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higher heartrate during cold runs?

afarnedi
over 4 years ago

Hi all, I've noticed that during winter runs and especially when the outside temp is close to 5°C or even less, it seems my heartrate is sensibly higher than usual. Sometimes I'd say even irrealistic, i.e. close to 190 that's definitely out of my heart capabilities...

Is there something related to out temp that can affect bpm readability? edit: I'm using inbuilt optical reader

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Yes - lack of humidity. Giving you poorer contact between you and your watch. Do you use a strap or the inbuilt optical reader?

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to olni65

    I'm using inbuilt optical reader but I'd exclude poor contact with my wrist thanks to sweat and outside humidity; where I live, winter is most of the time foggy and definitely not dry

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    When its cold your veins go deeper, so its more difficult for OHR to estimate HR.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Yes, one of the body's responses to cold is to divert blood flow away from the extremities (eg. hands and feet) and from the surface of the skin, to preserve body heat for the essential organs in the head and torso. This decreased blood flow at the wrist makes it harder for the OHR sensor to pick up your heart rate. If light enters the sensor in a rhythmic way with each arm swing, the sensor can lock onto this (cadence lock) rather than the difficult-to-read reduced blood flow.

    Things you can do:

    * wear warmer clothing, especially long sleeve tops and even gloves to encourage blood flow to the hands.
    * ensure the watch band is snug and positioned on the fleshy part  away from the wrist bone, to reduce the chances of cadence lock.
    * if all else fails, consider using a chest strap HRM in these cold conditions.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I am not a doctor here.

    My thinking is your body and heart have to work harder on extreme temperatures (too cold or too hot).

    share.upmc.com/.../

    So the higher HR could be contributed by your own body system. Not just due to measurement error.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to DPSK

    Uhm... I tend more for the previous explanation... I don't think my heart can reach those high bpm.. 190 is by far above my threshold 

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to afarnedi

    You can do manual counting of pulse to verify.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to DPSK

    well I could but honestly during a run is challenging

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to afarnedi

    Stop for awhile. Count pulses in 15 sec. Multiply by 4.

    Probably add a few beats if you can estimate RHR.

    Continue running.

    I mean you have to do it if you think something is wrong. Hopefully it's the watch.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    With added winter gear it can raise your heart rate due to mobility issues and weight, but typically when cold your heart rate will be lower due to less need for cooling (assuming you are not overdressed!)

    BUT - the very high / unrealistic values you are seeing are likely just sensor error, optical HR is tough for a lot of people to lock on and not get 'cadence lock' where it actually picks up the effect of your stride/pressure.  Although in this instance, it being cold will as noted cause capillaries to shrink and to have less visibility to sensor.  Also skin at times will kind of do the opposite and turn red from the cold, this also I imagine makes it hard to find the pulse of capillaries in the skin.  With a HR strap, when its cooler often you won't have enough sweat to keep strap wet and/or static will often be an issue for the first 5-15minutes.