No - don't worry - assuming that it is a nice, steady, regular pulse, you're just in good aerobic fitness. Even at my advanced age (53 according to UST) I have a RP in the low 40s that dips into high 30s from time to time.

The one thing you might notice is occasional "escape" beats - where irregular premature beats creep into your rhythm. Those can get pretty uncomfortable - and led me to the ER about a decade ago when my RP was in the high 30s, and had an evening of lots of palpitations - EKG shows nice steady sinus bradycardia (slow normal heart rate) with premature supraventricular beats.

Look at the bright side of asymptotically increasing your fitness and decreasing your HR - if the HR gets to 2 or 3, you won't need to worry anymore.

Check out the following article:

http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section16/chapter213/213a.jsp

Athletic heart syndrome: The constellation of normal anatomic and physiologic adaptations in persons who regularly perform strenuous dynamic exercise (eg, endurance-trained athletes).

Resting sinus bradycardia, third and fourth heart sounds, systolic murmurs, a variety of ECG abnormalities, and cardiac enlargement on chest x-ray are characteristic. This syndrome, which would be considered abnormal in an untrained person, is a successful adaptation to endurance exercise and should not be misdiagnosed as heart disease.

Nevertheless, if you have any symptoms, like lightheadedness, shortness of breath, chest pain, you probably want to see your doctor.

yeah, i'm skeptical.
not that that's what your pulse is, but that you're worried about it.
if you want to brag about how low your hr is, that's fine, but be upfront about it.
if you want it to be higher, just stop training.

No, it just means your heart is incredibly efficient.

But I would worry if it gets too much lower... not sure why, but for some reason anything under 25bpm would raise alarm bells in my head. ?

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I actually was really concerned, and I still may see my doctor. It is a really disconcerting thing to see your HR monitor continue to drop all the way down to the high 20s. That and it felt really weird, sort of like the feeling you get when you work out really hard and can feel your heart pounding, but instead of going so fast, you can almost feel each slow squeeze. Really quite eerie.

You are right in one sense that I wasn't going to call 911 or go to the ER, but I was concerned in that it seemed abnormally low, such that I probably should seek some advice as to make sure it isn't something that I need to worry about. Especially, when you hear about some of the elites like Greg Welch etc. who had weird heart problems, makes you wonder just how good all this endurance training is, and I am no where close to being elite.

That and it felt really weird, sort of like the feeling you get when you work out really hard and can feel your heart pounding, but instead of going so fast, you can almost feel each slow squeeze. Really quite eerie.




That would freak me out.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

There have been previous threads where athletes with low hr's reported having to get pacemakers for symptomatic bradycardia. Search under "pacemaker."

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Coach at KonaCoach Multisport

It was reported that Miguel Indurain had a RHR of 28.

How fast do you drop from max? (IE 1 min after an all-out effort, where is your HR?)

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I am not quite sure the minute drop.
Although I go from a submaximal HR of 178 to 110 in about 3-4 minutes

There is said to be a connection with low heart rate and Sick Sinus Syndrome in endurance athletes, causing AFib and other electrocardio problems. Miguel Indurein has AFib. Do some searches on this forum, you will find a great many triathletes with a variety of heart rhythmn problems.

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Peter Snell (runner from NZ) had a RHR of 28, I believe at the time it was the lowest ever recorded in a healthy individual.

In my opinion, I would get yourself checked out by a cardiologist. Hopefully the doc will just giggle, and tell you that you're the most fit person that's ever walked into the office!

But there are kinds of heart problems that could exhibit this sort of symptom. For instance, there is a type of bradycardia called Heart Block. This is not a blockage of blood vessels that could lead to a heart attack, but rather an electrical anomaly that blocks pacing beats from causing your ventricles to pump. A common type of heart block is called Two-To-One Heart Block, which given your numbers could mean that your heart is trying to beat at 56bpm, but it's only actually contracting 28.

All that is not to scare you! I bet you're healthy as can be. That said, a trip to the doc might be in order just to be certain.

Note - I'm no doctor, but I do work for a company that makes pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, so I've attended just enough training classes to be dangerous ;)

Mike

I was in a bike crash last year and while at Stanford hospital my HR was 28 overnight. It's in the low 30s most mornings when I wake up.

I'd love it if this were a virtue and it was because I was so fit that I'll be knocking off Peter Reid at Kona. But alas...I'm lucky to be top 25% in the olde fart's wave (50-54).

