Resting Heart Rate

[Dogtrousers]

Mine used to be in the mid to upper 60s until I found cycling as a hobby rather than an evening distraction. Then got it down to low 50s when awake.
From research at the time, I remember that there is a technical term for a resting heart rate below 60, but that doctors wouldn't normally take note unless it drops below 50. If your awake resting rate is normally less than 50, then make sure that your emergency contact knows about this, so if there is a problem and you are unconscious, they worry more about why you are rather than the low heart rate.

That's an interesting distinction. Does RHR mean lowest sustained heart rate at any time, or just when you're awake?

If I flip through the graphs in Garmin Connect I see I have two distinct values. When asleep it goes down to 40-odd but when awake it doesn't seem to go below 60 ish (from eyeballing graphs on my phone)

 

[BrumJim]

That's an interesting distinction. Does RHR mean lowest sustained heart rate at any time, or just when you're awake?

If I flip through the graphs in Garmin Connect I see I have two distinct values. When asleep it goes down to 40-odd but when awake it doesn't seem to go below 60 ish (from eyeballing graphs on my phone)

I am presuming that if you were in an accident and got knocked unconscious, your heart rate would reflect your waking rate, rather than your sleeping one. Sleeping heart rate has only really become clear to the average person with the advent of wrist-worn heart monitors. Otherwise no one will ask someone to check their heart rate once asleep.

 

[Jody]

Currently 65 odd which is about usual

 

[Dogtrousers]

I am presuming that if you were in an accident and got knocked unconscious, your heart rate would reflect your waking rate, rather than your sleeping one. Sleeping heart rate has only really become clear to the average person with the advent of wrist-worn heart monitors.[ Otherwise no one will ask someone to check their heart rate once asleep.

Yes, when setting up heart rate zones for exercise thingies I use 60 (a stab at my waking value) I don't put the low sleeping values because my RHR hasn't dropped by 20 just because I got a Garmin watch for Christmas.

 

[Cycleops]

I am presuming that if you were in an accident and got knocked unconscious, your heart rate would reflect your waking rate, rather than your sleeping one.

I don't think he'd be wanting to try to find out any time soon.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

That's an interesting distinction. Does RHR mean lowest sustained heart rate at any time, or just when you're awake?

If I flip through the graphs in Garmin Connect I see I have two distinct values. When asleep it goes down to 40-odd but when awake it doesn't seem to go below 60 ish (from eyeballing graphs on my phone)

It usually means awake and in a lying or sitting position. In terms of for the purposes of checking to see if in normal range I think same position and time of day helps. I measure mine, after I’ve got up before doing anything else. My resting heart rate, sat on the sofa is usually in the range 42-49 bpm. No idea what my sleeping HR is as I haven’t worn a watch since 1995.

 

[presta]

When I was cycling my RHR used to be 40-45, and the high thirties during sleep. Sitting here this morning it's 64 but it quickly plummets at the slightest sniff of exercise. In the years when I was rocking up at A&E every verse end it was as near as dammit 45, which just happens to be the bradycardia alarm threshold they set on the bedside monitors. Being as the alarm triggers automatically but needs resetting manually, as my heart hovered 44-45-44-45 the alarm would go off, after 10 minutes the nurse would get fed up of it and switch it off, then a few seconds after she turned her back it would start up again. And again and again.....
For hours on end.

I used to notice my RHR go up by 10+ bpm whenever I was getting ill!

See how my RHR went up whilst I was recovering from bowel surgery, and how the AF meds lowered it slightly:

my resting is 42 , while sleeping it dips to 32 , dizzy 90% the time I stand up but been checked over . It is annoying every time I go for check up that the new nurse always ends up tapping the thing that goes on your finger then changing it , then calling someone else in even when I say it’s always like it !

The first time I was taken into A&E in 2012 the finger clip was showing 70, but my true HR from an ECG was 210. The paramedic showed the ECG to the triage nurse in A&E, but she wouldn't take any notice of the paramedic even. Currently, the worse my heart feels when I fall asleep, the worse my head feels when I wake up.

 

[wafter]

Thanks all!

