I'm Buying A Hr Monitor

[bizbiz]

I'm going to buy a HR monitor just so that I can keep an eye on things.

I know my HR should be between 60 - 100 resting, but can anyone tell me what range it should be in:

- when I'm just walking around the house, doing the dishes, folding laundry etc

- when I'm grooming my horses, cleaning the yard pushing the wheelburrough etc

- when I'm out for my 35 minute power walk

Deb.

[EarthMother]

My goodness girlfriend! If you can groom the horses and go on a half hour powerwalk, I'd think you fall into the "normal" range for aerobic workouts (Take 220 and subtract your age, and then take 80% of that value as the high end for your target.)

As for me ... I reach aerobic capacity walking downstairs to the kitchen and back!

There are some interesting new technologies out now by way of the HR monitors.

I really like the "Prevention HR-180PV/MF-180PV Chest Belt-Free Heart Rate Monitor" -- I picked it up at Amazon for just over $40 when I bought mine. It works on some kind of light sensor.

Eventually I'm sure they will also have the technology worked out for this little guy:

LifeSpan Fitness Heart Rate Monitor Ring (also at Amazon) which sells for $20. But I wouldn't recommend this for any "serious" readings. I tend to loose signal much of the time and it shuts off. But I'm guessing in a years time there will be many more of these types of beltless devices at affordable prices.

Good luck finding something that works for you.

~EM

[bizbiz]

Thanks for the reply!

The problem is this...I can do all those things (groom the horses, power walk etc), but my heart is RACING while I do them, and I dont think thats right? I had to hook the horse float to the car the other day and just standing there winding up the jockey wheel made my HR go the 120-130 range! Isnt it wrong / unhealthy for my heart to be pumping at the same rate of someone doing a high impact gym class when I'm only standing there winding something up or grooming my horse!?

And thats what I'm worried about - when I'm out cleaning my horse yard, shovelling horse p** , where should my HR be at? And at what point is it dangerous? When it reaches 190? Or when I feel symptoms eg chest pain? Or as long as I can do it do I just keep going? Sorry, I dont know exactly how to ask what I'm...asking? Basically, as long as I can physically do certain activities and feel okay doing them, can I just keep doing them regardless of how fast my heart is pumping?

I rang the sports shop yesterday about a few of the monitors and got quotes of between $80 and $140 (AUS dollars), but I might check the net to see if there is a better range / prices and read some reviews. The sports shop did not have the prevention one you have.

[MelissaCrystal]

Is 51 HR normal for a healthy person? I monitored my brother's HR the other day and it was LOW. Very very odd.

[bizbiz]

Unless your brother is very fit or an athlete, then I think 51 would be considered bradycardia.

[mkoven]

My hr drops that low, and I told my cardiologist, and she wasn't concerned. She said it's only an issue if you're symptomatic-- though technically it's still bradycardic. I start feeling yucky when it hits the low 50s, so that does count as symptomatic for me.

[firewatcher]

My OB/GYN actually offered a fairly logical explanation for a low resting HR in POTS patients: your heart IS exercising most of the time, so IT is very fit (almost athletic) so it is normal to have a low resting/sleeping HR. I just wish the rest of me was!

I agree 220-your age (unless you are on beta-blockers.)

[EarthMother]

My husband's pulse is often in the 50's. We are techie's, hardly your 'athletic' type. He does power walk nightly, eats well, takes vitamins etc. But I have to believe some of this is genetic.

As for how long you should shovel horse -*-%, I would think you should gauge more on how you feel. One of the drawbacks of a new heart monitor is that we see before our eyes what our body has been handling all along. It took me weeks not to be frightened by the readings I was seeing.

I use it now more like bio-feedback. When I am feeling symptomatic (which for me is anytime I'm standing for more than 2 minutes), I crouch down and wait until I am feeling better before I get back up again.

I try to remind myself its ok for my heart to be running a mile a minute and little by little allow it to do so for longer periods of time. My problem is if I get too tacky for too long I get a hidious surge and physical backlash. Trying to find my own threshold is a moving target.

Good luck on your healing journey.

~EM

[jump]

I think technically speaking, for normal people, the heart is supposed to stay in the 60-100 range all day long, except when exercising. In fact, a hr of 90 is considered within the exercise range (low-impact) for most people.

Obviously this doesn't apply to us. Even if you are on medication, I think it would probably be unreasonable to expect your heart rate to stay within the "normal" range most people experience.

If you google "maximum heart rate capacity" you'll find a tool that calculates the highest your heart rate can go without damage. I don't know how scientific or accurate it is, but when I ran competitively (oh those good old days!) we used to use this tool to make sure we weren't over-training our hearts. You're never supposed to go higher than 80% of your max capacity when you're training (which for me, if I remember correctly, is around 180). So when I'm doing something, if I find my heart rate approaching 180, I stop what I'm doing. Supposedly you can't damage your heart as long as you keep to 80% or less of your maximum, provided you have no other heart disease problems. Other times, I just keep going with an activity until it gets too uncomfortable to continue (I find I have a hard time continuing an activity if my hr is beyond 140 or so).

[Guest tearose]

My heart rate monitor beeps at a low of 50 and a high of 140. I need to manage within that range. Once I get over 145 it is like I've run a marathon and I am wiped out. I need sleep, to recharge.

[all4family]

So would a heart rate running betweem 30 and 50 when you are laying down, and feeling very bad like you can't lift your head off the pillow be too low?

Suzy

[momofsara]

So would a heart rate running betweem 30 and 50 when you are laying down, and feeling very bad like you can't lift your head off the pillow be too low?

