What HR qualifies as bradycardia?

[Manhattan1]

last year for a few days i’d been feeling tired, dizzy and was having mild chest discomfort but not serious enough to take my gtn spray .. one afternoon i couldn’t get out of the car because i didn’t think i’d be able to stand (i was a passenger) felt so bad that evening i called 111 but they dispatched an ambulance.. paramedic said my bp was 190/85,, HR was 50 and resps were 26.. after spending the night on a ward hooked up to monitor.. doc said my heart was struggling to hit the low 50’s.. spirilactone was stopped and ivabradine reduced to 5mg a day... after all this lolol.. question is..what HR should cause concern enough to call for medical help?

[Hidden]

Hi,

It’s not so much the HR that causes concern as the rhythm your heart is beating in and the symptoms you have.

“ Normal “ HR is an individual thing. My heart rate is naturally fairly low ( in the 50’s ) but I can tolerate a HR in the 40’s without any symptoms. So if you feel as unwell again it’s important to seek medical help, if you notice your heart rate is low but feel fine then I wouldn’t worry as much.

[Manhattan1 in reply to Hidden]

thanks👍.. HR since meds were changed is normally around 60.. several occasions it’s went down to low 50’s without any other worrying symptoms.. will seek medical help if other symptoms resurface

[Manhattan1]

thanks.. from now on will be more alert to symptoms rather than HR

[Kwenda]

Physical fitness has a huge effect on the lower heart rate range.

During a colonoscopy the doctors stopped their work because of my ‘bradycardia’..

But in fact I am just fitter than their ‘average’ patient, so my resting heart rate is much much lower.

During sleep it gets down to 46-48 and average resting heart rate is 52-54.

However bradycardia is often quoted as a heart rate below 60 for a person in their 70's…

We are all different, and fitness and age will affect our resting heart rate

[Manhattan1 in reply to Kwenda]

i’m 64 yr old female... wouldn’t call myself fit lol.. also have type 2 diabetes and ckd stage 3, high bp so don’t really know what my average HR should be

[Kwenda]

If you need some baseline heart rate figures to begin with I might suggest getting a Garmin Vivosport or a FitBit wrist device. My checks have shown them to be surprisingly accurate.

Once you have some basic HR figures you would know more what to do.

The Garmin Vivosport produces more data than we need, but it can be easily customised to show only the figures we are interested in.

On the device, scroll to heart rate, it then shows current heart rate, and the average Resting Heart Rate for the last seven days. When I press the heart rate indicator it then shows the averages for the last hour.

A simple and easy way to begin checking what is a 'normal' heart rate for you

[Manhattan1 in reply to Kwenda]

thanks for that👍😊

[John-Butler]

My heart rate at my last ECG was 47 ,usually in the 50s but I am on a beta blocker since Mitral valve repair it does not cause me any problems. As long as the rhythm is ok low heart rate is not normal a concern

[Manhattan1 in reply to John-Butler]

thanks John... just that one occasion i’d been feeling pretty unwell for a couple of days but thought it would pass.. was gradually feeling worse.. glad i called 111.. paramedics arrived within 10 mins and said there was a lot going on and took me to hospital.. if it happens again i won’t wait as long before seeking advice from 111