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Original poster

To ask why my resting heart rate is so high??

104 replies

Sundayscaries · 27/01/2021 10:05

I wouldn’t say I am SUPER fit but I at least go for about an hour long walk every day (would go more than once if we were allowed!!) and before gyms were closed I used to to to spin class a few times a week etc. I have a corporate job (now wfh!) so don’t move a lot while working but I make an effort to keep moving during the day. I’m also towards the lower end of healthy BMI (although don’t regularly weigh myself but know I haven’t put on weight since I last checked, if anything I’ve lost weight)

I am 32, generally healthy. I can run 5k and be tired but not totally dying.

Yet, my resting heart rate (according to my Fitbit) seems to remain between about 72 and 78BPM which seems really high?!?

The only time it was lower (about 68!) was when I didn’t move for about 2 weeks as I was ill with covid!

Is it just that my Fitbit is wrong? Or is that relatively normal??

I can’t help thinking for someone who’s probably fitter than a lot of people, that seems really high and I’m not sure what to do or if I should be worried.

OP posts:
SchrodingersImmigrant · 27/01/2021 10:16

Isn't taht actually a perfect average?

HilaryBriss · 27/01/2021 10:16

That isn't particularly high, its pretty normal. Google it.

RealMermaid · 27/01/2021 10:18

It's a perfectly normal heart rate. Everyone is different, some people are naturally slightly higher or lower than average. My FIL's resting heart rate is about 40 which always gets the doctors worried until they check his file and see it's normal for him.

dontdisturbmenow · 27/01/2021 10:18

Do you smoke and enjoy a glass of wine every day, drink much coffee?

These would affect your rhr.

readingismycardio · 27/01/2021 10:19

Mine's the same. Have been told it's normal.

QueenoftheAir · 27/01/2021 10:19

72 is pretty normal.

StoneColdBitch · 27/01/2021 10:21

That is completely normal Smile Some fit people have a resting heart rate in the 50s, but plenty have a heart rate like yours. If you don't have symptoms, it's nothing to worry about.

bearynice · 27/01/2021 10:21

That range is perfectly fine, nothing to worry about- “normal” HR is 60-100bpm in adults.

If you want a 100% accurate reading you can always find your pulse manually, set a timer for a minute and check that way.

Ileflottante · 27/01/2021 10:22

Now I am super fit, and my resting heart rate is 73. I’m small so I assume it’s like the way a hamster’s heart rate is really high.

A normal resting is between 60-100 bpm by the way.

ofwarren · 27/01/2021 10:22

Mines in the 80s, but it always is so the doctors never say anything about it.
Yours sounds fine to me

whatismyusername29 · 27/01/2021 10:24

That’s not high I don’t think.

LegoPirateMonkey · 27/01/2021 10:24

Mine is low 60s and I’m not very fit or in shape! But during and for a while after covid mine went way up. I wonder if that was related to the fever, I’m not sure.

Mine is definitely affected by how much sugar I’m eating - it drops significantly when I low carb for a while.

AlexaShutUp · 27/01/2021 10:25

It's within the healthy range, but I agree that it's higher than I'd expect for someone who sounds a lot fitter than me! However, I think there is a genetic elements, as mine tends to be low and so is my dad's.

I exercise regularly (every day) but am carrying far too much weight, and I couldn't run 5k (yet - I'm working on it!). When I'm exercising regularly, mine hovers around 58-62. It has only gone into the 70s during extended periods when I have been really inactive.

I don't think it's anything to worry about though. I think there is naturally a range of what's healthy, and the important thing is that you're clearly quite fit and healthy.

DenisetheMenace · 27/01/2021 10:25

That’s a perfectly normal resting rate.

MyOwnPrivatePaddlingPool · 27/01/2021 10:29

I find fit bits and the like really inaccurate, have you tried actually taking your heart rate manually?

canipressthebackbuttonplease · 27/01/2021 10:29

My resting heart rate used to be 57 and over the last six months, according to the same fitness watch, it is 78-86, despite me doing the same amount of exercise

Neither are bad numbers (and yours isn't too high) but it is the change in my heart rate that worries me...

ghostyslovesheets · 27/01/2021 10:30

Mines 74 - perfectly nirmal

ghostyslovesheets · 27/01/2021 10:30

Normal!

bigbluebus · 27/01/2021 10:31

Do you drink alcohol. A friend recently sent me a screenshot of her Fitbit readings. She had been abstaining from alcohol for a few weeks and on the couple of days she had a drink or two over Christmas her heart rate had increased. I Googled normal heart rate as I'd no idea what it should be and the normal range was 60 - 100 bpm so yours is well within that.

Dramacoats · 27/01/2021 10:33

That’s in the normal range, why did you think it was high?

sirfredfredgeorge · 27/01/2021 10:39

It's within the range of normal for a mostly sedentary adult who does a bit of exercise now and then.

Getting fitter would be a good idea, unless your walks are particularly strenuous and get you breathless (ie are hard uphill) you do not appear to meet the government guidelines for exercise. So I'd try to find ways to fit more exercise in.

ReggieKrait · 27/01/2021 10:41

That really isn’t high, it’s perfectly fine!

pifflepaffle13 · 27/01/2021 10:43

Mine is about 74 usually but can be as low as 60-64 when I don't drink alcohol. For me the alcohol affects it A LOT. I really notice it when I don't drink for a few days, it goes down by 4/5 bpm. And I'm quite overweight but generally quite fit

MaddieElla · 27/01/2021 10:46

I ran 1000 miles last year and yet my heart rate is around 70. Through the night it goes to the 50s and 60s but if I checked it now it would be 70ish. I always wonder why it isn't lower. But it's always been that way so must just be my normal.

MrDarcysMa · 27/01/2021 10:57

Mines the same. You could do more running and see if that brings it down but the real measure of fitness would be your heart rate whilst running the same speed and recovery time.