Anyone else exercise with a high heart rate? When is it dangerous?

[Lovemusic33]

I’m struggling to exercise due to my heart rate being too high, my resting heart rate is fine but when I do exercise it hits 200bpm, I don’t train hard, this is just a speed walk on a 11% incline for 10 minutes. I would like to train harder but when my bpm hits 180bpm it makes me quite unwell later in the day (light headed and unable to walk due to dizziness).

I am a size 10/12, weigh 9st so not unfit. I go to the gym 3-5 times a week but I’m struggling some days.

Today my heart rate hit 205bpm after 5 minutes on the tread mill, then stayed around 150 for the rest of my work out (mainly on the bike).

Hello, I had a similar issue. My HR has always tended to the higher side (when exercising) but when I got a fitness watch when I was doing the C25K a few years ago I realised how scarily high it was.

I discovered low HR training, specifically the Maffetone method. Have a google, there's a book and there's a really helpful Facebook group.

The principle is working out your maximum aerobic fitness/max HR using 180-age, then another -5 if you have a medical condition like asthma etc. And then you only exercise to that HR.

It takes MONTHS, and it does get boring because most of it is walking, slowly. But progress happens eventually.

I recommend seeing your GP and getting checked for anything that could be treated with medication. But if there's nothing, then set a year aside for boring walking/slow jogging and you'll get there eventually.

A few months in I discovered "Jeffing" (planned walk/run intervals, 30seconds of each is popular) which helped immensely and meant I was able to feel like I was actually running again.

Good luck!

How long have you been tracking your HR? And has it always had these spikes?

Some trackers are fairly inaccurate so if you are new to tracking isn't it's always been recording high, it might be the tracker that's inaccurate.

If the 200+ HR spikes are new after usual normal range exercise zones, you may well be becoming ill. Last year I ended up hospitalised with phnemonia. In the 2 weeks before hand I had started getting 200+ peaks when on my daily run. Normal pack HR was around 175 so I just thought my fitbit was being crap. Turns out it wasn't, it was warning me I had a serious chest infection (and should have stopped running!).

Fate, I have been tracking for a while. I had surgery back in the summer and before surgery my heart rate was dangerously high, assumed it was due to infection (my appendix) but it has happened before when my heart rate has been checked in hospital or at the doctors. I always keep an eye on it at the gym but it seems to have got worse over the past 6-8 months since I had surgery. I do have a monitor at home and my resting heart beat it usually between 80-95 which isn’t too bad, but as soon as I attempt to exercise it shoots up pretty fast.

I do suffer with high cholesterol despite having a healthy life style, my doctor says it’s probably one of those things (some people always have high cholesterol) and told me not to worry too much.

I have had some breathing difficulties for the past year or so but gp doesn’t seem to concerned. I get some chest pains too from time to time. I was treated for lymes a while ago after a tick bite but never went back for follow up tests and now I’m wondering if I’m possibly carrying Lymes as breathing difficulties and heart problems can be a symptom.