maximum heart rate at excersise

[Maxbar]

looking for guidance on at what is safe level for my age 71, always kept myself fit, until my shock of having CAD 2 yrs ago but recently been advised safe to up my excersise routine but am unsure what level to take my heart rate to try to keep it below 140 when jogging but but that rate is hard to maintain even though no pain and not out of breath, I could up it but am unsure of the consequences .haven't got a follow up with consultant until Nov so just looking for advice or experiences 👍👍

[Happyrosie]

the general max heart rate is 220 minus your age, and some say to should be in fact 85% of that figure. So 220 minus 71 is 149. 85% is 130 .

You are listening to your body and I’m sure you won’t be running in the heat of the day.

[Mark_1968]

Max, I’d definitely ask a cardiologist this question. There is a site called icliniq that I’ve used a few times. Cardiologists are in India etc but seem pretty good. I’ve had 2 good experiences and 1 not so good. I think it’s £15 to ask a cardiologist and you get a couple of follow up questions… maybe this would be a good option ? I’d still prefer to ask your own cardiologist through.

[Lowerfield_no_more]

The BHF recommends you should exercise up to 70% of your maximum heat rate, which means, for a 71 year old, you should not exceed 104bpm. And that does not, apparently , take into account any pre-existing heart conditions. See here

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

I suggest you discuss with the BHF Heart Helpline nurse if you are unable to see your cardiologist until November.

But at its basic level, listen to your body during and after exercise and respond accordingly, and certainly don't overdo it.

[Traveldreams]

depends on your heart condition. Some issues such as valve surgery change the range. Get professional advice x

[DWizza]

Too many factors for us to consider Maxbar, your current fitness , your condition , perceived exertion is obviously personal but the numbers don’t lie .. I had a cardiac coach that was the other end of the scale compared to the NHS rehab physios , he was supportive of me pushing bio to 140bpm and above if I felt ok , this was after 6-8 months gradual increase in training intensity for 5k running post quadruple CABG after Nstemi. Always err on the side of caution to prevent injury/set backs so that I could continue training rather than be off recovering again .

One thing I learned is that there really is no rush ( I was desperate to get fitter as soon as possible! 🤦🏼🤦🏼🤦🏼) the consistency is what counts .

Ego is hard to keep in check when we want to prove to ourselves and everyone else that we are okay after a cardiac event 🤣.

[Sb1171]

I would also bear in mind that the “220-age” formula is only an approximation. We are all different and your max may be higher or lower than that. The only way to find out is to “max out” - it literally won’t go faster than max, but that obviously isn’t safe for some people. As an example my natural max is 185, suggesting I am 35, but I am over a decade riper than that! I also say “natural” as it can be impacted by meds. I am on Nebivolol and that reduces my max to 165. This obviously makes a big difference as my 85% is about 140 medicated, vs 157 naturally. I was advised that focussing on “perceived exertion” was the better way to go. Check out the perceived exertion scales.

[TasteLessFood4Life]

As some have mentioned, it is 220 - age as a rough guide - so for you around 150. Key is to know how you feel at that 'limit'. If you feel ok and think you can push harder, you probably are not at your limit and therefore, the formula is a guide.

For me personally, once I get near to my limit - I need to exercise really hard to reach it. Not sure if fitness or age now, but reaching that peak is a lot harder now.

Finally, I would not be comfortable to be at my limit for a long time with CAD. No point in stressing your heart, while moderate exercise will do.

[Maxbar in reply to TasteLessFood4Life]

thank you will take that on board.

[michellefisherm]

Hi. Here is a good site to use to calculate max heart rate. It accounts for beta blockers.

fameexercise.com/delivering...

Without beta-blocker medication = 206.9 - (0.67 x age)

With beta-blocker medication = 164 - (0.7 x age)

[Maxbar in reply to michellefisherm]

thanks will have a look. will keep me excersise very steady until I see cardiologist 👍👍

[Chinkoflight]

It's a great question and it's so relevant. I am sure you're right to want to be exercise and to do so as vigorously as possible. It's not really an age dependent question in that sense because it's possible to over do it at any age. But I guess purpose defines the rules. After a stroke I discovered jogging and loved it. There is no doubt my fitness levels dramatically improved. This January I had a sudden cardiac arrest while on a Parkrun and spent nearly 7 weeks in hospital before an ICD was fitted. Although my heart, valves and circulation were generally, and surprisingly good to some of the cardiologists who had made hasty predictions as to cause, some damage had been done to heart tissue and ventricular tachycardia was an ongoing threat.It's absolutely clear to me that my prior exercise regime put me in a strong position for recovery, but this was a huge setback, and the loss of fitness from the hospitalisation was alarming.