Too much to quote there, but a general response that I hope address most points raised:

After a bit more digging (thanks Wikipedia!) it seems that the good old US value of 60-100bpm has been lowered to 50-90, which seems more realistic, so those of us at the low end have less to worry about it seems

I think there is a differentiation between resting and sleeping HR, with values down to 30-40 for the latter not considered too uncommon.

It seems typical for HR to increase when you're ill, and to remain a bit elevated post exercise - I imagine especially if you've hit it hard and you're still burning energy to repair damaged muscle.

As for the other end, 6yrs ago when I got my current Polar unit I set my max HR to about 200 and had once or twice just gone over 100% of max when really hitting it hard. However, more recently I've noticed that I very rarely get beyond 90% (probably partially due to age, partially due to changing riding type / style) so might look at revising this. Hit it fairly hard up a hill on the way to work today and only managed to get it up to 88% of max IIRC.. although a more sustained effort out of the saddle might have driven it higher.

For the record I'm 43 and the last three times I've tested my resting RH (last night in bed while writing the OP and twice today when seated in the office) it's been between 48 and 52bpm.

 

[vickster]

Thanks all!

Too much to quote there, but a general response that I hope address most points raised:

After a bit more digging (thanks Wikipedia!) it seems that the good old US value of 60-100bpm has been lowered to 50-90, which seems more realistic, so those of us at the low end have less to worry about it seems

I think there is a differentiation between resting and sleeping HR, with values down to 30-40 for the latter not considered too uncommon.

I think it's typical for HR to increase when you're ill, and to remain a bit elevated post exercise - I imagine especially if you've hit it hard and you're still burning energy to repair damaged muscle.

As for the other end, 6yrs ago when I got my current Polar unit I set my max HR to about 200 and had once or twice just gone over 100% of max when really hitting it hard. However, more recently I've noticed that I very rarely get beyond 90% (probably partially due to age, partially due to changing riding type / style) so might look at revising this. Hit it fairly hard up a hill on the way to work today and only managed to get it up to 88% of max IIRC.. although a more sustained effort out of the saddle might have driven it higher.

For the record I'm 43 and the last three times I've tested my resting RH (last night in bed while writing the OP and twice today when seated in the office) it's been between 48 and 52bpm.

What test did you do to get an accurate max?
With AF mine can go up close to 200 or beyond (according to Apple Watch) and I'm still alive but I wouldn't want to do that while exercising

 

[wafter]

What test did you do to get an accurate max?
With AF mine can go up close to 200 or beyond (according to Apple Watch) and I'm still alive but I wouldn't want to do that while exercising

Crikey, that can't be fun if you're just sat there minding your own business

I think I looked at a range of different methods and ended up using the highest as this was what was closest to the max value I was getting.. probably a fair bit off the mark now though; not that it matters too much.

 

[OldShep]

Aged 72
rhr 42
sitting about through the day around 47
when ill and a medic takes hr and says it’s fine I have to say no it’s not it’s 20 above what it should be!

 

[HLaB]

It was down in the low to mid 40s a few years back but as I am doing less it's now around the low to mid 50s. The phone reports the average of the lowest 20 readings and that was 54bpm this morning.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

For the record I'm 43 and the last three times I've tested my resting RH (last night in bed while writing the OP and twice today when seated in the office) it's been between 48 and 52bpm.

From what I’ve read resting HR has next to no relation to your age, once you are an adult. Where as your max will decline.

 

[kingrollo]

Medicated via ccbs to high forties.

Interesting that lots of people think a low HR is good. Presumably because ultra fit athletes have a low resting HR.

However there are many reasons for a low HR .....and they aren't all good !!!

 

[wafter]

Medicated via ccbs to high forties.

Interesting that lots of people think a low HR is good. Presumably because ultra fit athletes have a low resting HR.

However there are many reasons for a low HR .....and they aren't all good !!!

Cardio increases heart volume so a lower rate is required for the same amount of blood / oxygen delivery, so in this respect low HR is good; although as you say there are many causes of low HR that are not good. Conversely I don't believe a high HR is ever considered beneficial.

We're on a forum that's dedicated to a cardio-centric activity, so it's likely that members will have a lower HR than the general average. Unsurprisingly it seems that pretty much all the respondents are at the bottom of what's considered normal... so unless they have symptoms commensurate with the ailments that correlate with a low HR, what's not to like?