I'm experiencing some worry about my heart rate, now that I can measure it with my Garmin watch. I read that the Garmin is considered quite accurate.
I also know that a resting heart rate of about 60 beats per minute is normal rising to about 170 in an intense exercise. Using the Nes formula HRmax = 211 − (0.64 × age) and my age of 68.5 I would expect HRmax to be 167.
However my HRrest is about 40, sometimes falling to 35 in deep sleep, as measured by the Garmin, and I can hit 177 at the very end of a Parkrun if I put the pedal down. Technically this would be classed as Bradycardia, anything under 60 is.
On the positive side my HR falls fast after exercise back to around 60-70 in 5 minutes or so.
The worry came from today's 2.5K fast run. See the photo. Notice how as soon as I started (and I got straight into pace, and actually had to throttle back my cadence) My HR zipped right up to 160ish, and then, as if something realised it was bonkers, cut back after a minute and a half. Then the HR rose steadily throughout the run, actually mirroring the terrain ups and down. This could be a recording error I guess.
I have actually made an appointment to see my Doctor, but it's not for a couple of weeks.
Am I worrying unnecessarily, or should I take it easy?
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theoldfellow
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I’m also experiencing similar issues with my garmin. I had a Fitbit charge 2 previously which I think was far more accurate with resting heart rate. My HR is 34-42 according to Mr Garmin. My sister, who is a doctor, said that if I presented in A&E with that they would consider adrenaline. 😳 She took my pulse and it was 12 higher than the garmin. So she is firmly of the opinion that the garmin is at fault. This is only my personal opinion and based on my experience. But The problem, I think, with the garmin, is that it doesn’t continuously record heart rate, unlike the Fitbit. So it’s resting HR calculation is flawed. It under records between 8-10 bpm. The jump or fall in the graph occurs because that is when the HR monitor wakes up. Again, speculation, but I think it rests and only intermittently measures HR to conserve battery.
Try taking your pulse and comparing it with what garmin is showing at wake time and throughout the day.
At the end of the day a visit to the docs for old boys like us is never wasted in my opinion so do it for peace of mind anyway. Good luck 👍
I think for now, try not to worry, and yes it's sensible to see the Doctor, if anything just to put your mind at ease. That sudden drop in HR to me looks kind of strange, and I would probably question that as a technical fault.
Are you on any medication that could be affecting your HR? Certain BP meds can do all sorts of things to your heart rate, especially Beta Blockers.
Now I have a Garmin tracking my heart rate all day, I noticed that on my commute, my HR was pretty high on the motorways and I thought perhaps this style of driving was making me stressed. Until I actually measured my heart rate manually, and my Garmin was giving a reading of 110 but my actual HR was 60! Weird I know!! So although accurate, perhaps they do have these little quirks.
Thanks for that. I'm not on ANY meds at all. I used to take things for bowel function, but running has cured all that completely. I'm going off the Garmin HR as I read these replies....
Others who also monitor their HR will advise you I am sure. I have never monitored my heart rate because I know I would start to worry (I am very good at worrying🙂). If I feel I am struggling on a run or pushing too hard, I slow down, simple as that! (am I naive to run this way?😕) ..but that said, if you feel concerned then that appointment with your gp is a good idea. I am sure he/she will be able to put your mind at rest. Good luck🙂
Me too..like you...steady slow and breathing easy..I would be so paranoid over any weird reading. Regular checks and a sensible listening to the body approach....suits me too xxx
Sorry if I’m being a bit thick, oldfellow, but what exactly is it that you are worrying about?
As far as accuracy, I’d heard the opposite of Garmins...that they were reknowned for having problems and getting cadence (steps per min) and HR figures a bit mixed up...❤️
I have a Garmin too which I’ve had for a couple of months now and my HR seems very similar to yours! My resting HR is usually between 40 and 50 and it dips as low as 38 sometimes! I was a bit worried too as it shoots up to over 160 when I run and stays up there going even higher if I go faster so I’ve been slowing my runs down a bit! I try not to worry too much as I feel ok! I have checked it myself and it is on slow side although not as slow as Garmin says! 😀
OK. I just did some tests, the Garmin reads way way low. 43 Garmin, Real Life 56.
Sorry to have bothered you folks. But thank you all for the replies.
More: I found a site that says that even the ANT+ chest-straps read wrong at the beginning of a a run, because they depend on sweat to work. I wonder if that explains that surge on my photo. Probably.
