All Day Heart-Rate ... weird results freaking me out

Former Member over 6 years ago

Hey guys,

First off, I've seen lots of people claim the heart-rate sensor on the watch is off "by 20 beats" or whatever. I dunno, maybe for them but definitely not for me. I've compared it to the results from the Garmin Heart Rate Monitor chest strap, my blood pressure machine and also just taking my pulse rate manually, and the watch is pretty much exactly on-the-money every time. So it's not that.

But I've been noticing some weird things with my heart rate. I'm wondering if this is just the result of suddenly have all-day-access to heart-rate data that I never had before (and nobody has really had until recently), or if I should go and see a cardiologist or something. I'm thinking that I'm probably just being hyper-sensitive and it's nothing.

Anyway...

First, I noticed that my heart-rate was exceptionally high. Like hovering around 90-100 when I was hanging around doing nothing, watching TV or whatever. And if I just got up and walked to get a cup of coffee or something, it would go to 120. If I went up a flight of stairs it would go to 140-150. Not for long - maybe 20 or 30 seconds and then go back down to "normal" (90-100). This weirded me out a bit, I always thought of myself as someone with a fairly slow heart rate, so I decided to quit all drinking (I usually have a few beers after work), all coffee and all tobacco (I used to take Swedish snus, which is kind of like chewing tobacco).

As soon as I quit all those things, my heart rate went back down to what I'd consider normal (usually somewhere between about 55 - 75 when I'm doing nothing, and going up to about 90-100 if I move around and do things). I still goes to about 140 if I go up a flight of stairs, but goes back down to about ~65 shortly afterwards (within 10-20 seconds).

So everything seemed fine, until last night I was sitting (on the toilet) and happened to open the Connect App on my phone and noticed my heart-rate was 45! I thought I'll just sit here and wait and see how low it goes and it went down to 41 before I kind of freaked out and got up and started moving around again (and it went back to ~65).

At night-time, it's usually about 55 while I sleep.

Background info, 40-year-old male, 95kg (210lbs), 182cm (a scratch under six feet). Not very fit, but not inactive either. I've always lifted weights and done a bit of cardio, but I just started taking it seriously. No family history of heart trouble, blood pressure is normal, nothing weird when I run or exercise (I can get it up to 180+ if sprinting up a hill, and it goes back down pretty quick when I stop), and no other alarming symptoms.

Should I book at doctor's appointment to get this check out just to be safe, or does this all sound fairly normal?

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

It's a medical condition no matter what. Anything below 60 is a medical condition called bradycadia, by definition.

The difference is that "athletic bradycadia" or "athlete's heart syndrome" (which is a medical condition) is considered to be relatively benign (harmless) in the majority of cases.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_heart_syndrome

In any case, a heart rate of 50 is not "high" for anyone (who is still alive anyway).

OMG!!!

when i started exercising 3 years ago, my RHR was in the high 80's, and has progressively went down to the low 60's.

lately it has started to get into the high 50's.

I BETTER STOP EXERCISING IMMEDIATELY!!!

0 C966 over 6 years ago

That's just not correct. But whatever. It's not worth arguing about.

Athletic heart syndrome (AHS), also known as athlete's heart,[SUP][1][/SUP][SUP][2][/SUP]athletic bradycardia, or exercise-induced cardiomegaly is a non-pathologicalcondition commonly seen in sports medicine, in which the human heart is enlarged, and the resting heart rate is lower than normal.

- wikipedia

Again, where does it say there its a "medical" condition? Since you google everything, google "medical condition" and the difference with non-pathological condition or normal physiological variation. There is a big difference, one implies illness, injury or disease, the other does not. Anyway just thought I'd point that out since you were mixing the two regarding pathological bradycardia and athletic bradycardia.

0 Derp over 6 years ago

Deleted

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

I BETTER STOP EXERCISING IMMEDIATELY!!!

*rolls eyes* Nobody said anything close to that.

Because some adaption is benign - or even helpful - does not disqualify it from being a medical condition.

Again, where does it say there its a "medical" condition?

Well, it's says it's a "condition" that is commonly seen in "sports medicine" ... you put two and two together.

the difference with non-pathological condition or normal physiological variation

That's got nothing to do with it. And the reason you are wrong is because you seen to think that it does. Nobody said it's a pathological condition. Whether it's benign, or non-patheological, or even beneficial - that is all irrelevant. Cardiac enlargement and bradycardia as seen in athletes heart syndrome is a medical condition, period, no questions asked.

