Pulse rate

[brucey]

I am worried my pulse rate is too slow. When I am resting (ie sitting on the sofa doing nothing) it can be as low as 57

I had a heart scan and ecg and 24 hour monitor recently and all ok with my heart (although I get ectopic beats), but I do take my pulse regularly and obsess about how 'slow' it is

I spoke to the cardiac nurse last week and she said this was very normal (so why can't I believe her!!). This sounds daft but I actually got worried again after reading about Liberty X star Michelle Heaton. Apparently she has something up with her heart (although the docs don't know what) and she said "after an 'episode' her pulse can be as low as 50" and she is worried she may need a pacemaker in the future. That made me worry as I thought, well 50 isn't that much slower than 57

My pulse is faster when I am moving around

Would love to hear from you all on this as I got a lot of reassurance about ectopics from this site (I think mine were anxiety related as they came on after the birth of my first baby when I was really anxious that he would be OK (checking he was still breathing 10 times a night, etc etc!!)):wacko:. Now that I don't worry about them so much they don't seem so bad

XXX

[Hila]

I got the same problem at the moment, my resting pulse is 52-62. Very slow, I jump around all the time afraid that my heart will stop. It took ages last night for me to fall asleep as again I was very afraid that my heart rate would go any slower during sleep.

I am sorry this won't help you, just to let you know you are not alone!!!:ohmy:

[Alabasterlyn]

My resting pulse was around 60 for years and since I started using a treadmill it's gone down to around 56/58. I worry too but my Dr has never seemed to think it's a problem. When I am on the treadmill my pulse goes pretty fast, around 125 and then that worries me too. Guess at times we can't win :ohmy:

[Jocookie]

My anxity was fuelled when I went to the docs due to feeling faint after exercise and once passing out in Sainsbury (mega embarassing :blush: ). I had an ECG and my pulse rate was 49, the nurse went to check this was okay with a doc before letting me go. The doc said I was young(ish) and healthy so it was fine.
I became totally obssessed (too many S's-maybe-I've had a glass of wine:busted:) over it though- taking my pulse at work- in the car- in bed- just to check it wasn't going any lower.

I saw a heart specialist and have had a 24 hr ecg and a tilt table test. I haven't had my follow up yet but the specialist said it was nothing to worry about and people just have different heart rates. He also said my heart rate responded normally to exertion (increases) which means I have nothing wrong with my heart. The tilt test also showed my slow heart rate was not the reason for my faints.

Anyway, this may not have totally reassured you as but I just wanted you to know there are people with an even slower pulse rate than you and are okay-hopefully.
The doc did mention that people who are really fit have very slow pulse rates so maybe that's a factor for you.
I still obssess over it at times-usually when a I'm bit stressed but I've definitely improved. Like you say-when you stop worrying about things so much they tend to go away, at least for the majority of time anyway.

I hope you improve and I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, just as your CARDIAC nurse has said. We really should start to believe these people you know!

Take care, Jo.

I'm so not gonna google Michelle Heaton-honest.

[ECR]

WAIT A MINUTE!

A resting pulse rate of 60 or thereabouts? That is PERFECT! Obviously I can't speak for all of your individual situations but what I can most definitely tell you is that a resting pulse rate of around 60 is optimum! Its not too slow at all. AT ALL!

I do have some heart issues and I am on medication for blood pressure and pulse rhythm and on this medication my pulse at rest is sometimes 45-50! And I feel fine with it generally. Most of the time at rest my pulse is 60 - that's the medication purposefully making it 60. Don't worry about that being too slow!

Also don't believe what you read about members of pop stars in magazines. Every individual is different so even if you did know what was wrong with her, it doesn't suggest anything about you or anyone else. However, you know better than to believe a thing you read in the press - especially about celebrities and their health problems!

Hope this has been helpful.

[brucey]

A HUGE thanks to everyone who replied to me. This site is FAB. I feel totally reassured now and haven't even taken my pulse once today.

Lots of love to you all

XXXX:yesyes:

[Piglet]

Well done hun :yesyes: .

Just to add that my resting pulse can be low 50's or in the 70's depending on what level of anxiety I've got.

Personally I am always chuffed to bits when it's in the 50's - shows I'm nice and calm!!

Piglet :flowers:

[brucey]

Just thought I would finish this one off with some good news (just incase anyone else suffers from this same anxiety)

I spoke to the Cardiac Nurse today and she said that even a resting pulse of 50 was completely normal. She said if I ran marathons, it would perhaps be EVEN lower

So if anyone else worries about a slow pulse DON'T WORRY IT'S NORMAL (I think I might even take my own advice this time!!)

Lots of love
:yesyes:

[Piglet]

:yesyes:

Piglet :flowers: