Heart Rate Monitor

[Scottaddict100]

I had an NSTEMI in July 2015 with a fully blocked LAD and had 3 stents inserted. My heart rate has always been low and even now at aged 74 it is 56 BPM. I was advised during rehabilitation that I should limit my BPM to 130 BPM…..ish. I do a lot of cycling of between 35 and 60 miles per day on 3 days per week.

I need advice as to which Heart Rate Monitor I should purchase. I need a basic one, esy to use and one which I can glance down at and see my heart rate in real time. Any advice or experience would be much appreciated. Thank you.

[pasigal]

I have the least expensive Garmin cyclocomputer. But any reputable brands will be fine. A chest strap or optical arm band is what you need for exercise as the watch based monitors are not accurate enough.

[DWizza]

Hi Scottaddict, I would go for a strap monitor linked to cycle computer . I used garmin gps and strap. My colloid garmin gps has cadence , speed , heart rate and much more it’s old , not Bluetooth but does the job. I’ve have it about 15 years and used to ride with a club. I also use a garmin vivoactive 4s wrist watch for general training, it also has gps . I find it easier to view the bike gps when riding. I had Nstemi and quadruple bypass in July 2023, aged 61. Still finding my way with meds , had some rough times with fatigue, coldness, cognitive impairment… had a change of statins but still getting fatigue and energy crashes so been told to stop the new statin for 2 weeks. Had a month off my original statin and felt great , achieved 5k running goals , it was fab 🤣

[newstent]

Hi S, I just use a fitness app on an Apple Watch and it seems ok. I think you should get up to date advice from a cardiologist though as it’s been a while since they told you that and you may not need to keep heart rate at this level now. I think they recommend 220 minus your age as upper limit generally now but everyone is different and has different levels of fitness etc.

[NannyPat1]

wow, you’re the first person on here to sound almost identical to me! NSTEMI and 3 stents to LAD. Also low heart rate and low bp. I’m pretty fit, was told my HR should not go above 130 bpm . I use a Fitbit Charge 2 which also does an ecg!

[Scottaddict100 in reply to NannyPat1]

Thank you.