Is it normal for resting heart rate to vary so much constantly?

[SinkGirl]

I’m seeing my GP in a couple of weeks so will bring it up then. Just wondered if anyone knows about this and can tell me if it’s normal or not.

I bought a smart watch thingie as I was having palpitations and symptoms of low BP (checked the results against an arm cuff and its very accurate).

For the first couple of weeks I had it my heart rate and BP were really up and down - blood pressure varying between 100/65 and up to 155/105 over the course of a day.
Heart rate going between 55 and 115 at rest - one night while watching TV my watch started buzzing and my heart rate had gone up to 145. Within a minute it was back down in the 70s.

Over the last few weeks BP has been very stable and heart rate more level too so I put it down to a weird blip. It only records an average heart rate over 30 minutes and each 30 minute period varied between mid 50s and mid 80s.

Then the last few days, the palpitations have started again. Every time I get them I check the real time heart rate and I’ve seen it go up from mid 50s to high 90s / low 100s and back down in a very short period of time (this is just when I’ve been sitting watching TV in the evenings, nothing has changed). Even with the averages, mostly they’re in the mid 50s but for some it’s been over 100 for the average.

I’ve seen info saying that a change in your normal resting heart rate is a concern, but I can’t see anything that states whether such variation is normal - for all I know it’s totally normal.

For example, these were the 30 min averages a few days ago, all resting heart rate - unfortunately battery died so had to charge it, hence the missing readings afterwards. Put it back on two hours later and it was in the 60s for the rest of the night.

Resting means just that, lieing on your back for 10 mins.

Lifting your arm to read your monitor will put your heart rate up and means you are no longer at rest. Your heart rate will also go up if you are digesting food or in response to heat / cold or your emotional connection with the TV show.

Obviously discuss this with your GP but don't take too much notice of your watch. Anything between 60 and 100 is normal at rest.

Sashh, ex Clinical Physiologist.

This ^. Unless you're truly resting as above, it's not a resting heart rate and will depend on what you've been doing/ when you've eaten etc. By all means speak to your GP but I wouldn't be too worried and wrist heart rate monitors also aren't terribly accurate. Reasonable, but not brilliant.

Ps if you're having palpitations, it may make more sense to invest in an alivecor monitor, which records your heart rhythm when you are feeling the palpitations.

Just to say for any ladies reading this that it is entirely normal for your resting heart rate to vary across your monthly cycle. Mine gradually rises from 60 to 70 and then back down again.

Thanks so much everyone.

It’s not the variation day by day / through the month that worries me, lots of things vary for me throughout my cycle. It’s more the amount it goes up and down in a short space of time when I’m sitting doing nothing, and the fact that this seems to coincide with the palpitations which i’d Just put down to anxiety in the past. I realise it may not be a true “resting” heart rate, but if you’re sitting still just checking out Mumsnet for example, I wasn’t sure if it should vary that much.

I’m not taking the watch thing as gospel obviously, I was just wondering if this is what heart rate does normally as I couldn’t seem to find that info.

Thanks for the monitor recommendation, will have a look :) I’m not overly worried, but have to see the GP anyway about an allergy issue so will raise it then.

The problem with Dr Google is that it always give you the worst case scenario.

So if you are hammering a nail into a wall, miss and hit your thumb it will probably swell and bruise.

But if you google, "causes of swollen bruised thumb" you will probably not get an answer involving hammers and nails.

Palpitation is a word that means you can feel your heart beat, now this can indicate a problem in some cases, but a lot of people are just much more aware of their heart beat than others.

So talk to your GP.

It might be useful to keep a diary of your symptoms and what you were / are doing at the time. If you can record eating, drinking and going to the toilet so much the better.

Some people get palpitations after drinking coffee, or when they have a poo. A diary can help you and your GP see any patterns.

I get SVT when my thyroxine needs adjusting, strangely when it needs increasing which is counter intuitive. It's the only time I get palpitations and because I was working in cardiology when it first happened I was able to record a rhythm strip (single channel ECG).

I'm going to contradict mylitlefinget I HATE automatic ECG diagnosis, they are frequently wrong and having looked at the web page that monitor just tells you if your heart is slower than norma, faster than normal or irregular. But not all irregular heart rates are 'abnormal' frequently it is just because of your breathing.

Your GP or hospital may give you a similar device which you either return in a week or two or you download ECG recordings via a phone line. These are then interpreted by a real human being.

To be fair, I haven’t looked for (or found) any scenario at all - I don’t suspect an illness or have any idea what it could potentially be. (Although I’m very familiar with “Dr Google”, it’s how I knew I probably had endometriosis a good six years before doctors did!)

I looked up palpitations a year or so ago, and everything I read said that in the majority of cases they’re not a sign of a problem, so I haven’t worried about it at all.

I got the monitor because I felt unwell - rather than just palpitations it felt like my heart was really pounding and too fast, and I had a jittery feeling a lot of the time. Now I’ve seen from the watch that my heart rate sometimes goes up and down in a very short period by quite a lot, but I haven’t seen this sort of thing referenced anywhere as good or bad, it’s just not mentioned so I was unsure if it was normal for that to happen to everyone.

See the gp if you’re concerned, but for reassurance mine varies much, much more than that and the gp wasn’t remotely bothered. I’ve had an ecg (because they were concerned about a fast pulse) and nothing of issue was found.

However I do get palpatations and a faster heart rate when my iron levels dip so might be worth getting a check up.

Thank you, that’s helpful - I’m not worried about it really (a bit more about generally feeling jittery etc as it’s very unusual for me), just wasn’t sure if that’s what hearts always do and I’d be an idiot for mentioning it (like the time I went to my GP in a panic aged 22 because my period was red - all of mine before surgery were black or brown and I thought it was a problem, which is very embarrassing) but will mention it.

If it’s unusual for you then it’s definitely worth seeing the gp.