I am asking this here as I know there may be somebody that knows what test a person my want to ask about at the doctors office.
I have for some time been concerned of high heart rate issues for the last year. I have noticed it seems to go up more than down.
I have just over 2K for mileage this year (a bit low). I have done a couple of TTs (20K) and everyone one have done I have had an average HR above 180 with warm up included. One TT I had an average HR of 185 and the time was over an hour including warm up and short cool down.
THis Saturday I did a 74 mile annual type ride and averaged just 18 mph on the actual ride and cycling to and back from where I started for this ride I had an average HR of 172 (max was 194)for over four hours.
I am over weight by an easy 40lbs (weight@ 236) and age 36. I went to the doctor for a cold a couple of weeks ago and was able to only see the phy. assitant and asked about getting a stress test with the real doctor and they really did not seem to concerned about my HR reportings. I have hit 202 this season.
Blood pressure checks have always show ideal range.
MY HR after taking a short break on the Saturday ride just before getting back on the bike was still @126. I use a polar CS100 so when I am away from the bike the HR function stops of course so I am showing on the bike HR only.
Obviously weight needs to come off. Family histor is vague as parents are chronic achoholics and many of the things they have been shown to be related to drinking as high BP and cholestrol.
Should I be concerned and what to ask for in looking further into this?
I am not an MD nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night so I won’t even attempt medical advice.
I will share that your heart rate numbers are not off-the-chart high. My maximum heart rate is 210bpm and I regularly have rides with extended times above 172 bpm (or about 81% of my max). My threshold runs are all around / above the 180 bpm level. I recall a former national level rider on this or another board reporting a maximum heart rate of 220bpm. He could probably talk your ear off if so inclined while pumping away at 172bpm (just 78% of his max).
The age-based formulas (“220-age=max HR” and other variants) are not accurate estimates for a large part of the population.
If we assume that your 202 bpm reading is your actual maximum then 172bpm = 85% of maximum and 185 bpm=92% of maximum. Good solid efforts but not worrisome, I’d think. Also, if you haven’t put out a maximal effort trying to identify your HR max then it is probably a little higher than 202.
The question I’d ask is whether the numbers you are reporting are suddenly higher then they have been in the past? If not then you just may have a fairly high HR max.
If you are really worried, or feel like there is a problem, insist on seeing the doc and hearing what he/she has to say.
Those numbers don’t strike me as excessively high. I averaged 185 for a half mary. But if it concerns you- get it checked out. You’ll have peace of mind. But it should go down with lost weight and gained fitness.
I am 41 years of age with a max observed HR of 212. My AT is 178. My exercise heart rates have always been higher than everyone else’s, but my resting rate is in the low 50s. Mine drops to normal more quickly than does yours after an effort, but I can sneeze into 150. I used to wear a HRM but I always freaked out when I saw such high numbers and slowed down unnecessarily. I just beat faster, always have. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, but if you can’t stop, go see a cardiologist and have him put you on the treadmill and check you out. Can’t hurt. Lose the weight, 40 pounds is a LOT. Try to go around town carrying 2 20lb dumbbells with you, you’ll see how much harder on you living those 40 pounds really is.
A big concern is how quickly the HR recovers after you stop excercising. As you loose weight, you will find that your HR recovers faster.
Try keeping track of what your HR is when you stop excercising and then one minute after.
What he said! What is your recovery? Your numbers sound about the same as mine, for my last bike TT (it was only 30 min) I avg’d 183 for my HR, and that was on tired legs and I felt I wasn’t pushing as hard as I should have. I have also avg’d 172 for 5 hrs in a half Ironman.
I went to a sports med clinic a few months ago to have my VO2 tested on the bike. I told the testers (a doctor and a cardiac nurse) that my HR would jump up almost instantly and to be expecting that. Within 1 minute in I was at 145 bpm and my lactate threshold tested at 181 (which is about right given my HR avg at the TT). The doctor explained it was just the way my body worked. The nurse said had I not told her that my HR was going to shoot up instantly she probably would have stopped the test right away for fear I was having heart trouble. The doctor then explained that if you look at the front end of the test data, that is a rapidly climbing HR, one could determine that I was out of shape. But whent the test ended I went from 195 to about 120 in 1 minute. The doc said that was a much better indicator of my fitness level.