Best way to lower heart rate?

Hunders

Hunders

Hunders

Soldato
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Hi guys.

Currently my resting heart rate is very high at on average 90-100 bpm and I really would like to get this down as it scares me a little.

What would be the best way to go about this? I have taken to using the treadmill and plan on hitting it 5 days a week for 20-30 minutes at a time but would this be effective?
 
Diet has a lot to do with it as well, cut out caffeine/stimulants.

Genetics also plays a role.

For cardio I'd personally rather do cycling or swimming over running but any form of cardio should lower it.

Last but not least I'd see a doctor before doing anything and get an ECG done to rule out anything nasty that could be causing it. 100bpm resting isn't normal.
 
Ayahuasca said:
Last but not least I'd see a doctor before doing anything and get an ECG done to rule out anything nasty that could be causing it. 100bpm resting isn't normal.
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This. Before starting quite a fairly rigorous training schedule I'd definitely go to the doctors first. Depending on your age, 100 bpm resting sounds like you might be well on your way to a stroke and going from little exercise to running 5 days a week could make it a lot worse before it makes it better.
 
Definitely get to a doctor but there's nothing stopping you upping your activity level without going crazy. Rather than anything involving running, try walking a few extra miles a day. Look at your stimulant intake (as above) and whilst you're doing all this get the doctor appointment booked.

After that it's all about gradually ramping up your activity levels. Once they're high enough you can enjoy a lot of food that would be seen as very bad for a sedentary person :) (Don't expect this to happen overnight though. By the time you're at this point you'll almost certainly have educated yourself to the point of knowing why you can get away with this.)

edit: Check out Feek's thread about losing weight to get an idea of how to gradually ease yourself into things.
 
In my early teens I had a RHR about that high. Lost a few stone and took to playing football 5 days a week. It's now just below 60 and had stayed there when I put weight back on (I'm 35) and got moderately less active .

Start with a trip to the doctor though, to tell them your concerns and what you have in mind.
 
I never really thought about seeing the doctor but I guess you are right. I will book in tomorrow.

What kind of running would be best to improve heart rate? For example, would a sustained jog be better than faster but shorter running sessions with walking in between?
 
Take it when you first wake up to for a better measurement, before you've even got out of bed. And don't worry too much bud. The doctors an excellent idea and knowing your waking heart rate will help any questions they have. They can get high if your not into the fitness game but are easy enough to lower : )

As for how, slow and steady for longer is best to start with. I'd recommend an exercise bike too though as it's easier on the body (if indeed you aren't a fitness bunny)
 
Could be a number of factors, stress, anxiety, stimulants, poor diet, lack of exercise/fitness etc.

Definitely go and see your GP as if it is genuinely 100bpm it is high and diving in to exercise wouldn't be advised without an ECG I'm sure.

It's not uncommon, as with blood pressure, for it to rise from the associated anxiety of having it measured.

Once you have the all clear and have conditioned yourself for regular steady state cardio look to work in some intervals or sprint work, but only once you have the all clear to exercise.

Find a form of cardio you enjoy doing (or you could start lifting) rather than just picking running. Something no/low impact would also be wise to begin with to reduce the risk of injury.

For reference until recently periodically in my training (lifting) I would do sprint/HIIT/Tabata work for conditioning and had a RHR in the mid 30's to low 40's. Since I started road cycling it's now low to mid 30's. This is very low and actually beginning to cause a few issues (bradycardia).

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My dad has a relatively low RHR in the 40s. He also has occasional arrythmia. It means occasional dizzy spells for him. He's in his mid 60s, overweight and not especially fit but he did do competitive javelin and shot put unitil college age.

They've fitted him with some sort of recording device chip that uses NFC near his collar bone under the skin and a handheld capture device. If he gets a dizzy spell he's supposed to hold the capture device.

Been like that over a year and they've not turned up anything particularly worrying so far.
 
Hunders - as said, cutting out caffeine alone (or at least cutting it right down) can lower your RHR quite a lot. Unless you're very overweight or very unfit I wouldn't expect to be able to knock that much more off. I'm quite fit but my normal RHR is in the high 60's. It sits around 65bpm when I'm fitter in the summer months and the lowest I've ever seen it is 59bpm just before I was about to do a triathlon. Some people just have higher RHRs than others.
 
Hunders said:
I never really thought about seeing the doctor but I guess you are right. I will book in tomorrow.

What kind of running would be best to improve heart rate? For example, would a sustained jog be better than faster but shorter running sessions with walking in between?
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Any kind of exercise is good - even just a 20 minute brisk walk is a good start. No expert but I'd guess bursts of faster speed then easing it off would be effective as you'd get the heart working without over doing it.
 
I went to see the doctor today and was seen by a lovely trainee GP who spent 25 minutes with me and gave me a health check and had a talk. She (and the experienced doctor who came in later on) didn't suspect any serious underlying illness. However, I have been booked in to have an ECG and blood test done next tuesday to rule anything out.

I do drink coffee; usually 2-3 lattes a day. I was told that they shouldn't have much of an effect on my RHR so I can get to enjoy using my expensive bean to cup machine!

I was told to simply go for fast walks and track my progress with a sports app so I downloaded Endomoto which seems like it could definitely be useful. I started off today with a fast walk for just under three miles with a stop off at Tesco along the way to pick up some pasta.

We'll see how it goes but from what the doctors said after noting that I show no other symptoms such as shortness of breath, palpitations and pains it should be a simple case of being more active and my heart rate should drop.
 
I had an arrythmia / potential murmur some months back and it was great to see the NHS kick into action with echo cardiograms and the rest. I was told it would settle down ....and it did. Caffeine certainly impacts me (like it does my mum) now I've got a little older.
 
I'm using my phones heart rate sensor (which I know is accurate as I've taken measurements simultaneously with a dedicated heart rate monitor) after I've been sitting/lying for 15 minutes or so. The GP just felt for my pulse and timed it.

Why do you ask?
 
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