Heart Rate?
 

Ok for as long as I remember I have had what you might call a slow heart rate.
During the day it's a low 40's but resting it's low 30's with 32 being the norm.
Exercise time and I can reach 190-200 bpm so that seems normal.
My question is what is considered normal, and would this be a cause for loss of feeling in my legs and arms at night?
If I lay wrong I will lose all feeling in my arms and sometimes my legs...move abit and it all comes back. Just plain poor circulation or is this something I should get checked?
Thanks.

Considering Lance Armstrong's resting heart rate is 32, you're definitely abnormal. While abnormal is good for Lance, it could be good or bad for you.

yeah, for people in REALLY good aerobic shape, marathon runners, Lance Armstrong, etc..., down in the 30s is "normal", but for other folks, that is probably a bit slow.

Now, what that means to you, I don't know. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

Bradycardia is what they call it. Pump going slow moves less volume, gives less pressure. Too low ain't good for your brain, or anything else. Unless you are an elite athlete(world class track star, cyclist or swimmer) you may have something bad going on. Get it checked out.

Bradycardia can sometimes be an issue but only if it causes issues with circulation (fainting, etc). It sounds like this just might be you, some people run slower than others. It's not a bad idea to talk to your doctor about it, if you are on any meds that might slow your heart rate that might be part of it.

Thanks for the info and I will get it looked at. While I am in good shape and was a Cat 3 rider back in the 90's this has only been an issue with the numbness for the past year or so. Wish I had Lance's Vo2 Max to go along with it...him and Indurain.

Yea, Lance's #'s are simply inhuman. The guy is just a freak of nature. A lot of it really is the genetics.

I run 6 miles per day when I'm home in Fort Lauderdale

-If it matters to you, I run 7:30 mile pace on treadmills. I do about the same pace around Wilton Manors, the suburb of Fort Lauderdale that I live in.

N!

Ok I just looked up Bradycardia and none of the symptoms except the numbness seem to match. It mentions problems with exercise, my fitness level is very good and so is my diet. Genetics may be it but to rule out an issue I will get it checked. Every year I have my exam and blood pressure/pulse reading and all they say is wow your heart is slow do you exercise allot?

I see you're in Montana. What's your elevation? There's a lot of high terrain up there. I'd think a lower resting heart rate at a higher-than-normal elevation could pose even bigger problems if there's something bad going on (less ppO2).

At the house we are about 3k ft...Mtns near by are 4k - 8k range but I don't really notice. Last year I was cycling at over that altitude in France with no issues but yes I would think it would not help.

Maybe under less stress now? What has changed?

You mentioned that your heart rate goes up normally with exercise so I doubt there is much to be concerned about, if you weren't having the numbness I would say just mention it at your next scheduled appt.

I run 70 at idle.

+ 60-70% lapping slow 3/4 mile straight [30 minutes].

90 BPM at the moment. I just finished a 5 mile rollerblade a half hour ago. It takes me about 20 minutes per 5 miles. Not sure if this helps you at all... Elevation is about 850ft.

I hope all turns out OK.

I would have it checked out.

My resting rate is 42 and I hit around 180 at extreme exursion. But that is after 20 years of hard core cardio training.....

What is your blood pressure like?

Cheers

My blood pressure is normal from what I recall, I mean at 39 I feel as good as I did at 25 just more and more I end up with numb arms and legs when I sleep or sit in one position too long.

Mattress issue?

I'd sort of agree with Slodave's comment. I don't think your altitude can have anything to do with it though. I used to have a heartbeat in the mid 40's aftewr I worked & lived in the mountains at above 8K ft. & up to 12K+ ft. for 3 to 4 months. However, that was a result of living at an altitude where the partial oxygen pressure was low. That caused my red cell count to go sky high to compensate for the lack of oxygen and resulted in a reduced heart rate when I went to a lower elevation.

You must have a big heart there, my friend! :)

Joking aside, your pump needs to be pretty effective to supply enough blood flow and pressure to your body with only 30-40 pumps per minute. Seeing as you can raise it up to normal exercise levels without problems, I doubt there is any serious problems. However, I would like to see an ECG, preferably over 24 hours, to rule out any abnormal sub clinical rhythm patterns.

The symptoms at night in your extremities may very well be related to sub sufficient blood flow and pressure. Or a couple of hundred of other factors..

Along with the topic of heart rates, do any of you that run consistently agree with the maximum heart rate charts? I'm 46 and just got done running 4 miles on my treadmill. My heart rate barely reached 170bpm until the end. I averaged 10:00min miles. I felt fine the whole time and could or run at least another mile or so. I think my maximum rate according to the charts is something like 145bpms. At that pace I feel like I am getting absolutely nothing out of the workout and could do that for at least an hour or two. Are these guideline drawn out for the entire population including those that have very little exercise? My resting heart rate is about 55bpm. One sympton I had with a low resting hearbeat is that I occasionally would get an ectopic heart beat.

Interesting. You always hear about the generic "max" heart rate formula of 220-[your age], and then anaerobic and aerobic thresholds set as a percentage of "max". My wife is 34 and very fit. She regularly exercises at a heart rate of 185-190 for extended periods. This worries me, but she seems to be able to sustain it. She sweats a ton, but otherwise doesn't appear to have any ill effects. Her resting heart rate (or "idle") seems to run a bit high, like around 70-80. Given her fitness level, it would seem it would be lower. She does have Thallysemia (sp?), which is a blood disorder where, I believe, her red blood cells are "small".

This is an interesting thread.


JA

185-190 is very, very high for a 34-year-old. Good on her if she can do it, but that's a very high rate.

Some people can just do it. In practice I've been maxing out about 190 (but I can't hold it for long), my "theoretical" max is 183, so it's not an exact science. A friend of mine (who's 35) can do intervals up over 205, but it's pushing the aerobic threshold. That's extremely high.

Abnormal bradycardia is usually related to medication (beta-blockers or Ca++ channel blockers), a condition called sinus node dysfunction (Sick Sinus Syndrome), or "heart block" of some form. Pseudo-bradycardia can occur if you are having non-perfused premature heart beats (PVC's).
It sounds like you have a normal activity associated heart rate range and no symptoms that I would identify with a pathological condition. Low resting heart rates like that are normal for fit individuals with a genetic predisposition. It appears unlikely that you have anything to worry about.
By the way, the algorithm for max HR calculation is for sedentary, unconditioned individuals. Fit individuals can usually attain higher max rates.