasnt. Im not worried really at the moment beause I know that I have a heart rhythm disorder and will hopefully know what causes it once the tests are done. it is what it is. if I need surgery so be it,if i need meds thats fine too. whatever the outcome is I will have to deal with it however I need to. I have a lot of health issues so im used to it. I ma having palpitations but thats been happening and my heart rate is in the normal ranges so nothing to worry about unless I have pain,nausea,vomiting,etc then Im instructed to go to the nearest ER.

    Have you then tried with someone elses fitbit ? Maybe it is faulty? I think they're just a guide though, those fitbits and shouldn't be considered as actual facts on your medical condition. Eitherway, i hope you get it sorted. If you have a heart rate so high like that I can imagine having awful symptoms with it as well , like one minute its high and then it drops I can imagine you would be fainting,sweating etc. Sounds very strange! Hopefully the specialists can figure out what it is. Best of luck!

    nope no one else has a fitbit in my home and I also checked it manually (by pulse on the carotid artery).as for heart issues some people can go years and years with no symptoms of certain heart issues. mine would go high then drop at rest and so on. and No I had NO other symptoms which can be normal in many circumstances. could be a blood flow issue or something else. I wont know until the tests are done and they come back. for years they couldnt diagnose me as having a heart rhythm disorder as it would never show up on the EKG/holter monitor. it was just recently that the monitor picked it up. even my cardiac enzymes stay at a normal rate(its how they test if you are having a heart attack)
  • wenkaz
    wenkaz Posts: 8 Member
    Fast heart rate can be caused by low blood sugar just at the time of the activity. Testing in the doctor's office wouldn't detect it, but it would have to be tested during the occurrence of the raised heart rate.
  • wenkaz wrote: »
    Fast heart rate can be caused by low blood sugar just at the time of the activity. Testing in the doctor's office wouldn't detect it, but it would have to be tested during the occurrence of the raised heart rate.

    I have no issues with low blood sugar,I have no symptoms of it being low anyway. my fasting glucose is normal every time. and a drop in blood sugar from exercise is usually caused from intense exercise,

    walking the dogs at a slow pace is not intense exercise and low blood sugar(hypoglycemia)is usually an occurence in those with type 1(from what I can find) it can in those with type 2 as well but I dont have either .I also have no issues when I do intense workouts. so I am almost positive it not hypoglycemia.
  • kq1981
    kq1981 Posts: 1,098 Member
    edited September 2018
    Does your heart pound? Is it regular or irregular? Any arm, jaw, back or chest pain? Nausea or dizziness? Have you had postural blood pressure done? (Sitting and standing) how much do you weigh? Do you drink coffee or alcohol? Smoke? Anaemic? sorry if you answered, you have a lot of comments and I’m impatient today lol
  • kq1981 wrote: »
    Does your heart pound? Is it regular or irregular? Any arm, jaw, back or chest pain? Nausea or dizziness? Have you had postural blood pressure done? (Sitting and standing) how much do you weigh? Do you drink coffee or alcohol? Smoke? Anaemic? sorry if you answered, you have a lot of comments and I’m impatient today lol

    it doesnt pound, its regular or seems to be,no pain,no nausea or dizziness,blood pressure doesnt change much,im a little overweight but not by a lot(I wear a sz 8 in US womens) and dr said my weight is fine.i drink coffee but that doesnt make any impact on anything. I dont drink a lot of coffee though, I cant drink alcohol due to a health issue, I dont smoke and Im not anemic. I just have palpitations from time to time. its not all the time either. and it happens even on days I have no caffeine I can go a week without caffeine and still have them.
  • kq1981
    kq1981 Posts: 1,098 Member
    kq1981 wrote: »
    Does your heart pound? Is it regular or irregular? Any arm, jaw, back or chest pain? Nausea or dizziness? Have you had postural blood pressure done? (Sitting and standing) how much do you weigh? Do you drink coffee or alcohol? Smoke? Anaemic? sorry if you answered, you have a lot of comments and I’m impatient today lol