While many were recommending caution and there were plenty of knowing looks and suggestions about 'running at your age', ' what do you expect', my cardiologist declared I was safer to do exercise than he was having my ICD implant.

But having time to look back at my exercise stats from my fitness watch no matter how carefully I warmed up, there were some runs that it was clear my HR would rise rapidly to 160- 180 that didn't seem dependent on effort but would cause some limited breathlessness. I did query this with the cardio team because after the stroke I had an implanted loop recorder fitted (24/7/365 ECG) and I wanted to know whether they were seeing anything unusual. The reply was no red flags evident for HR over 184, throw your fitness watch away!!!

I think they were wrong and missed information. My personal view is they fit devices but have no time to monitor them properly. I put in a request for my data but got no response and negative vibes from some staff. I had a similar monitoring problem with my ICD.

I know I'm going on but I think the background is important. Moving and exercise is critical at any age for good health. It's impossible to say what is the greater risk for health I suggest, limited exercise or plenty of exercise. When in hospital it was very clear to me I was fortunate I could and did exercise and equally clear that many people needed more exercise and declined dramatically like me for lack of exercise in hospital.

So I was determined as soon as I was out of hospital to get back into exercise using a jogging regime. I'm not allowed to drive for 6 months and post op couldn't jog/lift for 6 weeks to allow the ICD to settle in. So I started to walk much more.

Running was a challenge to start off with, because it was associated with my SCA triggered by a long run of recorded VT. I made a decision to keep my HR below 130. This was the point previously when the sudden peaks of 160+ kicked in. So I now back off or walk until it settles back to less than 100. Once I back off it's very unusual to rise suddenly again and I can safely jog on (slowly) for longer distances (10k) and keep my average below 120. There are times I run where the HR doesn't fly up at all.

Both my 'life events' came without warning. The Drs on both occasions said my rapid recovery was in part due to my general good health.

I know that heart disease can limit dramatically mobility etc, and I accept that might happen to me, but if you can walk 5 steps, you should for as long as you possibly can. The stroke initial impact was more scary than the SCA of which I was blissfully unaware.

I doubt you can get any sort of personalised guidance and I'm very sceptical of the generalised HR guidance levels.

But my exercise is not to set records, it's to live. And two mantras from Couch to 5K. Always exercise at a conversational level. And follow the rule no pain, no pain. IE if uncomfortable in any way stop!

[Maxbar in reply to Chinkoflight]

brilliant comeback I think we are on the same wavelength ,but I'm just going to take it easy and not run if I can't keep my hr below 130, it's funny but in the gym on treadmill I can keep well within and same with swimming ,but running outside is difficult to control ,time to take time.and well done to you for keeping on moving keep it up and I hope all goes well for you 👍👍👍

[am1875]

I’m 76 and taking Carvedilol (Coreg) and even on treadmill it’s hard to get HR above 100. That’s obviously why prescribed.

[Snowflake01]

Hi, I hadn't seen your post when I posted something similar last week:

healthunlocked.com/bhf/post...

There's different ways to get your (1) HR Max and then (2) apply the percentage. Additionally, 70% seems to be the standard guidance, but others have been advised differently (as per replies on my post). Everything has to be tailored to the individual as there's too many factors to consider and I would recommend seeking professional advice!

HR Max - basically three methods: (a) 220-Age; (b) 208 - 0.7*Age (there are several variations on this, including the betablocker adjustment); (c) Treadmill or Field test, which should be supervised! Based on these 3 methods, my HR Max could be from 165bpm to 180bpm 😮

Applying % - a couple of ways I know of: (a) straight % multiplication; (b) factoring in your Resting HR (Karvonen formula). Using the second method for 70% added 10-15bpm for me.

In conclusion, there is quite a bit of variation in advice provided, but you should stick to the advice from professionals you've personally been given. I think if you want to explore this more deeply, then finding a 'Sports Cardiologist' or other suitably qualified professional would be the route 🙂

[Maxbar in reply to Snowflake01]

thank you for your advice 👍👍