Ok so I posted up before because was a bit anxious about my heart rate anyway. I have just started and only completed one run on last Tuesday. I felt so wiped out the days following that.
I have a doctor's phone consultation on 30th which I originally booked just to get the ok to go ahead with C25K but now I will have to ask about low heart rate.
I noticed it a few weeks back when I was using a different watch but it's similar with my new one and also when I do blood pressure readings. They are normally about 120/80.
It is saying that my average resting HR is low 50's every day and dips into high 40's during sleep which may bring ot down a bit. When I am awake and sitting down it seems to be more mid 50's. Garmin apparently measures the lowest 30 minutes average so could be lower than what a fitbit or something else would say?
I don't drink or smoke but I have a bmi of 30.5 and I have driven a taxi for work since last July so I wouldn't call myself particularly fit or healthy.
I really don't want to end up with a pace maker at 40. I just want to get fit and healthy and be back "normal". I don't think I have any other major symptoms but I might have just assumed other things were normal.
Has anyone been similar and had nothing wrong please?
Written by
DanDSC
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Oh gosh.... worrying times for you...but...try to get the stats out of your head...until you have spoken with a medical expert.
if you are feeling so tired and low, then ,maybe ease back until that time. If you are anything like many of us, the more you check, the worse things seem... your worry or stress levels, will impact any readings you may have...
It is hard, but if you feel you are struggling then the worry will continue.. If you are feeling ill as well as tried, then perhaps try to get an appointment with the GP sooner?
If you don't feel ill, then could you head out, slower than slow, without your watch... just trickle along and see how it goes... ? Your choice of course... but running naked ( not literally), can sometimes help.
Thank you oldfloss. I was hoping you would reply. I normally feel ok most days, just tired but I put that down to getting up early and working quite long days sometimes. The same as a lot of people.I very rarely have any problems with dizziness and I don't really get out of breath too easily or have any clear or obvious symptoms but I don't know how long it has been around this number.
I did actually think twice about getting a fitness watch due to my anxiety but I just enjoy the part of tracking my progress.
As far as I know my heart rate has naturally been this way forever but I don't know for sure.
I am so determined to get out there and finally be healthier but anxiety is like an extra weight to pull along. I hope when I eventually get out there that it does help keep it at bay.
Yeah, to be honest I have anxiety in spells. 90% of the time I have been able to manage it fine and it doesn't bother me much. I am almost always positive and optimistic but It's just when I have stressful times. I have a lot on my mind like I am 40 next Friday, we have a baby on the way which we thought we were losing but everything is ok. Plus loads of other things.
I had ecg's in the past and they were clear but probably 10-15 years ago.
I am also autistic and I always get a bit iffy mentally around birthday times.
Many of us were anxious when we first started … our weight, our lack of fitness, not being able to breathe, not being able to finish etc etc You are not alone here and that’s why we have this forum to air our anxieties. There is always someone to encourage you.. you are brave enough to write in & ask for advice.. many are not.. but they will have read your post & Old Floss’s advice. So thank you, ☺️ you will be helping them too!!
I get it, I really do! I noticed my low resting heartrate last year. It was low 50s, dipping into 40s and once I freaked out when I noticed it was 38.
I became obsessed with checking my heartrate and saw the doctor. She checked me out and asked about my lifestyle. When I told her I was a runner she said that could be why! She did all the checks she could at the surgery, listened to my heart rate, took blood pressure and referred me for an ECG. Not because she noticed anything but because I was worried. The nurse who did it laughed as she read my notes. The doctor had described me as a super fit athlete! The ECG was normal.
Not happy with that, I asked for a 24 hour monitor. Which I did and which was also normal.
I’ve stopped obsessively checking my heartrate and conceded that I have a low resting heartrate because I’m a runner. Or it may have always been like that - I’ve no idea.
Have all the checks you can to put your mind at rest. If everything is normal - try and forget about it 😊
Thank you, that's really similar to me so it's reassuring. The only thing is that I have not particularly exercised a lot in the last year and I am a bit overweight so I am wondering the reason why. I have a new doctor and she seems really nice so hopefully she will help me.
It’s possible your resting heart rate has always been low. It could be hereditary! While I was worried about mine - I spoke to my sister who isn’t a runner and she has the same issue. She’s been checked too and she is also fine. My heart rate hasn’t changed, but I know I’ve had the checks, so I’ve (almost) stopped worrying. 😊
Yeah thank you, that is good to know. That is the outcome I am hoping for so I can get out there and exercise without much worry. I felt great right after my first run. I just felt fatigued for 3 days after. My oxygen levels are nearly always 97-99 on average.as well. I am going to try and get in doctors earlier and just do some long walks for the moment.
my resting HR is about 52 and being a neurotic health professional I was quite sure I had heart block. Lots of tests later - I did a run with my 24 hour tape and a brisk walk and a bike ride just to be sure and apparently I’m in good shape for 66! Definitely worth checking it out if only for reassurance
Wow that pretty crazy. Have you always kept yourself fit? It's just that I don't consider myself massively healthy. I don't drink or smoke but I don't really exercise other than walking or working. I am looking forward to talking to my doctor though
I have a colleague who this happened to and, after much investigation, it was just how his body worked.
When I'm really in good fitness condition, my daytime resting heart rate can be in the mid 50s and overnight it can dip into the high 40s (usually a couple of hours before waking). Currently my overnight resting heart rate is between 50 and 52bpm.
Do get yourself checked out, but don't get too concerned.
