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  1. #1
    Hi everyone. I'm 24 and I've been obsessing over my heart since my first panic attack 4 years ago. I don't get panic attacks anymore but I still obsess over my heart. Mostly because I have a low resting heart rate of 47-50. I'm 5'11 160lbs and lately I've been working out everyday. I've done all kinds of research trying to find out why mines low and I think it could be due to me taking high grade fish oil for years. Apparently that increases your vagal tone. My heart really speeds up when I inhale then slows way down while I exhale. I am very healthy and have a perfect diet.. I juice vegetables and eat tons of fruit. No caffeine or any crap like that.

    During the day my standing heart rate can be anywhere from 60-80 depending on if I've ate etc. When I jog at a fast pace my heart rate is consistently around 140-155 bpm. I've checked my recovery heart rate and it drops around 45 bpm within 2 minutes of stopping running.

    I just started running 1-2 miles everyday a couple weeks ago but my heart rate has been low like this for a long time. I went to the Dr and had an ekg almost a year ago because I was worried about it being low and he said everything looks and sounds perfect and he promised me I'm just healthy and nothing is wrong with me but of course I still obsess. When they had me hooked on the ekg my heart rate wasn't low it was around 75 because I was nervous and my heart rate is only low usually when I'm in bed very late at night.

    This whole post is unorganized and seems like rambling. I'm sorry. It's very late. I just want to stop obsessing over this. I'm no athlete and it bothers me that I have an athletic heart rate I guess. I'm trying to run everyday to lose some stomach/chest fat but I worry that my heart rate will keep getting lower.

    I'm guessing people will come in here and ask me if I'm having any symptoms.. I have plenty of energy. I don't get dizzy although it has happened before when I get up fast. I feel fine when I'm running. I jogged for 15 mins straight today and when I stopped I didn't even feel winded and within a minute or so my heart rate dropped from 140 to 98. I don't have a blood pressure machine but I was also obsessively checking that as well about a year ago and I was getting numbers like
    Heart rate 50 / blood pressure 110/70.
    Last edited by ImChad; 04-05-2014 at 05:06 AM.

  2. #2
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    You are very healthy my friend...

    Both your heartrate and blood pressure is perfect. Mine is around 50-60 when resting. It's normal. If it goes under 40 - then get it checked by doc.

    When your heartrate goes down fast after exercising, it means your heart is really strong and healthy. I wish I was like this, be happy!
    Proffesor deReal - at your service!

  3. #3
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    I'm a runner have have a low heart rate too because it is so well conditioned. Docs always tell me to "keep doing what I'm doing" as my heart(and yours too I sure) is very healthy and strong and why it needs fewer beats per min to get the job done. Lucky US! Alankay

  4. #4
    Hahaha, yeah. This means your heart is super healthy. You should be happy!

    Also, yeah, isn't it weird how the panic attacks still happen when your body is totally healthy? It's like it's a completely unrelated phenomenon. Definitely much more related to thought-processes and neurological phenomena than it is to basic physiological health.

    I, too, have had massive panic attacks with my heart rate staying at around 60 bpm. My panic attacks almost never involve a racing heart.

  5. #5
    Thanks for the responses guys. I guess I'm feeling better. The thing is, I just started running a couple weeks ago. I'm worried my heart rate will continue to get lower and lower. I know it's low when I'm at rest because of the high vagal tone. That's what fish oil does.. Did lots of research. I'm just going to stop taking fish oil for a while. I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with my heart because I just jogged for 12 minutes and kept my heart rate at 140-155 the whole time then I stopped and not even 2 minutes later it was down to 94 and I don't feel winded at all. Also idk if this has anything to do with it but my mom also has a low resting heart rate of 49 and her dad is 70ish and his Dr said he has the heart of a 30 year old.

  6. #6
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    Trust me, you are just healthy more than likely!

    Having been sedentary for a year, I started weight training & the past 2 months, running regularly. 8 months since I started exercising & my RHR is 43 give or take. I asked a Doctor & he said given the gradual lowering over many months, it was quite normal for someone so active.

    When I jog at a fast pace my heart rate is more like 150-170... my asthma might play a role but still, you are pretty fit if those are your heart rates for a "fast pace" at that age. Also your aerobic zone I would imagine is probably similar to mine, meaning you can run & still get enough oxygen up to about 163bpm. YMMV.

    Something that might interest you. I noticed my heart rate would jump from 55-60 whilst sitting to 80-90 whilst moving around at home. I think anxiety caused my heart rate to jump higher, as can over-reaching or training too. I recently scaled back my running ever so slightly, with my anxiety under control & my heart rate standing is now more like 70-80.