    it doesnt pound, its regular or seems to be,no pain,no nausea or dizziness,blood pressure doesnt change much,im a little overweight but not by a lot(I wear a sz 8 in US womens) and dr said my weight is fine.i drink coffee but that doesnt make any impact on anything. I dont drink a lot of coffee though, I cant drink alcohol due to a health issue, I dont smoke and Im not anemic. I just have palpitations from time to time. its not all the time either. and it happens even on days I have no caffeine I can go a week without caffeine and still have them.

    Sorry if I seemed intrusive. Sounds like ectopic heart beats. It’s pretty common. I see lots of patients with the same issue and it settles down. Hope u keep well
  • kq1981 wrote: »
    kq1981 wrote: »
    Does your heart pound? Is it regular or irregular? Any arm, jaw, back or chest pain? Nausea or dizziness? Have you had postural blood pressure done? (Sitting and standing) how much do you weigh? Do you drink coffee or alcohol? Smoke? Anaemic? sorry if you answered, you have a lot of comments and I’m impatient today lol

    it doesnt pound, its regular or seems to be,no pain,no nausea or dizziness,blood pressure doesnt change much,im a little overweight but not by a lot(I wear a sz 8 in US womens) and dr said my weight is fine.i drink coffee but that doesnt make any impact on anything. I dont drink a lot of coffee though, I cant drink alcohol due to a health issue, I dont smoke and Im not anemic. I just have palpitations from time to time. its not all the time either. and it happens even on days I have no caffeine I can go a week without caffeine and still have them.

    Sorry if I seemed intrusive. Sounds like ectopic heart beats. It’s pretty common. I see lots of patients with the same issue and it settles down. Hope u keep well

    nope not intrusive at all and it may be that. I should know what the cause is on the 17th when I go back to get the results of my tests. hope its something easy to treat
  • davidylin04
    davidylin04 Posts: 26 Member
    If your heart is beating nearly three times per second from just walking and you're not having an anxiety attack, congratulations! You've earned a visit to the doctor to get an EKG and to discuss the need for a cardiac stress test. If your heart is beating 177 times per minute while you are merely walking and you normally have a 65 bpm resting rate, there's a fairly narrow set of reasons, some of which are fairly benign while others are really not benign. Most that I can think of are treatable, fortunately, if caught early. The good news is that you really actually need to have some tests to get a good diagnosis in this case.
  • If your heart is beating nearly three times per second from just walking and you're not having an anxiety attack, congratulations! You've earned a visit to the doctor to get an EKG and to discuss the need for a cardiac stress test. If your heart is beating 177 times per minute while you are merely walking and you normally have a 65 bpm resting rate, there's a fairly narrow set of reasons, some of which are fairly benign while others are really not benign. Most that I can think of are treatable, fortunately, if caught early. The good news is that you really actually need to have some tests to get a good diagnosis in this case.

    i am getting some tests done on the 10th. they are doing another echocardiogram and a nuclear stress test. so we weill see what happens after that. but nope no anxiety at all. But then again Im not normal lol.
  • You said the holter monitor picked up an arrhythmia of some sort? I wonder if it's Wolff-Parkinson-White or something like that (extra electrical pathway in the heart). My younger sis had it and didn't know until one day she had sudden chest pain and went to the ER. They did a catheter ablation to burn out the extra pathway and she's had no problems since.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    edited September 2018
    You said the holter monitor picked up an arrhythmia of some sort? I wonder if it's Wolff-Parkinson-White or something like that (extra electrical pathway in the heart). My younger sis had it and didn't know until one day she had sudden chest pain and went to the ER. They did a catheter ablation to burn out the extra pathway and she's had no problems since.

    hard to tell what it is. the tests should be able to tell.
  • hikinggal11
    hikinggal11 Posts: 59 Member
    Let us know what is happening. You have been on my mind. Many blessings.
  • Let us know what is happening. You have been on my mind. Many blessings.

    thanks and I will update when I can
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    Zedeff wrote: »
    At this point the mods should lock this thread. The OP has seen her doctor, has had tests, has a plan. Meanwhile all the internet doctors here have diagnosed her with anxiety, PE, POTS, WPW, Afib, cardiac ischemia, a thyroid disorder and electrolyte imbalances.