Averages are just that. There will be people on either side of the average who are perfectly normal and healthy.
Thank you, I am hoping for this outcome for myself. My resting heart rate is the same as yours at night.What you have said is spot on and I am trying my best to stay calm.
Don't worry but get it checked. I was a regular runner many years ago and my pulse averaged 36BPM and I felt fine. Now I'm in my 70s I have inherited some familial cardiac problems but keep fit and go to the gym and my pulse averages 40s to 50s. You are doing all the right things and your BP is perfect.
When you run your heart naturally becomes more efficient and the rate will decrease. I'm sure the GP will put your mind at rest and you and your heart will get stronger in time.
Wow yeah that got quite low. Thanks a lot for your reply. It's great that you are still putting in the effort to stay healthy though. I want to be like that. It's what I aiming for.
I only have a phone consultation but hopefully she will look into it a little bit.
Hi Dan. I'm 67 and running just a little at the moment (C25K Week 1, three times a week), and my resting HR has been 47 the last few days. First realised I had a low HR age 25 when a nurse took it for some reason and looked a bit taken aback because it was mid 40s.
As I have high blood pressure the doc sent me for an ultrasound a few years ago, and they told me my heart function was "perfect".
I've been running on and off since doing C25K in 2019 and when I am a bit fitter my resting HR often drops into the 30s. I think some of us are just made like that.
Fingers crossed the medics will reassure you all is OK. I'm betting it will be.
Obviously listen to your doctor first and foremost. But - I am similar - I got an apple watch a few years ago and my resting heart rate has always been below 50 and I regulary get 'low heart rate alerts' because it goes below 40 when I'm asleep. Whilst I have got a lot fitter in the last two years, and it has got lower, this is only by a few beats a minute. I had a 24 hour ECG thing and basically nothing wrong, and I've been like this for the last two or three years. I'm either an olympic level athelete, or I just have a naturally low heart rate. And if you see me running, you'd know which ... it's just one of those things I guess.
Pretty much - there was one 'nocturnal pause' but it was reviewed and nobody was concerned. It was only investigated as I pushed it. The GP was pretty dismissive of my apple watch concerns, but the tests showed that the watch was not too far off the mark. In any event, even if it's off, its pretty steady so I'm hoping any changes will be spotted by me. Although that was just for me, and obviosuly not medical advice! Push your doctor for the full tests for
Hi Dan, my apple watch notified me of a low heart rate (39bpm) for over 10 mins while sleeping a few years ago which prompted a phonecall to my GP surgery who were not very interested. I’ve monitored it ever since. My average resting (not sleeping) rate is late 40s, sleep varies but regularly dips to low 40s. Despite what you read about it being too low, if it’s ‘your’ norm then apparently (according to my surgery who I’ve discussed it with again) it is ok. I still worry about it but nobody is concerned but me. I was a drinker and smoker until 3 yrs ago and am in my early 50s. My apple watch thinks Im an athlete due to this, I have the highest cardio rating for a woman my age but only did 10k steps a day before starting c25K! Both times my HR has been checked (note in the surgery and not resting) and been mid 50s, Ive shown them data on my phone but there has been no interest in sending me for further tests so Ive had to accept their word. I would get it checked out but Im sure like me they will just advise it is your norm and not something to worry about. Good luck!
Thanks a lot, that's really interesting. When I was younger I used to play a fair bit of sport but I drank and smoked from 13-21 and I definitely don't feel athletic so I am hoping it's just normal for me.The problem is with Anxiety you start going down a rabbit hole and thinking what if I have heart block or have had a silent heart attack etc I mean it's possible but probably really unlikely.
I am feeling a bit more relaxed about the whole thing today though. I think I am just freaking out a bit about being 40 and it has probably made me stress more than usual.
Not HR but...a few years ago I used to have a cheap watch that measured my blood pressure. It was always normal then one day for no apparent reason it jumped around 20 points. I was a bit worried for a few days then bought a new watch that doesn't measure BP and I've not had a problem since 😂Having said that, your approach is MUCH more sensible.
Ok, so a small update for anyone in a similar position or worried and comes across this. I spoke to my doctor and she said that everyone worries more now that there is smart watches. I didn't even tell her that's how I noticed it.
I tested mine also with a blood pressure monitor and a oximeter.
She has booked me for an ecg and blood test as a precaution next Monday so fingers crossed and I can get back out there. Although she said I can exercise now if I want as she wasn't massively concerned.
Hope your RHR measurements are not causing you further anxiety. From your history I think a good strategy would be a goal to reduce your BMI?
I am a 68 year old male with no known current health issues. Had a problem a few years ago with chronic urine retention but that has been solved (touch wood) with surgery.
I've always tried to remain active in some form or other but realise this presents its own challenges - since retirement I've adopted a 'use it or lose it' mantra as a guiding principle to extend my healthspan, which now incorporates 5k runs three times a week, once a week weights session in the gym, walking football once a week and tennis on average three times a week.
Out of interest I decided to measure my RHR - first I took an overnight reading, which came out as an average of 36bpm. Then I logged my RHR after getting up from overnight sleep - over a week and five recordings this averaged out at 43bpm. I don't exhibit any Bradycardia symptoms. Last time my BP was measured this came out at 117/77. My BMI is approx 23.5
So I wouldn't worry about your heart rate measurements too much - they sound OK to me and you are trying to exercise, which is a good plan.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Should I worry about my heart rate?
Maximum heart rate %
Low heart rate question
Max heart rate?
