Please help with my heart rate. I'm scared

Hi Moxxi

I honestly could have written your post word for word 6 months ago. I have had an anxiety disorder for years (think decades) much of it related to health. My HR at rest can be 94, other times in the 80’s, like you it would worry me that I was going to have a heart attack. My GP prescribed beta blockers that I take as and when needed for the anxiety.

Decided when lockdown started to start exercising, so started with dumbbells. Absolutely hated the elevated heart rate, but every time it felt too high I paused for as long as I needed. Nothing bad ever happened, the more I did this I was happier to go a little longer and it was comforting to know I was in control & could take a break if needed.

My HR now hits 189/192 most times while playing fitness games on the Nintendo Switch & I’ve realised it’s completely normal for me. Take off the Fitbit if it’s becoming a compulsion to keep checking it, find an exercise you enjoy, you are safe, you can pause at any point. Put a fan on to cool yourself down & drink some water. If you start to panic think about all the times you’ve had a really high HR before and nothing bad happened. Take as long as you need, it’s not an overnight miracle cure but it will get easier I promise.

Your heart is amazing and is so much stronger than you believe it to be.

If you've only seen your GP and not a cardiologist then push for a referral. You're very young to be on BB with no suggestion of how to get you off them. ECGs are 7 or 12 seconds long so hard to capture any issues. I would ask for a referral and then try to get a week long monitor which you wear all the time. You can then be sure that a cardiologist will look at what your heart is doing when exercising etc and hoping they will help you with a plan going forward. I'm in the US and an issue like that would never be dealt with by a regular doctor, always a specialist so do try to see one.

Your heart is muscle so by exercising, you're pushing it to work harder (heart rate goes up temporaily). As it gets more efficient at dealing with exercise, your resting rate also comes down. Long term your heart is using less energy to exist in the (for example) 23 hours that you are not exercising than the 1 hour that you are which is why the exercise is good for heart health.

The better indicator of heart heath is how quickly your heart rate returns to your normal after exercise.
I have a naturally low resting HR but can push it beyond the 220 minus age on a sprint finish/ blasting up a hill. The late stages of a race can see it cruising in the 170s (I'm 40, working hard, spare left in the tank). It did go up that high when I did C25k, but after a C25k run, it took about quarter of an hour to return to my normal zone, and these days drops close to normal within minutes.

I'm not vouching for any specific conditions, but in general terms exercise makes your heart cope with everyday life better.

Keeping active in controlled settings like classes and only using the watch occasionally to check patterns of progress, and usually going by how you feel should help with the anxiety side.

You don't look after a car by leaving it parked up permanently, it needs a drive out to move fuel through the engine, recharge the battery and change the pressure spot on the tyres.

My heart rate sometimes goes over 200bpm when I’m running. It’s never occurred to me to worry about it: tend to find if I’ve really overdone it with distance/pace I’ll bonk, and then there’s no choice but to sit on the verge and stuff sugar in and wait to feel better. I do think it’s likely your body will tell you more accurately than your watch if you’ve actually pushed too hard.

In my intense training sessions (2 per week) my HR goes up to around 180. But within a couple of minutes it's back down to a lot lower! My resting HR is around 60. I'm a very fit 60 year old, and about 5 kg overweight.

Some people have a higher heart rate than others. Some people have a lower heart rate than others. The idea of tracking your HR is to see what's the normal range for you.

But one thing is clear: not exercising is far far worse for your general health.

If you're concerned, check with your GP, and exercise in group classes or at a gym, where in the highly unlikely event of a heart attack (it's really unlikely!!!) there will be immediate assistance.

But the main thing is to set yourself an exercise programme. Build up slowly Do something which gets you out of breath and your HR up every 2nd day - a fast walk for about 10,000 steps (an hour or so). Or do the Couch to 5K programme. And on other days do yoga or Pilates. Yoga will get your HR right down!