    Maybe leave the diagnoses to the professionals? I can’t see any benefit in keeping this discussion active.

    Best of luck to the OP as she gets her diagnosis.

    no I have not had ALL my tests as of yet. as for some of the heart issues many have suggested it may be theres a possibility it could be one or a few of them. if the mods want to close the thread thats up to them. but I intend to update things once I find out what the tests have shown.I will know the results on the 17th. maybe once I know whats going on maybe someone else who has similar issues or knows someone that has similar issues can help someone,especially a person who thinks nothing is wrong and they are fine. sharing my experience may help someone out. I dont think this thread is breaking any rules(at least I hope not). so dont see why it needs closed.

    That's an extremely important point. I've lived (wasn't much of a life at all on bedrest half of the time) for 15 years with undiagnosed POTS visiting hospital after hospital. I found out I had it by pure chance before seeing a cardiologist and getting diagnosis and treatment. Now I have my life back. But I lost many years of my life.

    If this thread can help someone suffering like the OP - then there's nothing better. I'm looking forward to read if there is any solution to OPs suffering.
  • candycanebec
    candycanebec Posts: 11 Member
    @CharlieBeansmomTracey - hope you don't mind me adding my very similar experience to this thread, which I've been following for a while.

    I too noticed my fitbit has been giving me very fast heart rate readings when walking briskly/fast. Last week, I was walking around the park, at a brisk pace and through a large and often hilly park. Walking is my main form of exercise and I usually get around 35-45 miles per week. I'm 5'6", 125lbs and 42. When I say say very fast, I mean 165-180. It does drop fairly rapidly when I slow down and my resting heart rate is around 67-72.

    Now, I know I do walk fast and also am a fairly anxious person. However, I am fitter than I have ever been, and yet my exercise heart rate seems to be going up, even though I'd it would be the opposite the fitter I become.

    I went to my GP who checked my blood pressure (fine) and asked me how I was sure the fitbit wasn't off, and as you did, I also took several manual checks and indeed checked out. He seemed to think I was fine and left it at that.

    I really wish I could get the "share" function to work on my fitbit so I could give a screencap of last week's walk which was 7718 steps, 73min, 445cals and - this might be key - showing heart rate spikes of 185 but with an average of 119 which seems okay. Further, the summary is showing 12 minutes peak, 15 minutes cardio and 40 minutes fat burn.

    So I'm going back and forth between "it's fine" and "I have a scary heart condition" 0_0 and "the fitbit is actually wrong" (esp since that seems a mighty high calorie burn). Having said that, I use my fitbit calories burned as my calorie goals and have been doing so for over a year and my weight has stayed the same (with the usual fluctuations).

    Best of luck and I'll be watching out for any updates you have post-doc visit.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    @CharlieBeansmomTracey - hope you don't mind me adding my very similar experience to this thread, which I've been following for a while.

    I too noticed my fitbit has been giving me very fast heart rate readings when walking briskly/fast. Last week, I was walking around the park, at a brisk pace and through a large and often hilly park. Walking is my main form of exercise and I usually get around 35-45 miles per week. I'm 5'6", 125lbs and 42. When I say say very fast, I mean 165-180. It does drop fairly rapidly when I slow down and my resting heart rate is around 67-72.

    Now, I know I do walk fast and also am a fairly anxious person. However, I am fitter than I have ever been, and yet my exercise heart rate seems to be going up, even though I'd it would be the opposite the fitter I become.