I have had my fenix 5 do similar, ie all of a sudden hear rate has dropped 20-30 below my expectation. My max would be about 190 and usually on a run I'd see 150-175 but have had runs where it is at 140. I have wondered if the bracelet was too loose and it wasn't recording correctly, I also had a run where it dropped 20-30 beats halfway through a run with no reduction in pace/effort so clearly an error.
About 6 years ago when i was at my peak my resting was about 45 and my peak was 202!! I was about 41/42 at the time and im still here. It all comes down to how healthy you are
I'm sure. But I am only 'on the way' to getting healthy. In April 2018 I was a couch potato. Running has cured a lot of my ills, I was just scared that the blood-pump might force me back onto the couch. Seems not to be the case.
I probably do have a lowish HRrest, my old Dad would faint from low blood pressure, but then he was 93...
I don't think that you mentioned what kind of monitor you are using - wrist based or chest belt. I use a Garmin FR220 with a chest belt and find it to be very accurate , both at rest and when under stress when running. It can go "crazy" as shown at the beginning of your HR trace but this is always because I have not prepared myself adequately before starting to run. The chestbelts NEED good physical and electrical connection to your chest/skin. I now always adequately wet the electrodes with water and wet my chest before putting the belt on - this has eliminated these kind of beginning spasms. I have read a lot of negative things about the wrist based units - but mostly I have read that they are quite accurate at rest but lag behind when stress is applied (they actually measure your blood pulse rather than your actual heart beat. ) I would dearly love to use a wrist based unit - but to properly train using HR techniques you need accuracy especially under stress. Resting HR can simply be taken as a pulse rate with your fingers.
My resting heart rate has gone lower and lower the fitter I've become. I'm 71 and it's down to 52 sometimes. This is as it should be. Top athletes have very low resting heart rate (I'm not counting myself in there!) My only problem is that i have to keep moving when i stop running. My blood pressure is also on the low side but my average heart when running is about 145 and can go up quite a bit higher, so if I just stop, it comes down too fast and i feel faint. the Garmin HRM is supposed to be pretty accurate while you are moving but doesn't come down in real time when you slow down or stop.
52 is low, but the Garmin was saying mine was 42 just now, and it was really 53. And as Brian's sister says that would be adrenaline territory in A&E. Fortunately, I am not believing it any more.
Thanks for the camaraderie though, us oldies must stick together.
I've had fitbits in the past and they gave pretty similar readings for me. Which Garmin do you have? Mine is the Fenix 5s which was top of the range before they brought the new ones out (I didnt pay full price!) so it may be more accurate than the ones further down the chain - dont know. Or your watch wasn't tight enough, or is faulty???
Forerunner 235. Midrange. I don't keep it very tight either because it leaves such a dent in the old skin. I still like it for the run recording. The HR is a bonus, and it does seem to read better once I start sweating up.
My HR is always under 60 and last week went down to 40 (39 at night) according to Fitbit. I’m hypothyroid (but actually gp thinks I’m borderline hyper currently which is what was confusing me) I googled and the wrist monitors are less accurate because of the way they work, with light - chest strap monitors are better apparently.
I’d try not to worry but check with your GP as you have the appointment booked anyway. I’m sure you’d have had other symptoms if it really was that low - not managed to increase distance and pace. Interesting what someone else says about the difference when measured manually - I didn’t measure my pulse myself manually - but I have a blood pressure monitor that does pulse too and it was about 6 bpm higher on that.
I had fitbit charge 2 HR, and admit that I became a little obsessed with my resting heart rate. Then the damn thing started to tell me that I had had a sleep when it was off my wrist. My HR was apparently in the low 40's, a week later it was in the low 60's.
It thought I walked at 11.2 kmph....
I got my money back!!!
I just go out now, happily unaware of my HR, apart from the fact that I know it's still beating.
Mine (a Garmin 25) clearly has off moments when it shows low rates for a brief period, once during a HIIT spurt. Doesn’t seem to spike upwards though. And I have done a check against the readings on the gym treadmill which seemed OK.
Garmin sell running training kit, not medical equipment. And HRMs in any event are a mixed blessing and the numbers are beset with potential errors. And wrist-mounted HRMs are particularly prone to errors.
If you really think there's an issue, see your GP. Don't listen to a piece of running kit without suspending disbelief.
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