Heart rate

[DeusXM]

This morning I was checking my BP, and although that was fine, the heart rate my monitor was reporting was 43 beats a minute! I figured maybe I'd fitted the cuff wrong and missed the artery or something, so I tried again, this time getting a rate of 45. I repeated 10 mins later, again, with a rate of 45!

To check my monitor wasn't faulty I tested it on a mate, and he got readings of 57, 63 and 61.

Now, although I'm not manically unfit, I wouln't exactly describe myself as being pro athlete standard. Double checking on the net confirmed what I thought was right - average heart rate for a medium sized adult is 60-85 beats a minute.

I'm 5'11'' and weigh 10 stone 9, so I'm not exactly an elephant. So what I'm asking is, do I need to worry that my heart rate seems to be so astonishingly low? Basically it's like my heart only beats every 3 seconds, which is a tad frightening.

Also to complicate things, my heart rate really spikes. It's not unusual for it to shoot up to over 90 and then drop straight back down to the 50s in a minute.

[TAutry]

DeusXM,

Amazing observation. I rarely know what my heart rate is. I generally assume that it is still beating.;)

If you are a runner it might not be unusual for your resting heart rate to be that low. You might want to mention it to your doctor at the next visit. The racing/falling thing seems like a potential problem to me.

I recall reading something about that in Men's Health last July in their special heart issue. If you can find it you might want to read the story on Jim Fix. He was the father of the modern running movement. He dropped dead after run. If I am not mistaken, the article mentioned that the rapidly descending heart rate was a contributing factor.

Although you are probably fine, it wouldn't hurt to get checked.

Travis

[DeusXM]

That's what worries me. Whilst I'm not massively unfit, I'm not exactly a hardcore sportsman either, I usually just do weights and some cardio at the gym, and the occasional kick-around. I'm certainly no runner.

[Harold]

the heart rate my monitor was reporting was 43 beats a minute!
Now that's what I call laid back.

Also to complicate things, my heart rate really spikes. It's not unusual for it to shoot up to over 90 and then drop straight back down to the 50s in a minute.

With no external influence, includes thinking of sex..etc, this would bother me and yes you should get it checked out.

[rzrbks]

DO get it checked Deus.

My wife has "Someting":confused: wrong wiith her. Her heart rate sometimes goes from average of 75-80 to 190-210 and she may be doing nothing more than sitting watching TV.

Had all kinds of checks, even had it happen several times while in club meeting where Dr. is part of the group. He's frustrated 'cause he has no clue and neither do Cardiologists at Big hospital where she's been checked several times.

Medication helps control the arrhythmia--but it's very scary when episode happensfirst signs started in her late 20s--early 30s and they slowly progressed from not too bad to where they are now.

[fishy]

Low resting heart rate is usually a good thing as it indicates you are fit and, although you should get it checked, I'd be much more worried if it were too high.

Also some people have a lower heart rate than normal for reasons relating to genetics. The Spanish cycling legend Miguel Indurain famously had a resting heart rate of 29bpm and although he was obviously very fit a lot of this was genetics.

Matthew

[DeusXM]

Anyone know if there's a corrolation between heart rate and BP?

[Harold]

corrolation between heart rate and BP?
Never heard of one from an offical source. However one would think speeding the pump up would increase pressure. That is untill the fluid begins to cavitate which is the limiting factor for every pump. This would seem to be apparent if it be a mechanical or organic pump. The difference between a machanical and organic system. Would be the capability of an organic system to expand the diameter of it's pipes which in turn would check the increase in pressure. The problem we face is the build up plaque over time which inhibits the expansionability of our veins and arteries. Maybe one of our more medically attuned members could give us futher insite.

[TAutry]

Maybe one of our more medically attuned members could give us futher insite.

Harold,

I think that one of the things that makes Diabetesforums such a great place is the lack of medical folks. Before I found this site, I looked at some others that appeared to be loaded with them. The attitude of superiority was a real turn off.

In this case, it would be nice to hear from one though.

Your theory would seem to have merit. I wonder if the elasticity of the organ and the vessels is designed to keep the pressure constant? That might seem reasonable due to the closed nature of the system.

Pondering, pondering. . .:confused:

Travis

[zookeeper671]

rzrbks... Sounds like your wife is having runs of SVT.

Deus... when in doubt, get checked out. It could be that you just have a slow pulse without any cardiac irregularities.

Angie

[Shalyndria]

Ok here's some insight from a partially medically attuned member...although if you want a superior attitude that's gonna cost ya... :whistling

The heartbeat has two phases: diastole - which is the relaxation phase of the ventricle walls in which blood flows into the heart - and systole - in which the walls of the right and left ventricles (chambers of the heart) contract to pump blood into the pulmonary artery and aorta.
Blood pressure is the force that the blood exerts on the arterial walls. When BP is being measured with a spygmomanometer and stethoscope, the vessels in the upper arm are compressed by air pressure until blood flow is stopped in the brachial artery (main artery of the arm). When the air escaped the bag and pressure is lowered slowly blood begins to make its way through the gradually opening artery. The first sound of the pulse beat, which reads on sphygmomanometer as the higher, systolic blood pressure, is the pressure in the artery when the left ventricle is contracting to force the blood into the aorta and other arteries. The beat changes from sounding loud to a soft swishing and this is read as diastolic blood pressure as it is pressure in the artery when the ventricles are relaxing and the heart is filling with blood.

Hope this helps.

Shy

[Belinda]

Yeah Shy! Free medical advise! I always got the numbers mixed up.

[Harold]

Thank You Shy that was great and if memory serves me correct it sounds like the same answer I recieved years ago from a medical proffessional to the same question.

DeusXM Anyone know if there's a corrolation between heart rate and BP?

[Harold]

Been giving this question a little more thought in light of Shy's post. Yeah it takes a little time to sink in. :rolleyes:

Another difference between the organic and the mechanical I had in mind was the organic is a pulse pump and the mechanical a continous pump. There are mechanical pulse pumps as in piston driven pumps. So as Shy stated when we measure BP we are not measuring a constant or average pressure but the peak and valley of the pulse. The question here is how does one increase the pulse pressure in a closed system with a constant volumn of fluid? Since the heart draws the same amount out of the system as it pumps in why do the peaks get higher and the diference in pressure between the peak and valley increase? Maybe answering these questions will give us the answer to Deus's question.

[Teresa]

i dont know if there is a link... but i have high BP and take meds for it, and my heart rate is normally between 95-110!

[Harold]

Teresa,

For a resting rate, that's rather high.


DeusXM,

Have you been to the doc yet to ask?