    I went to my GP who checked my blood pressure (fine) and asked me how I was sure the fitbit wasn't off, and as you did, I also took several manual checks and indeed checked out. He seemed to think I was fine and left it at that.

    I really wish I could get the "share" function to work on my fitbit so I could give a screencap of last week's walk which was 7718 steps, 73min, 445cals and - this might be key - showing heart rate spikes of 185 but with an average of 119 which seems okay. Further, the summary is showing 12 minutes peak, 15 minutes cardio and 40 minutes fat burn.

    So I'm going back and forth between "it's fine" and "I have a scary heart condition" 0_0 and "the fitbit is actually wrong" (esp since that seems a mighty high calorie burn). Having said that, I use my fitbit calories burned as my calorie goals and have been doing so for over a year and my weight has stayed the same (with the usual fluctuations).

    Best of luck and I'll be watching out for any updates you have post-doc visit.

    well my cardiologist said that fitbits can be off but in this case it wasnt. and I did also get a new one about a month ago and its more accurate than the last one. but the other was only off by like 5 bpm. so not a big difference.calorie burns are going to show higher because of the heart rate but thats not really an indictation. I am not worried about the calories burned. Im maintaining my weight right now which is fine by me. my palpitations are calmed down for now. they were there when taking prednisone for a sinus issue. but havent had the accelerated heart rate in over a month. I go wednesday to get my tests done and will know the results the following week(not sure why they cant tell me then and there but). Im not an anxious person either.so I know its not that.Im pretty calm even when a person shouldnt be calm (like in a situation when most people would freak out or panic).
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    A tech will probably be assigned to admin the test, which is fine and would indicate the Dr has little concern about an actual heart issue, but a Dr has to look over the charts for anything meaningful to tell you, and would be on standby just in case there was a serious issue that couldn't be resolved by just stopping.
    Tech should be able to tell you maxHR reached at least, and if you feel safe and Dr agrees, it might be worth actually taking the test to the level of looking for HRmax by pushing to limit of body.
    Could get some other interesting figures in there besides HRmax, like VO2max, AT/LT line, ect.
    At that point, worth asking if you can have the data saved in e-format for getting to you, or at minimum printout of the per min or 3 or 5 min figures across the board.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    heybales wrote: »
    A tech will probably be assigned to admin the test, which is fine and would indicate the Dr has little concern about an actual heart issue, but a Dr has to look over the charts for anything meaningful to tell you, and would be on standby just in case there was a serious issue that couldn't be resolved by just stopping.
    Tech should be able to tell you maxHR reached at least, and if you feel safe and Dr agrees, it might be worth actually taking the test to the level of looking for HRmax by pushing to limit of body.
    Could get some other interesting figures in there besides HRmax, like VO2max, AT/LT line, ect.
    At that point, worth asking if you can have the data saved in e-format for getting to you, or at minimum printout of the per min or 3 or 5 min figures across the board.

    yeah I get that, some places though the dr is there and gives the results asap. I have a friend in another state who found out the same day. I hate waiting though lol. Im not sure if they will have me on a treadmill(I heard some do exercise bike too) or what.I will ask them what kind of data they do and can do(without it costing me out of pocket). Im sure they will tell me though my max hr which I know most likely wont be over 150 or 160,and if its on the treadmill thats going to be interesting as I have NEVER been on a treadmill and not a very good runner off or on lol I keep picturing me losing balance and going flying into the wall lol
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Good point - hope you can opt for the bike.

    My first VO2max test was on treadmill (had been running no problem) that ramped up to 22% incline rather rapidly - that I was not prepared for and achilles were twanging so badly I think they could hear them, stopped before it was an issue of HR too high, confirmed by my own personal HRmax test that used a different protocol.

    But true even there the Dr came in at the end and did initial look at the readings regarding heart problems, it was the results I wanted with numbers that were promised to come later. But that failed so I only had my raw printout they gave me.