But really, this is maybe the dumbest argument I've ever had online. You can call it - or not call it - whatever makes you sleep at night.

0 C966 over 6 years ago

*rolls eyes* Nobody said anything close to that.

Because some adaption is benign - or even helpful - does not disqualify it from being a medical condition.

Of course it does. Is a skin tan from to exposure to sunlight, a benign adaptation to protect from the UV radiation, a medical condition? Is having a high BMA from hypertrophied skeletal muscle from strength training instead of from body fat % a medical condition?

Well, it's says it's a "condition" that is commonly seen in "sports medicine" ... you put two and two together.

"Condition" by itself means nothing, a condition can be anything depending on the adjective used in association with the word, and you said literally "MEDICAL condition" which has a very specific meaning, a condition in which there is illness, disease or injury. It does not apply to non-pathophysiologial conditions.

That's got nothing to do with it. And the reason you are wrong is because you seen to think that it does. Nobody said it's a pathological condition. Whether it's benign, or non-patheological, or even beneficial - that is all irrelevant. Cardiac enlargement and bradycardia as seen in athletes heart syndrome is a medical condition, period, no questions asked.

Medical dictionary definition: "medical condition

A disease, illness or injury; any physiologic, mental or psychological condition or disorder(e.g., orthopaedic; visual, speech or hearing impairments; cerebral palsy; epilepsy; muscular dystrophy; multiple sclerosis;cancer; coronary artery disease; diabetes; mental retardation; emotional or mental illness; specific learning disabilities; HIVdisease; TB; drug addiction; alcoholism). A biological or psychological state which is within the range of normal human variation is not a medical condition."

I'm guessing by now you just like to argue for the sake of arguing since its really simple and can't be more obvious so this will be my last time I waste time on the matter, just wanted to point out when you freaked out about the other poster's RHR of 42 that you interpreted wiki wrong, nothing more.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

"Athletes heart" is incontrovertably a medical condition. It's proper medical term is "sinus bradycardia", look it up, and it's not even as benign as you might like to think, it can actually cause problems later in life.

I honestly couldn't give two knobs of sheep s--t if you accept that or not. But the fact is, you are flat-out wrong and at this stage you would be doing yourself a favour if you just stopped digging that hole ... or better yet, just admit it. It's not a big deal, everyone is wrong sometimes. The beauty of it is, we don't have to be wrong a second more than we have to be. It's called "learningt".

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

P.S. ... and if you are open to perhaps learning some sh-t that you didn't know before, you may find this interesting. If you're not, maybe someone else will...

No one knew exactly what causes athletes to have this slow heartbeat, a condition called sinus bradycardia. Now, a study by cardiac physiologist Alicia D’Souza and colleagues from the University of Manchester in England finds the answer in certain “funny channels” in the sinoatrial node, the pacemaker for the heart. The slower heart rate isn’t as funny — it has fewer funny channels to transmit current that controls the activity of the heart cells. The results suggest a mechanism for sinus bradycardia in athletes, and also might help scientists understand why athletes can have heart problems later in life.

...

Many amateur athletes wear their reduced heart rates as a competitive badge of honor, proof that they are really fit. Unfortunately, sinus bradycardia is not always an effect worth boasting about. Lifelong athletes with low heart rates need pacemakers later in life much more often than the general population. D’Souza and Boyett became interested in how sinus bradycardia occurs.

- https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/sci...s-not-so-funny

I get the feeling that there's a few examples of the dude described in the first pargraph floating around this forum...

0 C966 over 6 years ago

OMG!!!

when i started exercising 3 years ago, my RHR was in the high 80's, and has progressively went down to the low 60's.

lately it has started to get into the high 50's.

I BETTER STOP EXERCISING IMMEDIATELY!!!

You have already dropped bellow 60bpm man, stop exercising immediately and go to a cardiologist, but don't panic there is still time yet, I'm sure a good dose of sedentarism, poor diet, and rest deprivation will work wonders to raise that RHR and clear that medical condition right up LOL :p

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Ah right ... building strawmen is the new game then?

Got nuts son. I still think it's better just to admit it when you're wrong, but each to their own.

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

I think it´s you who jumps to conclusions. The medical condition gives a slower heart rate = true, but it does n´t mean a slow heart rate is a medical condition. It's like saying, if my foot hit a stone I feel pain, therefore if I feel pain my foot must have hit a stone?

The human body is a complex product and can not be measured in straight numbers. There is always people who will differ from that are supposed to be normal without having a medical condition.