The monitor however showed great fluctuations in heart rate. Eg, during an hour of mostly resting, it would go up and down between 65 and 80 and spike 2-3 times around 100. Similar when sleeping, ranging within an hour 50 to 70 and one spike at over 90.
Are these fluctuations and spikes normal?
While jogging, heart rate rises to 170 (from 110-120 walking) within the first five minutes, and goes up to 190 towards the end of 30min run. During this I feel a little out of breath, not too strained.
Is it OK for HR to be that high when exercising?
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This is what a youngish GP told me. That when he was exercising in the gym and doing something quite extreme, he might be able to hit 150bpm, but wouldn't be able to keep it there for more than a few seconds.
I also asked another GP, if when out walking the coastal footpath my heart rate shot up, at what level should I let it get to before calling for help and was told 130.
However, as even normal people without heart arrhythmias can get extra beats each day, I personally wouldn't worry unless they were making me feel ill. In fact after 16 years of AF I no longer keep checking what my heart rate is (did for many years when it first started). Doing so would make me anxious and my heart rate zoom up.
Don't forget it's not just moving around that causes our heart rates to rise, it's anything that might stress us, like an action film on tv, or a dream when we're asleep.
Do you feel ill when your heart rate is high?
I would voice your concerns re your pulse rate fluctuating to your GP, it would be interesting to hear his/her opinion.
"a youngish GP told me. That when he was exercising in the gym and doing something quite extreme, he might be able to hit 150bpm, but wouldn't be able to keep it there for more than a few seconds." he must have been a VERY unfit person imo.
Even after a SCA & Triple bypass, I can now get HR up to high 140's bpm and maintain it for 20-30mins.
So, it can vary a little bit depending on fitness and other factors, but anything between 50 and 100bpm when awake is considered within normal. A jump of 20 beats isn’t actually huge, and variations in heart rate are very normal when you consider that anything from movement, to emotions and thoughts, to even dreams will effect the speed of our pulse. However, there is also a condition that can cause ‘inappropriate’ elevations in heart rate, called inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST). Getting it diagnosed seems to be next to impossible unless your daily average heart rate is above 100bpm, and even with a diagnosis, they don’t understand why it happens and there’s not a huge amount they can try for it even if it’s causing symptoms. I take one of the meds they sometimes offer as a result of another, diagnosed arrhythmia originating from the same part of the heart they think is responsible for IST (the sinoatrial node) with the intention of keeping my heart rate down, but on my last 24 hour holter my heart rate went from 35 when asleep all the way to 180 working out, and was signed off as normal. My resting rate is high 50s low 60s, but it often jumps to 100 just talking or scratching my head. Walking across the room I hit 120+. The minute I stop, it drops back to resting within seconds. IST would absolutely account for these changes, but I was dismissed last year on the basis of that not being widely understood by many medics, including some cardiologists. I’m now saving for a private cardiology appointment, but even with that, I’m not anticipating much in the way of treatment, and generally speaking it’s only considered problematic if it’s causing additional symptoms like dizziness, fainting or chest pain. Although I get occasional chest pain (which is another reason for the consult), it’s not tied to my heart rate - I just want someone to acknowledge that what my rate does isn’t ‘normal’ and that there is a diagnosable reason why it does it!!
Although IST isn’t considered much of a problem, exercising is the one area I’m cautious about. I work out regularly, but the advice generally is that you shouldn’t exceed 85% of your maximum heart rate for sustained periods. The very broad formula used to work out what your maximum heart rate should roughly be is 220 minus your age. In my case, that makes it 183, with 85% of that being 157bpm. Although I do regularly go beyond that when exercising (because it’s impossible not to shoot past it with the way my heart behaves), I try not to go too high for too long before pulling back on the effort until it drops back down closer to 160 again. I do this on and off throughout any cardio exercise. As long as it’s not causing severe palpitations, dizziness, chest pain, or feelings of generally being unwell, I’ve been told that exceeding the maximum is ok.
Except he couldn’t keep it at 150bpm for more than a few seconds, surely if they were very, very fit, they would be able to!
I get what you’re saying, but still think 150bpm for a few seconds, for a ‘young’ gym goer is not good, if it is the last few seconds of a marathon, then maybe!!
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Angina at rest but not exercise?
SpO² of around 91 no problems but headaches often and resting hr of 40bpm
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Heart rate during exercise