    As for your heart rate getting lower. My Dad's friend was in the Para's & he had a RHR in the low 30s that he told me got as low as 28 whilst he was running every day. Many Tour de France cyclists have heart rates similar to that too!

    As someone said, if it drops below 40 or there is a sudden change, then go the Doctor but you are just healthy.
    Last edited by Chatative; 04-07-2014 at 01:26 AM.
    "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." - ‎Invictus, William Ernest Henley

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Chatative
    Trust me, you are just healthy more than likely!

    Having been sedentary for a year, I started weight training & the past 2 months, running regularly. 8 months since I started exercising & my RHR is 43 give or take. I asked a Doctor & he said given the gradual lowering over many months, it was quite normal for someone so active.

    When I jog at a fast pace my heart rate is more like 150-170... my asthma might play a role but still, you are pretty fit if those are your heart rates for a "fast pace" at that age. Also your aerobic zone I would imagine is probably similar to mine, meaning you can run & still get enough oxygen up to about 163bpm. YMMV.

    Something that might interest you. I noticed my heart rate would jump from 55-60 whilst sitting to 80-90 whilst moving around at home. I think anxiety caused my heart rate to jump higher, as can over-reaching or training too. I recently scaled back my running ever so slightly, with my anxiety under control & my heart rate standing is now more like 70-80.

    As for your heart rate getting lower. My Dad's friend was in the Para's & he had a RHR in the low 30s that he told me got as low as 28 whilst he was running every day. Many Tour de France cyclists have heart rates similar to that too!

    As someone said, if it drops below 40 or there is a sudden change, then go the Doctor but you are just healthy.
    Thanks man. I have respitory sinus arrhythmia which means my heart speeds up a lot when I inhale then when I exhale it slows way down. From everything I read this is most noticeable in young people and athletes. It has to do with vagal tone. Last night I laid in bed and I held my breath and took my pulse and got 44...but I assume that if I was breathing it'd jump up to 50.

    My pulse only increases about 10 bpm or a little less when I go from laying down to standing up. They say the less an increase the better. An increase of 0-10 is excellent, 10-20 normal and 20-30 cautionary.

    One thing I noticed today though is that when I start jogging my heart rate gets up to 150 pretty quick like within a couple minutes.

  8. #8
    Oh and my standing heart rate is always around 60-70.

    One thing that eased my mind a lot was a page online where a Dr was talking about how a lot of people come to him worried about their low heart rates and he asks them if they have ever fainted or anything like that and if they said no he'd see if their heart rate increased appropriately with exercise and if it did he assured them
    that they are just in good health.

    Reading this also made me feel a bit better too:
    ForumRunner_20140407_025629.jpg

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by ImChad View Post
    My pulse only increases about 10 bpm or a little less when I go from laying down to standing up. They say the less an increase the better. An increase of 0-10 is excellent, 10-20 normal and 20-30 cautionary.

    One thing I noticed today though is that when I start jogging my heart rate gets up to 150 pretty quick like within a couple minutes.
    Interesting to hear about those guidelines for difference in pulse rate. That was the point I made to my Doctor but he dismissed me, I was going from ~60 - ~90 but he just said anything between those 2 is normal. It was just anxiety though.

    Many things can cause your heart rate to vary up to as much as around 15bpm from what is normal whilst running. Dehydration, Anxiety, Over-training are the main culprits I believe.

    The important thing to realise if you have health anxiety, which I do & I assume you do, is the fact the anxiety can cause the symptoms that you are looking for as I'm sure you are aware. Getting peace of mind whether here or from actual medical professionals helps too but try to focus on something else for a while & it should subside a bit. It's easy to get stuck in a cycle.

    Whatever you do, don't self-diagnose... it's hard not to but it's not productive on the whole. I thought I had Diabetes but it was just my anxiety causing similar symptoms - I went through lots of blood tests before that came out! My Doctor told me just to call if I had any persistent or obvious symptoms of anything - usually it's something minor & it puts my mind to rest.
    "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." - ‎Invictus, William Ernest Henley

  10. #10
    Yeah, you definitely have health anxiety. So whenever you get those negative thoughts, tell yourself--"It's the anxiety talking. It's just the anxiety talking."

    I've been running basically daily for about 10 years now, and even ran competitively in high school. My resting HR is around 60 bpm but it goes up to 180 bpm FAST when I run, and stays there throughout a 30 minute run. I have been told by doctors that this is normal. Even had an EKG done, and everything checked out normal.

    The point is, everyone is different. Don't read too much on websites. If you're really concerned, go to a doctor.

 

 

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