To worry about this heart rate?

[Atypicaldancer]

I am anaemic and not particularly fit. I have a bmi of 28 and am trying to lose weight. I wear an Apple Watch and when I’m running my heart rate shoots up. Today it reached a max of 210 bpm. The Apple Watch doesn’t go higher. I felt awful and had to stop. It’s only running when this happens. DH thinks I should get checked out. I feel fine. What do you think.

You felt awful when it was fast so yes, you need it checking.

Chest strap likely to be accurate.
To me it looks odd how your heart rate goes up and mostly just stays there. Almost like it can’t register above 210.
My heart rate goes quite high but much more variable (watch not chest strap though)

Meant to say best to get it checked. Especially as you felt awful

[quote longcoffeebreak]@amusedbush er no 59 isn't that low. Some people have low resting heart rates for other reasons. A low resting rate runs in our family for example.
Also you can be fit and have a heart defect or rhythm problem. [/quote]
The comment I replied to said categorically "59 is not a low resting heart rate". I was illustrating that, according to the NHS, it is. It's not TOO LOW, it's not worryingly low - but it's on the low end of normal. Just like someone with a RHR of 95 would be "quite high", though still in that range.

And I'm perfectly aware of the various things that can affect your heart rate.

That heart rate trace doesn't look amazingly believable to me, it might be locking on to your running cadence. Try your partner's heart rate strap and do an easy running effort.
Max heart rate varies a lot between people. I'm 40 and can get to 208 on a mega effort.

yes my Apple Watch locks onto my cadence quite often although 200 is a very fast cadence

It isn’t the same as my cadence. Cadence lock tends to happen at the start as well and this was in the middle.

It doesn't look like a regular/accurate heart rate reading as it doesn't fluctuate and just stays on 1 rate for an extended period of time.

The rate is the max the Apple Watch will read. It doesn’t go above 210.

I have a Samsung watch and at one point wore a fitbit at the same time. The Samsung always had a higher rate during exercise than that recorded by the fitbit. They aren't always truly accurate

@Atypicaldancer

The rate is the max the Apple Watch will read. It doesn’t go above 210.

It would normally fluctuate up and down though not just stay on one value

It was above 210 though I think, which I why it showed one value.

You would need to use a different tracker to confirm that the apple watch is accurate during a run

The tracker on the machines at the gym read the same as my watch. I don’t think I should do another run though - probably best to check it out first.

Just for comparison, I'm 47, BMI of 26.5, RHR of 57 and my HR will generally max at low 170s when running. My average HR while running is more like mid-150s.

Oh honestly, why the ifs and buts and whatnot. Get to a GP fast and get it checked out. ASAP. Simple really, then if anaemia is the cause you can get an iron infusion which is miraculous, I've had one, and if it is Afib or other rhythm disturbance then beta blockers or other drugs will slow things down and regulate the rhythm.

Take care and see your doc for a stress test and echo!

I had an issue with my heart rate and my GP said the Apple Watch readings were extremely accurate - he had me download and email the readings to him so that he could check it out - maybe you could do the same?

If you are anaemic, maybe you should stop pushing yourself so hard. You are making your heart work like the clappers to get oxygen round, which is not a great idea. If you want to lose weight it is fine to exercise gently, but really you do not need to punish you body to achieve this.

Throw the watch away and let your body tell you when you are overdoing it - it is trying to speak to you I think!

Please go to your GP and get checked out.

I get a fast heart rate sometimes as I have atrial fibrillation - medics are always very clear with me that I must not ignore it and to get help. The more often you force your heart to work hard, the worse it is - permanent changes in the heart muscle can happen by overstressing it. Medics have spelt this out to me.

It is a bit of a paradox that you are exercising to improve your health by losing some weight, but are endangering your health by overdoing it.

Please take care.

I yhink

Placemarking as I'm finding this info interesting.

Ok. So - firstly, the 210 heart rate is wrong. We know this because:

1. You were moving extremely slowly (2.5k in 27 min is not that much quicker than 20 min mile pace) which suggests you were running and walking. Yet your watch leaps up and stays there. It doesn't go up and down as you change pace, which it would if it was working.

2. wrist based heart rate measurements are notoriously unreliable. They can show when heart rate is going up and down but the actual numbers are rarely right. This is why runners buy chest straps to go with them. There would be no need for chest straps if watches worked reliably on their own!

But, that said, your heart rate may well still be getting too high. If I were you I'd see what the chest strap says and also make an appointment with the GP, just for reassurance more than anything.

And good luck with c25k!

Thank you that’s helpful. I was run/walking- I only did two bursts of running in that time and my heart rate seemed to shoot up. I did C25k last year but have had to start again on week 5/6. I really struggled yesterday though.

I don't smoke, don't drink but am 4 stone overweight. When I workout, my heart rate doesn't go above 160 and that's the maximum. You should really get that checked out.

My heart rate would go to 220, this was during spin & I was wearing hrm & strap round my chest.

I had a medical issue and was actually seriously ill, had tablets & eventually surgery

I’d get an appointment with gp just to be safe, they may check bloods to further investigate