Bradycardia.

[sarahale]

Does anyone on here have this? It's a heart rate of below 60 bpm.

I've been suffering from breathlessness, fatigue and tiring very quickly when exercising as well as some chest pains.

Had a few tests, all back negative. Today a nurse took my pulse and it was 40 bpm so they think that could be the reason for it all.

Just wondering about others experiences.

 

[Sharky]

Just measured 49 resting rate and 44 would be normal for me. Don't have any of the symptoms you describe. Once after a fall, the ambulance crew measured me at 38 bpm and they were a little worried until I told them it was only a few beats below norm and I did recover fairly soon.

 

[jefmcg]

A resting heartrate under 60 - well under - would be normal for an athlete. However , athletes don't have the problems that @sarahale describes. She made may need to ask elsewhere, this thread is likely to be full of people boasting their excellent low heart rates that do not indicate a condition.

 

[Drago]

Boasting time . My rate at total rest is mid 40s, though I once managed 38 as well, which surprised me a bit as I had a stinky cold. Feel fine.

I'm no medico, but I'd be inclined to agree with Jef that something else is causing your problems rather than simply a low heart rate.

 

[si_c]

My waking heart rate is around 40, resting during the delay around 55 or lower and I don't have any problems with fatigue or chest pains. If you are fit and healthy as @jefmcg says it is perfectly possible that your heart rate is normal for you and if so then it's likely that your problems are caused by something else.

I'd suggest getting a referral from your GP to see a cardio specialist rather than taking advice from either us or anyone else, and having your symptoms dismissed as being caused by low heart rate may mean they miss something.

Or you may just have a chest infection or virus of some kind, but you won't find out until you get checked out properly.

 

[sarahale]

I'm still under going tests and what not, just wondered if anyone else had this and if it causes problems that's all.

Perhaps I have symptoms as mine is lower than the above, I had cycled to the place although had been resting for 10 mins before having it taken.

 

[screenman]

The ECG nurse where I had my last test told me the average she see's in Lincoln hospital is around 85.

 

[Drago]

Isn't the average 73 + 1 for every year over 40, or some such formula? Not at all unusual to for us cyclists to be significantly below that.

 

[Nebulous]

There is a confusion of two different things here. Bradycardia is a medical condition where an individual has a slower than normal heartbeat and it can cause the symptoms sarahale describes.

People who have done a lot of training may have adapted to have a lower than normal heartrate which isn't a problem. One of the famous cyclists (Indurain?) was said to have a resting pulse of 28. Equally though I'm sure there were other famous cyclists who never got under 50.

Those of us who have very low pulses - including me - tend to like it because we think it is something to be proud of and an indicator of fitness. The picture is much more complicated than that. It is probably about as useful as BMI, a general indicator with lots of exceptions. Mine could well be a mixture of cycling and genetics. My granny had a very low pulse, and associated low blood pressure, which did lead to fainting and culminated in her being fitted with a pacemaker. Again though everybody is different and her route very late in life wont be the same as other people's. It has lots of different causes and different treatments.

So @sarahale diagnosis by internet is never a good idea. What causes yours is likely to be different from other people's. Read up a bit about it, be ready to ask questions, tell them your history, including whether you have trained to a high level over a prolonged period of time, and wait until the tests are concluded and the need for any management measures are agreed.