Scarily High HR?

My HR is naturally quite high. I don't fit the average that the 220 minus age gives. I've been unning regularly for 10+ years and I can still end up in the 170s on an easy run. Higher if I push myself. I'm in my mid-60s, so my max is supposed to be in the 150s, which is actually where my HR is soon after I start my runs.

Do you feel breathless? Then you need to slow down. Can you carry on a conversation as you work out? Then you are probably just fine. Checking with your doctor is always a good idea, but a high HR doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong.

Let us know how the doctor consult went, if you feel comfortable doing so?

Other than that, I'm just chiming in for the ditto: 220-age is an approximation, inaccurate for many people. (It's more a genetic thing than a fitness thing, though reportedly fit people see less heart rate decline as they age.) If you have no symptoms - faint feeling, weakness, sense of heartbeat fluttering or "beating out of your chest", etc., you're probably fine. Check in with your doctor next time you see him/her, if that would be reassuring.

I'm 67, so my HRmax should be 153. My heart rate was sports-tested a few years back, which suggested my HRmax was then around 181. It may've declined a bit since, but I think not much. I don't visit anything above the 160s very often (just lazy!), but how I feel over 153 is about how I'd expect to feel if HRmax is still around 180-ish.

If my max is close to what it used to be, then 153 should be about 80% HRreserve, or 85% HRmax. I can hold that 153+ for at least a few minutes at a time, and it feels like 80% reserve should, i.e., breathing hard, sweating, challenging, but not anything like I'm imminently about to collapse or die.

HRmax, in a healthy HR response, isn't a a number of beats per minute we shouldn't go above, it's a number we can't go above. Obviously, the words "healthy HR response" are important there, and that's where symptoms and questions to one's doctor enter the picture.

As an aside, a medical stress test may not give an accurate HRmax number either: They made my stress test stop when I got to high enough age-estimated levels that they had the data they needed, even though I still had enough breath left to argue with them while still exercising. 🤣

If you're not sure of your actual max, but you're sure your heart is healthy, it can make sense to use RPE (rate of perceived exertion) to manage your fitness planning. There are various RPE schemes on the web. This one seems pretty reasonable, to me:



There are lots of self-tests for HRmax (or tests that can be done with an amateur helper outside a sports lab). You would ideally want one that's specific to your most practiced CV sport/activity. There are ones that try to take you to true maximum, there are ones that are submaximal and try to project max.

No one who is not well trained - i.e., quite fit - should be doing any of these self tests. It would be conservative to delay doing a true-max test until after a chat with the doctor first, besides.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I'm 67, so my HRmax should be 153. My heart rate was sports-tested a few years back, which suggested my HRmax was then around 181. It may've declined a bit since, but I think not much. I don't visit anything above the 160s very often (just lazy!), but how I feel over 153 is about how I'd expect to feel if HRmax is still around 180-ish.

I'm 48, thus my HRmax should be around 172. If I run very slow my HR gets close to 172, and I've been running for 8 years. My max is around 205. Cool! 220-205 = 15. I'm sooo young!

When I was younger, as a student I often saw a HR of over 220. Go figure.

Don’t “stop”. If it’s truly determined to be an issue, ask your doctor what can you do?

There’s people here with all kinds of health issues that still manage to do something.

At some point I know I’ll simply get too old to stand on my head. At that point, I’ll figure something else out to do. There’s a whole world of activities. I do aquafit four times a week with my husband. It’s low impact, but using “water bells” that create a lot more drag than the usual styrofoam ones, I can still get a great workout and enjoy silly time in the pool with him.

Like you, I’m too invested in the “healthier new me to just stop.

clairrob wrote: »

Hi everyone, thanks for all of your responses! They definitely helped me ease my anxiety on the issue.

The doctor has ordered an ECG (I am hoping its an active one as my HR and BP is super normal at rest) and some blood tests to check my iron, thyroid levels, kidneys, liver etc. basically they're checking for everything. I'm looking to have these tests in the next few days.
Per the graphic that @AnnPT77 provided above (which is so helpful, thank you!), my activity level when reaching these highs is around a 5.5 on the 1-10 intensity scale. Unfortunately I do have some symptoms that do go alongside it such as sharp chest pains and the feeling of my heartbeat in my head, which is why my doctor is concerned especially with my family history.

I'm so sad because I changed my lifestyle 3 months ago for my mental health and now my body is telling me to stop. I'm not letting it deter me, I'll just have to reduce activity until there's a solution but the gym is finally my happy place

I'll update when the results are in in around a week.

Oh, yikes! I wish you'd mentioned in your OP about the sharp chest pains and feeling your heartbeat in your head! That's seriously scary symptoms (which IMO purely heart rate isn't, if no other symptoms alongside). I'm so glad you were soon into your doctor, and are getting the full workup. That's perfect.

Meanwhile, for sure keep it very moderate, things your doctor is OK with. Even easy walking and some stretching have benefits, may be OK to do, if your doctor approves.

I also endorse yirara's advice about running speed. If the goal is increasing cardiovascular fitness - once cleared by your doctor! - the best route as a beginner is to build your base fitness and endurance by working at very low RPE for the amount of time you can devote without (1) accumulating fatigue that persists through the day, or (2) messing up your overall life balance (short-changing the time and energy needed for every other thing important to you).

Only after getting that base CV fitness in place would a completely healthy medically cleared person, by then post true beginner, want to start incorporating more intense intervals or short but more intense workout for part of the weekly workout sessions - maybe once or twice a week. Elite athletes in cardiovascular sports don't go at max effort every single training workout: They do most of their training time at relatively easy (for them) intensity, treating high-intensity work as more of a condiment or side dish, not a main meal. There's no reason we regular folks need to do it differently, and every reason we should follow their good example. They have the best, most advanced trainers and support people that money can buy, after all.I

I hope you get good news from your doctor once all the tests are in!

I used to hit 200 when sprinting up hills on treadmills. What mattered was it dropped back down when I hit a slower interval.

As others have said --- what's your heart rate do when you stop working out...does it take forever to get back down to normal or does it do that fairly quickly?

The standard equation for what your 'max heart rate' is is just a guide and it's likely that your own person max heart rate could be higher than that....so you're really not 'too high' IMO. It's surely something you might ask your doctor about especially if you are worried about cardiac issues...but I think it's likely fine.

There isn't really any way to know your own person max heart rate in reality unless you have a stress-test type thing done to actually figure it out (which takes into account your VO2 Max as well).