Very high heart rate when walking

[Ianc2]

Just been out for a walk with my wife (about 8000 steps) as we do most days. Her resting heart rate is usually 65. When walking at a reasonable pace her pulse goes up to around 175-180 every day. On returning it drops back quite quickly to about 65 again. She experiences no discomfort when walking and happily goes briskly walking along. Should she be concerned?

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

From what I have seen in the past and considering her resting rate is only 65 I would have expected a rate of 120 to 130. I think it is worth talking to your GP as they may want to run some simple tests, e.g. simple anemia.

[Ianp66]

Depends on age and exertion Ian, mine at 55yr old is usually around 65 at rest with a maximum of 145-50bpm when pushing on, thats about the max it should be I am to believe for my age, it lowers the older you get . I'd certainly have her get it checked out.

[BubbleC]

Wouldn't hurt to mention it to GP, is it brisk walking? My HR goes to 120-130 from a normal walk.

[Ianc2]

Thanks for the comments. I have had a look on the fitbit feedback sites . The pattern of activity measurement seems to be erroneous and quite common, so we will try swapping them round and see what happens.

[reidmar]

there are a lot of factors that can be taken into account such as age, weight, lifestyle etc but if its a worry then a chat with the gp can maybe help remove any concerns, I've had open heart surgery and have been told not to try and keep below 130 bpm but going up to 175-180 initially seems a bit high but if its coming down to a testing of 65 in a reasonable amount of time maybe not an issue but again chat to the GP they're the qualified ones and everyones different. Good luck with everything.

[tunybgur]

Hi lanc,She must be close to her maximum heart rate. This can be approximated by subtracting her age from 220, i.e. if she's 35 it would be 220-35=185, but this rate would only be expected when doing extreme exercise.

It could be an error from whatever device she is using to monitor it, but it could also be an arrhythmia and should be checked out.

[Andyman]

I would talk to my GP.I also would question the accuracy of the watch. Next time out measure it by hand.

[Alison_L]

Try swapping watches for a day, see what the readings are on that.