Heart rate in 40’s concerning?

CrabbyPotato
CrabbyPotato Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’m 42, male and have lost about half my body weight. I’ve been very overweight and sedentary my whole life until now. I started losing weight successfully in 2015. I weigh and log everything because it works. I exercise because I can and it feels good. I walk and hike a lot but also use the elliptical and swim laps. My resting heart rate was in the 100’s in 2015 but has come down to 50’s to 60’s. I wear an Apple Watch. The past couple weeks I’ve gotten alerts for heart rates in the high 40’s. I don’t feel any distress. Anyone have any thoughts?

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    My RHR is about 48 - it came down steadily as I got fitter in my 50's.
    I have no worrying symptoms so I don't worry about it. :)

    It's lower than the general population but I'm also far fitter than the then the general population too. Not that unusual let alone exceptional amongst people who do a lot of cardio.


    Advice from the NHS website...
    Most adults have a resting heart rate between 60 and 100bpm.

    The fitter you are, the lower your resting heart rate is likely to be. For example, athletes may have a resting heart rate of 40 to 60bpm, or lower.

    See a GP to get checked if you think your heart rate is continuously above 120bpm or below 40bpm, although it may simply be that this is normal for you.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,943 Member
    Sounds normal provided you're fit. Your heart is a muscle too and can be trained. if it beats more efficiently then it doesn't need to beat so often.
  • daveredvette
    daveredvette Posts: 88 Member
    my resting HR is 48 and been that way for couple years. I don't have any health issues. Doctor says HR is fine. During last 8 years I ran marathons and now triathlons so that is lot of cardio. I wear a Garmin HR monitor while training.
    Never had it give alert for low HR.
    congrats for keeping up with losing weight and getting fit.
  • FL_Hiker
    FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
    edited December 2018
    My resting heart rate at the doctor was 32 bpm, which freaked him out and he sent me to get an EKG. Turns out I just have bradycardia. Nothing to be concerned about my doctor said, usually fit athletes have lower heart rates. Think that and I have hypothyroidism causes it to be so low. Can’t hurt to get it checked out anyways if you’re concerned.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    My RHR is in the mid-40s. If you are very active and fit, and you don’t have other medical concerns, then it’s probably okay but worth mentioning with your doctor to be sure.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    Mine sits in the mid 40s as well. Low thyroid function, lots of workouts. I would not call myself an athlete even though I hike a lot and run a lot and lift a lot. But I guess it all adds up. Get it checked if it concerns you.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Are you saying your HR goes down into the 40s during the day? Occasionally my Garmin will lose its marbles for a bit and think my HR is in the 40s or 50s during the day but it's always a measuring error. Wrist sensors aren't perfect.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    I'm 41 and my resting rate is 45-49 according to a couple years of Health data wearing Apple Watch. My blood pressure is also on the low side but always has been.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    57 Year old male and my RHR stays in the high 50's or low 60's
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,216 Member
    Check with your doctor. If you feel fine and have no other symptoms at any time, the question can probably wait until your next regular physical IMO, but I'm not a medical professional, and this is a medical professional question for sure.

    There are health conditions for which bradycardia (low heart rate) is a sign. However, as others have said, it also happens as a result of fitness. There seems to be popular mythology that only elite athletes are going to have lowered heart rates from activity, but that's not true.

    I'm 63, recreationally but routinely athletic, and my RHR wanders from the mid/high 40s to the low 50s. I repeatedly set off the bradycardia alarm at an outpatient surgical center (before any drugs were administered) when it was set to alarm at 50, before my cataract surgery. I had to wave my legs in the air occasionally to prevent it continuing to alarm. My surgeon said "fitness-induced bradycardia". :)

    Completely subjectively, it seemed like my RHR trended toward my low side for quite a while right after weight loss (I'd been very active for 10+ years while obese, so my CV fitness was good, and perhaps because the blood didn't have to be pumped as far . . . ? Dunno.).