My cardiologist doesn't like it and bluntly says it's too low. I've been unable to get life insurance for years because of it. They have no specific explanation and I've had all the tests. The only things are (1) I have some dead tissue in my heart, presumably from a childhood virus, and (2) I get so light-headed after I stand I can hardly see for a few seconds, and (3) I get very restless legs when I sleep that keep waking me up (explanation unknown).

But when I'm active, like waking around or working out, I feel great, as if I was in my 20s.

Go figure.

Keep an eye on it - I'm in the late '30s, but on an overnight transatlantic flight last year fainted suddenly, and, after extensive investigation and the implantation of an insertable cardiac monitor (the big lump in my left pec really freaks people out on start lines - I just tell them it's Polar for hard-core types) found that overnight, when it starts to dip low, I have frequent pauses of up to 5 secs.

Whilst the low pulse doesn't directly cause the pauses, it more regularly puts me into the territory where they tend to happen, and a pacemaker may be on the cards for me.

Cheers,

Phil / UK

I am in the same heart rate range as yours (low 30s in the mornings, below 30 at night and mid-30s during the day time while sitting) and have been in that range for years without any negative effects.

you might want to get a thyroid check,as that was how they found mine wasnt working properly...heart rate was too low

I realize that this is a late follow up to this post, but I am actually searching for other triathaletes who have pacemakers. I got mine in March, 2006 (screwing up this season for me pretty badly - tho I plan to race later in the season).

I was wondering, it seems like the most important question here would be what is your heart rate normally (in the am, during the course of the day, not while exercising)?

I was having frequent "pauses" -- up to 50 a day and never saw anyone about them til recently. I knew from my HRM but never did anything about it. After seeing my Holter monitor report, they decided they wanted me to have a pacemaker put in within the next seven days.

[reply]It was reported that Miguel Indurain had a RHR of 28.

[/reply]

ergo, the original poster should enter the Tour - he still has time to win 2 or 3.

I am a F56. Two years ago my HR was 32 during the day. I was training for IM AZ. I started noticing in the mornings I would be dizzy and leaning against the sink brushing my teeth. It got worse, but I thought I was just tired. Are you tired? Because I ended up needing a pacemaker because my heart was stopping at night and then during the day for up to 8 seconds at a time. Bradycardia, not tachycardia. I never passed out because my heart was so strong. I was told anyone else would have died -- more than a screen of flatlining. I was in ICU even after they put in the pacemaker because they wanted to make sure it was working. A week later I was at work and did a 6 hr. brick for IM AZ!! No problems. Only worry if you are really tired and feel lightheaded. That's my input speaking from experience.

You're condition sounds like Bradycardia (I didn't read the other replies). I also could "feel" the squeeze. Your heart may be stopping during that time (electrical problem -- top chamber not sending blood to the bottom chamber quick enough). It pumps blood, one, and waits 5-8 seconds, then pumps blood again. That was my problem as noted above.


P.S. Welchy had tachycardia -- where you heart races out of control, and you can't do much of anything rigorously. That's why he plays ping pong, so he told me at the Endurance Awards Dinner when we compared pacemakers! Monty has the same condition as me too.

Hi jackiey,

I just got my PM about 6 weeks ago for heart block. I have been wondering what others (if I can find any) have experienced after their pacemakers were put in.

My training has not been nearly as good since I had mine put in but that does not at all sound like your experience. I have not had a workout more than two hours since I had this put in (however, I don't do IM distance...yet).

How soon were you back to swimming b/c I have not done that yet?

thanks b

5 days later I did a Nike Run, swim etc. (only because I was still in the hospital and then after you weren't supposed to lift your arm until the wires were "set"), and 9 days later I did a 6 hr. brick. (4 bike and 2 run) In fact, my friends were so worried I would collapse, but I felt great!! (They didn't understand the condition.) No more dizziness and light headedness.

I have a St. Jude "DUAL" pacemaker, what do you have? You had bradycardia I take it. I know Monty had problems initially too. The only thing I really noticed was I was a little hyper at night because the pacemaker was set at 60, and I had a hard time falling asleep with it so high since I was in the 20s at night, including stopping HR. But I got used do it, plus I was tired from all my IM training.

Why do you feel you can't exercise at the same intensity or distance? Are you winded, does your heart pound?

I've had a pacemaker for 7 years, raced tris for 21. Can't post too much from work. PM me if anyone wants to discuss pacemakers. Or e-mail mtntri1@aol.com.

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"It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster"

Did you have your pacemaker taken out after 7 years? that's what it sounds like. You also had bradycardia I take it.