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

[Sundayscaries]

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.

Resting heart rate is a function of multiple factors

Pregnant?

Umm...mine is often over 100 (no idea why!)...

What @withmycoffee said.

My hr is “relatively” high. 70 even when I was young and very fit.

However my blood pressure is normally very low. My logic is that my heart beats with less force so beats more often to get the same amount of blood round.

Dh has a rhr of about 40-50. He’s averagely fit but his BP is on the high side.

No idea whether my logic is correct but the human body is very complicated and usually has several failsafes or compensatory mechanisms. So as long as I eat healthily, exercise etc I don't worry if within normal limits..

I'm slim, dont exercise but always on the move, walk a lot. My RHR has always been over 100, well over. I have a very low BP that didnt change one bit during two recent pregnancies. So I assume high HR to compensate for low BP. Jist always been this way. Hope I'm not on the way out

I think it probably just varies across the population, which is why there is a big range for what is considered normal. Mine tends to be high 50’s/low 60’s and I don’t deserve it - only cardio I do is walking! My much fitter dh has a higher resting hr. My bp tends to sit on the lower end of normal too. I suspect there is a genetic component.

@bluebluezoo I think this is good logic, however my resting heart rate is 55-60 and my blood pressure is really low - I have worried about it in the past. I’m averagely fit.
Maybe sometimes it’s genetics.

@Lazypuppy

OP you know you can exercise/go outside as many times a day as you want?

Seems pretty average heart rate, you sound fit and healthy so i wouldn't worry too much.

No you can't:

"Exercising
You should minimise time spent outside your home, but you can leave your home to exercise. This should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area"

I hate the way everything gets picked as a Covid issue but really wish people wouldn't keep issuing assurances about the guidance without checking.

I'm 34, slim and average fitness with the same resting heart rate as you and a 'normal' (but not low, if anything on the higher side) blood pressure. It's always been this way for me and I too have wondered why it wasn't lower. Maybe our expectations are unrealistic though. I too have heard that it's largely genetic and the bracket for normal is so wide, i'm not sure it's very meaningful for us.

I find the heart fascinating

I have a low RHR though I'm not very fit at all. I also have low BP but v high cholesterol.

I had a chest Xray once and the doctor commented that I have a large heart which apparently, as @withmycoffee said, accounts in the main for the low RHR and low BP.

I have a low rhr 63 so normal but low end. I also have low blood pressure it’s been commented on a few times by nurses/midwifes. In fact I have the trainee midwife a shock when she checked it she was rather worried untill her supervisor pointed out she needed to look at what my normal is/had been the whole pregnancy.

I can get lighted headed and feel faint in the shower not often but I know the signs. I’m also about 2 stone into the overweight category currently.

That sounds like an average heart rate for an adult. Last summer I got very aerobically fit by cycling lots (150+ miles a week) and my resting heart rate was 54bpm. Now I'm not so fit (and fatter) and its 58 ish. I generally have a lower BP too - think it was 118/68 last time a doctor took it. My paternal grandmother had low BP and didn't do a days exercise in her life and ate full fat everything so I'm assuming mine is hereditary rather than down to fitness levels.

dontdisturbmenow Its great its spot on for you but that may not be the case for everyone. I have the charge 4 and the HRV is completely off, sleep sometimes tracks incorrectly but does give some insight and as I said resting hr is sometimes slightly higher. Its a great fitness watch but the reading can depend on wearing it in the correct place. I use it to get a rough indication.

dontdisturbmenow sorry just read the bit whete you said at least for me. Speed reading at work

@Nopreservatives that is guidance you have quoted not law. There is a difference.
You can go out as many times as you want

[quote Lazypuppy]**@Nopreservatives that is guidance you have quoted not law. There is a difference.
You can go out as many times as you want[/quote]
Well yes, but what's the point of any of this if everyone's going to only do what's required by law?

Mine is always hovering around the 90's - 104. But I am unfit. I get out of breath quite easily and I smoke a little. Have had anaemia on and off also. GP never really concerned. My DH is very fit and his is always under 50. He likes to show off. But yeah like most people had said normal range is 60-100. Wait, does that mean my DH isn't normal?

@Lazypuppy

OP you know you can exercise/go outside as many times a day as you want?

Seems pretty average heart rate, you sound fit and healthy so i wouldn't worry too much.

Seriously? I thought the rules were still once a day??

Heart rate is partly fitness and partly your genetics.

I've had various wrist heart rate monitors (Garmin, Fitbit, cheap generic brand) for the last five years, plus I use a chest belt for exercise. The wrist monitors all seem to agree on my heart rate, and they show the same resting HR as my chest belt, but they don't seem to react to short rises in HR (eg when you're doing hiit classes).

I've noticed that there are a few things that tend to make my resting HR rise a bit. Drinking alcohol raises it a bit, if I drink most days it makes my resting HR about 10% higher than when I only drink 2 days a week. If I'm ill or recovering from illness it's always a bit higher. Also, after I give blood it goes up quite a bit for about a week. I have also noticed that the time of day I exercise affects how high my HR will go- it won't climb as much when I exercise first thing.

I'm a bit geeky about my HR now it's quite satisfying to see it drop when I make more of an effort to eat well and exercise.

@Sundayscaries the once a day thing is only guidance, not law.

Up to people which they want to follow, but no one can stop you going out more than once a day. We're all restricted so much, if you want to exercise kore than once a day then go for it!

@Nopreservatives if they wanted us to only go out once a day they should have made it law not guidance.

I don't have any symptoms of bradycardia... but this thread has made me a bit confused

Bradycardia is just a HR less than 60, it is normal when you are asleep to have bradycardia. Long distance runners often have bradycardia at rest.

The wrist monitors all seem to agree on my heart rate, and they show the same resting HR as my chest belt, but they don't seem to react to short rises in HR (eg when you're doing hiit classes).

That's because:

a) they measure beat to beat

b) they need to have skin contact and while exercising any monitor will move and either miss some contact or pick up muscle activity

You should take a pulse over a full minute, most people only use 30 seconds, either way it is more accurate than a fitbit,

@Rollmopsrule, I agree not always accurate. I also think some people confuse lowest heart reading with resting heart rate.

This is why I can't wear a Fitbit; I get completely obsessed with my hr which makes me anxious which then exacerbates the issue. I didn't know my hr until it was checked through a routine healthy check at work. Mine was in the 90s whereas everyone else's was between 60 and 70. Since then I've been too aware of it.

I have an oximeter which I use at different intervals in the day. Sometimes I'm over 100 (not at rest), when I'm my most relaxed putting my ds to bed it's around 62 (effects of oxytocin from cuddling perhaps?).

I think it's good for us to have some awareness of our internal workings, but knowing too much can also cause unnecessary stress which is unhealthy in itself. If you're worried you should definitely talk to a Dr for reassurance.

@TheRogueApostrophe

Your heart rate should go up when you are moving.

Your 'maximum' HR should be 220 - your age

I've always had a low resting heart rate, around 57 on average. But this thread has just made me check my pulse and it was 48. I have been working on my fitness and general health - my BMI has gone down from 54 to 38, and I've been doing C25K and just started some yoga as well.