Resting Heart Rate

[Vicki1709]

I have just purchased a Suunto Spartan fitness tracker. It reads as my resting HR is around 55-60. But when i feel like im in AF it goes up to 90- 130.

I am on 150mg of flecanide twice a day and 5mg bisoprolol a day.

Is 55-60 normal HR at rest?

[feejbee]

Absolutely

[Hidden]

Yes, pretty much.

I have a Fitbit tracker and over the course of a week taking in working days and rest days mine is around 58 to 63.

Always remember though these trackers are not medical devices and therefore should only be used as a "guide". The point is they are better than nothing and if I saw a large variation, like all of a sudden it became 90 to 110, and this was confirmed by my blood pressure monitor which also tracks AF events then I'd be off to my GP or local A & E like a shot.

John

[BobD Volunteer]

For a normal non athletic person "normal" is 70 bpm but anything between 60 and 80 or even 100 is acceptable. Above that is tachycardia and below bradycardia.

For athletes HR can be as low as 40 and I once recorded an old lifeboat man at 36BPM who roared with laughter at the look on my face. He was perfectly happy and fit and had always had such a low rate. On the other hand a friend developed a rate of low 50s and was so ill he had to be hospitalised and eventually had a pacemaker fitted. These are usually set around 72 bpm.

So you see Vicki there is such a wide margin that what is important is how you feel. I would also caution against using many over the counter devices which claim to monitor pulse etc as few are capable of reading accurately if a person has AF. If your AF rate really is as low as 130 you are very lucky as most people are up in the high 180 to 220 range.

[Rellim296 in reply to BobD]

Anything designed for fitness is surely going to struggle with a heart when it's not behaving in the normal way.

We are all different. My normal rate is usually in the low fifties and often in the forties and I'm fine with that. With AF I may get as high as 150, but usually lower and it then slows to about 90 for an hour or so as it subsides. I find it hard to tell when it has gone back to normal with no irregularity.

[Mrspat]

I have a FitBit and my resting heart rate is around 58-60. Another good question is what constitutes exercise, i.e non resting heart rate. My main exercise activity is swimming and unfortunately my model of FitBit isn't waterproof. The highest rate that I've recorded is 130 when walking. I rarely know if I'm in AF as I am rate-controlled and only feel irregular rhythms sometimes.

[paulh1]

Vicki, I have a Suunto Quest. It tracks my hr with a chest strap. However, the ep is only interested in your heart rhythm so all my charts of my way out of wack heart beats even though impressive did not give him the info needed. I got an Alivecor device which tracks my heart rhythm. I bring my phone into the office and show them the recordings. It gives them more to go on.

[momist]

Personally, I would be very suspicious of any readings your HR tracker gives whilst in AF. It probably has software limits to both max rate and period variation that preclude an accurate measure to AF. Your resting or normal SR rate will be OK.

[Pam296]

I'm now a bit suspicious of fitness trackers. I was at a health spa last weekend so kept taking my fitbit off as it isn't waterproof. I looked at the App in the evening and was horrified to see that my HR had been 170/180 for 2 hours. I only have PAF very occasionally and for no more than a couple of minutes at a time. I then realised I hadn't been wearing it during those hours. It had been in a draw! I don't think I'll be relying on it for my HR in future.

[Mike-tyson]

I have an App on my phone called Heart Rate Free. You just click on the app and the light comes on next to the camera lense. Then all you do is lightly put your index finger over the light and lenses and it then after about 10 seconds gives you you your heart rate and shows the rhythm in a sign wave type graph. My doctor was not keen on me using it until we checked it against his equipment and to his surprise it was just one beat per min different to his equipment. I find this very useful as you can download it for free with no charge for using it.