high resting heart rate and exercise

[justjenny]

i'm just wondering what peoples opinions are on exercise? I have quite a high resting heart rate, and it only takes something like a glass of red wine or running up the stairs to have it literally through the roof (this is not my anxiety btw this does actually happen lol). I am a healthy weight and only 23, and have a moderately active job... but i'd really like to get my resting heart rate down to an accetable rate... i'm wondering if maybe doing some exercise would help with this (i currently dont do any). The only thing is im scared if i do exercise my heart rate will reach uncontrollable levels!! I dont know whether some regular exercise would help bring my heart rate down, or whether i just have to accept that a high resting heart rate is part of being an anxious person.... my blood pressure is also quite on the high side... thoughts please :-) thanks x

[daniela]

Hello Justjenny,

I have the same problem. My resting heart rate is pretty high and when doing light house work and goes to the roof. I'm also worried about doing exercise, I fear that my heart rate would go too high and will damage my heart. :-(

[justjenny]

hi daniela, yeah common sense tells me that exercise will keep heart healthy & lower resting heart rate.... but like you im scared to do it!

[House fan]

Hi Jenny

What is your resting heart rate at the moment?

House.

[justjenny]

hiya, it varies a lot but about between 90-100 and my BP is about 135/70

[House fan]

Jenny, it would be interesting to find out more about your lifestyle, diet etc. but although 90-100 is quite high for someone of your age, it still falls within the normal range.

Anxiety alone can increase your heart rate, as can eating or drinking the wrong types of food for some time. However, if you really want to lower your heart rate, exercise and a good diet are certainly the way to go. This would in no doubt bring your BP down too.

You have absolutely no reason to fear how elevated your heart rate may be while exercising. Your heart knows exactly what it's doing, and will always beat the required amount to get it's job done. Altough healthy on the outside, if you are in poor physical condition your heart will have to compensate for this, and this means more beats per minute, which can lead to your awareness of it's beating, and perhaps the fear that goes along with it.

I can assure you that you cannot harm a healthy heart by exercising! No matter what you throw at it, it will always perform wonderfully because the heart is a remarkable organ. In fact, your heart would thank you in the long run, because you are taking steps to strenghen it, and in turn making it's relentless job easier. In short, if you got into better physical shape, your heart wouldn't have to work as hard to perform it's vital daily duties. Did you know that some athletes have a heart rate of 30. This is because the have exercised their heart (and remember, the heart is a muscle) and toned it to the extent that it becomes super efficient.

If your diet is poor, regardless of how well you look on the outside, your organs would have been starved of essential nutrients, which over time leads to sluggish organs, high BP and high cholesterol.

By taking steps now to address this, I feel strongly that your overall health and wellbeing would improve as your heart rate and BP come down, and your fitness improves. Again I don't know your physical history, but I would always suggest telling your GP about your intentions, to which I'm sure he/she will be delighted, and will also be able to reassure you about your heart rate.

Hope this helps.

House.

[Flash19]

A normal resting heart rate for an adult can be anything from 50-100bpm. Taking regular exercise will lower your resting heart rate, but resting heart rates are not comparable to those of other individuals. Over training will increase your resting heart rate.

The maximum heart rates of two individuals of the same age, undergoing the same training programme, may vary by up to 60bpm. In other words all those formulas for calculating your maximum and optimal hear rates should be discounted.

My resting heart rate is around 84bpm today. I am 38 years old. I take lots of exercise and score 49-50 on a VO2 max test (an excellent score). I don't know what my maximum heart rate is but I know that I can happily maintain 155bpm for 30 mins with no ill effects. I've seen as high as 180bpm when climbing a hill on my bike, and reckon I regularly hit that level during sparring.

Alcohol increases my heart rate. If I get very drunk then my heart rate will thunder along all night. I'm clearly sensitive to caffeine and it produces palpitations. If you get palpitations then cut out the caffeine and alcohol and chances are that they will go away.

Three years ago, back when I was unfit, my resting heart rate was around 100bpm.

Yes I would prefer if my heart rate was lower but this would appear to just be the way I'm made. Back in 2000 the doctors ran some tests on me and all they could come up with is that my heart is healthy and I just have a rapid pulse but that's normal for me.

Personally I think too much emphasis is placed on resting and maximal heart rates. These days every piece of exercise equipment is configured for the average person, when resting and maximal heart rates can vary by as much as 50bpm and 60bpm respectively, in other words +- 25-30bpm!!!

So personally I wouldn't worry about it.

Hope this make you feel better.

[tim73]

Hmm, I've been concerned recently about my resting heart rate after exercise. Specifically after my mountain bike runs.

My "normal" rate has for years been bang on 60bpm. Obviously after vigorous exercise it's going to be high. When I'm cycling I don't know what it is but I can feel it pounding away when I stop at something like 4 beats a second so that's like 240bpm! Well maybe it's not as much as that, but a lot. Good thing is it comes right down quickly when I've stopped.

Anyway, problem is I'm finding even 4 hours after I've got home and I'm relaxed, the rate is still up at 80bpm and will remain that way possibly for the rest of the evening. I'm also getting twinges of aches in the left arm sometimes, but I get that on and off anyway ("oh yeah, it's just anxiety" as I'm always told). Note that these aches don't occur when exercising.

Blood pressure is okay by UK standards (reading I just took was 114/77. I typically seem to be in the 120 to 130 over 70 to 80 range, which in the US would count as prehypertension for being over 120, but is perfectly normal in the UK).

[nickieb]

90-100 is fine on exercise. Remember everyone is different not a statistic

[danevanscoy968]

90-100 is fine on exercise. Remember everyone is different not a statistic

Yes. I think so.