Low Heart Rate

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  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
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    Lance Armstrong at his peak had a RHR in the 30s. Perhaps there's something wrong with him also.

    My HR is in the 40s but I also run 35+ miles a week. My Dr. knows about my running and has said nothing about my low HR.
    Here's a BP & pulse check I took almost 2 years ago showing 44 HR.
    BP_Mar1_2010.jpg
  • badgerbadger1
    badgerbadger1 Posts: 954 Member
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    From webmd: http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/tc/bradycardia-slow-heart-rate-overview

    "A slow heart rate is sometimes normal and can be a sign of being very fit. Healthy young adults and athletes often have heart rates of less than 60 beats a minute."

    Since you have already had it checked out and found no problem and you do endurance exercise you can safely assume that your low heart rate is due to athletic fitness. This is good and means that your heart has gotten strong and is able to pump a large volume of blood with each stroke. Therefore, it does not need to beat as often as someone with low cardio fitness.

    Web MD is no substitute for a medical professional. Just because you have had no issues with bradycardia doesn't mean everyone will. To the OP, direct these questions to your cardiologist, they are the best person to ask especially since you have an established relationship with them. Yes, people who are physically fit tend to have lower heart rates, but I've also had my fair share of runners who have stroked out due to blood pooling in the atria secondary to bradycardia.

    Well, she already has seen a doctor about it so I think the whole "see a medical professional" thing was covered in the OP.

    You missed the point. She obviously still has questions which are best directed to her medical team who have all her necessary info, rather than relying on anectodals.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    The OP said she has already been to two Doctors who checked her heart and found nothing wrong. Does she really now have to go see a third Dr?
  • badgerbadger1
    badgerbadger1 Posts: 954 Member
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    The OP said she has already been to two Doctors who checked her heart and found nothing wrong. Does she really now have to go see a third Dr?

    Are you being deliberately obtuse? As I just said, numerous times, she should see her doctor, you know, the cardiologist who knows her heart already. She obviously didn't have all her questions answered. Thus she should ask them, not some random dude on the interwebs. Anecdotal evidence such as "well my heart rate and lance armstrongs are low and we're just fine" are unhelpful at best and illogical. You know your heart. You don't know hers. Her cardiologist does.
  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
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    I had major surgery in June, my RHR before surgery was 37, they freaked, until they looked at my shirt - it said "If I stop running, how do I get home" - they asked "are you a runner" - when I said yes, they quit worrying right there. Then after that, I came with a disclaimer, don't worry about HR, she's a runner. I also had little to no blood loss during surgery, which helped my recovery a bunch. This AM, when I was standing, before my workout, it was 43, nothing unusual for me.

    I would add, if your body temp is low, or you are cold all the time ,and your HR is slower, you should see a dr. these are signs of hypothyroid, which can effect weight lost.

    I've always believed that it's not "how low" or "how high" when exercising, it's more so of how fast you recover. Another factor in exercise and HR is that the longer you exercise, your HR will be higher and as long term exercise can give an increase in HR, but not really effecting your workout. I don't have the expertise to explain, but I know that length does effect overall HR as well.

    If you are concerned, or have other things going on, it's always good to be checked out. IMO, the cardiologist can only tell you a certain part of your health they specialize in your heart, not other things that may be going on. Another thing that can effect heart rate and weight loss is hormones. Depending on what Dr you saw you will get different answers. I have had the salvia hormone testing completed and it really helped me address things like adrenal fatigue and hormone imbalance to get my weight loss to where I wanted it to be. I couldn't have done it w/o this information as estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone all effect your HR as your weight loss.
  • badgerbadger1
    badgerbadger1 Posts: 954 Member
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    The OP said she has already been to two Doctors who checked her heart and found nothing wrong. Does she really now have to go see a third Dr?

    Are you being deliberately obtuse? As I just said, numerous times, she should see her doctor, you know, the cardiologist who knows her heart already. She obviously didn't have all her questions answered. Thus she should ask them, not some random dude on the interwebs. Anecdotal evidence such as "well my heart rate and lance armstrongs are low and we're just fine" are unhelpful at best and illogical. You know your heart. You don't know hers. Her cardiologist does.

    One could just as easily accuse you of being obtuse. She asked if there were others out here "like her" so people are sharing their experience. You made you point. Three times. Be nice.

    Did you come here just to police the thread? I made my point. Three times. So what. People are arguing my opinion, I have a right to respond. Why do you feel the need to come in here and wag your finger?
  • Stoicus
    Stoicus Posts: 34 Member
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    My resting RHR is 43. It was in the 60's before I started running. I have assumed, rightly or wrongly, that this was because of the exercise. I have no other symptoms. I also seem to have trouble pushing myself above 150 when running, but I've come to the conclusion that it's because of the type of running, long distance. When I've tried HIIT training, I have seen it go higher. I guess I just need to push harder. Feel free to add me if you want, OP :)
  • dsak
    dsak Posts: 367 Member
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    Thanks for the feedback everyone.

    As I do have a relationship with a cardiologist already and trust her very much, I was really looking for feedback from others with a low heart rate to see if anyone has had any problems due to it being so low. It's good to know others out there who are exercising a lot, running and have lost weight have also seen a decrease in their heart rate.

    I'm not concerned since I've been checked out, but was curious to see if I was alone.

    Thanks again for the feedback!
  • speedswift
    speedswift Posts: 1
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    My resting heart rate is 48 and I am aged 66, male, and run about 30 miles weekly. I did run by my heart rate monitor but now ignore it while I'm running and look at it later. My max is 172 when running a 5k and the average is about 154. I always feel good and finish in 27 mins. I don't understand why there is so much of an obsession with heart rates. We didn't even think about them 30 years ago!
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    I will answer one part that no one has touched on - it should not affect losing weight.
    Keep in mind though that with a lower than average heart rate, the calorie estimates from HRMs will not be accurate as the formulas are based on averages. In your case, they will likely be lower than actual results.
  • dperret1975
    dperret1975 Posts: 21 Member
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    I am a runner too and my resting heart rate is 46. It does not worry me since it is in the family, my mom has the same, and it seems to be more common for runners. However, in all the years that I have been doing sports I have never been able to reach my max which should be 182 (I am 38). The highest I have ever seen on my HRM is 173. Normally at 160 it starts to be pretty difficult. Two years ago I did an effort test which had me tested on a Max heart rate of 170. I guess I should trust these tests right? But if so, should I reset the values in my HRM since the calorie burning during exercise is not correct when the HRM is still set on max 182? And is this probable lower max heart rate related to my low minimum????

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