A high heart rate when you're making slight exertion simply means you are aerobically unfit. Not that you're going to have a heart attack! You are doing far more damage to yourself by deliberately not exercising.

2bh, OP is making death sound preferable to living with their level of anxiety.

Moxxi my resting heart rate has always been low, it’s around 62. But I do find it rises a lot in the day, especially round my in-laws. Mine gives me a graph and I could literally see if sky rocket when they arrived and return to normal the minute they left!

As for HR training, I agree, that’s exactly what my friend said to me to do as well. And also that the watch takes some time to get to know you etc. I did my last run consciously in zone 3 and it was v slow for me, but I may just do one like that a week.

I also just did a swim because I breathe much better that way (in nose out mouth) and that keeps your HR in check.

Do heart rate training...

Tonnes of info out there. May feel too slow at the start but it's good for you to have a solid fitness base.

OP, I feel for you, I have health anxiety and have just got a vivoactive 3. Honestly the information it gives me is too much to digest I think and makes matters worse.

For context, I am 40, overweight for most of my life, fair level of fitness but I am v lazy, I recently lost 4 stone in lock down. 11.5 stone now and regularly exercising. I am nearly finished c25k and was very happy with my progress - until I got this watch. It told me I am at my max HR, i was flung my whole runs in zone 5, I was so worried etc. But my friend had the same watch and when we looked her %’s were entirely different so in her watch I’d have been in zone 3/4.

I did a little sprint test at the weekend and the 220-age doesn’t work out for me, my max at the point where I couldn’t physically continue was 194, not 180 as the formula suggests.

If I had put this watch on before I lost the weight and worked on my fitness I’d have been petrified.

So basically ditch the watch for a while. Work on your fitness away from the watch. Then when you feel happier about your health and weight, put it back on and go from there. The worrying is probably pushing the HR up

Have you tried manually taking your heart rate?
Found at work that the machines can give heart reading of over 100 but when done manually it's a lot less.
Like other posters have stated the Fitbit isn't accurate. Bin it for your anxiety and work on your anxieties as this can accelerate your heart rate

@Moxxi

Yeah, my cardio says that it’s not dangerous. Generally, if heart rate really is unsustainable you’ll faint as a means of your body getting itself flat quickly, iyswim. Does your hr ever make you feel dizzy? If not, you’re fine.
I have to go to A&E if my hr is more than 180 at rest, has been for more than half an hour and I can’t get it down through normal means (lying down, salt, water, compression) or if I can’t stand without fainting and I’m not otherwise unwell. I hope that puts it into context for you 🙂
For what it’s worth, I do wear an Apple Watch and I find it pretty accurate compared to the medical chest strap I also have (usually within 5 bpm of each other) but I don’t let the number worry me; it’s just useful so that I don’t overdo it and end up in a heap on the floor 🥴

Just to also say that fitbits are not accurate, and any irregularities (even benign) can be read like an elevated heart rate. I'd suggest book a GP appointment for a review, other pps are right in that anxiety will raise your heart rate (adrenaline, fight or flight effect etc) but that's not an accurate picture of your heart rate resting and during exercise. so it's just worth getting a full check up and a chat with them

This post has made me look at my heart rate too!
I'm late 40s and when I was rudely awakened by my alarm first thing, my heart rate was about 80. It's now at 51 (sitting at desk) but it's ranged between 50 and 100 today just doing my morning routine (kids etc). When I exercise I hit about 185. Not sure if it's good or bad! I don't think you need to worry so much OP - everyone's different and the more you can exercise (moderately of course!) the better I would think...

I had to get rid of my FitBit as it was sparking my health anxiety too. Best thing I could have done!

Swimming is a good way to start exercising.

I have POTS. My resting rate is between 65-70, but it shoots up on daily basis to close to 200 just doing random things like showering, let alone exercise. I also faint on a weekly basis. I’m under a cardiologist (due to a genetic disorder) who thinks that in terms of heart failure there’s nothing really to worry about; it’s just pants to live with. I hope that’s somewhat reassuring.