    Be attentive for any sense of shortness of breath (in general or at exertion levels that formerly didn't elicit it), light-headedness, fluttering feeling in your chest, or anything of that sort, and accelerate the doctor consult if you notice anything. Likewise if you're taking any drugs that could affect heart rate, and for which the dosage hasn't been reconsidered since weight loss. Be safe!
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited December 2018
    56 y/o recreational athlete (running, lifting, swimming, cycling, etc.), my average RHR is 49. An RHR in the 50s-60s doesn't sound like anything unusual for a reasonably active person - but if you have any doubts, check with your doc.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    edited December 2018
    My RHR is in the 40s and often below that if I am sitting & reading. I pointed it out to my dr who did an EKG in the office and also ordered a 24-hour holder monitor & thyroid lab. Result = I have a low heart rate which apparently is just how I am wired, and causes no discernible problems. As folks have suggested, bring it up to your primary care physician and go from there.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    If you have no other symptoms then in most cases it is fine.
  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
    I run a pretty consistent 42 bpm resting heart rate. Nothing to worry about! You could always get an ecg/ ekg for the sake of just checking in on the ticker lol
  • felixg1109
    felixg1109 Posts: 172 MFP Moderator
    Check your doc, but i lost a lot of weight too and have the same phenomenon. My resting HR is in 40s and the lowest min-rate went down to 28 for some mins.
    I got my heart checked but turned out it's just perfectly fit. But i have to mention in before every surgery so the anesthesist doesnt freak out xD...

    My theory is, that the heart of a former "fatguy" is trained pretty well, because it had to pump through the bigger body. Loosing weight etc. makes it easier. The heart is a muscle. In addition to that most people who lost a lot of weight are pretty fit because they do more sport than an average guy.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,246 Member
    If you're in a persistent deficit and exercising your heart rate does go lower. I vary almost 10 bpm (fitbit resting hr measurement which is somewhat arbitrary) between eating at a persistent deficit and eating at a slight surplus.
  • dejavuohlala
    dejavuohlala Posts: 1,821 Member
    I have a low heart rate but it's due to beta blockers, it makes me feel ill so I'm always at drs about it. I guess it depends the reason it is low, athletes are likely to have low heart rate, this is not the case for me. If concerned or have symptoms see your gp.
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    Had a checkup today and a heart rate of 46, and that was after walking in from the parking lot and climbing 2 flights of stairs, I had to explain to the nurse that I’m a runner.
    u1bnan6f193f.jpeg

    I love the look on the nurses faces when they see it and look at me like... how are you not fainting right now? Or how are you even alive?! :D I’ll tell you what my doctor told me once when I asked him about it... he said in this case numbers alone don’t mean much, especially isolated numbers. It’s the general trend and numbers ACCOMPANIED BY SYMPTOMS that requires further investigation. Definitely mention it to your doctor and find out if there is any reason to be concerned, especially if any symptoms are affecting your quality of life. Otherwise it could just be your new normal :)
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    I’m age 63 with resting HR in low 40’s. If you’re fit, you should have no concern. Do you know what your maximum HR is? When was the ladt time you worked out (cardio) and what was your average HR and peak HR for that workout?
  • CrabbyPotato
    CrabbyPotato Posts: 5 Member
    This morning I did the elliptical (1 hour total) and the treadmill at 4.3 mph for 3 miles. This is my heart rate report for those exercises. I wear an Apple Watch. I usually walk outside but I live in a small Washington coast community and the weather hasn’t been very nice.yic4ka0gm7za.jpeg
    lom1da3xxdba.jpeg
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Are you saying your HR goes down into the 40s during the day? Occasionally my Garmin will lose its marbles for a bit and think my HR is in the 40s or 50s during the day but it's always a measuring error. Wrist sensors aren't perfect.

    This and ... One of my office mates, who doesn't work out and is not overweight said his heart rate while in the office was 40's. I advised him to look at how his fitness tracker sat on his wrist. It was loose and wasn't making adequate contact to consistently monitor his heart rate. He went a notch tighter on the wristband and was back in the 60-80's around the office.
  • CrabbyPotato
    CrabbyPotato Posts: 5 Member
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Are you saying your HR goes down into the 40s during the day? Occasionally my Garmin will lose its marbles for a bit and think my HR is in the 40s or 50s during the day but it's always a measuring error. Wrist sensors aren't perfect.

    This and ... One of my office mates, who doesn't work out and is not overweight said his heart rate while in the office was 40's. I advised him to look at how his fitness tracker sat on his wrist. It was loose and wasn't making adequate contact to consistently monitor his heart rate. He went a notch tighter on the wristband and was back in the 60-80's around the office.

    Mine isn’t an error, I double check with my carotid pulse rate. My resting rate is often in the 50’s-60’s. I keep my Apple Watch snug as well.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,216 Member
    pierinifitness wrote: »
    I’m age 63 with resting HR in low 40’s. If you’re fit, you should have no concern. Do you know what your maximum HR is? When was the ladt time you worked out (cardio) and what was your average HR and peak HR for that workout?

    OP, I didn't see where you answered this bolded question explicitly. Are we to assume from your Apple watch report that you believe your HRmax is around 178?

    What incline were you using on the treadmill when you did the workout that produced that report? Have you been working out consistently since you started losing weight in 2015, and at this kind of volume/intensity regularly?

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