V high heart rate during exercise

[sicilianpizza]

I’m 50, have always exercised - running, HIIT, tennis, lots of dog walking. Have just got a smartwatch and it’s showing max heart rate of 207bpm and more than 30 mins in the max intensity zone (over 150bpm) on a recent HIIT class. Resting heart rate average 58. I have low blood pressure and sometimes feel dizzy which I’ve always attributed to that. Should I be worried about the 207 bpm?

in a word…..yes!

What were you doing when it reached 207? Were you really pushing yourself to your max to the point where there was no more to give?

if you weren’t I’d be tempted to say it’s not accurate as that seems very high. Is your watch on tight? If it’s bouncing around a bit then this can give an inaccurate reading.

if you think it is accurate then I would probably see a doctor as it shouldn’t be going that high.

Fitness trackers aren't very accurate. You should try wearing a strap over your chest to get a more reliable reading.

That said, years ago I had a very high heart rate during exercise and it turned out to be an overactive thyroid. So definitely check it out.

I’ve looked back over an old Fitbit readings and seems like I regularly reached 180-190bpm during the most vigorous exercise and no higher, so although that’s still quite high I’m guessing this weeks reading was inaccurate. I’ll strap it tighter and check again!

I had a Fitbit watch years ago that put me at 180/190bpm for most of my jogs. I then had an Iwatch that gave me 140/150bpm, so I agree it can be the device.