Suzy

Suzy--When my Mom was living, her doctor would get very concerned when her HR went below 50. She typically had a low HR normally, but if it got too low( under 50 ) she would be very weak, lethargic, etc.

Susan

[all4family]

Thank you Susan, It is usually when I feel so tired I have to lay down and go to sleep. I was told everyones heart rate and blood pressure go that low when they are sleeping, but when I had a 3 hour stay in the heart hospital that My b/p and heart rate were being monitored the alarm bells on the machine wouldn't quit going off and they had to shut it off. (the alarm bells) They thought I was having congestive heart failure. I was on beta blockers at the time, and they made me feel real sick. I was taken off the beta blockers because of this, but still have the issue. Since I got a heart rate watch whenever I get this real sick tired feeling where I have to lay down, it runs between 30 and 50, with spikes up to 60. But then I have other times like after my squats yesterday it wouldn't come down untill after I had laid down for about an hour. Then it was real low again. Maybe I will start keeping a log, and show my doctor. Thanks so much for your help.

Suzy

[iheartcats]

Mine is often 120-140 doing normal things (which would probably be 80-100 for most normal people).

I can usually tolerate up to 160 'ok' for short amounts of time.

I don't know my target rate...220-age = about 190 so I guess that's a good estimation. When I'm carrying things upstairs it gets the worst (around 180s) but it usually starts to go down once the stairs are out of the equation.

I do wear a heart rate monitor most days and I find it helpful. If you get in the high ranges (170-200) it's there to make sure it doesn't stay that way. From what I understand, getting high rates during an activity/for a few minutes here and there, isn't that bad as long as you have a healthy heart. Anyone else been told this?

Let us know what monitor you go with. I use a Polar and I like it.

[Guest tearose]

Yes, we can and often do go over our target rate and run high for short spurts. As long as it isn't prolonged or causing constant pain, we are allowed to "work through" these. I usually just sit down. It is the cumulative result of running at high rates that makes me get wiped out.

[bizbiz]

So I got the 'Suunto' HR monitor, and although I've only had it for the day I'm pretty happy with it. I didnt want one that I had to wear a chest strap with, but the shop assistant said if I got one without a chest strap I would have to stand still and press the watch hard up against my wrist to get a reading, and I really didnt want to be stopping all day just to get a reading.

I'm actually quite suprised to see that my HR stayed under 100 most of the day while doing household things like hanging laundry on the line etc. While I was cleaning the horse yards it crept up to about 110 - 120 (but I thought this was pretty good considering I was shoveling and pushing a full wheelburrough load of manure around!)

It does have a function which works out your average HR, but I havent read up how to do that yet, but from my guess I would say my average is about 85-95 (this is while up and walking around, standing at the stove cooking dinner, making up horse feeds etc). I think this would be a little high for a non-POTS person, but I was quite happy with this for me. Although I only take 6mg of my beta blocker in the morning I'm curious to see if my HR would be a lot higher if I didnt take it.

[carinara]

Hello bibiz

you asked at what point your HR gets dangerous. I also worried about that question before.

Maybe this earlier post will help you not to worry to much.

http://dinet.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtop...amp;hl=carinara

all the best

carinara

[jump]

So I got the 'Suunto' HR monitor, and although I've only had it for the day I'm pretty happy with it. I didnt want one that I had to wear a chest strap with, but the shop assistant said if I got one without a chest strap I would have to stand still and press the watch hard up against my wrist to get a reading, and I really didnt want to be stopping all day just to get a reading.

I'm actually quite suprised to see that my HR stayed under 100 most of the day while doing household things like hanging laundry on the line etc. While I was cleaning the horse yards it crept up to about 110 - 120 (but I thought this was pretty good considering I was shoveling and pushing a full wheelburrough load of manure around!)

It does have a function which works out your average HR, but I havent read up how to do that yet, but from my guess I would say my average is about 85-95 (this is while up and walking around, standing at the stove cooking dinner, making up horse feeds etc). I think this would be a little high for a non-POTS person, but I was quite happy with this for me. Although I only take 6mg of my beta blocker in the morning I'm curious to see if my HR would be a lot higher if I didnt take it.

It may make a difference what your resting/sitting hr is, too.

For example, when on beta blockers, my sitting heart rate is about 55 fairly consistently -- so even if my standing hr is 110 (not super high), that's still a 55 bpm difference. The definition of POTS is only a 30 bpm difference. When I'm on beta blockers, I do feel better over all, but I notice I start to feel a little symptomatic (out of breath, tired, dizzy) when my heart rate is around 95-115 -- because my sitting heart rate is so low.

I'm glad you feel generally ok on the BB and that it helps, but what I'm saying is, if your tachys aren't very high, but you still "feel" potsy, it could be because your resting hr is low.

[janiedelite]

Yes, we can and often do go over our target rate and run high for short spurts. As long as it isn't prolonged or causing constant pain, we are allowed to "work through" these. I usually just sit down. It is the cumulative result of running at high rates that makes me get wiped out.

I agree and this sounds like the advice Dr. Fealey gave me also, that I should do whatever activity/exercise my body will let me do without getting hypertensive. I can tell when I'm hypertensive because of the chest pain and shortness of breath that accompany it. Sometimes my heartrate is rather normal (90's while being up) but I go by how my body feels because of my tendency for hypertension. I'm so glad I have a BP/HR monitor. It makes me connect how I feel with the numbers so I can know when I need to take it easy.

Not all POTS patients have hypertension, but I think it's a good idea still to listen to your body.